W6/CT-015 – Mt. Pacifico

I’ve read that the road to Mt. Pacifico was closed to traffic, which made me want to cycle up to the top and enjoy the views with little interaction with others. This wasn’t the case. At the time of writing this, the road is open, all the way to the top, and the campground was occupied. Most traffic and the campers seemed to be hunting something, maybe birds? It’s not a very nice hike up the fire road, so if I’d known the road was open I probably would have ridden my DRZ dual sport motorcycle to the summit. (You can also hike the PCT to the summit, which I might do next time!) I made the trip with T. and E., my cycling pals. Of course, we got to the trailhead at the hottest time of the day. The fire road up doesn’t supply any shade, which made the ascent much harder in the blaring sun. After about 5 miles of climbing, you will see a sign directing you to the summit. This road offers some well needed shade, but not much. At the top, my standard HF station was setup at a picnic table. APRS packets were getting to an iGate for self spotting. In all, we spent two hours on the summit with contacts made on 10M, 20M, 40M and 2M. The thrilling ride down took a fraction of the time it took to get up. The downhill made cycling all the way up worth it!

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-015

Total distance: 12.35 mi
Max elevation: 7125 ft
Total climbing: 2499 ft
Total time: 06:04:08
Download file: Pacifico.GPX

Date:17/10/2020 | Summit:W6/CT-015 (Pacifico Mountain)

TimeCallsignBandModeNotes
21:38N0WAE14MHzSSB59 55
21:41WD8KDB14MHzSSB59 55
22:02N6DNM7MHzSSB55 52
22:22KF6QBS28MHzSSB59 55
22:26KM6MZS144MHzFM
22:28KE6ZGR144MHzFM
22:43K7JSG14MHzSSB59 55 POTA K3288
22:49AE7AP14MHzSSB55 25
23:05KF6HI7MHzSSB59 55
23:07N5DIM7MHzSSB52 55
23:08NW7E7MHzSSB55 53
23:10K7IMA7MHzSSB22 22 S2S W7W-LC115
23:11NS7P7MHzSSB55 44
23:11W7RV7MHzSSB59 57
23:11N0RSR7MHzSSB59 44
23:13NQ7R7MHzSSB44 32
23:16W7FAS7MHzSSB23:16
23:38KW6ACK144MHzFM
23:40K6KWI144MHzFM
23:41KI6RF144MHzFM
23:43KM6CEM144MHzFM
3N17, the road up to Pacifico. I thought this was closed to motor traffic, but there were several vehicles.
No shade
After about 5 miles, you see this sign directing you to the summit.
The trail gets a bit of shade.
But it’s rocky and steeper than the previous road.
Almost there!
Bikes at the top
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