W6/SD-396 – Mine Benchmark

This was the third and last SOTA activation over a weekend trip to Anza-Borrego. It was later in the day and I needed to pick up my bike-packing pals in a few hours not too far from this summit so I had to make it a quick one. I parked the Jeep off the main road to the mine ruins, just before an area where the road was washed out, then hiked. I followed an old service road that went to the top of the mine ruins, then a sketchy scramble up a steep embankment to continue on. I’m glad I had some tracks to follow, as there are several ridges one could follow that dead-end; one could get somewhat lost up there. After a spirited walk to the top, I signed the register and waited for 00:00 UTC to start my activation. I stretched out my EFHW antenna and connected it to an MTR4B, first working 40M, then 20M. I got a text from the bike packing group with an ETA for their pickup so I packed up and headed down the hill the same way I came. The sketchy part was worse coming down, but overall it was a pretty easy hike, and perhaps my favorite of the weekend. After picking up the bike packing group, we went to Agua Caliente County Park for a dip in their excellent hot spring pool.

https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SD-396

Total distance: 2.58 mi
Max elevation: 1869 ft
Total climbing: 877 ft
Total time: 02:12:24
Download file: W6_SD_396_Mine_Benchmark.gpx

Date:10/03/2024 |  Summit:W6/SD-396 (Mine Benchmark) 

TimeCallsignBandModeNotes
00:05K6CPR7MHzCWS55N R52N
00:11N9OSW14MHzCWS33N R55N
00:15N6MTB14MHzCWS21N R33N S2S W6/SC-454
00:17KJ7DT14MHzCWS55N R55N
00:18WB7BWZ14MHzCWS57N R57N
00:19WW7D14MHzCWS57N R54N
00:22WB7HMA14MHzCWS55N R44N
00:23AK4JA14MHzCWS54N R55N

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