KG6MZS

Summit 3,788

A very pleasant spring hike through flower fields.

18 MARCH 2023 W6/CT-167

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

Elevation:	3,788′
Route:	Motorcycle track
Hike Distance:	2.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	635′
Navigation:	Easy
Steepness:	Steep in places
Vehicle:	Passenger car
Road:	Paved
Cell Coverage:	Excellent (Verizon), APRS Excellent

Hike basics

I hadn’t been out for a SOTA activation in weeks due to the heavy rain and snow in Southern California, so I was raring to go do a new one. There are four unnamed summits in the Crown Valley area and I really enjoy the solitude of this corner of the Santa Clara watershed. I’ve yet to see another person on these surprisingly enjoyable summits.

I got to the bottom of National Guard Road off Aliso Canyon road just before sunrise on this Saturday morning. Gentle breezes beneath clear skies foretold a nice hike. This Escondito Pass corridor can be mercilessly windy, but all was calm as I started out.

As others have noted there is a rather permanent “Road Closed” gate off Aliso Canyon at National Guard Road. The motor “sports” have made an obvious drive around but I chose to honour the “No Motor Vehicles” sign posted and left Whitedog in a large parking area.

I took a different route than the others have noted on the external links page of the SOTA database. Rather than head up the ridge immediately to the right of the fireroad and over several false summits, I followed National Guard Road up to where motorcycle tracks head up a ravine off to the right. Once up in the saddle, look for a (not obvious) track that goes around to the left of a steep hill immediately to the north at 34° 26.9613′ N, 118° 9.9294′ W.

Here is the route I recommend.

The hike up was laced with the beginnings of the California Poppy bloom and with all the moisture we’ve seen this should be a spectacular hike in a few weeks, All-in-all, I think this is a seldom visited but really nice SOTA summit. As others have noted the actual summit lies just over the boundary of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. It’s possible to stay on the south side of the summit off of the private property and still be in the activation zone. I didn’t worry about it given no “No Tresspassing” or “Private Property” signs and set up on the actual summit.

The activation was a lot of fun. I had 23 contacts. Christian F4WBN was a strong 58 on the KX2 and he gave me a 57 from France. I also worked first time SOTA chaser John McCarthy KE6SPO in Yorba Linda. Thank you all chasers for a fun day on the radio.

The wind was borderline for flying Chester the Drone but I did anyway with one mishap:

I passed this field of wild geraniums at Bloom Ranch on the way down.

Did the famous “bush tie” to support the 10m fibreglass mast.

The station looking south toward Mount Gleason.

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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Monte Largo

Looking southwest at the station on the summit.

25 FEBRUARY 2023 W5N/SI-014

Elevation:	7,710′
Route:	Use trail
Hike Distance:	2.6 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	675′
Navigation:	A bit tricky
Steepness:	Moderate
Vehicle:	Passenger car
Road:	Paved
Cell Coverage:	None (Verizon), APRS Excellent

Hike basics

Due to heavy snowfall in New Mexico I limited my activations on this trip to some of the lower summits. Monte Largo was on my list to do as a complete and because of Fred KT5X’s glowing reports. As usual, there were a few flies in my SOTA ointment for this one. First, while I checked out the map the day before, I failed to load the detailed map into my Gaia GPS on my phone. This usually isn’t a problem if there is cell service but for some reason I had no cell service on this entire trip until I rebooted my phone in Albuquerque on the way back. I’m not sure if there actually was no cell service as reported above, or if it was just an iPhone glitch. So this meant that I had to negotiate the confusing approach through the neighbourhood from memory. This proved to be rather trying as this part of Sandia Park is a checker board maze of cul de sacs.

Then there was the matter of the hiking route itself. There is a pretty well established use trail to the summit, but I took a wrong turn (again due to not having the map downloaded) and ended up doing cross-country route.

On the way down I saw the actual use trail but didn’t take it just in case it led to some other completely different trailhead. The devil you know and all that. It was all good, however, it just made the whole thing a little more challenging. A good lesson in old-school route finding.

