I left work a bit earlier than usual one day to for a night activation, my first since starting with SOTA.  Temescal Peak is kinda close to my office so I wouldn’t need to suffer through SoCal traffic so much. I pulled up to an area which looked okay to leave the car, collected my equipment and started to hike up a paved drainage system, at which point I was welcomed by a sign to the Topanga State Park. A cool coastal breeze was welcome as I hiked along. I kept thinking how it would have been a nice on a mountain bike. At the top, I wasted no time to get the antenna setup. The summit is kinda small, so not much room for an EFHW, but that’s what I had so I made it work. Worked 40m, 30m and 20m CW in addition to 2m FM. Made 4 DX contacts on 20M in a row. Maybe I should do night activations more often? Hiking down, by flashlight started to die and I forgot spare cells. Luckily, the moon was bright which was enough to see where I was going. Next time I’m doing this one on a mountain bike.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-218

I seem to have lost the .gpx track, which would normally go here.

Date:11/05/2022 | Summit:W6/CT-218 (Temescal Peak)

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
03:23	NT6E	7MHz	CW	S55N R599
03:25	KJ7LLS	7MHz	CW	S52N R55N
03:26	AC2WU	7MHz	CW	S52N R42N
03:27	AI6XG	7MHz	CW	S56N R33N
03:28	W6LOR	7MHz	CW	S599 R57N
03:29	K6EL	7MHz	CW	S42N R55N
03:31	W9SSN	7MHz	CW	S599 R55N
03:38	WE0Q	10MHz	CW	S52N R57N
03:41	KI7QEK	10MHz	CW	S52N R55N
03:43	N0DET	10MHz	CW	S42N R42N
03:44	WW7D	10MHz	CW	S599 R42N
03:45	AF7M	10MHz	CW	S53N R55N
03:58	KM6UHU	144MHz	FM	S59+ R59
04:23	KG6MZS	144MHz	FM	S59+ R59
04:29	KI6SLA	144MHz	FM	S59 R59
04:37	F4WBN	14MHz	CW	S559 R599
04:39	ZL1TM	14MHz	CW	S42N R52N
04:41	SA4BLM	14MHz	CW	S33N R33N
04:45	JH1MXV	14MHz	CW	S42N R31N
04:46	NT6E	14MHz	CW	S599 R55N
04:59	WA6WV	144MHz	FM	S59+ R59

I wanted to hike some new terrain, so I mapped out a route through the Cow horns, east of Big Pine. Leaving Los Angeles around 6am got me to Big Pine before noon, where I bought some drinks and ice for the cooler before heading over to Death Valley Road. There is no actual trail that I could find. I started hiking up a wash, which had various levels and looked as if it would be a waterfall in times of rain. This was too sketchy for me, so I tried to get as much elevation as possible instead by climbing out of the steep wash through loose soil. It was starting to get hot, but I brought a giant golf umbrella to offer shade, which offered relief. After hiking for about 45 minutes I found the ridge line and headed straight to the summit. Once there I looked for a register, or a geo marker, but didn’t find anything. Worked 20,30, 40M CW. Wanting to activate the neighboring summit, I packed the station up and headed over……

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/IN-017

Download file: Cowhorns.gpx

Date:02/06/2022 | Summit:W6/IN-017 (7900)

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
20:22	K6HPX	7MHz	CW	S55N R53N
20:25	W7SKH	7MHz	CW	S53N R55N
20:26	WB6POT	7MHz	CW	S57N R57N
20:27	W7CBR	7MHz	CW	S55N R55N
20:28	N7CW	7MHz	CW	S52N R53N
20:29	K7EA	7MHz	CW	S55N R55N
20:29	W6JP	7MHz	CW	S52N R51N
20:30	NT6E	7MHz	CW	S57N R53N
20:33	K6QCB	7MHz	CW	S55N R42N
20:43	K7SO	10MHz	CW	S52N R55N
20:44	NS7P	10MHz	CW	S57N R55N
20:45	AF7M	10MHz	CW	S52N R55N
20:48	AC7P	10MHz	CW	S42N R33N
20:57	AK5SD	14MHz	CW	S52N R42N
20:58	K9WO	14MHz	CW	S51N R44N
21:00	W4JM	14MHz	CW	S33N R33N
21:02	AF7M	14MHz	CW	S55N R55N

