Clara Peak

Sunrise to the east over the southernmost Sangre de Christo Mountains. Poquaque, Nambe and Espanola Valleys below.

1 NOVEMBER 2025 W5N/SE-033

Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.

Elevation:	8,533′
Route:	Forest Service Road
Hike Distance:	.7 miles round trip*
Elevation Gain:	200’*
Navigation:	Easy
Steepness:	Gentle
Vehicle:	High clearance 4WD
Road:	Rough dirt road
Cell Coverage:	Excellent Verizon

This is a drive-up for skilled OHV drivers with the right equipment.

Since I can see this summit from my rented studio window in Nambe, it has been on my mind to climb for a while now. When I did Chicoma Mountain a few weeks ago, I scoped out this approach. Alan NM5S’ comment made in 2012 about the Clara Peak spur road largely holds true in 2025 with perhaps a bit more rocks. I parked a little short of the summit with respect for my OHV driving skills. That, and I wanted a little bit of a walk.

Here’s a bit of the road near the top that is characteristic of much of the spur road.

The summit was once the site of a fire lookout tower and looks like many such sites. There is a parking area and a little trail up to the foundation. With plenty of ways to set up my doublet, I took the time to use that more elaborate antenna in hopes of making quite a few contacts.

I was not disappointed!

The activation was a smashing success with 29 contacts on 8 bands. Christian, as usual, boomed in from France along with Milos from Slovenia. Also 5 summit-to-summit contacts, but the big news was to work Mark KD7DTS on his SOTA Goat activation on Josephine Peak back in Southern California. CONGRATULATIONS MARK!