The activation was quite enjoyable and the wind eased enough for Chester the drone to fly. here is a short video of the summit:

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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Rough and Ready Hills

Here’s the station on the summit with the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces in the background. Looking east.

27 MAY 2023 W5N/SS-036

Elevation:	8,819′
Route:	Trail and cross country
Hike Distance:	5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	1,000′
Navigation:	Somewhat tricky coming down
Steepness:	Moderate
Vehicle:	Passenger car
Road:	Short, good dirt road
Cell Coverage:	Excellent (Verizon), excellent APRS

Hike basics

This was one of my more goofy days is pursuit of a SOTA summit. Originally I had thought to try and activate a summit in Texas. I spent the night in Las Cruces with the idea of dropping down very early in the morning to El Paso and activating South Franklin Peak. It turns out I would’ve done well to visit the Franklin Mountains State Park website before attempting this plan. The Ron Coleman trial to the summit has been closed since March 2021 and k-rails block the parking area. So much for my very first visit to the Lone Star State.

Okay, so punt. Not the first time that I needed to resort to a plan B.

After exiting on the Corralitos Road off ramp I found it necessary to drive back 1.3 miles on the north side frontage road to the actual Corralitos Road. After that left turn I followed the paved road 11.8 miles to a dirt road on the right. The parking area is about a mile down this somewhat rough dirt road.

When I got to the parking area there was a passenger car already parked there. Great I thought, who else could this be but another SOTA activator? That turned out to be a fateful assumption.

The last recorded activation of the Rough and Ready Hills was 8 years ago and in that description the activator described the trail as petering out about a quarter of the way up. What I found at this point was a very well established trail (wooden steps!) continued on up. I figured that this most be the way to the top. My third mistake.

The trail contoured around up the northeast corner of the mountain and here I found a group of three rock climbers racking up gear getting ready to climb. This explained the car at the trailhead and the well established use trail. This is now a popular rock climbing destination. The guys were starting a 5.7 climb (just my speed!) and said they thought there was a walk-off trail from the top. I continued on figuring I’d find that trail. I did after a long traverse along a very cool ledge system on the east side of the mountain. A very well marked (duck cairns) trail led to the summit to the south side of the actual summit, so with some elevation loss, I made the top.

Here is a short video showing the long route 2 way and the shorter route 1 way:

The wackiness of the day didn’t stop there. Once on the summit I discovered that the small pouch that attaches to my sternum strap was missing. This contains my little Garmin InReach Mini and my cell phone!

After careful consideration I suspected they were at the saddle that marks the divergent point of the two routes. I had rested there. Sure enough I recovered the pouch and returned to the summit to have a wonderful activation with three summit-to-summit contacts.

This made my hike 2.5 miles with about 1,000′ of elevation gain. Short of leaving the gear in the saddle, I would recommend this delightful variation on the standard route.

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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Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain from the gate off Highway 80

4 FEBRUARY 2023 W5N/PL-008

Elevation:	5,774′
Route:	Cross country
Hike Distance:	2.3 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	950′
Navigation:	Easy
Steepness:	Moderate
Vehicle:	High clearance suggested
Road:	Dirt
Cell Coverage:	Good (Verizon), APRS Excellent

Hike basics

On my way to Cassie’s little adobe casita in north-central New Mexico I decided to try a new route that took me a way I had never been before in my life — along Interstate 10 through Tuscon and Las Cruces. Saturday morning found me at a funky Air BnB in Wilcox, Arizona. I had my sights set on Granite Gap Mountain (W5N/PL-020), a mountain that appeared to be accessible within BLM land.

As I drove down Highway 80 off the 10, I found that both sides of the road were fenced and gated. I followed a law enforcement ranger for a few miles before they pulled over. When I got to where I hoped to leave the Highway 80 and stash Whitedog out of view of the highway at the end of a dirt road, I found an abandoned mine there that was fenced with a locked gate. I did not relish the idea of leaving my fully packed car on the highway in plain sight, so I turned around figuring that I’d scrub this idea.

