W6/ND-334 – Alpine Butte

This was my second activation of the day, having just left Lovejoy Butte earlier. I parked my small car as far up 136th Street East as I could and walked the short distance to the base of the butte. From here it’s just a short scramble to the top. Once at the summit, I found thousands of red flying ants, the same I’ve seen at other desert summits. I wonder why they like peaks so much? Not wanting to get friendly with them I setup my endfed half wave just off to the side. I had just over an hour before UTC time changed so I worked quickly while I noticed a monsoon coming my way. The the middle of a QSO on 20M, I felt a big fat raindrop, then a few more. I quickly tore my station down, scrambled down the butte and over to the car. By the time I got to the intersection of 136th street and Ave O, the rain was absolutely pouring to the point my wipers couldn’t keep up. Driving around a bit I noted the washes, dry most of the time, were starting to turn into rivers. I stopped at a high point and walked around in the desert to enjoy the rain before heading back to Los Angeles, where it didn’t rain at all.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/ND-334

Total distance: 0.83 mi
Max elevation: 3166 ft
Total climbing: 597 ft
Total time: 01:41:57
Download file: Alpine_AG6N.gpx

Date:11/09/2022 | Summit:W6/ND-334 (Alpine Butte)

TimeCallsignBandModeNotes
22:58NT6E7MHzCWS599 R55N
22:59KE6MT7MHzCWS57N R55N
23:00K6TUY7MHzCWS55N R5NN
23:05KN6EZE7MHzCWS599 R599 S2S W6/ND-257
23:06KR7RK7MHzCWS57N R55N
23:07KF6HI7MHzCWS58N R549
23:09N6CVQ7MHzCWS55N R57N
23:10KN6RDC7MHzCWS51N R52N
23:12K7EA7MHzCWS53N R53N
23:12K7GUD7MHzCWS56N R51N
23:13KD7LX7MHzCWS51N R52N
23:15WB6POT7MHzCWS57N R57N
23:16K6CPR7MHzCWS58N R55N
23:17NA7C7MHzCWS56N R44N
23:20KK9TT7MHzCWS57N R599
23:30AF7M10MHzCWS56N R55N
23:31WW7D10MHzCWS54N R42N
23:43W4KRN14MHzCWS51N R42N
23:45VE7HI14MHzCWS51N R33N
23:48VE7JH14MHzCWS42N R57N S2S VE7/CL-047

W6/ND-323 – Lovejoy Butte

I set out from my home in Los Angeles to activate three buttes in the Antelope Valley area. Lovejoy was the first of the day. Of course, I can never get out of the house at a reasonable time so I arrived around noon to my starting point on 145th Street East. It was hotter than I expected but I have a large golf umbrella for days like this, and it proved absolutely critical for both the hike and activation. You can make out a faint use trail up to the summit from the road, and accessing that trail requires navigating various moto trails, deep soft sand, and piles of dumped construction materials. Closer to the top is a faint use trail which goes to the summit. Worked 2M, 40M, 30M CW with a S2S on each band. Worked 20M CW with zero contacts which surprised me. The hike was under two miles but I drank two liters of water. Back at the car I had a snack and more water before heading over to the next butte.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/ND-323

Total distance: 1.97 mi
Max elevation: 3258 ft
Total climbing: 1089 ft
Total time: 02:29:26
Download file: Lovejoy.gpx

Date:11/09/2022 | Summit:W6/ND-323 (Lovejoy Buttes)

TimeCallsignBandModeNotes
20:33KB6WWI144MHzFMS56 R53
20:45KN6TMT144MHzFMS59 R59 S2S W6/SD-141
20:51NT6E7MHzCWS58N R52N
20:52KE6MT7MHzCWS57N R55N
20:54K6HPX7MHzCWS58N R51N
20:56KR7RK7MHzCWS56N R55N
20:57WA7JTM7MHzCWS57N R54N
21:08KD0YOB10MHzCWS33N R33N S2S W0C/PR-093
21:11AF7M10MHzCWS58N R55N
21:14KN6EZE10MHzCWS58N R5NN S2S W6/ND-241
21:16KF6HI10MHzCWS579 R549
21:18W7DLZ10MHzCWS55N R54N
21:19AC1Z/010MHzCWS52N R33N
21:21N7MQ10MHzCWS56N R52N

W6/CT-009 – Butler Peak

The road up to Butler Peak was closed for several years due to a washout, however, repairs were made and the road opened July 4th. I drove my low clearance commuter car from Rim Of The World to Forest Road 2N13, and parked near the gate up to Butler. Hiking up to the summit was enjoyable and offered views not normally seen in the San Gabriel mountain range. Once at the top, the fire lookout volunteer invited me up to the tower for a tour and mentioned I was the only hiker of the day and that everyone else arrived via off-road vehicle. After the tour I climbed around on the rocks just below the tower in search for a place to setup the radio. There isn’t much usable room but I found a place I could put my endfed wire between two rocks. Since I brought my Yaesu 817 I decided to start on 70cm CW, which got me one contact. Moving to 2M FM only got me an additional contact. Moving to HF afforded me the contacts needed to get points. I made it down the mountain and back to the paved road right when it was starting to get dark. Perfect timing!

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-009

Total distance: 5.44 mi
Max elevation: 8567 ft
Total climbing: 1480 ft
Total time: 03:38:41
Download file: Butler.gpx

Date:20/08/2022 | Summit:W6/CT-009 (Butler Peak)

TimeCallsignBandModeNotes
00:08NT6E433MHzCWS599 R529
00:22KI6SLA144MHzFMS57 R55
00:45WA6KYR7MHzCWS58N R58N
00:46KE6MT7MHzCWS57N R559
00:47WW7D7MHzCWS52N R31N
00:51K6TUY7MHzCWS51N R58N
01:01W6TDX14MHzCWS58N R57N
01:03AK5SD14MHzCWS56N R41N
01:06WW7D14MHzCWS57N R55N