I was going to activate Bald Mountain for a complete after Burn Benchmark, but Lake Elizabeth Road was closed. The area appeared to have been hit with some debris flows. So I punted and opted for another complete: Townsend Peak.
I had scoped out forest service road 6N38 about a month ago and it looked pretty rough. This time though it had been freshly scraped and the gate about a half mile up was open. I recommend high clearance front or 4 wheel drive vehicle, but the road was in good shape and a passenger car would’ve worked when I did this trip.
The hike is very short up a fire break and the summit is nice enough. It was a cold and windy day on this occasion.
A cold, cloudy and windy morning. The San Andreas Fault Zone and the Leona Valley to the north just under the clouds.
22 OCTOBER 2022 W6/CT-136
One star – Nothing special but I’d do it again.
Elevation:
4,541′
Route:
Short dirt bike trail
Hike Distance:
.2 miles
Elevation Gain:
100′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Gentle
Vehicle:
Passenger car* (See below)
Road:
Forest Service dirt
Cell Coverage:
good (Verizon), APRS Excellent
Hike basics
There are days on summits that I just want to hang out and play radio, have a little picnic, fly Chester the Drone and just generally goof off and laze around. This day was not one of them. The weather the last week had been warm and mild but things changed this Saturday morning. There was a little drizzle as i made my way up the Leona Divide Truck Road. A passenger car could probably do it and it is the kind of road that I used to drive in my old Audi A4, but I was happy to have Whitedog, the Tacoma this time.
The parking spot is a little hard to find – especially in near-white out conditions that I was experiencing. I parked at: 34° 37.1546′ N, 118° 21.8747′ W
A rainy day on San Pedro Hill on my way to Ham Radio Outlet to pick up my new Yaesu FTDX-10. I got to meet my faithful chaser Sergio WA6WV as San Pedro Hill is close to his “corner of Torrance.”
15 OCTOBER 2022 W6/SC-345
Elevation:
1,473′
Route:
Drive-up
Hike Distance:
n/a
Elevation Gain:
n/a
Navigation:
n/a
Steepness:
n/a
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
City streets
Cell Coverage:
Excellent (Verizon), APRS Excellent
Hike basics
After 13 years of great service my Elecraft K3 (modified to a K3S) was starting to show her age with a failing voltage regulator. I’d ordered a new Yaesu FTDX-10 for my shack and since I wanted to drive to Anaheim to pick it up, I figured I’d stop by the high point of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and activate San Juan Hill on the way.
It was forecast to rain and, sure enough, there was light to moderate rain as I drove down the 405 past the airport.
San Pedro Hill is above the residential community of Miraleste and San Pedro Hill. The actual summit is fenced and gated but the dead end at the top of the east side od Crest Drive in in the activation zone. Parking is permitted there between sunrise and sunset.
I was there pretty early but still managed to wake a few chasers up. One pleasant surprise was working Sergio WA6WV. Working Sergio is no surprise, he is a regular chaser, but he was graciously willing to drive up to say hi and meet me in person! Great to put a face to the always strong signal.
Of course after I got set up and got going on HF, the rain began in earnest so I packed up the station. However waiting for Sergio to show up, of course the rain let up and I manged to make a few more contacts on 2m including a complete S2S with Dan on Bare Mountain.
WA6WV Sergio meets me on the summitThe new rig fresh out of the box back in the shack
Looking east toward all the big San Bernardinos and Mount San Jacinto
1 OCTOBER 2022 W6/CT-099
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
5,699′
Route:
Use trail
Hike Distance:
.3 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
140′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Easy
Vehicle:
High clearance 4 wheel drive recommended
Road:
Steep, rocky forest service road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent (Verizon), APRS Excellent
Hike basics
After doing Cleghorn, I thought I might drive over and do Bailey and Strawberry via forest service road 2N43 and Crestline. The mountain gods had other ideas. To start with, road that I took up to the ridgeline – a road that is not marked on the forest service maps, but follows the power lines up a little canyon — is incredibly steep and rocky. Maybe a piece of cake for the true off-road crowd, but for a off-highway newbie, it was pretty severe. This was the first SOTA summit I’ve done in Whitedog where I really appreciated having 4 wheel drive.