After a few miles I came upon the ranger I’d been following who had been joined by another law enforcement unit. I pulled up and asked a very nice young woman – officer Avila – if hiking was allowed in the area. She said unequivocally yes, it was. However she warned there was a lot of law enforcement in the area because of human and drug trafficking and the individuals they pursued could be dangerous and unpredictable. I explained the SOTA program and she said “How cool!” After talking a bit more, Officer Avila said there was a gate up ahead that led to Granite Gap and that was an area that was fairly safe. I thanked her profusely for the information and wished her safety and luck.

The gate turned out to be only latched and not locked. I figured I would try one of the other peaks I had scoped out earlier in that area. As it turned out Officer Avila parked at that gate and stayed there most of the time of my activation as I could easily see from most of the hike. What a gal!

I parked in the saddle between Blue Mountain and Granite Peak by a large water tank. the hike was short and moderately steep along animal trails through some wonderful Sonoran desert landscape. It had been freezing overnight so the rattlesnake danger was minimal and the walking was very comfortable. This turned out to be an very enjoyable first-time activation of this seldom visited spot. There was a huge rock cairn on the summit.

Here is my track up

My very first QSO was a summit-to-summit with KT0A in South Dakota. Christian F4WBN boomed in from France next. All in all, this turned out to be a very fun activation from what was essentially a punt from the get-go

The summit cairn was almost 6 feet high and very well made.

Looking southwest over Granite Peak to the Chiricahua Mountain beyond

Whitedog and most of the route up is visible in this shot

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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Sandstone Peak x3

Two days before Christmas I return for a glorious third activation of the misnamed Sandstone Peak. Santa Catalina Island in this view looking from Chester the Drone.

23 DECEMBER 2022 W6/CC-056

Elevation:	8,819′
Route:	Trail and cross country
Hike Distance:	5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	1,000′
Navigation:	Somewhat tricky coming down
Steepness:	Moderate
Vehicle:	Passenger car
Road:	Short, good dirt road
Cell Coverage:	Excellent (Verizon), excellent APRS

Hike basics

This is a classic hike that I give four stars to with one very important caveat: it is an incredibly popular hike. I usually choose a weekday and I like to start in the dark. This will usually give me several hours alone on this gorgeous summit. Mid-day on a Saturday can see a huge crowd – Scott WA9STI reported his one and only trip to this mountain yielded an estimated 60 people. He says he wont do it again. Be forewarned.

For my third activation of this classic summit — the highest mountain in the Santa Monica Range — I decided to do what I consider to be the classic route. This is the route that I first did this mountain from back in 1974 – 48 years ago. Back then it was the property of the Boy Scouts of America. It was closed to other hikers so we had to hide the car along Yerba Buena Road and approach the peak from what is now the upper parking lot in Triunfo Pass proper. This route is a little longer than the lower parking lot, but a little less elevation gain. This time I found a cross country short cut that saved a little distance and avoided the only elevation loss.

Another hiking note: toward the end of the hike there is a direct route that goes up the north side of the peak. With the heavy traffic this route has become very eroded and loose. It is not recommended. I suggest going a little further and lose a little elevation and take the prescribed, official trail to the top.

Here is the route on Gaia GPS

This was an especially fun activation with three summit-to-summit contacts. The extremely rare and juicy San Clemente Island was activated by W4PBL. Chris N1CLC heard my s2s and snagged me from W6/SC-454 near San Marcos both on 10m. I also just caught Natalie NW6S on 2 meters from Cahuenga Peak before heading down. Many other regular chasers checked in, including Christian from France also on 10 meters.

Good view of the station from Chester the Drone showing the rock support for the east end of my doublet.

Looking west from Chester over Boney, Exchange and Tri Peaks at Anacapa and Santa Cruz Island

Using a natural runner to support the east end of the doublet — an old rock climbing trick to conserve the protection hardware.

