Black Hill is a easy 1 point summit in Morro Bay with beautiful views of the ocean. You can drive most of the way to the top, free parking at the trailhead. After that it’s an easy walk to the summit on a well traveled dirt path. I brought along a KH1 and used the internal whip antenna. There is room for a full sized antenna, but the area is kinda small and a popular place to visit, so I didn’t want wires everywhere. Worked 15M, 17M and 20M and quickly logged 7 stations, including two S2S.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SC-378

Download file: BlackHill_AG6N.gpx

Date:06/09/2024 |  Summit:W6/SC-378 (Black Hill) 

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
17:22	WW7D	18MHz	CW	S58N R57N
17:23	NU7A	18MHz	CW	S56N R55N
17:25	KT0A	18MHz	CW	S2S W0D/BB-030 S52N R55N
17:34	N7KOM	14MHz	CW	S57N R55N
17:35	VA7JCF	14MHz	CW	S52N R22N
17:37	WU7H	14MHz	CW	S55N R52N
17:42	N1CLC	14MHz	CW	S2S W7A/AE-016 S52N R52N

Kel and I hiked up to this summit on the way up to Morro Bay. Down by the trailhead the temperature was a nice, cool 75F with a calm ocean breeze. This abruptly changed as we ascended. Inland temperatures around 100F were blowing over the ridge the trail follows. There is little shade and I was uncomfortably hot. Quite a bit of poison oak along the trail. A communications site is at the top with a few trees offering much appreciated shade and a view of the ocean. I used the KH1 and worked 15m, 17m, and 20m on the internal whip. Didn’t get a ton of QSOs but enough for a valid activation.

Download file: ValleyView.gpx

Date:05/09/2024 |  Summit:W6/SC-377 (Valley View Benchmark) 

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
21:49	AJ0BM	21MHz	CW	S56N R44N
22:01	W5ODS	18MHz	CW	S44N R32N
22:02	WW7D	18MHz	CW	S57N R51N
22:05	WU7H	18MHz	CW	S57N R33N
22:08	K5SJC	14MHz	CW	S58N R53N