New Mexico Locust (Robinia neomexicana) on the way up to the fire lookout tower in the background..
24 MAY 2026 W5N/SE-035
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
8,465′
Route:
Fire road
Hike Distance:
2 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
375′
Navigation:
Easy*
Steepness:
Gentle
Vehicle:
High clearance suggested
Road:
Dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent Verizon
*navigating the forest service roads are a bit tricky getting there. A passenger sedan could make it in dry conditions as of this ascent.
I had a free day on the coming Memorial Day weekend and looked through the possible unique summits I might try. The forecast was for dry weather, but the previous day had seen a thundershower move through the Santa Fe area despite a dry forecast, so keeping that in mind, I headed out to the Valles Caldera and Forest Service Road 289.
The hike is pretty easy from the locked gate. I’d had a bad cold the previous week and this was a perfect way to ease back on to the trail. The views are expansive from the summit with Cochiti Reservoir and Sandia Crest to the south with the big summits of the Valles Caldera along the north and the Santa Fe Sangre de Christo to the east. The area burned and the coniferous forest doesn’t seem to be regenerating very fast, if at all.
I cut the activation short because the cumulus clouds started accumulating and I didn’t want to drive back on wet roads. I’d seen some evidence of axle-deep ruts and didn’t want to go there. It poured briefly as I descended down Highway 502 bearing out my good sense.
The station looking south to Cochiti Reservoir. Fred NT5X suggests that tall masts like this create deep nulls and are prone to QSBNice view northeast over Los Alamos and the Parajito Plateau to Clara and Roman Peaks.Cochiti Reservoir and The San Pedro Mountains.Love this view of Cerro Grande, Parajito and Chicoma to the north across Canyon de los Frijoles.Sandia Crest to the south with the first signs of the daily convectional activity.
Scarlett Hedgehog just starting to bloom in a rock garden full of this glorious cacti.
25 APRIL 2026 W7A/AE-041
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
7,808′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
1.1 mile round trip
Elevation Gain:
650′
Navigation:
A bit tricky on the descent
Steepness:
Gentle to moderate
Vehicle:
Passenger car*
Road:
Dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent Verizon
*Road was a bit rocky in places but nothing an intrepid passenger sedan can’t do.
Some summits seem so mundane on paper and turn out to be an unexpected delight. I was bringing a load of stuff from our former home in California to our temporary digs in Nambé, New Mexico and I wasn’t sure I even had enough wherewith all to activate a summit on this trip. I only had one night booked in Flagstaff. But the Coconino Plateau is so inviting with her horde of easy ten pointers that I looked at two that I had never done, yet I had worked on my radio. Hochderffer Hills and Davenport Hill were two such unique/complete combinations.
I settled on the latter as I made my way into Williams, Arizona about 1 pm on my way in from Southern California. It was just off the i40 and seemed to be pretty easy.
I took the Garland Prairie Exit off of I40 south to the so-called Great Western Trail (forest service road 141). I found an unmarked road 1.5 miles from the start of FS141 off to the right.
Here is the unmarked road I took. At the first junction I took the right that was marked “2109A.” There was a nice parking area at about the 7,100’ level.
The hike up is straightforward – just go up. But… make careful note of landmarks for the return trip. On this forested summit it would be easy to miss your vehicle on the way back. One surprising landmark on the way up was an exposed rocky section that provided a wondrous garden of many Echinocereus coccineus or Scarlett Hedgehog cacti.
On the descent I had quite the thrill when I heard the grunting of some good sized mammal. Looking around, I suddenly saw three Javalinas or wild peccaries dash from the underbrush. It was odd to see such ungainly animals move with such speed. I suspect they have been hunted and want nothing to do with humans. Regrettably they were gone before I could pull out my camera.
It was cold and windy on the summit but there is a large area to set up and I found a comfortable place that was reasonably well wind-sheltered. A bit of a view out to the east to Humphries on this otherwise forested summit. Rain spattered my battered old KX2 but never got serious. I managed two s2s contacts with Darryl WW7D and Ron K6CPR before my hands got too cold to operate.
Summit selfie.There was a large cairn of the characteristic lava rock on the summit.Humphries visible through the treesCloseup of the Scarlett HedgehogWhitedog at the trailhead.
