Kel and I made a quick weekend trip through the White Mountains, camping at Grandview the night before and hiking a few of the lower summits. I’ve had pretty bad altitude sickness in the past so I was prepared to turn around at any point on the trip up. Luckily, by the time we got to the end of White Mountain Road, both Kel and I felt great. I attribute this to camping at Grandview and hiking Clem Nelson before gaining additional altitude. We do live at sea level so…..

The hike to Piute Mountain was pretty straight forward; about 3 miles round trip and 1k feet of gain. You can pretty much see the summit from the parking area, just walk straight up to it. We picked a good day to be there. A slight breeze with a temperature in the low 70’s. It was perfect. Worked 40M, 20M CW, even got a 2M FM contact up there.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/WH-003

Date:11/07/2024 |  Summit:W6/WH-003 (Piute Mountain) 

Arctic Point is near Big Bear, CA on the north side of the Holcomb Valley. I took the truck as far as I could on Hepburn Mine Road until I got to 3N10, John Bull trail, which is listed as a black diamond, most difficult. Once you see it you will know why. From there I hiked 1.5ish miles to the top, including some cross country. The summit is rock which requires a short scramble to the the benchmark. I used a EFHW antenna stretched across the rock to my KH1 for the activation. Worked several bands until the KH1 started overheating and stopped transmitting. I was getting pretty warm myself so I packed up and headed back to the truck.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-051

Date:31/05/2024 |  Summit:W6/CT-051 (Arctic Point) 

I started my trip up Gold Mountain from 3N16/ Holcomb Valley Road and parked the truck near Gold Mountain Road and hiked 1.5 miles to a large clearing. From there, a short cross country hike gets you to the actual summit. The top is small and rocky, so I used the KH1 internal whip over a full size antenna. Worked 10 stations across 15, 17, and 20M, then headed back down the way I came.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CT-053

Date:30/05/2024 |  Summit:W6/CT-053 (Gold Mountain) 

Black Hill is a easy 1 point summit in Morro Bay with beautiful views of the ocean. You can drive most of the way to the top, free parking at the trailhead. After that it’s an easy walk to the summit on a well traveled dirt path. I brought along a KH1 and used the internal whip antenna. There is room for a full sized antenna, but the area is kinda small and a popular place to visit, so I didn’t want wires everywhere. Worked 15M, 17M and 20M and quickly logged 7 stations, including two S2S.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SC-378

Date:06/09/2024 |  Summit:W6/SC-378 (Black Hill) 

Kel and I hiked up to this summit on the way up to Morro Bay. Down by the trailhead the temperature was a nice, cool 75F with a calm ocean breeze. This abruptly changed as we ascended. Inland temperatures around 100F were blowing over the ridge the trail follows. There is little shade and I was uncomfortably hot. Quite a bit of poison oak along the trail. A communications site is at the top with a few trees offering much appreciated shade and a view of the ocean. I used the KH1 and worked 15m, 17m, and 20m on the internal whip. Didn’t get a ton of QSOs but enough for a valid activation.

Date:05/09/2024 |  Summit:W6/SC-377 (Valley View Benchmark) 

This is a pretty straight forward hike up to East Butte, about 1.5 miles and 750 feet of elevation gain. The summit is located in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, so this activation counts as POTA too if that’s your thing. I completed this summit in early March, which felt like a perfect time to be out in the desert. Lots of Ocotillo, Creosote, and even some Desert Lily. There is a register placed at the top.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SD-432

Date:09/03/2024 |  Summit:W6/SD-432 (East Butte)