Butterbredt Peak was my first stop on a trip to activate several summits around the northern edge of the Mojave Desert and the south edge of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. I left Los Angeles for my trip late in the day which had me rushing to get up to the summit before 0:00 zulu. This also put me square in the hottest part of the day. The hike up Butterbredt started easy, but maybe a half mile in the path got steep and extremely sandy, to the point where I felt like I was on a sand treadmill, only making a few inches of progress for each step. Thankfully, this section was short and I was able to continue on. Along the way, fighter jets ripped through the sky along with the defining sound of their engines. I sat and watched them fly around for 10 minutes or so. The top was windy, which is expected on desert summits. I spotted via APRS and started calling CQ on 40M. Not too many takers. I moved to 30M and picked up one more contact, then moved to 20M. Picked up one more contact there. Just 4 contacts on 3 bands… Was my radio broken? Nope, there was a solar event which was blacking out HF. I hiked down the same way I came up, got into the truck and looked for a place to camp for the night.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SS-423

Date:01/06/2023 |  Summit:W6/SS-423 (Butterbredt Peak) 

This was my first summit of the day in a series of three. The day before I activated Butterbredt Peak to the south and camped at what might be my new favorite spot. Unfortunately the overnight wind was relentless and I got cold, so I didn’t get a good nights sleep. For the activation, I parked the truck near Dove Springs Canyon Road, and followed a moto trail to the top, where a several pinyon pines and some nice rocks lay. I found a summit register overflowing and signed mostly by moto riders upset about loosing land to ride dirt bikes on. I did notice several fences cut in the area so perhaps they are not allowed up there. There was also a benchmark which someone tried to pry off; I’m glad it’s still there. Worked all bands, then headed back to the truck to visit another summit.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SS-414

Date:02/06/2023 |  Summit:W6/SS-414 (Pinyon Mountain) 

Second summit of the day, an easy hike from the truck trail I was traveling down. I parked near an old mining operation, crossed the PCT and followed a wide moto trail to the summit. No more than 1/2 mile round trip. Rocky, plenty of space to stretch out an antenna. Had good luck on all three bands, several S2S.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SS-425

Date:02/06/2023 |  Summit:W6/SS-425 (5924) |  Callsign:AG6N |  Points: 6 |  Bonus: 0 | 

This was my 3rd summit of the day. I parked my truck near the PCT and cooked some ground beef patties on my small gas grill in the shade before hiking up to the summit. Beautiful short hike along the PCT among stands of Joshua trees. I got as close as I could to the summit on the PCT before heading up through a small canyon. This probably wasn’t the best way as this route required hiking along a rocky ridge. At the top I setup my equipment and get to work on the bands. Worked 20, 30, 40M CW, no QSOs on 30M. Called out on 2M FM, and got one station out in Phelan, AC – that’s pretty far away! I found a summit register placed by Bob Burd which was mostly empty, I signed with my call and placed the register back. I hiked down a different, easier way. Back at the PCT temperatures dropped so many through hikers were back on the trail. Back at the truck, I packed everything up and headed back to Los Angeles. What a great weekend out in the desert!

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SS-630

Date:02/06/2023 |  Summit:W6/SS-630 (6244) |  

This summit is in Joshua Tree National Park, so it qualifies for POTA in addition to SOTA if you’re into that kinda thing. I woke up early in the morning and headed out to JTNP to try and beat the heat of summer. While this hike isn’t very long, the wet winter was kind to various plants which were eager to seed. Of course, these seeds are scratchy and pokey, and moving through this knee high stuff was enough to cover my shoes and socks. Writing this blog post out two months later, I think those socks still have seeds stuck in them from this trip. Anyways, at the top was a nice flat area to setup an antenna and relax while operating. Worked 40M, 30M, and 20M CW before heading down. An easy, fun summit to bag, in an interesting area of JTNP.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SD-044

