So, this hike was kinda special in the since that the summit has never been activated before. Additionally, after 250 SOTA activations under my belt, I’ve never gotten a first activation. Since I was camping and hiking around in the area, bagging this peak was a priority.
My hiking partner E. drove up from Los Angeles very early in the morning to meet me at the place I was camping near Fremont Mountain. From there, we got in the truck and headed over to the trailhead, which was clearly marked with a hiking register. From here we traveled a bit west to check out some petroglyphs, then east to get back on an old jeep trail which got us closer to the bottom of Dome.
Hiking up past the jeep trail was steep, with loose rocks and several false summits. I stopped several times to rest and enjoy the views as we ascended from the desert floor. It was windy and cool. At the summit, I used my new Elecraft KH1 with the telescoping whip for the first time ever on the 15m band, then to 17m.
Relentless cold wind was getting to me and E. We signed the summit register which was placed in 1979 and started the trek down. Caution needed to be used going down as rocks were quite loose. Once down the steep part we jumped back on the old jeep road and headed back to the trailhead. Along the way I think we found the steam well which I’ve seen on maps. Unfortunately, there was no longer any steam that we could find.
https://sotl.as/summits/W6/ND-196
Max elevation: 4976 ft
Total climbing: 2877 ft
Total time: 06:16:25
Date:17/02/2024 | Summit:W6/ND-196 (Dome Mountain)
| Time | Callsign | Band | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:23 | W0MNA | 21MHz | CW | S55N R33N |
| 20:24 | W0ERI | 21MHz | CW | S55N R33N |
| 20:25 | KF9D | 21MHz | CW | S57N R53N |
| 20:30 | WB8BHN | 21MHz | CW | S571 31N |
| 20:33 | NT2A | 21MHz | CW | S57N R22N |
| 20:34 | N4LAG | 21MHz | CW | S57N R53N |
| 20:42 | K7ATN | 18MHz | CW | S52N R52N |
| 20:45 | K7SO | 18MHz | CW | S52N R52N |
| 20:46 | K7EFW | 18MHz | CW | S52N R52N |