The actual summit of Bailey is not the lower peak with the communications facility that the maps list as being the benchmark “Bailey,” but rather a little further to the west.
The summit is a short walk up an old jeep track and is nicely forested. There is plenty of shade and a nice little fern glen. The hike isn’t much of a hike, but the summit is very pleasant.
This was the first activation where I was really gad to have 4 wheel drive.
BIG NOTE: The road past Monument Peak is now closed. This pretty much ended any idea of running over to Strawberry (W6/CT-086) along the San Bernardino crest. Considering that this day started out as an attempt on Cucamonga (W6/CT-006), it was pretty much par for the course on punting with Plan B.
Lovely forested summit with a lot of shade and fernsI set up the station hereAnother view of where I set upLooking southwest toward Santiago PeakThe summit with the forsaken Ettiwanda Peak just over the left side.
The San Andreas Fault Zone northwest of Cleghorn Mountain at sunrise.
1 OCTOBER 2022 W6/CT-112
One star – Nothing special but I’d do it again.
Elevation:
5,333′
Route:
Firebreak
Hike Distance:
.2 mile roundtrip
Elevation Gain:
80′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Gentle
Vehicle:
High clearance SUV recommended
Road:
Forest service dirt
Cell Coverage:
Good (Verizon), APRS Excellent
Hike basics
Post to follow…. Stay tuned….
A nice large granite boulder on the summit made a nice table to operate fromThe big San Gabriel Mountains looking west at sunriseThe station wideSantiago Peak just over Cajon Mountain.Looking east at the big San Bernardino Mountains – San Gorgonio on the right.
“Look up at the mountain I have to climb” Cat Stevens. Twin Peaks from the high point on the Mt Waterman Trail. Not visible is the very bottom of the daunting saddle that must be traversed to reach the summit. That’s Santiago Peak off to the left.
24 SEPTEMBER 2022 W6/CT-064
Three stars – Highly recommended.
Elevation:
7,761′
Route:
Forest service trail and use trail
Hike Distance:
11 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
3,200′ total including 1,200′ on the return
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Steep on the use trail section
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Highway 2 paved
Cell Coverage:
None (Verizon), APRS Excellent
Hike basics
A short fly-over video of Twin Peaks
Let me start by saying that this hike is not for everyone. The Sierra Club’s Hundred Peaks Section rates this one as strenuous — and that rating by them should be noted. I hadn’t done a hike this ambitious in a long, long time but having carried a 38 pound pack 37 miles on the John Muir Trail mostly above 10,000′ the previous week, I felt like I was as in as good a shape as necessary for such an endeavor. Perhaps the toughest aspect of this hike is the 1,200′ of elevation gain up a south facing slope on the return! Fortunately the Bobcat fire didn’t kill a lot of the trees and there was some shade to be had. I last climbed Twin Peaks on 5/28/1995 when I was 39 years old.
I left my house in Topanga at 5am and drove up Highway 2 mostly in the dark. A “fingernail” thin waning crescent moon greeted me over Strawberry Peak as Whitedog carried me up into the San Gabriel Mountains.
The first part of the hike follows the gentle and well-graded Mount Waterman trail. This provided a nice warm-up for the rest of the hike. What is most disconcerting is the last few switchback up after you make the Waterman ridge. At this point you can see Twin Peaks and every step up takes you further up Waterman – and higher above Twin Peaks Saddle that must be descended. Twin Peaks Saddle is actually lower than where you park the car at the trailhead!
On the trip down to the saddle I was pleased to find a lot of late season wildflowers — bounty from the late season tropical storm Kay’s rainfall a few weeks ago. There was a clear stream flowing nicely about three quarters of a mile above the saddle. Made me wish I’d brought my water filter and perhaps a little less than the liter of water I was carrying. That liter turned out to be barely adequate. In the weight department, I had pared down my usual SOTA pack jettisoning the table and chair to save weight. After the Twin Peaks Trail leaves the Mount Waterman trail, the trail maintenance gets noticeably more sketchy and after the saddle the trail becomes a true use trail and is steeply graded but ducked.
