Summit 3,853′

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Looking north at the Agua Dulce Movie Ranch aka Firestone Ranch, Letteau Ranch or Annan Ranch with Mount McDill Behind

9 NOVEMBER 2024 W6/CT-165

Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:3,853′
Route: 4×4 trail
Hike Distance: 4.0 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 1000′
Navigation: Easy
Steepness: Moderate
Vehicle: High clearance suggest for the last bit
Road: Good dirt road
Cell Coverage: Good Verizon
Hike basics

This summit turned out to be far more enjoyable than I expected. I didn’t see anybody else all day and not a lot of signs that people do this mountain very often. As a result of this solitude I saw a surprising amount of wildlife: a bobcat, a roadrunner, some quail, a few big jackrabbits and, of course, the ubiquitous ravens taunting me: “Ha! Ha! Ha! You have to walk and we can fly! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

I looked into a little closer approach via Hierba Road and even though it abuts the Angeles National Forest the whole neighborhood looked to be on private roads, so I went with the Pacific Crest Trailhead off of Peterson Road that everyone else uses. I was able to get to the two powerline towers on a dirt road that I would’ve driven my passenger sedans. Your mileage may vary on that one.

Here is my track up As usual, my descent track was a little more direct and I would probably go this way next time I visit this pleasant little peak.

Band conditions were okay and I did get Christian F4WBN in France along with two summit-to-summit calls. Because this mountain is tucked in behind the San Gabriel Mountain Crest, 2 meter FM into the LA Basin is tough.

The station
Looking down the doublet to Cobblestone Mountain just peaking over the ridge right of the mast. Hines Peak and Santa Paula Peak to the left in this nice view to the west.
Looking east down all three masts of my doublet to Sierra Pelona (W6/CT-116)
Close up of the station from the operating position.
As I started down a fire broke out in Agua Dulce. I could hear explosions.

Here are my SOTA summit ratings

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

KG6MZS Summit Index by Year

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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.

2 thoughts on “Summit 3,853′”

  1. Thanks for the review of 3853. We always come here to your website to preview a hike, and after doing this for 3853, we hiked it ourselves. Agreed, 2 m lacks the chasers we usually get when in sight of the LA basin, but we caught 2 brothers on nearby Sawtooth Mountain, W6/CT-117. That was it for FM, then had better success on 20m SSB and CW. It was a good hike, provided you take a right at the second fork to stay on the fire road following the power lines, rather than continue on PCT like we did. We ended up bushwhacking up a steep climb to get up to the ridge line. But it was a beautiful day and a successful activation. Carol KE6SRN and Tom KE6SRO.

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  2. Thanks for the review of 3853. We always come here to your website to preview a hike, and after doing this for 3853, we hiked it ourselves. Agreed, 2 m lacks the chasers we usually get when in sight of the LA basin, but we caught 2 brothers on nearby Sawtooth Mountain, W6/CT-117. That was it for FM, then had better success on 20m SSB and CW. It was a good hike, provided you take a right at the second fork to stay on the fire road following the power lines, rather than continue on PCT like we did. We ended up bushwhacking up a steep climb to get up to the ridge line. But it was a beautiful day and a successful activation. Carol KE6SRN and Tom KE6SRO.

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