Date:15/06/2023 |  Summit:W6/SD-044 (5352) | 

This was a fun one for me. After hitting up a few easy summits with summer bonus points in the Crestline area, I kinda wanted to camp before heading home to Los Angeles. Saddleback Butte caught my eye because there are camping facilities right by the trailhead – the idea was to head up to the summit just after dusk and activate, come back to camp, sleep, then head home in the morning. The hike up was easy, sandy in some parts and calm with a slight breeze. It took about an hour to get to the top, where I was greeted with extremely high winds, so high my antenna mast broke at the fattest, bottom piece. It was impossible to get any kind wire up in the air. I ended up with my 20M wire segment blowing like a flag over a ledge. After calling for about 20 minutes on CW, which I knew wouldn’t work at this hour – I gave up, packed my battered equipment down and went back to camp. I didn’t sleep well because the campground is situated near a busy road; trucks and motorcycles kept me awake. At first light, I headed back up to the summit where is was much calmer than the night before. I worked 20, 30, 40M CW. After I exhausted all the chasers I headed back to camp before the summer desert heat took hold. I’d do this one again, but I’m not sure I’d camp there again.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/ND-308

Wyleys Knob is a drive-up summit west of the 14 in the Southern Sierras. To get there, I pulled off the road into Jawbone OHV area, and wiggled my way over the California Aqueduct, past Kiavih Wilderness, and over to Bird Springs Canyon Road. From there, you go through Bird Springs pass which was well stocked with water for PCT hikers. Shortly after the PCT, make a left up to the summit. Once there, I was delighted to find an old AT&T long lines tower (I think these are neat). At the top, I found refuge from the heat in the shade of one of the equipment shelters. This didn’t allow me to setup my antenna in an optimal way, but I gave it a shot anyways. Worked three bands, 30m, 40m, and 20m, but only made 5 contacts in about 20 minutes of calling CQ. Was this solar conditions or my crummy antenna deployment? At this point, I was hungry, so I packed up and headed to a interesting rock formation with a shady tree below the summit for lunch.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SS-405

Date:20/05/2023 |  Summit:W6/SS-405 (Wyleys Knob) 

Lane Mountain is an easy drive up summit, although, I would recommend a high clearance vehicle as the road up can be kinda rough. In the sprit of SOTA, I didn’t drive up all the way, but parked just below the top and hiked up. At the top is a communications site with several microwaves. You can walk around the fence housing the facility for great views of the surrounding areas. Once there, I immediately heard a couple friends I was camping with on 2M; it was nice to get them in the log. Worked 40, 30 and 20M. After exhausting chasers, I packed up and headed home to Los Angeles.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/ND-238

Date:07/05/2023 |  Summit:W6/ND-238 (Lane Mountain) 

A few times a year I camp with a group on a dry lakebed near the edge of Fort Irwin, and while I was aware of opportunities for SOTA in the area, I never activated – until Wells Benchmark. This summit is easy to find, located right off Copper City Road In addition, the hike up was easy, only taking 20 minutes or so. What made this activation difficult for me was the wind, which was extremely strong and relentless. I was able to get my antenna up and thankfully nothing got destroyed. Worked 40, 30, and 20M but didn’t make a ton of QSOs. I hiked down basically the same way. Back at the truck, I had a light breakfast and made my way over to an unactivated summit which turned out to be just on the other side of the Fort Irwin boundary fence, thus, no access.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/ND-289

Date:06/05/2023 |  Summit:W6/ND-289 (Wells Benchmark) 

Granite Benchmark is a summit I’ve wanted to visit for awhile but couldn’t get to with my tiny commuter car as the trail head is down a long fire road. Sadly, the clutch in the car was going out and the replacement cost exceeded the value of the vehicle. In addition to the clutch, it needed a bunch of other work so it made sense to sell the car and buy something else. I ended up with a 1st gen Toyota Tacoma 4×4, manual everything. So far, it’s a rad truck.

From Bouquet Canyon road, I turned on the forbidden Leona Divide fire road and headed to the trailhead, where there was a large clearing and plenty of room to park and not get in anyone’s way. The hike it’s self it pretty easy; It follows a power transmission line service road around a mile and a half one way, and maybe 700~800′ of elevation gain. Close to the summit, you cross under the lines and follow a short use trail to the top. On this particular day , it was extremely windy. I had a difficult time getting my wire antenna up. In addition, my mast broke twice. Worked 40M, 30M, and 20M CW. No S2S from this peak. After packing up and heading back to the truck, I continued my way down Leona Divide to activate Burn Benchmark, one I’ve previously activated before via mountain bike. You can read about that here.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-132

Date:06/04/2023 |  Summit:W6/CT-132 (Granite Benchmark)