Looking south across the Santa Clara River Valley. Saddle Peak and Sandstone Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains are visible
23 FEBRUARY 2021 W6/CT-140
I got a late start for me on this one. I didn’t pull out of the driveway in Topanga until about 5:30 AM. At home it was a balmy 56ºF, but by the time I got to the bottom of Topanga Canyon, it was 36ºF. This was a pretty steep canyon inversion layer caused by a very mild offshore, or Santa Ana, wind condition that was relatively high up. Cold air ran down the hillsides and pooled up in the wind-protected canyons and valleys.
As others have noted there are two ways up this mountain. The firebreak that follows the ridge line is steep and there is a lot of elevation loss – it is a roller-coaster ride. I suggest the trail that snakes off to the right of the road/firebreak. There is a lot of dirtbike erosion on the trail.
The top is a broad summit that has recently been scraped of brush. Fortunately there was a manzanita bush in full flower that made an excellent anchor for my Goture 24′ carbon fiber fishing pole mast. When I got there a humming bird was ravaging the nectar from the flowers and was not too thrilled to have company. She kept buzzing my head as I called CQ.
I made 31 contacts on 40m, 20m, 17m and 2m. Chris F4WBN was loud and clear 58 from France on 20m. It was warm and breezy so I hung out for two hours and had a very enjoyable SOTA outing. Many of the usual chasers were out. Thanks to you all. My Verizon coverage was in and out, from no service to full bars. I was able to self-spot. I don’t really consider that cheating.
KG6MZS 