Looking south across the eponymous raceway to the hazy San Gabriel Mountains. Whitedog is visible below.
22 MARCH 2026 W6/ND-328
No stars – This is a one-off summit. I am unlikely to return. Not recommended..
Elevation:
3,297′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
.8 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
500′
Navigation:
A slight twist*
Steepness:
Steep
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Good dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent Verizon
Hike basics
This entire activation was a punt. Plan C. I started my morning before dawn in Woodland Hills and headed for Tehachapi Pass looking to do a pair of summits out of Walker Basin. In all my years of exploring Southern Califonia, this was a corner of the Golden State I had somehow managed to overlook. This historic, out-of-the-way place was really showing off her charms as I wound up the narrow loop only to discover that the north and south access roads were gated, locked and posted with “Private Property, No Trespassing” signs.
Disappointed, I pointed Whitedog back toward the Antelope Valley and activated my “plan C” summit; Willow Springs Butte. My brother Mark and I had activated nearby Rosamond Hills on a recent Sunday and were dismayed by the plethora of careless target shooters. We repeatedly heard not only the report of the firearms, but the whooshing of projectiles whistling through the air.
Also it had been unseasonably hot for the vernal equinox and I knew it could be pretty toasty. I drove to the end of Truman Road and turned up toward the summit and 4-wheeled up a way. The cross country route was fairly steep and it was quite warm, as I had expected.
Once I gained the ridge, I mistakenly turned to the west and ascended the high point there. Interestingly SOTA Goat reported that I was in the activation zone on that summit when the dip between that point and what was certainly the actual summit was more than 82 feet. Once I returned to the dip, SOTA Goat did report that I was not in the AZ.
The summit only has a few low bushes to support masts. Fortunately I had an umbrella for shade as the gear certainly would have overheated without it.
The constant roar of Willow Springs Raceway and the ubiquitous Antelope Valley gunfire make this summit a one-off for me. Fortunately the shooters were more distant than they were on Rosamond Hills. I would suggest doing this one very early on a weekday. It’s probably pretty nice then.
Radio conditions were horrible and I didn’t feel like hanging out.
The silver lining was that on the way back the floor of the Antelope Valley was carpeted in orange flowers. They weren’t California Poppies – I don’t know what species they were.
Thankfully some shade.Looking south across the bare summit to the San Gabriel Mountains.A visitor.Snow was still visible on Baldy and Baden-Powell through the smog. Click to enlarge.North to the Tehachapi Mountains.Northeast to Soledad Mountain and the former Silver Queen Mine (Now Gold Queen)
Here’s the 2m SSB station amid all the other communications infrastructure on Santa Ynez Peak.
14 MARCH 2026 W6/CC-036
One star – Nothing special but I’d do it again.
Elevation:
4,298′
Route:
Drive-up
Hike Distance:
n/a
Elevation Gain:
n/a
Navigation:
easy
Steepness:
n/a
Vehicle:
Passenger car*
Road:
Mostly paved. 1/2 mile dirt
Cell Coverage:
Excellent Verizon
*The dirt section is rough but nothing an average car can’t do.
I have been wanting to join in the 2026 SOTA Challenge fun with a 2 meter SSB activation for a while now, but patching together the suitable equipment proved to be a “challenge” in itself. Most of my radio gear is in our new temporary home in New Mexico. For this trip I brought my first-ever HF radio out of retirement: a Yaesu FT-100D. I’d never much used the VHF section of this little DC-to-light all-mode wonder, so this was something new for me. All I had to power the FT-100D was a hefty deep cycle marine battery and the only antenna that would suit was my old roof-top Comet CX-333.
This was obviously need to be a drive-up
In looking for drive-ups that might “see” a lot of Southern California’s robust 2m SSB community, Santa Ynez Peak seemed like it might work well. My only concerns were the RF saturated environment on such a massive “techno summit” and the somewhat precarious road conditions in the Santa Ynez Mountains as they had received a lot of rain this season.
Both concerns proved to be unfounded as the boulders and other detritus from the deluges had been cleared and the road was open. Furthermore, the venerable FT-100D’s front end did a decent job of rejecting adjacent signals. I only had a moment in a QSO with Darryl WW7D on 20m where a maelstrom of QRM made pulling Washington out a bit tricky.
