W6/CT-030 – Mt. Lukens

Up until this summit I may have been logging my QSOs wrong. After 00:00 UTC, the activation starts over and chasers can claim additional points with another QSO.

Mount Lukens is the highest point in the city of Los Angeles. I started the bike ride up at Grizzly Flats trailhead off Hwy 2. At the fork in the fire road, stay left. (Going right brings you to Hoyt Mountain). The fire road narrows, eventually turning into a single track. This leads up to the main road up to the summit.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-030

(Update 05-09-2022 – a server migration, plugin and php update revealed the timestamps on this .gpx file are broken. I’ve added fake times so this page renders correctly)

Total distance: 13.28 mi
Max elevation: 5092 ft
Total climbing: 2771 ft
Total time: 00:39:41
Download file: Lukens.gpx

Date:27/Feb/2020 Summit:W6/CT-030 (Mount Lukens) 

TimeCallBandModeNotes
22:29zN6IET144MHzFM 
22:32zK6LDQ144MHzFM 
22:33zNA6MG144MHzFM 
22:35zNA6Z144MHzFM 
22:36zAI6VK144MHzFM 
22:38zKN6GOX144MHzFM 
22:42zWA9STI144MHzFM 
22:49zKN6CJK144MHzFM 
22:54zKK6WFC144MHzFM 
22:55zK6CPR144MHzFM 
22:58zKF6PFM144MHzFM 
23:17zW0MNA14MHzSSB 
23:21zK6JGM14MHzSSB 

Date:28/Feb/2020 Summit:W6/CT-030 (Mount Lukens) 

TimeCallBandModeNotes
00:01zNQ7R7MHzSSB 
00:02zNK6A7MHzSSB 
00:05zWA9STI7MHzSSB 
00:06zN6AN7MHzSSB 
00:07zW7RV7MHzSSB 
00:12zK6LDQ7MHzSSB 
00:14zN6MKW7MHzSSB 
1994 Marin Zig-Zag Trail
The fire road down

UPDATE! First activation of 2021, 2nd activation of Lukens – Biked up Lukens the same way as I had done last year, via Grizzly Flats. This is a super fun ride. Kel, eBun, and Tim rode up with me for this quick activation. I foolishly didn’t bring my HT, so I couldn’t self spot. No cellphone service. There was also high wind, so I just worked 2M FM as I didn’t want to struggle with the HF antenna. RF is extremely high on the summit, which causes the radio to struggle.

Date:09/01/2021 | Summit:W6/CT-030 (Mount Lukens)

TimeCallsignBandModeNotes
22:53WA6QXA144MHzFM 
22:54KN6CJK144MHzFM 
22:55KB6YBV144MHzFM 
22:58KN6GPF144MHzFM 
22:59KN6ZEA144MHzFMRoger
23:00KI6SLA144MHzFM 
23:01WB2WIK144MHzFM 
23:02KN6KOR144MHzFM 
23:03K6GKA144MHzFM 
23:04KN6DMO144MHzFM 
23:04WA6WV144MHzFM 
23:05K6PVZ144MHzFMPaul
23:05N6MKW144MHzFM 
23:06KI6RF144MHzFM 
23:08KE6PLA144MHzFM 
23:09KM6UHU144MHzFM 
23:10KM6EHD144MHzFM 
23:10K6MAA144MHzFM 
23:11KM6PRD144MHzFM 
23:12W9SSN144MHzFM 
23:12N6DAI144MHzFM 
23:13KN6JRN144MHzFM 

Edit – December 5th, 2022. There was a fire lookout tower on Lukens, the info below was taken from firetower.org without permission of any kind.

http://firetower.org/lookouts/us/ca/mount-lukens-lookout-site/

Description

The original Mount Lukens structure was built in 1922 and burned in a wildfire in late 1933. The structure was replaced in some time after that with a California Region 5 Plan 4AR on a 10 foot open timber tower.

Reports suggest the lookout structure was dismantled and moved to Josephine Peak in 1935. San Rafael Lookout opened in 1934 and covered much of the same area. Photos of the Josephine Peak Lookout suggest a new structure was built there and the Mount Lukens structure was not used.

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