The early morning marine layer to the south of this lovely summit.
1 MARCH 2025 W6/SC-086
Three stars – Highly recommended.
Elevation:
3,986′
Route:
Almost a drive up
Hike Distance:
.2 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
80′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Gentle
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Good paved road
Cell Coverage:
Good verizon
Hike basics
Three stars for a virtual drive-up two pointer!? I just love this mountain. The Santa Ynez Range is so dynamic with unparalleled vistas of the Channel Island to the south and the great expanse of wilderness to the north. Yes, it isn’t much of a hike – and on a weekend afternoon, not much of a wilderness experience, but it still has a place in my heart.
I left Woodland Hills about 5am and was meandering up Gibraltar road as the sun came up. I had the summit picnic table, and, indeed the whole picnic area to myself.
It was a bit early for Saturday Morning chasers, but I made my contacts and moved on to W6/SC-124 further down the range.
I love this shot looking south over Cathedral Peak out to Diablo Mountain, the highest point on Santa Cruz Island. Indeed the highers point off the entire California Coast.The derelict fire lookout tower.Looking west down the Santa Ynez range to Santa Ynez Peak.Nice place to set up a SOTA stationLooking Northeast past the Gibraltar Reservoir and perhaps my favorite wilderness ares of Southern California.
Here is one leg of the doublet and the roll-up slim jim antenna for 2m.
23 FEBRUARY 2025 W6/CT-016
One star – Nothing special but I’d do it again.
Elevation:
6,825′
Route:
Drive up
Hike Distance:
n/a
Elevation Gain:
n/a
Navigation:
n/a
Steepness:
n/a
Vehicle:
High clearance 4wd suggested
Road:
As of this trip pretty rutted
Cell Coverage:
Good Verizon
Hike basics
When I first visited Thomas Mountain in August of 1996 I found all the campers down off the summit at Yellow Posts 6 & 8. They were all anxiously looking up to the summit while the sound of gunfire echoed down the mountain. I slowly drove to the beginning of the summit and found a campsite littered with broken booze bottles and bullet casings. Some extremely drunk guys were over on the actual summit yelling and squeezing off rounds. I beat a hasty retreat.
This time there were only a few, well behaved campers and I found an unused campsite near the top.
I ended up doing both roads up from Highway 74. I went up the one marked “Thomas Mountain” and down the one marked “Little Thomas Mountain.” I’d suggest the latter as it is a bit shorter.
Both roads seem to have suffered from the last two rainy years. I did it back in 1996 in a Volvo sedan. I would suggest a high clearance 4wd now, but I saw some guys going up in a Lexus sedan.
When it came to the radio portion of our show: what a difference a day makes! The summit-to-summit contact with Pavel OK1MCS/P in the Czech Republic really made my day!
Sunrise on San JacintoOnly two 2m contacts on the rollup slim Jim seen in the background here.The station is looking a little battered.
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
5,590′
Route:
Pacific Crest Trail and use trail
Hike Distance:
4 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
1,000′ plus 400′ on the return
Navigation:
Moderate
Steepness:
Steep use trail
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Paved highway
Cell Coverage:
Good Verizon
Hike basics
It’s always good to get what I consider to be a SOTA trifecta: a unique activation, a complete activation and a new Hundred Peaks Section (HPS) summit. Lookout Mountain (number 1 by the HPS) provided just such an opportunity.
Since I was making the drive, I figured to spend the night in Idyllwild and do Thomas Mountain in the morning before returning to the San Fernando Valley. Cassie (KG6MZR) and I have been staying with a friend since being displaced by the Palisades Fire.
I got a pretty early start and got to the trailhead just before 8am. It was a warm, dry, clear day with a general offshore flow to the airmass over Southern California. The Pacific Crest Trail leaves Highway 74 and heads up to a small pass through a forest of large Redshanks. The trail then descends 400 feet over the next mile or so to the gully where I left the PCT at 33.54859º N, 116.57528º W and headed up a pretty well defined use trail.
The use trail is fairly obvious but I did need to backtrack a few times where animal trails threw me off.
This is a relatively seldom visited summit and the summit register went back 15 years.
Radio conditions weren’t the greatest and I missed quite a few of my regular chasers, but it was such a nice day and a peaceful summit I didn’t mind too much.
Looking north toward Thomas Mt. by my head and San Jacinto to the right.Looking west toward Cahuilla MountainFairly obvious use trail.The summit.