The drive up was a joy with Santa Barbara County showing off her wondrous late winter, verdant beauty. The UCSB ROTC was running recruits to the summit apparently from Refugio State Beach. Yikes! I saw a few very exhausted young people with full packs.
I was thrilled to get my very first-ever 2m SSB contacts on a summit. Longest was K1CT in San Diego. Icing on this particular cake was a 2m sideband contact with David N6AN on “Mount Hodge” (formerly Flint Peak). This QSO entailed dodging some pretty large piles of dirt, namely Sandstone Peak, Cahuenga Peak, Simi Peak, Conejo Mt., Calabasas Peak, and the Verdugo Hills (see photo below.). … and no activation is ever complete without Jon NT6E in Torrance, on 2m sideband no less!
The not-insignificant pile of gear for this one.I’m guessing that David N6AN was out there between Calabasas Peak and Santa Paula Peak somwhere. Click to enlarge.
Santa Barbara’s Channel Island were out there in the haze of the day. Click any image to enlarge:
Santa Cruz IslandSanta Rosa IslandSan Miguel IslandSanta Ynez Valley with her characteristic marine layer.
Looking west to some of my favorite summits in Ventura County: Santa Paula Peak, Hines Peak and Cobblestone Mt.
8 MARCH 2026 W6/CT-169
One star – Nothing special but I’d do it again.
Elevation:
3,784′
Route:
Equestrian trails
Hike Distance:
2 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
400′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Moderate*
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Paved road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent Verizon
*Short steep section easily avoidable.
Another activation that almost didn’t happen. Originally I was thinking about Zaca Peak up in Santa Barbara County, but I had the good sense to check the road conditions. It seems all of Figueroa Mountain was closed due to the rains earlier this year. It had been extremely windy the last couple of days in Los Angeles County and up Santa Barbara way it was forecast to be less so.
Then I thought about so-called “Nellie’s Mountain.” Usually if the wind is bad here in the flatland, it is much, much worse in the Escondito Canyon/Highway 14 corridor. But I was primed and ready to do an activation and I figured I could always blow it off (if you will forgive the expression) if the wind proved to be too much.
As it turned out the wind wasn’t too bad and there was a sheltered spot to set up behind a big chunk of basalt on the summit. This activation turned out to be quite enjoyable.
The hike up is pretty straightforward. I found a variety of equestrian trails the avoided the steeper OHV tracks. The high desert floor was carpeted with a multitude of minute and colorful flowers and green grass. This hike would probably get two stars from me if the noise from the Antelope Valley Freeway wasn’t ever-present.
As Dan NA6MG said previously park at the sign that says “6808 E.C.R” and head up that dirt road. The route goes across land that is part of the old Red Rover Mine land. It’s all private property but there are no fences or signs to indicate no trespassing.
Radio conditions were decent on 40m and 20m. A contest had 15m packed end-to-end, so I didn’t try and do battle with the big guns.
The station. Click to enlarge.Mount Gleason and Parker Mountain are prominent to the south. Click to enlarge.Plenty of room to set up.Interesting basalt outcrop. Click to enlarge.Don’t know what kind of flower this is. Click to enlarge.
Venerable SOTA Goat Fred KT5X showing the new guy the ropes. La Mesita behind us.
16 FEBRUARY 2026 W5N/SS-039
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
7,024′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
1.6 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
400′
Navigation:
Tricky
Steepness:
Steep gaining the mesa
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Good dirt road*
Cell Coverage:
Excellent Verizon
* When dry!
Ever since coming to New Mexico to activate SOTA summits I’ve been picking the brain of New Mexico’s SOTA guru Fred Maas via email. Fred normally activates during the week so to avoid weekend crowds and I am generally limited to weekends, early mornings and holidays by my work. We have tried to get together several times in the past few years to activate a summit and, finally, we managed to meet up in Pojoaque at 8:40 AM on President’s Day, 2026.
If you have never met Fred, he is a wealth of wide ranging knowledge from amateur radio to geology, history, native American lore and beyond. A great hiking companion.
