Kel and I spent the weekend in Morro Bay for her birthday where we enjoyed visiting various restaurants and bars, their downtown farmers market, a few beaches, and some fancy coffee spots. We made several return trips to the Grassy Bar Oyster Company, which raise and sell oysters right from Morro Bay. It’s a low brow kinda place and you can BYOB. I like it. There are a few SOTA summits in the area, we did two; First Valencia Peak, then Black Hill the following day, which is very easy and shouldn’t be missed if you’re in the area.

From Morro Bay, we drove north up to Los Osos, found our way to Pecho Valley Road, and eventually the trailhead for Valencia; a nice drive mostly along the coast. It was somewhat early in the morning so heavy fog was in the area. The trailhead was well marked, and the trail was very easy to follow. The hike is a bit over 2 miles one way with 1,200′ of elevation gain. At the top is picnic table with good views to the east. The west was covered in fog still.

There were several people on the summit enjoying their time, so I didn’t stretch out a long antenna, but instead used the KH1 with internal whip. Conditions felt poor but I managed to get 6 QSOs on 20M, one S2S out in W0C. We were above the fog layer and it was starting to get hot, so after activating, we headed back down to the car and headed to Los Osos for coffee and breakfast.

I forgot to take a video at the summit, but here is a short 10 second clip on the way down.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SC-353

Download file: valencia.gpx

Date:09/08/2025 |  Summit:W6/SC-353 (Valencia Peak) 

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
17:54	W7DZ	14MHz	CW	S57N R56N
17:56	KXOR	14MHz	CW	S2S W0C/SR-053 S33N R33N
17:57	KF7PXT	14MHz	CW	S57N R55N
17:59	NO2D	14MHz	CW	S55N R55N
18:00	K7WA	14MHz	CW	S58N R55N
18:02	WB7VTY	14MHz	CW	S57N R43N

I woke up early in the morning at Tinemaha Creek campground, made some hot water, dumped in a tablespoon of instant coffee, gave it a stir, and drove the truck straight to Red Mountain. The air was cold and brisk with a slight breeze. It took longer to get to Red Mountain than I anticipated. There are several dirt roads which one could take but many were washed out or simply dead ended. I’m assuming there is a “main” road to bypass my adventure but I didn’t find it. Eventually I landed on a spot that looked like a promising location to start.

After slathering on sunscreen and chugging the remainder of my coffee, I started hiking up. Red Mountain is really a cinder cone and part of the Big Pines Volcanic Field. I’ve read it sits right above an active fault line. Loose, red basalt makes up most of the ground. There is no trail and vegetation is thick in some places, but easy to navigate around. At the top, the wind was really blowing. Luckily I was able to find shelter in a small hole at the top, perhaps left from a prospector? Worked 20 CW and hiked down. While hiking around the rim of the cone I noticed a group of mule deer chillin’ in the center. Overall, fun hike if you’re in the area.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/IN-049

Download file: RedMountain.gpx

Date:18/04/2025 |  Summit:W6/IN-049 (Red Mountain)

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
15:39	W6RT	144MHz	FM	S59 R59
15:54	JG0AWE	14MHz	CW	S44N R44N
15:55	W0MNA	14MHz	CW	S52N R33N
15:55	WW7D	14MHz	CW	S55N R53N
15:57	W0ERI	14MHz	CW	S52N R33N
15:59	W5BOS	14MHz	CW	S57N R53N
16:00	WU0A	14MHz	CW	S58N R57N
16:01	N7WPO	14MHz	CW	S58N R55N
16:03	WB7BWZ	14MHz	CW	S55N R52N
16:04	WA7BEN	14MHz	CW	S55N R55N
16:05	NO2D	14MHz	CW	S52N R55N
16:06	KA5PVB	14MHz	CW	S52N R52N
16:07	W7TMD	14MHz	CW	S57N R5NN
16:08	KK7FIM	14MHz	CW	S57N R55N
16:09	WU7H	14MHz	CW	S58N R55N
16:11	AG7UW	14MHz	CW	S52N R55N