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

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

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

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

This wasn’t a planned summit for me. While driving north on US 395 to camp and hike other various summits, I noticed some hills in the distance. I pulled over and checked the SOTA maps and found I was looking at W6/SD-463 and W6/ND-270. They didn’t seem to be too far off the highway and the day was still early and cool. I made the detour and headed down Shadow Mountain Road – A slow dirt washboard road. Navigation was easy, and W6/ND-270 seemed the easiest of the two summits, so I headed to the base of the mountain. There are two hills – One I believe is an FAA radar site, and the other is the Shadow Mountains. I parked at a clearing at the bottom and hiked up. At the top was an empty radio shelter with some pretty decent artwork. I heard some radio chatter on 2M simplex and made a QSO there before setting up on 20M CW. There was little breeze and the sun was intense. After working chasers I packed up and headed back to the truck, then continued my way north on US 395.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/ND-270

Date:02/05/2025 |  Summit:W6/ND-270 (Shadow Mountains (HP))

From US-395, I drove east on Fremont Peak Road. Some sections were smooth and fast, other parts were washboard slow. Somewhere around 35.19629419590779, -117.52994646089353 the road splits. Going left will take you to the dry lake beds. You want to go straight. From here, the summit should be obvious. I parked above the mine ruins and started my hike up. There is a gnarly 4×4 trail I followed until I picked up a light use trail. The very end was steep and loose. At the top was some sort of repeater installed in a pelican case, along with solar panels and an antenna. No markings on the case to indicate it’s operating frequency. Ham? GMRS? Does it even work anymore? I setup my station and worked 40M. As the sun was going down, so was I. Back at the truck I drank a beer watching the sunset, then headed to the dry lakes to camp for the night.

A good write up of the geology is here.

https://sotl.as/summits/Wmsty6/ND-231

Date:03/05/2025 |  Summit:W6/ND-231 (Fremont Peak) 

Crater Mountain is just to the west of Big Pine, CA. It’s easily accessible by a dirt road on the west side of the summit. I drove up to the high point on the road, parked on the side, and cross country hiked across the lava fields. There were grazing cattle everywhere. About half way up I picked up a use trail to the summit. At the top is a register and a pole to attach a mast to. On the day of my assent, the wind was brutal. My mast snapped in half, I couldn’t sign the register without the whole thing blowing away. You could do that thing where you lean far into the wind but not fall over. I found a a bit of shelter from the wind on the lee side of the summit. Used a KH1 with the whip antenna to make QSOs on 20M, and 17M, then headed down. The route back was close to my ascent, zing-zagging around the cows. Looking at a map later, I found that use trail I picked up leads to some lava tubes. Next time I’m out there I need to check those out.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/IN-042

Date:18/04/2025 |  Summit:W6/IN-042 (Crater Mountain) 

I’ve wanted to visit Mazourka Peak since I started SOTA, 5 years ago. The summit is a drive up from Independence on Hwy 395, take Mazourka Canyon Road from the south end of town all the way to the top. Took about 2 hours one way to drive the 22 miles up on the gravel road. At the top are some small radio shelters, and an amateur repeater. It was obnoxiously windy and cold, so my visit was short. I setup a Yaesu 817 with an EFHW antenna and worked 20M CW. One FM QSO to a ham in Bishop, CA. On the drive down I stopped several time to explore old mining ruins, and to scout another summit. I’ll be back up there again soon!

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CD-005

Date:17/04/2025 |  Summit:W6/CD-005 (Mazourka Peak)

If you have ever driven up to Mammoth Lakes from Los Angeles, you probably drove right past Red Hill. The hill is an ancient volcano, which is covered in small marble sized volcanic rock called cinders. The surrounding area features fields of basalt, with Fossil Falls just to the south of the summit. I parked my truck on the side of Red Hill, in an area where it appeared to be mined for it’s cinder. From there I started up. You can make out a use trail most of the way. The small, loose cinders made the trek up slow, as it felt like walking on a beach, except worse. Take a step, slide back a bit. Once at the top I used the KH1 with the whip. Worked 6 stations across two bands – two S2S. While packing up I found the summit register hidden in some rocks. I signed it and started heading down. Loose rocks make the decent quick, and I was back on the highway heading north quickly.