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
9,167′
Route:
Drive up if the gate is open
Hike Distance:
3.6 miles round trip if gate is closed
Elevation Gain:
800′ if gate is closed (Dec 15 to Mar 1)
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Gentle
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Good paved road
Cell Coverage:
Full bars Verizon
Hike basics
Cassie KG6MZR and I decided to take the southern route to her place in north central New Mexico to avoid any weather and to do a bit if exploring. We had driven from Topanga, California to Tucson the previous day and decided to lay over a day in Southern Arizona.
K0NR had mentioned that the road to the summit from the small ski area might be closed in November, so we knew we might need to do a bit of hiking. Highway 39 turns out to be a very good road that ascends through multiple vegetative zones from Sonoran Desert to Coniferous Forest. This fun drive winds its wayup through a maze of dramatic granite formations and offers spectacular views of the Tucson area below.
Looking southwest on the way up
We lucked out and found the gate open with a sign that said the road was closed for winter from December 15th to March 1st. Later we met a forest service ranger that was locking the gate on Mount Bigalow.
The day use area below the observatories and communication facilities is within the activation zone and offers a comfortable place to set up the station. I kept this activation short because KG6MZR was with me, however Cassie did get her first SOTA activation thanks to 4 chasers on VHS in the greater Tucson Area. Thanks guys!
KG6MZS 30′ fiberglass mast for my doublet in the day use area on Mount Lemmon.Some dramatic granite on the way up.Some dry waterfalls on the way up.Suguaros in the Sonoran Desert on the way up.Comfy station set-up on a picnic table in the day-use area.
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 stationLooking 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.
Sunrise over San Jacinto Peak from the trail up Teri’s Peak.
20 OCTOBER 2024 W6/CT-195
One star – Nothing special but I’d do it again.
Elevation:
2,569′
Route:
Good trail
Hike Distance:
2.25 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
800′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Moderate
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Good dirt road to Horse Camp
Cell Coverage:
Good Verizon
Hike basics
Another 5AM start from Topanga Canyon found me back in the Bernasconi Hills after last weekend’s enjoyable hike up Mount Russell (W6/CT-188). There is a $10 day use fee ($3bfor seniors) and the recreation area opens at 6AM. I got to the Horse Camp trailhead before the sun came.
There were a few early-risers hiking down the trail before sunrise and a dozen or so people visited this summit during my activation. This summit is much more heavily traveled than the neighboring Mount Russell. The granite boulders the punctuate the trail are scarred with graffiti and there was quite a bit of trash. All this led me to only give this summit one star. I did see a couple with a trash bag and a trash picker cleaning up some of the mess on the way down. Good for them!
Here’s the station looking northeast to Mount San Gorgonio.I used one of the graffiti-scarred boulders as one antenna support for my doublet. Huge warehouses to the west and Santiago and Modjeska Peaks.Plenty of room in the activation zone to set up my big antenna. March Air Force Base visible here.
This summit turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. The only Mount Russell I’d ever heard of was the spectacular 14,000 footer near Mount Whitney. I’d done this magnificent summit in July of 1986 and it remains one of my favorite all-time summits, so I wasn’t expecting much on this little Mount Russell. KG6LI had warned that Perris Lake State Recreation area can be quite crowded on weekend, so I was also expecting a lot of hikers.
I left Topanga Canyon right at 5AM and got to the Hunter’s Trailhead parking lot at 7AM and was not surprised to find a dozen or so cars already parked there. I figured I’d see a lot of hikers. Wrong. Not only did I not see a single hiker all day, strangely there were no cars in the lot when I got back at about 1pm! This is contrary to my usual experience.
KG6LI mentioned that there are a variety of ways up this mountain, so I followed his track up the ridge. There is a considerable of elevation loss after the last false summit. I did find a slightly more direct route on the way down that is a little shorter and avoids this loss. The trail was very well maintained by the state but, surprisingly not on any map!
The summit looks like it is going to be a cramped summit block on the way up, but once on the top a wide set-up area appears within the activation zone. On a clear day like this one the view is spectacular. All the bigs: San Antonio, San Gorgonio San Jacinto and Santiago dominate the horizon. Lake Perris and the very cool named Mystic Lake surround.
I loved this summit!
Radio conditions were okay and I did manage to pull F5PYI out on 15m as well as three s2s contacts. A lot of photos to follow – more than I usually post because this was a very photogenic activation.
The open set-up area on the summit.One leg of the doublet looking west to the Cucamonga/Baldy massif and the Los Angeles basin.Looking north to the highest summit in Southern California: Mount San Gorgonio.Looking east over Mystic Lake and Mount San Jacinto.Perris Lake in the mellow light of early morning on the way up.Mount Russel from Hunter’s Trailhead.
Here’s my comfy little station looking east toward Lockwood Valley and Frazier Mountain.