Here is link to my second activation of Sandstone Peak 19 February 2021

Here’s a link to my first activation of Sandstone Peak

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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Summit 4,460′

On the Edison road to the summit.

26 NOVEMBER 2022 W6/CT-144

Elevation:	4,460′
Route:	Short cross country
Hike Distance:	.6 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	250′
Navigation:	Easy
Steepness:	gentle
Vehicle:	SUV High clearance recommended
Road:	Edison dirt road
Cell Coverage:	Good (Verizon), APRS Excellent

Hike basics

This activation didn’t exactly go smoothy but ended up being surprisingly enjoyable. In preparing for this one I noticed that the formidable Mountain Goat Dan NA6MG has done this one no less than 6 times! That’s a lot even for Dan so I suspected that this was a good one.

The only thing that wasn’t clear to me was access. KB1KXL had mentioned a locked gate so I pulled up the private property map on my Gaia GPS app:

I saw that the BPL road had access points that seemed to be all within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument so I drove off the Angeles Forest Highway to Aliso Canyon Road. I found an access point that had an open gate with a sign that warned that the road was patrolled and that damaging the powerlines was a crime with a $1,000 fine but no road closed, private property, no tresspassing or keep out signs. I suspect the road to the west was probably a little shorter and less steep, but I didn’t check it out for a gate.

Upon getting to the point of the BPL road that was the trailhead. I discovered that I had left my SOTA pack in the driveway at home. Again. New rule: car must be packed the night before any before-dawn SOTA excursions. I tend to leave stuff in the hour before my bucket of strong coffee has kicked in.

Once again, however, I did have my trusty Yaesu FT-5DR and, strangely enough, Chester the Drone. I knew that making contacts on this side of the San Gabriel Mountains with 5 watts and a glorified rubber duck antenna would be iffy, but, what the hay, I’d come this far.

The “hike” is short – just a third of a mile and up 250 feet or so, but the summit was surprisingly nice with a good antenna support – If I had an antenna to support 😉 I started calling CQ … and calling… …and calling… Just one contact would count as an activation if not give me the points, so I kept calling. Even with a spot on SOTAWatch3 I was having no luck on 146.580, so I jumped over to the national calling frequency 146.520 in hopes of catching a total rando.

Eureka! Pat K6SD was motoring on Soledad Canyon Road and came back to me full quieting. We chatted for a bit and I was happy to at least get the activation. I flew the drone and took some photos waiting a bit because it was still pretty early.

Then I caught KD7DTS and KN6PHZ hiking on their way up Mount Waterman. Hoo hoo! only one more needed for the points. Then I caught Ed K6MCQ hiking near his home out near Rosamond. We had a long, very pleasant ragchew. Activation points secured! I hung out waiting for those guys to reach the summit of Waterman when I heard Ara N6ARA work them summit-to-summit. Score – I worked all three for more s2s points then I had managed in a month or more.

I originally had planned to activate 4,300 W6/CT-262 as well but my battery was running low on the HT so I just marked the jump-off point from the BPL road (red waypoint on the map above) for next time.

The bonus epilogue to the day was that DTS and PHZ went on to activate East Twin Peak and I worked them once I got back home for my second complete of the day. Lemonade from lemons!

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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Santiago Peak

Looking north past Modjeska Peak to the San Gabriel Mountains.

5 NOVEMBER 2022 W6/CT-023

One star – Nothing special but I’d do it again.

Elevation:	4,689′
Route:	Drive up
Hike Distance:	n/a
Elevation Gain:	n/a
Navigation:	Easy
Steepness:	n/a
Vehicle:	SUV High clearance recommended
Road:	Forest Service dirt
Cell Coverage:	Good (Verizon), APRS Excellent

Hike basics

Lots of people crowded this “techno summit” on the Saturday I decided to activate Santiago Peak. My last trip up to this summit was on December 3rd, 1994. Access to this drive-up is via Silverado Canyon Road and forest service road 5S05 at Maple Springs Trailhead. Call the Trabuco Ranger Station of the Cleveland National Forest ahead to make sure the gate at Maple Springs is open.

