David N6AN enjoying a lovely view of Big Bear Lake and the San Bernardino Peak Ridge to the south.
17 JUNE 2023 W6/CT-054
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
7,470′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
1 mile round trip
Elevation Gain:
520′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Moderate
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent (Verizon), excellent APRS
Hike basics
The day before this trip I heard David N6AN on Cerro Negro Benchmark and I asked him if he wanted to join me on this little adventure. We had been up nearby Silver Peak a few weeks before and scoped out the approach road (Polique Canyon Road), so we knew it was open. David called me back and we were on.
I last hiked up this mountain in April of 1997 with my late great mountain climbing dog, Chauncey Gardener. I believe I did the northwest ridge from Forest Service Road 2N94Y that time. This time we took the more standard route up the access road to the repeater site on the summit.
This time we took our time on this pleasant walk and chatted about a wide variety of things. David is good company.
The summit had a lot of visitors this warm sunny Saturday. Maybe as many as 20 people or so at a given time. I handed out quite a few of my pre-printed SOTA cards to people who expressed an interest. Unfortunately I set up a little too close to David and we had to spread out a bit and get end-to-end to get David out of my near field.
The propagation spirits prevailed especially on 15m where I managed a QSO with Germany and Esther and Ian in Northern Ireland – GI0AZA and GI0AZB. It was all-in-all and very fun day out.
Echinocereus coccineus – the stupendously cool named Scarlett Hedgehog on the summit of Beacon Hill
10 JUNE 2023 W7A/CS-038
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
7,470′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
1 mile round trip
Elevation Gain:
520′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Moderate
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent (Verizon), excellent APRS
Hike basics
I’d tried to do Beacon Hill earlier in the year but without snowshoes I found myself breaking through up to my hips and turned around after just a few hundred feet.
As I was getting ready to leave Whitedog the Tacoma, I discovered that my Garmin InReach Mini was missing! That meant I must’ve lost it somewhere on Summit Mountain. I decided to go ahead and climb Beacon and then backtrack and look for this expensive bit of kit.
The short hike on this one is fairly easy to navigate – just keep heading up. There was no snow this time, but the air was pretty smokey from prescribed burns in the area.
When I got to the summit I called Cassie KG6MZR back in New Mexico and in chatting with her I found out that she had received a cryptic text that read “Found road look tree.” I immediately knew someone had found my ImReach and had left me a waypoint to recover it! As Blanche Dubois said “Whoever you are – I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” albeit with better results than perhaps poor Blanche.
Armed with this encouraging news, I made this activation rather brief compared to my usual style. Sorry if I missed any of my usual chasers. Here is the log:
To conclude the saga of my InReach: I followed the mysterious and kind stranger’s waypoint and found my InReach hanging from a tree beside the road where I gather it had fallen off this bumper of my car. Thank you, whoever you are!
Since I had to drive back to pick up the InReach, I decided to add a return trip to Bill Williams Mountain to the day’s SOTA activities. This serendipitous activation gave me my first 30 point day. Funny how things work out.
The station on a very pleasant summit.Looking back toward Summit Mountain just left of center and Bill Williams on the right – two other 10-pointers done this day.
Summit Mountain from the north across Barney Flat on the drive up.
10 JUNE 2023 W7A/CS-026
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
7,785′
Route:
Very short cross country
Hike Distance:
.2 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
50′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Gentle
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Dirt road
Cell Coverage:
Excellent (Verizon), excellent APRS
Hike basics
Driving back solo from Cassie KG6MZR’s place in New Mexico, I decided to do my usual layover in Flagstaff and do some new SOTA summits. I had my eye on Summit Mountain and Beacon Hill. Fate would lead me to include doing Bill Williams Mountain again, but more on that later.
Saturday dawned sunny, but smoky from prescribed burns all through the Coconino Plateau. The drive up to Summit Mountain is pretty easy to find and the road, while somewhat rocky and rutted is suitable for the adventurous in a passenger car.
The activation area is large however I opted to park Whitedog on a spur road and hike the 500 feet or so to the east side of the actual summit where I find a nice open area to set up.
I had fun activating with 2 summit-to-summit contacts and one park-to-park.
