Tag Archives: POTA

W7A/PE-088 – Safford Peak

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After making some coffee, Kel and I left our accommodations in Iron Horse and headed out to Saguaro National Park West to hike Safford Peak. This is also qualifies for POTA US-0060. We started at a popular trailhead at the end of North Scenic Drive, slathered on some sunscreen and got on our way. The trail is well defined and starts gaining elevation quickly, weaving through the beautiful landscape of the Sonoran Desert. The trail eventually becomes a class 2 scramble to reach the summit. At the top is a register and plenty of options to plant a mast. Using a KH1 transceiver with the internal whip on 17M resulted in plenty of QSOs. I added a loading coil and picked up a few more on 40M. Tried 2M FM but didn’t have any takers. The hike down was the reverse of the accent, however, looking at a map post hike shows there could be an opportunity for a small loop through Sanctuary Cove? Overall, beautiful area, nice hike, great day to be out in the mountains. I’d do this one again.

https://sotl.as/summits/W7A/PE-088

Total distance: 3.73 mi
Total climbing: 1600 ft
Download file: Safford.gpx

Date:06/02/2026 |  Summit:W7A/PE-088 (Safford Peak)

TimeCallsignBandModeDistance (km)Notes
18:02NI0CK18MHzCWS599 R599
18:04WF4I18MHzCWS44N R33N
18:04WB6POT18MHzCWS57N R55N
18:05W0MNA18MHzCWS599 R599
18:07KX0R18MHzCW981S2S W0C/SR-054 S55N R51N
18:07W0ERI18MHzCWS599 R599
18:09KT0A18MHzCW1432S2S W0D/BB-037 S52N R53N
18:10KN6OMN18MHzCWS52N R55N
18:10WW7D18MHzCWS55N R47N
18:12K6EL18MHzCW1190S2S W6/NC-423 S52N R53N
18:12AK5SD18MHzCWS57N R51N
18:13K6YK18MHzCWS599 R55N
18:14W0ODS18MHzCWS55N R56N
18:15WU7H18MHzCWS55N R54N
18:15N4TU18MHzCWS55N R42N
18:16W1UL18MHzCWS32N R22N
18:28N1CLC7MHzCWS599 R57N
18:31KN6EZE7MHzCWS33N R33N
18:33KR7RK7MHzCWS55N R52N
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W6/SD-046 – Whale Peak

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Sorry for the sideways video…..

Whale Peak is in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, so this counts as POTA in addition to a SOTA activation if that’s your thing. You should probably be in a high clearance vehicle to get to the trailhead. Once there, the actual trail wasn’t obvious. You need to scramble up some granite boulders, at which point a well defined trail becomes visible. If I recall, there are two places where the trail kinda disappears, so bring a GPS with a map loaded.

The summit is beautiful, with Pinion Pines, Cholla, Creosote, and other desert plants. Once at the top I worked 20m and 40m CW. Attempted to use my new KH1, but ended up using a MTR 4b. Cold wind was starting to pickup, so I headed back down the hill and drove to a secret camping spot for the night. If you’re in the area, don’t skip this one.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SD-046

Total distance: 4.48 mi
Total climbing: 1668 ft
Download file: Whale_Peak.gpx

Date:08/03/2024 |  Summit:W6/SD-046 (Whale Peak)

TimeCallsignBandModeNotes
22:31WB7ULD14MHzCWS559 R539
22:34NB7O14MHzCWS53N R52N
22:46NT6E7MHzCWS58N R57N
22:48WU7H7MHzCWS51N R53N S2S W7W/CW-047
22:50WW7D7MHzCWS51N R41N S2S W7W/CW-047
22:50K6HPX7MHzCWS52N R57N
22:51K6CPR7MHzCWS57N R55N
22:52KX6I7MHzCWS31N R55N
22:53NK6A7MHzCWS57N R599
22:54W7GA7MHzCWS56N R55N
22:55N0MI7MHzCWS55N R55N
23:04AC6M14MHzCWS55N R55N
23:05NU7A14MHzCWS53N R33N
23:06KF8IV14MHzCWS53N R55N
23:07W5ODS14MHzCWS57N R57N
23:08N7EDK14MHzCWS55N R55N
23:09N7BYD14MHzCWS51N R55N
23:10AF9W14MHzCWS51N R52N
23:11KN6OMN14MHzCWS57N R55N
23:12W0JSL14MHzCWS57N R53N
23:13NE7ET14MHzCWS599 R599
23:15WN4AT14MHzCWSS7N R44N
23:16KA5VZE14MHzCWS31N R57N
23:17W6TDX14MHzCWS56N R55N
23:18WB7BHN14MHzCWS53N R51N