We had a nice morning as we drove in Fred’s Xterra Off-Road up the length of the Española Valley and into the gates of the Taos Plateau at Velarde. I was the beneficiary of Fred’s experience of how not to gain the tableland of La Mesita by following a ducked route that largely avoided the basalt blocks and cliffs that form the apron around the mesa.
As one might gather from this summit’s name, the activation zone is HUGE! One regret I have is that Fred opted for a nice spot near the edge of the mesa to activate, while I opted to continue on a considerable distance to the actual summit. This meant that I did not get a chance to see Fred in action with his amazing micro mini CW station.
Conditions were okay and I managed contacts with many of the usual suspects
Here’s a little video I made from the trip. Turn up the sound and enjoy:
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
7,306′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
1 mile round trip
Elevation Gain:
325′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Mild
Vehicle:
High clearance, all terrain tires recommended
Road:
Dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent Verizon
Hike basics
After doing Tetilla in the morning, I felt like exploring the Caja further, so I pointed Whitedog north on Forest Service Road 24. I took this good dirt road to the corrals at the Twelve Hundred Well junction and took Forest Service Road 21E to the west. Note that these roads are not well marked so a good Forest Service map is helpful.
From here I was able to drive up a very faint track to the base of the hill leading to Colorado Peak. The hike is short and it goes through a burn area from a 2020 fire sparked by lightning. The clear skies I had over Tetilla Peak earlier clouded up considerably. I could see verga in the upper atmosphere and I began to wonder if we weren’t going to get an unforecasted shower. This could complicate the drive out on the adobe roads.
The activation area is huge and a surviving juniper provides shade and shelter on the otherwise open ridge. Cow pies are everywhere and I had to rake manure to clear the spot I chose.
Radio conditions were again good although I only worked a decent pileup on 20m
The StationLooking north over the burn area, past Picuris Peak, to Wheeler Peak up by Taos.Chicoma Mountain, Los Alamos and Clara Peak to the northwestLooking east to Santa Fe Baldy and the Truchas across the Caja del Rio Plateau.Looking south to the Sandia Crest.
Tetilla Mountain at dawn looking very much like its namesake
7 FEBRUARY 2026 W5N/SE-044
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
7,201′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
1.75 miles round trip*
Elevation Gain:
525′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Moderate
Vehicle:
High clearance, all terrain tires recommended
Road:
Dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent Verizon
Your mileage will vary depending on where you park.
Our plans changed at the last minute and suddenly my pre-super bowl Saturday opened up. I did what I love to do: left the casita in the dark before dawn on an adventure to a new place!
My new mountain romance is with the Caja del Rio Plateau, or simply The Caja. I set my sights on a new approach – from the south end. Fred KT5X says “there are no ‘roads’ to Tetilla Peak” and this is true. There are some tracks that get you close, but keep in mind Fred’s warning about the sharp volcanic rock in the area.
Also take note of Fred’s warning about footwear. Besides the sharp volcanic rock there are some vicious cacti low to the ground. I was wearing some La Sportiva Nucleo high top boots and a spine from one of these little devils managed to puncture both boot and sock.
On the way up I passed this curious installment:
Click to enlarge
It appears to be some kind of groundwater or well monitor, but that’s just a guess.
There was a register on the summit – something you don’t find too often in New Mexico. It only went back to 2024 but I saw Fred KT5X’s sign in.
The hiking is otherwise open and easy. The summit commands a lovely view and it was easy to set up three masts for support of my doublet. Radio conditions were very good with Christian in France booming in at an honest-to-God s9. I had pileups on 20m and 15m happily populated by all the usual suspects.
I wrapped it up and headed down to do Colorado Peak (W5N/SE-050) next.
The station with Cochiti Reservoir in the background.Cochiti Reservoir. Perhaps Bear Springs Mountain behind?Looking west towards Santa Fe and the Sangre de Christo.Looking south to the Sandia Crest and San Pedro Mountains.Looking northwest to Chicoma Mountain and next on the day’s list, Colorado Peak.The main mast and the north mast of the doublet. Note the rollup J-pole attached to the main mast.
An exciting drive, Whitedog waits in front of a northwest view of Parajito, Chicoma, Clara and Roman above Los Alamos.