5 October 2024 W6/SC-012
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
6,585′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
3.8 miles round trip from gate
Elevation Gain:
875′
Navigation:
A bit tricky to start/end
Steepness:
Moderate
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Good dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Good Verizon
Hike basics
This is a pleasant cross-country hike in a less-traveled corner of Southern California. I first hiked this mountain on September 18, 2003 when I was doing the HPS list. This time I found Pine Springs Campground closed and was obliged to park Whitedog at the gate about 3/4 of a mile short of the usual parking spot. So that added a mile and a half to my trip that I did not mind on this nice day.
Navigation on this hike is a bit tricky at the start and at the end as noted above. The trick is to find the correct ridge to ascend after going through the wash to the southwest of the campground. Once you are on the ridge, there is a fairly well established use trail that follows an ancient firebreak the was once bulldozed. If you miss this cross-wash transition on the way back it could lead to trouble, so make careful note of the route going out and look back to establish your landmarks for the return trip.
I got a bit off-route going up so here is my descent track that, as usual, provides a better route to follow.
Band conditions were spectacular for a change and I had a lot of fun working station in Europe as well as most of my usual favorites on 7 bands. I got my first 10m activation in quite a while after a summer of slim pickings on that band.
The summit looking west to Reyes Peak and Big Pine Mountain across several wilderness areas.A lovely fall day on the way up. Looking north at the summit.A cool meadow off the west flank of Guillermo. Not sure why the iPhone photo was so fuzzy.On the way up looking westLooking northwest.
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
1,906′
Route:
Trail
Hike Distance:
1.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
375′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Gentle
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Paved
Cell Coverage:
Excellent Verizon
Hike basics
If Flint Peak in Southern California is owned by David N6AN, then Vollmer Peak should be renamed Mount Pisor for K6EL’s myriad summit-to-summit contacts from this pleasant hike in the suburban hills of Berkeley. Many times I have been gratified to hear “Two dollars and ninety eight cents” from El.
I left Topanga Canyon at 4AM and braved the semis up I-5 on a trip that was to take my to my old climbing buddy Bill Smith’s house. We were going to take in the last few games that the Oakland A’s were going to play at the Oakland Coliseum. I could not resist adding a SOTA activation into the fun mix.
The trail to the summit is easy to follow but the circuitous drive up into the Berkeley Hills is a bit more challenging. Since I was a boy I have always loved the Bay Area. Compared to Southern California is was always cooler, greener and more beautiful to my eye. This lovely hike is a perfect example. The marine layer streamed in the Golden Gate and played cat-and-mouse with the bridges while Mount Tamalpias and Mount Diablo lorded over the green and gold of the autumnal equinox in the heart of California. The trail was lush with ferns and raspberry (and a lot of poison oak!) muddy from the copious fog-drip precipitation slakes the thirsty redwoods.
This was a work day for me and as I was on call, I made the activation shorter than I otherwise might’ve. Band conditions were poor, but I still had no trouble getting the requisite 4.
Looking east toward Mount Diablo.Mount Tamalpias and a bit of the bay to the Northwest.Sutro Tower in San Francisco is just visible poking out of the trademark fog here looking west.
Sunrise near the trailhead. Didn’t see another soul all day
14 September 2024 W6/SC-016
One star – Nothing special but I’d do it again.
Elevation:
6,261′
Route:
Forest service trail and cross country
Hike Distance:
5.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
1,200′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Steep cross country
Vehicle:
High clearance suggested
Road:
Good dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Good Verizon
Hike basics
I last hiked this mountain on May 28, 1996 before it had burned in the Day Fire of 2006. While the area has rebounded fairly well in the intervening 18 years, there was noticeably more deadfall in the cross-country gully than there was back in the last century. Lorene (W6LOR) and Mike (K6STR) had done this mountain a few weeks before and suggested that the standard route up the gully used by The Hundred Peaks Section might be a bit shorter and less brushy, if not more fallen trees to contend with than the ridge route.
I found the hike to be very enjoyable. Others have mentioned finding water along the route, but in September there was none to be seen on this trip. There is no shade on the summit so bring plenty of water.
I was surprised to find a Jeep Rubicon parked at the spot where the route leaves Yellowjacket trail and ascends the gully. On the summit I found a full camp with a tent, sleeping bags, chairs and a mobile phone charging via a solar panel in the sun. No people, though. A few empty water bottles. I hope they are okay.
I made no 2m contacts which is unusual for Southern California. I suggest HG gear is a must for this activation. Even with a class C solar flare I had 3 s2s contacts and several back east.
The station looking south to Hines PeakThe “ghost camp” I found on the summit.Looking northeast to Frazier Peak and Lockwood Valley.Mount Pinos dominates the north view.The station.
KG6MZS 
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