But on the way down, I inadvertently left my Garmin InReach on the bumper of Whitedog. You can find out what happened to this rather expensive bit of kit in the next post: Beacon Hill
The pleasant station location.Looking east to the San Fransisco Peaks on a smokey day.Bill Williams Mountain to the north from the activation zone.
Looking southeast from the rim of Capulin Volcano toward Sierra Grande.
4 JUNE 2023 W5N/SG-009
Three stars – Highly recommended.
Elevation:
8,182′
Route:
Paved trail
Hike Distance:
1 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
300′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Gentle
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Paved
Cell Coverage:
Excellent (Verizon), excellent APRS
Hike basics
Cassie KG6MZR and I spent the night in Raton after activating Maidenhead grid square DM86 or the north side of this volcano with a 100 watts digital station the day before. Heavy afternoon thundershowers made the decision to take shelter in a motel for the night seem pretty smart. Sunday dawned partially cloudy but it looked like the thundershowers would hold off until the afternoon again.
I’d never been in this part of New Mexico before. The border between the Rockies and the Great Plains makes for spectacular scenery. This hike is not a wilderness experience but is still highly recommended. There is a $20 per vehicle (4 people maximum) entrance fee for Capulin Volcano National Monument. The road to the volcano rim was down to one lane about half way up. I gather that they have been working on it from storm damage and it is sometimes completely closed, so call ahead to make sure it is open if you plan on driving up. There is no trail up from the base and cross country hiking is prohibited in the National Monument.
The paved loop trail around the the rim of the volcano is a very cool hike, but expect to be joined by many others. There are several benches in the activation zone to work from including one down the south side a bit if the summit is crowded. The rangers ask that you to stay on the paved path. I found an antenna could be rigged from there.
I kept my activation short but still managed two summit-to-summit contacts; one with SOTA pal David N6AN in Oregon and another with KT0A in South Dakota. I handed out a lot of my SOTA cards to interested hikers.
The station. Photo by KG6MZRLooking south past a group of school kids on a tour of the Santa Fe Trail to Sierra Grande.I believe this is a mushroom called Dead man’s Fingers on the trail up.The volcanic rock makes for a fascinating ecosystem. Photo by KG6MZR.Looking east toward the beginning of the vast expanse of the Great Plains.Cassie KG6MZR starting out on the nice trail from the parking at the low point of the rim. This “spout” allowed the lava to spill out of the volcano and preserved the central crater.Looking north.Sporting my new raven hat Cassie bought me. Selfie by KG6MZR.
Looking east from the summit over the town of Questa toward Red River and the Sangre de Christo Mountains.
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
After activating W0C/RG-172 in southern Colorado I felt up for another mountain, so I set my sights on either North or South Guadalupe Mountain in northern New Mexico. Two mountains, two states in one day. After reading Alan NM5S’s excellent route description I decided on the north summit because it was a little closer and the afternoon cumulus were beginning to build.
As Alan mentions the trailhead is at 36° 43.8522′ N, 105° 36.3026′ W for the Las Vistas De Questa Trail . I left Whitedog at noon and started along the easement over Chevron Mining’s property that leads to the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument land.
The route leaves the trail at 36° 43.8247′ N, 105° 37.8473′ W and seems to follow barely discernible, ancient logging/woodcutting roadcuts. The cross country terrain is fairly open but the trees obscure a lot of landmarks so navigation is a bit tricky, especially on the return.
An old woodcutting/logging dump from the middle of last century,
A few drops fell and some distant thunder rumbled so I moved along as quickly as I could.
The summit is fairly wooded but found enough open space to set up my end fed random wire. The last entry into the register was over two years ago, so this isn’t an often-visited place.
I didn’t carry my table and chair on this one so I used a lichen covered rock in the shade under the trees.North Guadalupe Mountain from the trailhead.Looking south.Looking north to Ute Mountain and the San Luis Valley through the trees.I don’t know what these purple flowers are called.
Looking west past the summit cairn over the San Luis Valley to the San Juan Mountains.
