Exposed Trail

Adrian, Patrick and I headed up for some backpacking/activating on Friday. We drove to South Breitenbush Trailhead with the intent of camping 2 miles in then attempting a first activation of Dinah-Mo Peak and heading back down the next day. Well, with what I thought was an hour of slack time, we encountered first some downed trees on NF46 (Clackamas River Hwy - Breitenbush River Road) and then were stopped by downed trees a mile and a half from the trailhead. No big deal, we have a little time, right?

Here's one of Oregon's most approachable ten-point summits. We took the southern approach, although many recommend the scenery on the longer approach from the north.  It's about 3.5 miles one-way - a well-graded path with about 1300 feet gain.  From Highway 395 just south of Seneca, Oregon take the Logan Valley Road (NF-16) about 12.2 miles to veer north onto NF-1640. You'll go about 10.2 miles to the trailhead at the sharp bend in the road.

Sardine Mountain is a short and steep trail of only about a third of a mile, but gaining about 500 feet. This is essentially a social trail that heads straight up the ridge that will disappear into the shrub in places. There are skittery rocks near the top requiring some focus to find a suitable path upwards. From the Willamette Valley, take Highway 22 east until just before the Breitenbush River bridge takes you into Detroit. You'll turn left here onto French Creek Road and go about 4.1 miles until the pavement ends and keep left onto Road 2223.

In the extreme NE corner of Oregon, there's this lovely near drive-up summit with a great view down to the Snake River and Hells Canyon. There's a fire lookout tower that you can climb partway up, but it's perhaps not the best place to activate. Instead, head down the short trail to the benches and picnic tables that have a view east down into the canyon - it's fantastic.

In the NE corner of Oregon there's this easy summit with great views of the surrounding Wallowa Mountains. The cross-country "hike" is only 0.6 miles from the nearest road approach and about 300 feet of gain, and in season the wildflowers are amazing.  

On the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge in southern Oregon, Warner Peak is a nice 3.4 mile one-way road walk. Although the trailhead is not that easy to reach and the Refuge is one of the most remote places in the state. You'll want a high clearance vehicle for these roads. From Refuge Headquarters, head south on Blue Sky Road for 14 miles - it starts out heading south and then turns towards the west. Near 42.4298° -119.723° turn left and continue about 0.7 miles to a ford.

These directions are somewhat vague, because I don't recall exactly how we got there on the maze of Forest Roads. A GPS will be your best bet to get close.

From Lakeview, Oregon take Oregon Highway 140 north toward Paisley. Following Hwy 140, turn right onto Hwy 140 east toward Adel. Turn left onto Forest Service (FS) Road 3615 traveling north about 6.8 miles and pass the right turn to FS Road 019 (this leads to Light and Drake Peaks). Continue on FS Road 3615 about 3.2 miles to a road leading off to the right near   42.316° -120.168°. From here you are kinda on your own - you may find a good place to park about 0.6 miles up one of the dirt tracks - perhaps near   42.321° -120.1595°.

Follow the directions to the Drake Peak Lookout that is located on Light Peak W7O/CE-004. Head up on foot the 1/3 mile towards Light Peak and watch for the faint road heading east just below the summit.  This is a cross-country route of about 3 miles RT. A GPS may be very useful to find the peak. Although it may look shorter to veer off the road on the return trip to slightly shorten the trip, I'd suggest staying with the road. The rocky peak has a few small trees for supporting poles and antennas.

Light Peak is located about one hour northeast of Lakeview, Oregon and features the Drake Peak Lookout that can be rented in summer. (Yes, Drake Peak Lookout is on the shoulder of Light Peak and not on Drake Peak...)