In mid-July of 2022 I took a trip to central OR for some rapid-fire summit activations. I activated 6 peaks in 3 days for a total of 34 activator points. I got to spend a bunch of time driving and hiking around the lava cast forest and the cascade lakes scenic byway. Along the way I saw some gorgeous scenery and had a fantastic time. My HF rig for this trip was a Xiegu G90 and homebrew 33′ EFRW antenna / 17′ telescoping crappie pole. For VHF I used a Yaesu FT-65 and MFJ long ranger 1/2 wave antenna for 144MHz.
Lookout Mountain (W7O/CM-038)
First, in the evening (local time) of 17/07/2022 was Lookout Mountain (W7O/CM-038). This one is an unassuming and fairly bland 6-point butte about 14 miles northwest of La Pine, OR. With a summit elevation of 6230′ and a small RF installation, the summit itself isn’t much to behold. It’s treed in, so there are no views from the summit proper, but there are several nice lookouts on the way up as the road winds around the butte to approach the summit. There is a locked gate about 1/3 of a mile below the summit, a short walk with very little elevation gain. I had intended to car camp here for the night, but my plans were thwarted by the gate.
Since I had changed my camping plans last-minute and needed to find a new place to camp, I made the activation zone quickly and threw up my random wire on the fishing pole. The activation zone is large and flat with plenty of room to set up. Multiple operators could set up here without much trouble. I made 5 QSOs fairly quickly on 40 meters, then 1 on 20 meters. After that I packed up and headed back down. I experienced no RFI from the radio installation. An easy afternoon six points and a beautiful drive through the lava cast forest.
Pringle Butte (W7O/CM-094)
The 4-point summit of Pringle Butte sits at an elevation of 5020′ atop an entertaining 4X4 trail. I made this drive no problem in my ’03 Subaru Forester, but there were some big ruts and washouts that required some attention to detail while driving, so be warned. NE7ET mentions in his write-up on PNWSOTA that there is enough room for camping at the top, so I decided to gamble on the summit being available near dusk on a mid-summer Saturday night. This spot seems like it would be a popular party hill for locals, and while there were the remnants of a few old campfires, I found the summit deserted, remarkably free of trash and a wonderful spot to pitch the tent for the night. There is easily room for 2 campsites within the AZ, with enough distance between them to afford a little privacy. The spot I chose was under some trees in the center of the AZ, and had a nice cushion of pine needles to pitch my tent on. There is a nice view to the east over the river valley toward the hills before Newberry Caldera. After making my breakfast and coffee the next morning I enjoyed a pleasant sunrise activation with 8 QSOs for 4 points, including two POTA contacts with NJ7V and AK7RM before packing up my campsite and heading out for the cascade lakes scenic byway.
Davis Mountain (W7O/CM-028)
Davis Mountain is at the end of a moderately challenging 4×4 trail that pushed the limits of my stock Subaru. I scraped bottom once and had to take it very slowly over a few sections. Lifted or high clearance vehicles should have no problem with it though. I did make it all the way to the summit on wheels, however and was rewarded with decent views and a large and flat activation zone at 6624′. Lots of scrub trees made it easy to lash my mast up and I made 9 QSO’s on HF including an S2S into northern WA on 40 meters before heading back down and on to the next summit of the day.
Royce Mountain (W7O/CM-046)
Achieving the summit of Royce Mountain by car was fairly easy and would likely be doable in any standard height passenger vehicle. There is a level patch with some trees just below the summit, which would be a nice spot to camp. The summit actual at 6148′ is a turn-around barely large enough for a single vehicle and is treed-in most of the way around, so the views are minimal, but a good amount of shade makes this a decent spot for hanging out.
There isn’t a ton of room in the AZ, but I was able to get the EFRW up with no issues and made 2 contacts on 20 meters and 3 contacts on 2 meters.
Odell Butte (W7O/CE-032)
The last summit of the day was Odell Butte at 7031′. This drive was entirely on well-maintained gravel service roads, as there is an active fire lookout and RF site at the summit. Reports indicated that the individual at the lookout might be unfriendly to radio activities, so I opted to activate this one from below the summit proper, just around the bend and out of sight of the lookout.
The gate was locked around a mile before the summit, and the hike up the rest of the way is steep and constant, but on the road the entire way with very little shade. The views from the summit are phenomenal. I was losing steam and was starting to have issues with my radio by this point in the day, but I managed the required 4 QSO’s with some effort on 20 meters and headed back down.
Paulina Peak (W7O/CE-009)
I was lucky enough to find an open camp site on Paulina Lake that evening and spent the night there. I highly recommend camping at Little Crater Campground, the lake is wonderful and the views of Paulina Peak from the lakeshore are fantastic. Great things to see here include the Big Obsidian Flow and many miles of hiking trails. There is even a hot spring on the lakeshore a short hike around the lake from the campground.
Paulina Peak itself sits at 7986′ ASL and boasts amazing views of the Newberry Caldera and the surrounding mountains and high desert. It is a truly breathtaking place to experience, and even after activating I could not force myself to head back down for several hours. I was pretty beat after activating 3 summits the previous day, so I opted for the drive-up on Paulina. The road that reaches the summit is gravel, in decent condition, but stays closed until usually mid to late June due to snowpack. Some of the switchbacks are pretty narrow, and the drop off on the downhill side is very steep. I did see at least one smaller RV that made it to the top. There is an interesting and short interpretive trail that begins at the summit and goes down about a quarter mile where you turn around and head back up. If you do the drive-up option, I highly recommend walking this trail as the views are wonderful!
I used the wooden fence around the parking area to support my mast, set up the EFRW and activated from the fence. I quickly made 8 contacts on 40 meters, 9 contacts on 20 meters including 1 S2S and 2 contacts on 2 meters, making this by far the most successful and enjoyable activation of my trip. Spent another night camped on the lake enjoying the natural beauty before packing up to head home.