Greetings!
It’s that time of year again! Time to start making plans and reservations for the 3rd Annual W7O/PNW SOTA Campout here in beautiful Southern Oregon. Last year was an incredible event at Broken Arrow, let’s have some fun again! We will be camping out at Hyatt Lake Recreation Area ( 42.16799,-122.46488) within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument from the afternoon of Friday July 12-16th, 2024, same location as 2022. Of course you are welcome to extend or shorten your stay, but this gives a solid 3 days of activating and visiting Saturday-Monday. We hope that many will join us for a fun extended weekend this year with many great summits and sights to see in the area, and of course great people to meet. Make your reservations ASAP as they are already filling up. Unlike 2022, Hyatt Lake probably will have water and may be a more popular destination in 2024. There are cabins available to rent for the glampers at Hyatt Lake Resort or Greensprings Inn 8 miles away. The resort and inn are not a part of the government campground.
There are many summits of all different abilities and interests in this area, many only a short drive away. Something for everyone ranging from drive up to wilderness treks. Of course all chasers are welcome to join us too! July is usually a beautiful time of year up at these elevations for lush blooms, birds, wildlife and weather but can also be unpredictable with occasional rain, high heat, and lightning. There still may be snow on some of the higher peaks or drifts on high roads, depending on our snow pack for the year, and hopefully we will beat any wildfires.
We are going to focus on making reservations in the B LOOP and then Loop A. RVs are allowed at all sites but there are no electrical hookups. If you go to the details of each site it will give an approx length of space. I have reserved site 24 and this will be the evening gathering location as well. There is a discount rate for those with Interagency Passes. With a pass my 4 night stay came to $35. We STRONGLY recommend working together to share sites like we did last year. It would be great to all fit in these two loops as Loop C is a bit of a walk. Please let me know if you make a reservation and which site so we can keep a tally going.
I am sending this first announcement out to our old email list, however, my main communication will be through https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/jefferson-state-sota, so please join the group if you have not. This allows for communication amongst one another for arranging campsite sharing, carpooling, trips to and from airport, and hiking partners. You may get some local traffic in the group email between now and July but it is minimum.
http://hyattlake.com/default.asp
https://sotl.as/map/coordinates/42.220538,-122.410303/10.5
A little about the area. CSNM is a unique area basically where the ancient Siskiyou Mountains collide with the volcanic Cascades creating one of a kind ecology, geology, habitat, etc. Hyatt Lake is a reservoir fairly central to the monument. Rogue River NF surrounds the area beyond the CSNM border. Some of the summits are also in Winema NF. Nearby Hyatt Lake Resort offers casual dining and cabins. There is also Greensprings Inn and Restaurant (I think a little more formal, new owners) further down the road. Hyatt Lake is located about 45 min from the town of Ashland and you can take Hwy 66 or Dead Indian Memorial Rd.
For those coming from afar I would recommend committing a day to see Crater Lake NP and maybe even doing Mt Scott if the rim is open. I also love the Siskiyou Crest for SOTA activating, which turned out pretty popular during the 2022 campout despite the drive.
We truly have a great assortment of summits here. Many do not have trails but have old closed roads to walk up. Here is a list of many in the area. If there is no summary connected to the summit on SOTLAS/SOTAMaps feel free to send me any questions. I love the area and mountains here, but I put an * by the ones I recommend the most, which is a tough decision!
Easier (<1mi)or drive up summits starting closest to camp:
Little Chinquapin W7O/CS-088 (view going up, forested)
Table Mountain W7O/CS-073 (VIEW, near drive up)*
Chinquapin Mountain W7O/CS-068 (forested)
Green springs Mountain W7O/CS-099 (mostly forested)
Old Baldy W7O/CS-058 (mostly forested)
Robinson Butte W7O/CS-083 (closed lookout, drive up, forested)
Burton Butte W7O/CS-074 (forested)
Surveyor Mt W7O/CS-049 (boulder summit)
Buck Mountain W7O/CS-061
Parker Mt W7O/CS-100 (drive up, in use lookout)
Rye Spur W7O/CS-053 (forested)
A little bit further but worth the drive:
Chase Mountain W7O/CE-073 (view, dirt driveup,old lookout)*
Hamaker Mt W7O/CE-051 (view, only paved 6pt drive-up in OR?, radar)* (Chase and Hamaker are frequently done together)
Smith Rock W7O/CS-046 (VIEW, boulder top)*
Pelican Butte W7O/CS-012 (VIEW, jeep road drive up if road is free of drifts)*
Moderate:
Soda Mountain W7O/CS-075 (VIEW, one of the best of Mt Shasta)*
Grizzly Peak W7O/CS-081 (VIEW is beyond true summit)*
Little Aspen W7O/CS-029 (mixed, some boulder)
Aspen Butte W7O/CS-006 (VIEW, Mountain Lakes Wilderness)*
Hard:
Mt. Mcloughlin W7O/CS-001 (VIEW!!)*
Brown Mountain W7O/CS-023 (view, difficult lava outcrop the whole way)
If interested in taking a day to the Siskiyou Crest, all relatively easy except Wagner, with outstanding views, just a drive to get there. All on my favorite list due to view and beauty:
Mt Ashland W7O/CS-019 (drive up)*
McDonald Peak W7O/CS-030 *
Wagner Butte W7O/CS-027 (longer hike around 10mi on trail)*
Big Red W7O/CS-034 *
Dutchman Peak W7O/CS-021 (unique lookout)*
I truly hope to see you there!
73,
Amy-AG7GP