27 MAY 2023 W0C/RG-172
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
8,673′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
1 mile round trip
Elevation Gain:
400′
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
Moderate
Vehicle:
High clearance suggested
Road:
Good BLM dirt
Cell Coverage:
Excellent (Verizon), excellent APRS
Hike basics
Last year’s first time activation of the Piñon Hills High Point prompted me to try this other nearby first timer. I really like this seldom-visited area. Expansive vistas of the San Luis Valley dotted with ancient volcanoes that formed the Taos Plateau are bordered on the east by the Sange de Christo Mountains and on the west by the San Juan Mountains. It is a beautiful area imbued with a peaceful solitude that suits me just fine.
The dirt road that leaves Colorado State Highway 142 is quite good. It’s the kind of road that I would do in a passenger car but the ruts and rocks made me glad to have Whitedog the Tacoma. Coming from the east, as I did this time, take a right at 142 at 37° 10.6106′ N, 105° 46.6673′ W. Coming from the west, as I did last year, the right is at 37° 10.5272′ N, 105° 51.6166′ W. There is a little spur road at 37° 9.4525′ N, 105° 48.6472′ W that gets you to within a half mile of the summit. Reminder: leave all gates as you find them – open or closed.
The hike is short and sweet with a brief moderately steep section that is easy to negotiate. I saw two separate heard of wild horses – one band was migrating through the pass between this summit and Flattop to the north – and one heard of elk springing along at a lope. There is a cairn on the summit but no other sign of humans.
Conditions weren’t great on HF but I did eke out a S2S with Kentucky. I kept it short because I had my eye on activating North Guadalupe in New Mexico on my way back.
Maidenhead grid DN12 is very sparsely populated. Here is a lonely stretch Highway 95 looking south.
13 MAY 2023 W7O/SE-007
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
7,435′
Route:
Drive up
Hike Distance:
n/a
Elevation Gain:
n/a
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
n/a
Vehicle:
4×4 high clearance suggested
Road:
Steep dirt
Cell Coverage:
Excellent (Verizon), No APRS
Hike basics
The main reason I selected this summit on my wanderings to New Mexico is that grid square DN12 is seldom activated – especially in the PSK31 mode. So I was looking for a drive-up that I might reasonably set up a 100 watt digital station and hand out as many endosements to the PODXS 070 club members as I could.
My original plans called for setting up a camp and spending the night, however after shattering a tent pole the night before on Winnemucca Mountain in high winds, I scratched that idea as the winds persisted and it looked like rain might move in. Apologies to the 070 folks who were unable to reach me on this one.
W7IMC suggested from his 2014 activation that 4 wheel drive was required. I found the route I took to be in reasonably good shape. It’s the kind of road I used to drive with my rear wheel drive passenger cars. I don’t suggest that, but — and this is a big but — if this road is not muddy, snowy or icy, it’s actually a pretty good road that accesses the communications facility. Just remember you are in the middle of nowhere, but with good cell coverage.
I did encounter a stretch of snow on a section with a bit of a drop off on the right. It took a few tries to safely pass by. the photo below is on the way down after it had melted quite a bit. There was also a stock tank crossing that was pretty muddy. I was glad to have Whitedog the 4×4.
The snow had melted off quite a bit by the time I went down.
The view at the top is spectacular. Steens Mountain (9,733′) dominates the northwest. The plains of Idaho go on seemingly forever to the entire east. The Oregon Canyon Mountains command the southwest. This is beautiful country in a very austere way.
Weather was perfect as I set up. Rick N7WE in Florida and Barry VA7GEM in British Columbia coordinated with the PODXS 070 Club as they did on my “GridPedition” to DM17 two years ago. Thanks guys! Strangely cell coverage was excellent but APRS was nonexistent.
As I worked the bands the wind began to pick up again and cumulus clouds started moving in from the east. I didn’t get to stay as long as I had hoped because I just didn’t want to risk driving down a muddy road. This turned out to be wise because it poured after I got back on pavement. I had 4 summit-to-summit contacts kicked off with my SOTA partner-in-crime David N6AN on Cerro Negro Benchmark back home in the Los Angeles Basin. Christian F4WBN in France got the DX award and I was very happy that Rick N7WE managed to pull me out of the waterfall gibberish. He was a respectable 459 on my end.