Weather was pleasant – not as hot as I had feared at 7,000′ with an nice cooling breeze. There were annoying clouds of gnats that swarmed my face when the wind stopped or I was in a sheltered spot, but fortunately these times weren’t too frequent.
I give this beautiful summit three stars with the caveat that it is a strenuous hike, not for everybody.
Radio contacts were a good deal of fun including 5 discreet S2S contacts with California, Oregon, Idaho and Lorene W6LOR and Mike K6STR and K7GUD on a summit in the Tetons in Wyoming.
The view west along the Santa Monica Mountains with the summits of Santa Cruz Island beyond.Here’s a roadmap blowup of some of the peaks visible.The abbreviated station with my second-had Osprey 40L Atmos as a table.Chester takes a selfieChester a little further away looking East toward Baden-PowellChester 100m over the summit looking south.Santiago, San Clemente Island and Santa Catalina Island behind the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The low pointOn the way back some cumulus start to build to the southeast over Mount San Jacinto.
Looking south from this fine peak at the Mt Sill and the Palisades. Mt Tom is the prominent peak in the middle
17 SEPTEMBER 2022 W6/ND-029
Three stars – Highly recommended.
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
After completing 37 miles of the John Muir Trail with a 38 pound backpack, my good friends Bill Smith, Steve Tennant and I hung out in Lee Vining overnight. In the morning after we had said our farewells, I decided to head out to the Benton Range and activated the highest point – Banner Ridge.
This turned out to be a spectacular idea. I would rate this summit 3 stars for the view and the overall wilderness experience. It just missed getting 4 stars (a classic) as it is a easy hike but it is over some wonderful terrain.
I traveled along the south shore of Mono Lake on highway 120 east – a section of California I had never seen. Before you reach Benton Hot Springs, turn south on Benton Crossing Road. Then drive south to forest service road 3S50 and turn left.
The hike is up a moderately steep hill that is pretty easy to navigate. I was rewarded with a terrific view of the Sierra Nevada from the Palisades to Yosemite. The register went back to 1967! I got very nostalgic recalling all my family’s pilgrimages to an isolated cabin on Twin Lakes out of Bridgeport back in the early sixties. What a different place 395 was back then.
The station with Boundary Peak, Nevada in the background.Looking west across Benton Crossing Road to Mount Ritter and Banner.The station looking south donw the Owens valley with White Mountain Peak on the left.One of two bencjmarks on the summitGold Crown mine.
Mt. Ritter and Banner (Partially hidden in the clouds) and the Minarets off to the west with the San Joaquin Ridge in between.
11 SEPTEMBER 2022 W6/ND-392
Three stars – Highly recommended.
Elevation:
8,851′
Route:
Forest service road & cross country
Hike Distance:
2.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
500′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Gentle
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Paved
Cell Coverage:
Good (Verizon), APRS Excellent
Hike basics
Getting ready to do the next leg of our piecemeal John Muir Trail attempt, I arrived in Mammoth Lakes two nights before our permit to start from Tuolumme Meadows. I had been up in the White Mountains the day before activating two 10,000′ unnamed summits, so I looked around the Mammoth area for a nice stroll of a hike. Dry Creek had the attraction of being probably the easiest 3 bonus points I would ever earn as a ND (Northern Desert) summit just before the September 15 cutoff, plus it would be a complete as I had worked a few different SOTA activators from there.
After the downpour in the White Mountains the day before from Tropical Storm Kay, the day dawned sparklingly clear. The turnoff is a very short drive from the town of Mammoth Lakes on the Mammoth Scenic Loop. While Whitedog with 4 wheel drive probably could’ve made all most all the way to the summit, I parked just off the scenic loop just to get the exercise in preparation for the JMT.
I give this hike three stars – a solid recommendation as it is a very nice walk through the woods with a great forested summit to hang antennas. If the view was a bit more open of the Minarets and Ritter and Banner it might’ve rated 4 stars in my book.
Radio conditions were okay with a surprise call from Lorene W6LOR and Mike K6STR just down the hill in Mammoth Lakes! They were on their way out and I was sorry to miss them. It would have been a perfect summit day to fly Chester, but I didn’t bring him along after the stormy weather had kept him grounded on the previous two summits the day before.
KG6MZS 
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