This was my second activation of the day, having hiked W6/CT-041 earlier. I was starving from a light breakfast so I stopped at a small diner in Angelus Oaks for a late lunch burger. From the diner, I took a small dirt road behind the post office as far as I could in my small commuter car, parked and started hiking to the summit. It had just rained, so there was quite a few large water puddles. If it was drier I could have just driven to the use trail that leads to the summit. The trail is pretty obvious, just steep. At the top there was a small rattle snake curled up right where I wanted to setup. The snake was there first so I put the antenna a bit further down the hill, but well within the activation zone. The clock just passed 00:00, and I was loosing daylight so I worked through the bands quickly, with a few S2S and a Japanese DX station. I rushed to tear the station down and hiked down the hill. I git back to the car right before the last light of the day. Perfect timing!

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-076

Download file: Constance_Peak_AG6N.gpx

Date:14/10/2022 | Summit:W6/CT-076 (Constance Peak)

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
00:05	NT6E	144MHz	FM	S59 R56
00:08	K6QSB	14MHz	CW	S57N R56N
00:10	K0LAF	14MHz	CW	S44N R33N
00:11	JG0AWE	14MHz	CW	S22N R33N
00:12	K6EL	14MHz	CW	S55N R599
00:13	VA2EO	14MHz	CW	S22N R22N
00:15	W6LOR	14MHz	CW	S52N R33N
00:15	WB6POT	14MHz	CW	S599 R599
00:17	W7SKH	14MHz	CW	S53N R55N S2S W6/CC-045
00:17	W7CBR	14MHz	CW	S58N R599 S2S W6/CC-045
00:18	K6STR	14MHz	CW	S52N 33N
00:19	KN6OMN	14MHz	CW	S599 R599
00:21	W4ZXT	14MHz	CW	S57N R55N
00:23	AI6XG	14MHz	CW	S52N R33N? S2S W6/CC-045
00:38	KM6CEM	144MHz	FM	S55 R55
00:39	KK6JM	144MHz	FM	S57 R59
00:40	KI6SLA	144MHz	FM	S59 R55
00:41	WA6WV	144MHz	FM	S57N R45

This hike starts off Hwy 38, across the street is a large area to park. I placed my Adventure Pass on the dash of my car, although I don’t think it was needed. After crossing the road and made my way through the woods a bit, I realized I couldn’t find the jeep road others had mentioned. Luckily I had a .gpx track saved on my phone, which I used to get back on track. The first mile of this hike is the steepest, gaining ~500′, 600′ in elevation. From there it relaxes quite a bit until the very end which is steep and covered in loose rocks. The summit is obvious, two large posts and a pile of rocks. There is a register here, but unfortunately it was soaking wet and covered in black mold. Worked 20, 30 and 40M CW, and 2M FM on the HT. I was able to open the 2M repeater out in Yucca Valley but nobody was available to chat. I took my time hiking down, enjoying the view and the beautiful juniper trees. I’ll be back soon!

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-041

Download file: 9465_AG6N.gpx

Date:13/10/2022 | Summit:W6/CT-041 (9465)

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
19:10	NT6E	144MHz	FM	S59+ R58
19:11	WA6WV	144MHz	FM	S59+ R59
19:14	KI6SLA	144MHz	FM	S59 R59
19:16	KE6GQD	144MHz	FM	S59 R59
19:18	N6JNY	144MHz	FM	S59 R59
19:32	KF6HI	7MHz	CW	S58N R54N
19:33	WB6POT	7MHz	CW	S5NN R57N
19:38	KX6I	7MHz	CW	S54N R55N S2S W6/SC-300
19:39	KR7RK	7MHz	CW	S57N R55N
19:51	K5DEZ	10MHz	CW	S52N R55N
19:52	K6HPX	10MHz	CW	S58N R57N
19:54	AF7M	10MHz	CW	S55N R55N
19:55	AI7DK	10MHz	CW	S56N R55N
19:56	WU7H	10MHz	CW	S42N R33N
20:12	W9MRH	14MHz	CW	S51N R52N
20:13	K7EA	14MHz	CW	S55N R55N
20:15	AK5SD	14MHz	CW	S44N R41N
20:16	W6DER	14MHz	CW	S56N R55N
20:18	WW7D	14MHz	CW	S42N R53N S2S W7W/KG-015
20:21	AC7MA	14MHz	CW	S33N R33N S2S W7W/KG-015
20:24	KA7GPP	14MHz	CW	S31N R44N S2S W7W/SK157
20:26	KD8DEU	14MHz	CW	S42N R22N
20:30	JH1MXV	14MHz	CW	S21N R22N

Smith Mountain has been on my list of summits to activate since I started with sota. I made an attempt to hike it the the previous year, but restrictions from the Bobcat fire were in place and the area was closed. The trailhead is easy to find; next to a pit toilet just off Hwy 39 above Azusa. From there the trail winds for three miles through beautiful canyons, gaining about 1,000 feet in elevation along the way. Once you hit the saddle, take a break because things are going to get steep. It took me some time to navigate the thick vegetation, rocks, and steep grade on this one, often finding a use trail but almost immediately loosing it. At the top, there was a benchmark and enough room to stretch out an EFHW antenna. Worked 20, 30, 40M CW and 2M FM with the HT. Coming down the mountain was a bit easier as I could locate the faint use trails a bit easier. Overall, this is a fun hike that’s accessible and close to the city. I’ll be visiting again in the future.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-120

Download file: Smith_Mountain.gpx

Date:16/09/2022 | Summit:W6/CT-120 (Smith Mountain

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
20:16	NT6E	144MHz	FM	S59 R59
20:18	KI6SLA	144MHz	FM	S59 R59
20:19	WA6WV	144MHz	FM	S59 R59
20:25	K6EL	7MHz	CW	S56N R22N
20:26	KI7QEK	7MHz	CW	S55N R55N
20:27	W7RV	7MHz	CW	S57N R56N
20:28	NA6MG	7MHz	CW	S57N R57N
20:31	KR7RK	7MHz	CW	S55N R55N S2S W7A/CS-089
20:32	N6JZT	7MHz	CW	S32N R55N
20:38	K6YK	7MHz	CW	S58N R57N
20:41	K6TUY	7MHz	CW	S55N R58N
20:41	KI6PMD	7MHz	CW	S58N R599
20:56	WB7ULD	10MHz	CW	S53N R56N
20:57	K6HPX	10MHz	CW	S58N R56N
20:58	K6QCB	10MHz	CW	S599 R57N
20:59	KI7VEM	10MHz	CW	S51N R33N
21:02	W6TDX	10MHz	CW	S51N R51N
21:06	K7CLA	10MHz	CW	S52N R599
21:09	N0RZ	10MHz	CW	S33N R51N
21:22	N5OO	14MHz	CW	S33N R33N
21:24	W0VQ	14MHz	CW	S52N R44N
21:25	NM5TW	14MHz	CW	S45N R57N
21:27	AC1Z/0	14MHz	CW	S51N R55N
21:28	NM5SW	14MHz	CW	S51N R599
21:29	W4ZXT	14MHz	CW	S53N R44N
21:32	KR7Q	14MHz	CW	S57N R55N
21:33	W5GDW	14MHz	CW	S33N R33N
21:35	AB4PP	14MHz	CW	S32N R22N
21:36	WW7D	14MHz	CW	S56N R52N
21:39	N7CNH	14MHz	CW	S52N R53N