Hells Canyon Peaks

After meeting up with a friend in John Day, I decided to start heading toward Spokane, where my partner was moving for the fall. So I went to Ontario and then hit Sturgill and Cuddy with my bike, which both were delightful mountains. Initially I was planning on heading toward Snowbank, but wildfires prevented that. I was also going to do a few peaks near Devil Mountain, but long approaches on poor, wet dirt roads didn't seem like a good idea, so I drove up Cottonwood instead and crashed in Lewiston for the rest of the week, making one little foray out to do Oregon Butte, my first peak in Washington!

Sturgill Peak, September 13th

For Sturgill, I approached from Mann Creek Rd, which I judged easily doable in a Sedan up to around 5900ft, where you'll see the last of the Camper trailers. Past this point, you'll need high clearance and should only proceed in your vehicle in dry conditions. Considering it was raining the day before, I would have waited a bit longer in retrospect. Anyhow, the road is rocky and narrow past that, and I called it quits at 6400ft, where I could have proceeded further in retrospect, but I didn't wanna risk my van any more than I already had. Biking to the summit was quick and delightful, and although I was antisocial, the fire tower guy was quite friendly so that's nice

Cuddy Mountain, September 14th

For Cuddy, I approached from Council Rd and NF055, and to my surprise, I found the road easily doable with 2wd high clearance until about 7500ft - way higher than previous reports indicated. However, in doing a three-point turn I realized that my ebike had partially slid off my rack and in backing up, I bent the pedal gears out of whack - though everything else was largely fine. Still unfortunate though. Luckily for me, I have a throttle on my ebike, and I was able to proceed to the summit and back on that alone. Past the intersection with 234, the road turns into a true 4wd road, and later on into an ATV path - I only saw trucks venture out about half the distance, so plan to ride/bike/walk the rest of the way. That being said, it's an absolutely beautiful area, and the views of Hells Canyon are unmatched. After the hike I went to the grocery store in Council, and I found an outlet to charge my ebike on in the parking lot. The owners of the establishment, instead of asking me to stop or pay or leave, decided to call the cops without warning, who proceeded to order me off the property. They claimed trespassing even though it was in a public parking lot. Anyhow, I looked it up later and the maximum amount of electricity I took would amount to about 12 cents. I could have thrown a quarter at this guy and paid him double, but instead he decided to call the cops to threaten to arrest me over 12 cents. Shit like this is why this country fucking sucks: people with power are eager to wield said power against those without, to the point of absurdity. I could've had my life upended over 12 cents and honestly, if I wasn't white or if I didn't say "sir" every other word, I probably would've. I'm gonna be bitching about this story for years because it truly is ridiculous. Stay safe if you go to Council

Cottonwood Butte, September 15th

Cottonwood Butte is a drive up paved roads until the last tenth of a mile, which is a brief walk up to some comms towers with fantastic views toward the west and the north!!!

Oregon Butte, September 18th

Oregon Butte lies on a maintained trail accessed from Teepee Trailhead, which requires nearly 20 miles of dirt roads to get to from Dayton, but in my opinion, a sedan can make it the entire way easily, although there are a few rocks and bumps in the last mile that might require a bit of caution. Oh yeah, and expect a fair amount of washboarding along the way. Anyhow, the hike was beautiful and I was glad I took the small extra bit of elevation to get up West Butte, as it provides more great views of the area!!! The fire tower on top of Oregon Butte was manned (or possibly womanned based on the silhouette of the hair, but I was feeling antisocial so I scurried along back down. A delightful hike