All in all this grid/SOTA activation was a blast! Thanks to all who participated. I heartily recommend getting out and doing whatever kind of activation you might be comfortable with.
Here’s the station. To meet the SOTA requirement I carried all the gear to this spot and then drove Whitedog back for a wind/sun break.Looking east into Idaho past the summit cairn.Looking northLooking northwst up to Steens MountainLooking southwest over Blue Mountain Draw to Oregon Creek MountainsClouds move in and the wind begins to blow.Pano looking south showing the entire dirt road up.
Sunrise on my way up to Winnemucca Mountain. Good road all the way to the top.
12-13 MAY 2023 W7N/HU-089
Elevation:
6,742′
Route:
Drive up
Hike Distance:
n/a
Elevation Gain:
n/a
Navigation:
Easy
Steepness:
n/a
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Paved
Cell Coverage:
Excellent (Verizon), No APRS
Hike basics
This was to be a weekend of new experiences for me. On this rather circuitous trip to meet up with Cassie KG6MZR at her adobe little casita in New Mexico, I wanted to go on a route that covered as much new ground for me in the west as possible. No small trick given that I have toured the west pretty extensively in my entire life. My PSK-31 club, the PODXS 070 Club offers a cool endorsement for working as many Maidenhead grid squares as possible. Grid squares DN11 and DN12 are sparsely populated and seldom, if ever, activated, let alone by the PSK-31 mode.
Grids DN11 and DN12 bottom to top. The topmost pin is Blue Mountain, the lowest is Winnemucca Mountain
So I looked for two mountains in those two grid squares that I could drive up with the rather voluminous amount of equipment that the digital modes require.
I left home at 3AM on a Thursday to give me plenty of time to drive up to Winnemucca, Nevada. While I had no jobs at work active, I am basically on call and can work with a laptop in a pinch anywhere with an internet connection. However, work cooperated and I got no panic rush calls.
I made my way up beautiful, austere Highway 395 along the dramatic eastern scarp of the Sierra Nevada just after sunrise. This incredible water year has left the Sierra with a impressive snow pack and runoff. All my life Owens Lake has been a dry dust bowl largely due to the Los Angeles Aqueduct’s construction in 1913. Before then this fossil sea in Basin and Range country was over 100 square miles large.
Owens Lake somewhat revived from this year’s heavy precipitation.
This was to be the theme for the day’s drive: a desert flourishing with the boisterous creeks and rivers pouring out of the snow-capped mountains. Once past Carson City I was in new territory — new dots on the map.
Winnemucca Mountain dominates the northern skyline from this pleasant town along the overflowing Humbolt River. The original transcontinental railroad came through this city. The Sundance Kid held up the local bank for $32,000 in 1900.
Getting all the way to Winnemucca in one day moved my plans up by a day. If I was to find cell service on the summit, I could camp out up there on Friday night. As the sun came up Friday morning I drove up the good paved road all the way past the local landfill and a public shooting range to the summit.
Weather was perfect as I made camp. This was my first SOTA summit using the digital modes. I was hoping for a lot of activity but HF conditions did not cooperate. There had been some solar disturbances and conditions were not that great. I made 54 contacts over the two Zulu days. Even though I was running my Elecraft K3/100 I only used 15 watts because I had up my QRP doublet. In retrospect I would’ve felt safer loading up a heavier gauge wire with more power. Here is my log:
That afternoon and night the wind came up enough to keep Chester the Drone grounded and, later, enough to keep me awake most of the night. As I broke camp in the morning, one of my tent poles shattered in the wind. This was going to change things for Saturday night on Blue Mountain
The station.Looking north across a phalanx of sand dunes.My camp on the summit. Wind blew all night shattering a tent pole.Looking south at the town of Winnemucca at sunrise the next day.Looking east at the magnificent flooded Humbolt River.Just after getting there after dawn looking northwest. Again the dunes.
