Saddleback Butte – W6/ND-308

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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

Total distance: 4.23 mi
Max elevation: 3644 ft
Total climbing: 1054 ft
Total time: 02:34:10
Download file: W5_ND_308_skunked_.gpx

13:55K2JB14MHzCWS44N R33N
14:02N0RZ14MHzCWS57N R55N
14:04WN4AT14MHzCWS51N R33N
14:06W4GO14MHzCWS33N R55N
14:11W5ODS14MHzCWS57N R55N
14:13W8EO14MHzCWS35N R55N
14:18AK5SD14MHzCWS52N R51N
14:29K7MK10MHzCWS57N R55N
14:31K6HPX10MHzCWS44N R51N
14:31N7CNS10MHzCWS45N R44N
14:32K9OZ10MHzCWS51N R55N
14:34N0DNF10MHzCWS51N R22N
14:44WG0AT7MHzCWS32N R55N
14:45K6YK7MHzCWS33N R33N
14:48WW7D7MHzCWS33N R53N

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