1 FEBRUARY 2026 W5N/SE-037
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
7,470”
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
100′
Navigation:
Easy*
Steepness:
Gentle
Vehicle:
High clearance 4WD with all terrain tires**
Road:
Rocky
Cell Coverage:
Good Verizon
*Hike is easy, the drive is tricky. **Off road tires suggested.
Not being the most experienced off-highway driver (I don’t do off road), I approached this one with some trepidation. I was going out alone and I just don’t have the experience to try anything too difficult. The Caja del Rio Plateau is a maze of wood cutting tracks that have a lot of sharp lava, deep ruts and volcanic soil that can get really sticky when wet. There was some snow on the ground and a few muddy spots but I managed to get around them. Fred WT5X had warned me that the sharp lava can cut the sidewall of your average mud and snow tire and leave the unaware 4-wheeler woefully stranded. Fortunately Whitedog has BF Goodrich KO2s all-terrain tires which are adequate.
The route I took out was shorter, but it got a bit vague in places and I found a much more established route on the way back.
Here is the driving route on dirt that I found easier then the shorter route I drove in on.
There is a shorter route down the west side of the mountain but it crossed too many contour lines for me to attempt. More experienced drivers would probably have no trouble with it.
A sample of the road.
It was a gorgeous day up on the plateau. Cool and sunny with almost no wind. I had a nice activation even getting a summit-to-summit with Carol KE6SRN and Tom KE6SRO on Denk Mountain back in California. Carol, Tom and I activated Cerro Grande a few months back. I also had a nice, long armchair QSO with Eric KJ5GFK over in Los Alamos on 2 meters
Scarlett Hedgehog on the summit basalt.Looking east past my doublet’s center mast to Santa Fe Baldy and the Truchas Peaks.Looking south to the Titilla Peak, Sandia Crest in the distance and Colorado Peak Selfie looking northwest to Chicoma Mountain and Los AlamosThe station
My brother Mark descending what would’ve been a nice hike.
13 DECEMBER 2025 W6/ND-326
No stars – This is a one-off summit. I am unlikely to return. Not recommended..
Elevation:
3,330′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
1 mile round trip
Elevation Gain:
460′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Moderate
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Good dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent Verizon
Hike basics
WARNING: This hike is in a very POPULAR TARGET SHOOTING AREA. Our experience was that the shooters were less than careful. One nearby group was firing so high in the air that we not only heard the report of the firearms but we could hear the bullets whistling through the air on the summit. I suspect midday Saturday is not a good time to try this summit. Perhaps very early in the morning and/or on a weekday would be better.
It’s really too bad because this is otherwise a really nice easy hike to an interesting geologic summit with a cool view.
As Hal N6JZT and Jeff AA6XA previously noted the drive to the trailhead is on the north side off an unnamed road. Turn west off the Mojave/Tropico Road at 34° 55′ 44.62″ N, 118° 12′ 44.64″ W. Then between 57 Street West and 60th Street West (34° 55′ 44.71″ N, 118° 14′ 12.01″ W) turn south and drive as far as you are comfortable on an increasingly steep dirt road.
The hike was short and enjoyable. Just follow the use trail that leads up and to the left over very interesting breccia clasts and other igneous conglomerates.
The summit has a series of igneous blocks the proved to be quite useful dodging the bullets. One party below set up and proceeded to fire in our direction. We yelled down but it only seemed like they were aiming at us after that as projectiles continued to whizz through the air.
Radios conditions were good and I was treated to a joint activation summit-to-summits from a whole herd of SOTA Mountain Goats: Josh WU6H, Darryl WW7D, Elliot K6EL and Peter WB6POT on Mount Davidson in San Francisco. First time activator Paolo K1PAP was over on Mount Waterman with Lorene W6LOR and Mike K6STR. I wish I could have stayed longer on this summit!
Golden Queen mine on Soledad Mountain behind my brother Mark in his rental car as far as we dared drive.Golden Queen Mine – I always mistakenly called it Silver Queen near Mojave up the approach road,Looking up at the summit. Didn’t get any pictures from the top due to the flying lead.
KG6MZS 
Leave a comment