https://sotl.as//W6/ND-283

Date:17/04/2025 |  Summit:W6/ND-283 (Red Hill) 

I’ve overlooked this summit for years because it was rarely activated and only worth two points. I got skunked twice on two earlier SOTA attempts due to closed roads. Frustrated, I pulled over to the side of the road and found the closest summit to me. That was Burn Benchmark. After some quick research, I headed into the OHV area, parked where other vehicles were parked and headed down the well used trail. I did not see any no trespassing signs anywhere along my route. The hike was mostly enjoyable, however it was very windy. About 2/3rds of the way there you see a very steep mountain; a small makeshift sign read “Hell Hill”. I’m assuming a dirt biker put it there as, there was evidence of dirt bikes in the area. As a guy who rides, I have no idea how you could wrangle a bike up something like this. Perhaps they went down? Their efforts left permanent scars on the hillside. Bummer.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-271

Date:04/04/2025 |  Summit:W6/CT-271 (Burn Benchmark)

I woke up early at the big RV parking lot/ campsite in Stovepipe wells; not my favorite place to sleep but an easy option. I quickly made some coffee and headed up to Towne Pass to start my hike up to Pinto Peak. Once there and moving around I noted the temperature was 37F, the wind was blowing at an uncomfortable speed, and I was wearing shorts. The sun wasn’t over the horizon yet so I knew it would warm up at the day progressed. As I started the hike up the first climb, the sun peaked over the landscape directly in front of me, inhibiting my vision. This made route finding somewhat tricky. The majority of this hike is class 2, with some light class 3 sprinkled in.

After several wrong turns, I finally made it to the summit, where I found and signed the register. It was still very windy at the top, setting up my standard EFHW antenna would have been tricky, and perhaps result in a broken mast or wire. Luckily I brought a KH1. This radio has a small whip antenna and tuner built in. While not a great performer compared to full size aerials, it works in situations like this well. Huddled behind the rock cairn, out of the wind – I worked 15M, and 17M. No S2S unfortunately.

After the working all stations in the initial pileups, I signed QRT and headed back to the truck. I’d had enough of the strong winds and was feeling fatigued by it. I made good time heading down the hill but made several wrong turns off my initial track which slightly extended the trip. This also sent me down some class 3 spots which I could have possibly avoided. Back at Towne Pass, there was a guy in a 1st generation Toyota Tacoma refueling from portable jugs. He was pulling a large, 7,000 pound trailer. I chatted with him a bit and turns out the truck had the 2.7L engine, mated with an automatic transmission. Impressive.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/ND-055

Date:21/02/2025 |  Summit:W6/ND-055 (Pinto Peak) 

From Highway 190, take Dante’s View Road all the way to a large parking area. This is a pretty well known spot in Death Valley which offers stunning views of Badwater Basin and the Panamint Range. The summit of Dante Benchmark is just a short hike north of the parking area, and beyond that, Mount Perry, a little over 4 miles away on a well worn trail.

Like most of my hikes, I got up to the trailhead later than I would have liked. From there I wasted no time getting on the trail and away from the tourists on the pavement. It only takes about 5 minutes (or less) to get to the first summit, but my plan was to activate the furthest one first. The trail to Mount Perry is easy to follow, but you loose about 1,000 feet of elevation on the way there, before climbing another 1,000 feet back up. Near the summit the trail is a bit of a scramble. See .gpx file below. Once at the top I had the whole mountain to myself. I setup an EFHW and worked 15M and 7M CW, no S2S. After exhausting the initial round of chasers I packed up and headed back to Dante Benchmark.

https://sotl.as/summitRidges/W6/ND-142

Date:20/02/2025 |  Summit:W6/ND-142 (Mount Perry) 

I made it back to Dante Benchmark 30-ish minutes before UTC turnover and was feeling pretty scorched from wind and sun exposure. I was also pretty hungry. Not wanting to setup a full sized antenna, I found a nice rock near the top to sit on, and used a KH1 with the internal whip to make contacts on 17M CW. By the time I was getting back to the truck the sun was setting and the cold desert temperatures were creeping in.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/ND-144

Date:20/02/2025 |  Summit:W6/ND-144 (Dante Benchmark)