This was my 1st summit for 2025 So.Cal Winter SOTA Fest. Sometime last year, I worked two stations on this very summit during the 2024 Winter Sota Fest, so activating it makes it a complete for me. I left my home in Los Angeles early in the morning on a Friday and drove to Victorville to pickup some supplies at a grocery store before heading to Lucerne Valley. From there I jumped on a dirt road and headed towards Cougar Buttes. Finding the way was pretty easy, just follow various dirt roads to the general direction to the summit. Near the destination it got pretty sandy. I locked the front hubs on the truck in the event I needed 4wd. Once I was close, I got out and started hiking. The trip up is all boulder scramble. The large rocks reminded me of the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, CA. I needed to backtrack several times to find a better/ safer route. There isn’t much room at the top for an antenna. Additionally, it was extremely windy. This is where the KH1 with the internal whip really shines! Worked 15M CW, then quickly went QRT. On the way down I took a different route which was longer, but made the hike a loop. Overall, a fun scramble. I’d do it again!
Summit 1-> https://blog.benmook.com/w6-sd-140-cougar-buttes/
Summit 2-> https://blog.benmook.com/w6-sd-145-3938/
Summit 3-> https://blog.benmook.com/w6-sd-018-rodman-mountains-hp/
Summit 4-> https://blog.benmook.com/w6-sd-218-watkins-benchmark/
Summit 5-> https://blog.benmook.com/w6-sd-040-west-ord-mountain/
https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SD-140
Max elevation: 3968 ft
Total climbing: 578 ft
Total time: 01:51:14
Date:17/01/2025 | Summit:W6/SD-140 (Cougar Buttes)
| Time | Callsign | Band | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:24 | WW7D | 21MHz | CW | S52N R53N |
| 19:25 | KF6HI | 21MHz | CW | S51N R53N |
| 19:26 | WU7H | 21MHz | CW | S52N R32N |
| 19:28 | N4MJL | 21MHz | CW | S52N R53N |
| 19:29 | WB8BHN | 21MHz | CW | S33N R52N |
| 19:29 | N7UN | 21MHz | CW | S55N R55N |