The route I took over to W6/IN-036 was steep, and at one point I was questioning myself why I do things like this. It was hot, the ground under me was loose and I was consistently slipping. There are several nice shady trees on the ridge which offered additional shade. These trees felt a bit out of place as the whole journey thus far had seemed to be a bit treeless. Once at the summit, I looked around for any markers, or even a register but found nothing. Feeling fatigued, I setup my station and spotted myself on APRS. At 00:00 I shut the station down and headed back to the car. Going down was also steep and I only slipped once. I’d like to come back to these summits on a cooler day, and maybe place a register, and hopefully find a less steep route.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/IN-036

Date:02/06/2022 | Summit:W6/IN-036 (7900)

TIME	CALLSIGN	BAND	MODE	NOTES
23:05	NS7P	7MHz	CW	S52N R44N
23:06	K6QCB	7MHz	CW	S55N R53N
23:08	WA7JTM	7MHz	CW	S57N R55N
23:08	W6QX	7MHz	CW	S58N R55N
23:11	W7DLZ	7MHz	CW	S56N R22N
23:14	NT6E	7MHz	CW	S58N R55N
23:16	N6IZ	7MHz	CW	S52N R33N
23:27	N7CNH	10MHz	CW	S51N R53N
23:30	N7WI	10MHz	CW	S57N R55N
23:45	VE7HI	14MHz	CW	S42N R33N
23:47	AC7P	14MHz	CW	S42N R33N
23:49	W9APS	14MHz	CW	S33N R599



After waking up at camp in Big Pine, having a small breakfast and packing up all the camping gear, I headed back out to Death Valley Road to hike the summit of 8500, or Papoose Point, as I’ve seen it named elsewhere. It was quiet except for a few singing birds, and the air was mostly still, only disrupted by low flying F35 jets ripping through the canyons. I started hiking up the two track road, then eventually making a 90-ish degree turn straight up the mountain, over a ridge, down into a valley, then back up another ridge. This was unexpected and perhaps I could have found a different route. Once at the top, I found the summit register and signed it. There is enough room to stretch out a antenna. Not much natural shade at the actual summit, but there are trees just below to take refuge from the sun if needed. Worked 40m, 30m, and 20m CW. Two jets flying below the summit were so close I could almost see inside the cockpit, and so loud I couldn’t hear myself think. I’d love to take a ride in one! I took a different route hiking down which was steeper with more rocks, but more direct. Back at the car the temperature had really risen, so I was happy to turn on the A/C and cool down.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/IN-014

Download file: in014.gpx

Date:03/06/2022 | Summit:W6/IN-014 (8500)

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
17:29	NT6E	7MHz	CW	S58N R52N
17:31	K6EL	7MHz	CW	S529 R559
17:31	WA6KYR	7MHz	CW	S57N R56N
17:32	W7HO	7MHz	CW	S55N R33N
17:34	WB6POT	7MHz	CW	S52N R33N
17:37	N7CNH	7MHz	CW	S56N R54N
17:37	K6HPX	7MHz	CW	S58N R53N
17:48	KB7HH	10MHz	CW	S52N R54N
17:51	WW7D	10MHz	CW	S52N R43N
17:56	N1SMB	10MHz	CW	S2S W0C/SC-074 S33N R57N
17:59	K7SO	10MHz	CW	S51N R54N
18:00	KR7RK	10MHz	CW	S51N R53N
18:02	N6JZT	10MHz	CW	S51N R53N
18:03	K6QCB	10MHz	CW	S57N R53N
18:07	N6PKT	10MHz	CW	S53N R52N
18:11	K6TUY	10MHz	CW	S55N R55N
18:29	NS7P	14MHz	CW	S55N R55N
18:31	WB7BWZ	14MHz	CW	S52N R57N
18:33	KX6I	14MHz	CW	S2S W6/SC-460 S52N R55N
18:34	W2NC	14MHz	CW	S55N R55N
18:36	WA6GFE	14MHz	CW	S52N R55N
18:37	KG6OKI	14MHz	CW	S44N R42N