As noted in my previous post on Modjeska Peak (the pair make up “Saddleback Mountain” and are usually done together), I grudgingly give these two one star for the view alone. I’m not likely to return however.

The summit is RF saturated but my FT5DR was able to withstand the sheer volume of the radio assault and make five quick contacts before bailing. The drive down was very tedious with a LOT of vehicles coming up and slow vehicles going down.

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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Modjeska Peak

Looking east toward Mount San Gorgonio and Mount San Jacinto.

5 NOVEMBER 2022 W6/CT-026

Elevation:	5,495′
Route:	4×4 route
Hike Distance:	2 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	500′
Navigation:	Easy
Steepness:	Gentle
Vehicle:	SUV High clearance recommended
Road:	Forest Service dirt
Cell Coverage:	Good (Verizon), APRS Excellent

Hike basics

Modjeska Peak is named for the famous Polish actress Helena Modjeska who immigrated to the United States and lived in Silverado Canyon below the peak. I last ascended Modjeska Peak in the waning winter days of 1997. In my log I noted that there was a drunk guy on the summit that made the trip rather disagreeable. I suppose Santiago and Modjeska Peaks – together comprise what is popularly called “Saddleback Mountain” – are must-dos for any southern California SOTA activator, so I very grudgingly give them both one star even though I am unlikely to return to either summit.

This trip wasn’t much more agreeable than my last visit last century. For one thing, the foothills below have become wildly developed in a maze of bedroom communities and cul de sacs. The two freeways in the area are both toll roads and, not knowing the toll protocol, I ventured into the labyrinth of Orange County suburbs. It took me quite a while to finally get from the 5 freeway to Silverado Canyon. The mountain is very popular and a LOT of OHVs were around. The dust, noise, trash and general lack of regard for the right-of-way (uphill vehicles) made the long drive up to North Divide Road un-fun.

There was a lot of trash on the summit. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth. It is possible to 4 wheel to the actual summit but I opted to walk the mile or so from North Divide Road. The one redeeming virtue of Modjeska and Santiago is the outstanding view of the Santa Monica Mountains, The San Gabriel Mountains, The San Bernardino Mountains, San Jacinto and both Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands.

Here is my ascent track up Modjeska Peak

Access at the end of Silverado Canyon is via Maple Springs. There is a gate there that is closed seasonally. Call the Trabuco ranger station of the Cleveland National Forest for the status on the gate.

The road was mostly good with one notable exception. I was glad to have the 4×4 for that, but my previous two trips up to North Divide Road in the 1990s was in a Volvo sedan. the road seems a little rougher these days due to so much use.

Looking south off the shoulder of Santiago Peak

Looking west toward Santa Catalina Island.

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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Trabuco Peak

Looking southwest to Lake Elsinor with Mount San Jacinto in the background

28 OCTOBER 2022 W6/CT-031

No stars – This is a one-off summit. I am unlikely to return. Not recommended..

Elevation:	4,603′
Route:	Short very steep bushwack
Hike Distance:	.25 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	150′
Navigation:	Easy
Steepness:	Very steep
Vehicle:	SUV High clearance recommended
Road:	Forest Service dirt
Cell Coverage:	None (Verizon), APRS Excellent

Hike basics

My last trip to this mountain was 22 years ago on December 20, 1994. It is a long was down North Divide Road from the Ortega Highway. As with Los Pinos Mountain, a passenger car might make it but it is not advised. I actually was glad to have the compound low 4×4 in Whitedog for stability and traction.

A fire had swept over this peak quite a few yeas ago and you can see that it was once very brushy. Now it is covered with regrown brush and the charred bones of the old brush. Not a pleasant hike with very little room to set up the station. For this if gets no stars from me.

This is the actual summit. Not a lot of room to set up.

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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Los Pinos Peak

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

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.