The forests in California have all been closed to reduce the potential for fire, which means, tons of SOTA summits in W6 are off limits, however, there are tons of desert summits on BLM land which also qualify for a summer bonus. Looking at a map, I decided to hike Bell Mountain, and Little Bell Mountain, 2 points each with 3 bonus points. I left Los Angeles around 8am and headed to Apple Valley, then made my way to the trailhead via a dirt road. The hike was well defined with a bit of scrambling, which I found quite enjoyable. At the top, you will find a post flying an American flag cemented into the ground. Here there was a swarm of seemingly angry flying ants. Because if this I set my station up off to the side, adjacent to a small rock outcropping which offered a tiny bit of relief from the blazing sun. Worked KK6FR on 1.2GHz, then again on 70cm C4FM. Put spots out on 20m SSB, 40m SB and 30m CW. As the day proceeded I lost all my shade, which was my cue to start hiking down. Thanks for all the chasers!

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SD-152

Download file: BellMountain.GPX

Date:03/09/2021 | Summit:W6/SD-152 (Bell Mountain)

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
18:13	W0MNA	14MHz	SSB	S59 R57
18:14	WW7D	14MHz	SSB	S58 R54
18:15	KN6EZE	14MHz	SSB	S59+ R59
18:16	W0ERI	14MHz	SSB	S59 R59
18:16	K0LAF	14MHz	SSB	S32 R32
18:17	KJ7OIZ	14MHz	SSB	S58 R55
18:18	N0WAE	14MHz	SSB	S58 R43
18:39	KR7RK	7MHz	SSB	S32 R33 S2S W7A/AR-025
18:43	K6HPX	7MHz	SSB	S55 R53
18:47	K6EXE	7MHz	SSB	S52 R41
19:02	KK6FR	1240MHz	FM	S59 R59 %QRA%DM14FR%
19:03	KK6FR	433MHz	DV	C4FM
19:05	KE6U	433MHz	DV	C4FM
19:11	NO6EL	433MHz	DV	C4FM
19:21	WM6T	10MHz	CW	S559 R559

I started hiking up to 3690 just before sunset. The area where I was parked is used for target practice, as evident by discarded household items riddled with bullet holes and spent shells littering the ground. Hopefully, nobody would show up and start shooting at the hillside I was climbing up. or coming down. At the top, I was greeted with a beautiful sunset and warm desert winds. I setup my antenna mast in a pile of rocks and spotted myself on 40m SSB. No takers at all. Spotted myself on 40m CW, no luck there either. As it got dark, my mast fell over in the wind. Digging through my pack, it seems I forgot my headlight! Unable to fix the antenna system in the dark, I turned to the HT. Made two QSOs on 70cm simplex, C4FM digital. Moved to 2M FM and was greeted by KN6EZE, who called out on a local repeater asking people to chase me on simplex. Made enough contacts to qualify this summit. Thanks Mike! I packed up the radios and hiked down with a small light. I think it would be rad to camp up here on a warm summer night, maybe next year!

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SD-181

Download file: LittleBell.GPX

Date:04/09/2021 | Summit:W6/SD-181 (3690)

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
02:57	KK6FR	433MHz	DV	C4FM
02:58	KE6U	433MHz	DV	C4FM
03:02	KN6EZE	144MHz	FM
03:04	KO4PXK	144MHz	FM
03:05	KB6LTY	144MHz	FM
03:06	K6DY	144MHz	FM
03:07	W2QLH	144MHz	FM
03:08	KJ6QYP	144MHz	FM
03:13	KN6GOG	144MHz	FM