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
6,756′
Route:
Dirt road and use trail
Hike Distance:
4 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
1000′
Navigation:
A bit tricky
Steepness:
Very steep
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Forest service dirt
Cell Coverage:
Excellent (Verizon), APRS Excellent
Hike basics
David N6AN and I had been talking about doing another activation together for a while and we finally settled on a early Saturday morning rendezvous in Pasadena at 6:00 AM. The day promised to be fair and mild as we headed east for the San Bernardino Mountains. Originally we were thinking about Bertha Peak, but David had suggested Silver Peak. This held a certain allure for me because this was an HPS summit that I had never done and it would be a unique for David as well.
We drove up Poligue Canyon Road far enough to determine that it was open before we decided to forsake Bertha and venture on out to Silver.
Silver Peak is named after the long history of mining in the area. Silver was first discovered on the south slope of this peak (1873). This resulted in the short-lived Arlington Mining District and its many colorful characters, such as “Cactus Jim” Johnson, who carved out a wagon road on nearby “Johnson’s Grade”. It is believed that Cactus Jim is buried on this summit. Wreckage from the mining operation is scattered along the trail up.
Legend has it that this peak was once known to the Cahuilla Indians as Makaveat.
The hike up to Silver starts from a parking area just off Highway 18 that was in remarkably good shape when we did it. I would have driven it in a passenger car. Route finding is a bit tricky in that with wanders through a maze of old mining roads and cross country routes that shorten the route.
It took us two hours to reach the summit travelling a relaxed pace. There is one fairly steep section after leaving the first visible mineshaft that requires caution.
Band conditions were fairly unsettled with only 40m and 20 really working. I did manage a summit-to-summit with W4BTH in Kentucky along with 6 other s2s contacts. All in all it was a great hike with good company.
Truck cab c1940’sScarlet Hedgehog (Echinocereus coccineus)A mine shaft on the summit. Cactus Jim Johnson is fabled to be buried here.
Apache Canyon was carpeted for miles with these little daisies.
22 APRIL 2023 W6/SC-392
Two Stars – a nice summit. I’d do it again. Recommended.
Elevation:
4,580′
Route:
Cross country
Hike Distance:
2.2 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:
800′
Navigation:
Tricky
Steepness:
Extremely steep
Vehicle:
Passenger car
Road:
Good dirt road
Cell Coverage:
n/a
Hike basics
I loved this adventure! Great time of the year with comfortable mild weather. I would give this one 3 stars except this is really not a summit for everyone.
I left my home in Topanga at 4:15 AM and was surprised to see a freeway sign in Oxnard warning the Highway 33 was closed! Fortunately I was able to jump on to the 126 and head to Castaic up the Santa Clara River Valley. All the big creeks – Sespe, Piru and Santa Clara were still very full from all the rain we’d had this season. I was hoping the the Lockwood Valley route was open to the Cuyama Valley along with Apache Canyon.
Traffic at that hour was light so I was still able to get to the parking spot by 8:00 am. Good thing I left early. Both the Lockwood Valley Road and Apache Canyon Road were luckily open as the gates were closed on all the other forest service roads I passed. Forest service road 24W06 is a pretty easy off-highyway route labelled trail 103 at the junction with Apache Canyon. There were a lot of dispersed campers in this beautiful area as I made my way up. I parked probably sooner than I needed to out of abundant caution. The road was surprisingly good.
Here is a Chester the Drone shot of my route up the east side.
The route is completely cross country following faint deer tracks. In my case, literally following some fresh tracks. This route is very steep in places with some exposure that, while not deadly, is enough to warrant caution — especially for 67 year-old solo hikers. The brush is fairly easy to avoid, although I did get punctured by one of the numerous Yucca along the route. I also spotted some not-very-fresh mountain lion tracks.
It had been 38ºF in Lockwood Valley as I came in and the morning was delightfully cool. Cool enough to minimize the rattlesnake threat on the way up.
The activation was a real kick — 19 QSOs including 7 summit-to-summits. The longest QSO of the day was, who else, Christian F4WBN a strong 56 from France.
And the groovy new QSO mao from the SOTA Databas3.The summit looking west with Cuyamaca Peak in the background.Looking east at Cerro Noroestre and Mount PinosWatch out for these guys going up. There are a lot of them and they gave me a pretty deep puncture wound.Whitedog at the beginning of forest service road 24W06 – Trail 103I left a brand new summit register for other activators,
KG6MZS 
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