Los Pinos Peak

Posted bywringmasterPosted inUncategorizedTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Looking northwest to Santiago Peak

29 OCTOBER 2022 W6/CT-138

Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:4,541′
Route: Trail
Hike Distance: 2 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 500′
Navigation: Easy
Steepness: Mostly gentle
Vehicle: SUV High clearance recommended
Road: Forest Service dirt
Cell Coverage: Good (Verizon), APRS Excellent
Hike basics

I’d stayed up late (for me) the night before watching the Phillies come from to beat the hated Astros in game one of the world series so this is my excuse for leaving my SOTA pack at home. With gas at $6.00 a gallon I sat stunned at the trail head and quickly devised a plan to salvage the 200 mile round trip drive.

I did have my Yaesu FT5D with me. That saved the day. I filled a reusable shopping bag with my water bottle a pencil and a few pages ripped out of my Topanga Survival Guide for a makeshift logbook.

My last trip to this mountain was 22 years ago. The drive is up the North Main Divide Ridge road (FSR 3S04). The road was in pretty good condition. It is fairly steep and the water bars are pretty high. It’s kind of road that I used to routinely take my Audi A4 on, but I was pretty glad to have the 4WD Tacoma this time.

The hike is an extremely enjoyable ridge run. I was recovering from some medical issues so I was looking for a relatively easy hike and this one certainly satisfied that criteria.

The “MacGivver” Station — pared down to what was in Whitedog.
Looking southeast to Lake Elsinor. That’s San Gorgonio, San Jacinto and Toro peaks in the background.
The ammo can register and the interesting looking summit rock. There was a nice table rock to operate from.

Here are my SOTA summit ratings

Here are some cool links to Summits on the Air (SOTA)

KG6MZS Summit Index by Year

Leave a comment

Published by wringmaster

I'm a graphic artist in the movie business. When I was a kid I got interested in astronomy. When it would get too cloudy to observe the heavens, my buddy and I would sit at the VFO of his Hallicrafters S 38c like safe crackers trying to coax faraway signals out of that humble radio. My love of astronomy and radio survive to this day fifty+ years later.

Leave a comment