Looking northwest to Santiago Peak
29 OCTOBER 2022 W6/CT-138
| 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 |
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.
KG6MZS 
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