Yesterday, July 9, I went back to Vollmer Peak (W6/NC-298) to watch the sunset and work some HF. The fog and sunset made for a memorable hike!
The IARU contest was happening this weekend so there was a lot of activity! I just stuck with the mic this time, connected with some big gun contest stations before the sun set and it became chilly and dark. Notably, I was able to work NP2X on the Virgin Islands with 2.5W SSB… not bad!
On June 12, 2016, I joined Chris KJ6GLR on a hike to Abrott Benchmark (W6/NC-417, 308m, 1 pt) in Kennedy Grove regional park. We started at the Patra Drive entrance and took the Lower Seafoam trail to the Upper Seafoam. Near the edge of Kennedy Grove, there is a short fence to cross over to continue on to the summit. My photos from the hike did not survive an untimely SD card crash, but if they did, you would have seen some scenery from this part of the trail, which wound down through a beautiful saddle before a short and steep ascent to the peak.
We had a good time on the peak working some of the ARRL VHF contest. I dropped to HF after a bit since, despite our best efforts, we were interfering with each other. This proved to be an auspicious choice, since I was able to log two summit-to-summit contacts (WS0TA on Clara Peak in NM and KC7DM on 4182 in OR)!
This past Saturday, May 28, I went to Sunol Regional Wilderness to activate Maguire Peak, which at 1688 feet, is often overlooked in favor of taller summits nearby (Mission Peak, Mount Diablo). My friend James was visiting from Ohio, and he was interested in a hike with fewer people, and this one definitely delivered! Despite the beautiful day, we only saw three other hikers the entire time. This was the very first SOTA activation of this mountain, and also my first attempt at an HF activation (though it did not start out that way!).
We parked on Welsh Creek Road after getting a parking permit from the ranger at the Sunol Wilderness main entrance, and started onto the trail. The first part of the hike was a climb through a wooded area that leads to the exposed, sunny trail that loops around the Maguire Peaks and is evidently popular with cows.
There are two popular use-trails on the west face of the mountain for access to the summit. To ascend, we used the southwest ridge use-trail, which is the grassier and slightly less steep of the two. Since these use-trails are narrow and near tall grass, we had a lot of pointy plant bits sneak into our shoes by the time we got to the summit. The peak is breezy and there’s a boulder perfect for sitting down on, and some shade offered by a small cluster of trees.
After resting at the summit for a few minutes, I took out my equipment and realized that I forgot to bring a microphone compatible with the FT-817! Luckily, I had a speaker-mic for my HT (which I had not brought) in my antenna bag and I found that I could key CW with it by squeezing the PTT switch! I used an end fed wire antenna with one end tied to a tree and got to town on 20m with my squeeze-key once I found an open frequency on the novice band (there was a contest this weekend).
I was fortunate to have strong signals coming in from skilled chasers, including the prolific K6EL, who has now worked me on 3 of my 7 activations.
I also experimented with APRSDroid to report our GPS location to APRS over the cell network. We gained coverage as we climbed up onto the loop trail and up the mountain, so you can see the use-trail paths more clearly. Next time I’ll try reporting by packet to keep RF use 100% amateur radio. 🙂
On March 26, 2016, I went out to one of my favorite spots, Briones Regional Park, to go for another SOTA activation. This time, I made my contacts from 1483 feet on Briones Peak. I brought my HT and 2m Yagi as usual.
I started at the Reliez Valley Staging Area and cut a course that took me through bits of Blue Oak Trail, Blue Oak Shortcut, Spengler Trail, and Briones Crest Trail, for a total of a bit over 2.0 miles. Here’s the path, rendered Indiana-Jones style:
It was a beautiful hike through consummate rolling hills, made green by this year’s rainy El Niño winter. From this staging point, there were just over 1000 feet to climb to arrive at Briones Peak.
Activation was a bit slow this time, and a few groups of hikers came up to ask about what the crazy guy with a radio was doing, including an engineer at Keysight. KO6PS recognized me by my sign and voice, even though our last QSO was in mid-December (during my SOTA activation of Black Point).
I pulled in 8 contacts this time, getting out to Santa Rosa for a few of them (~60 miles):
My CW skills are getting to the point where I would be comfortable taking out an HF on the next SOTA activation – looking forward to that!
On December 5, 2015, we went to Diablo State Park to try this excellent little hike. Point Black (1791′) is far less popular than its taller neighbor Mount Diablo (3848′), so very few people appear to use the trail. We only passed one other hiker the entire ~5 mile loop.
We parked at the Mitchell Canyon Visitor Center close to the Black Point trailhead. The park guide on duty recommended that we take the loop in the clockwise direction (most first-time hikers go counterclockwise) so that we would tackle the steepest straight portions during the ascent. This saved the north face’s winding switchbacks to the descent, which was a lot of fun!
Activation was easy this time: seven QSOs in under 20 minutes, all on 2m. As usual, I brought my Yasesu FT-60R with a 3-element handheld Yagi.
2m QSOs: KQ6DI, KE6DLT, N6OJ, NO6PS, KG6N, W6XZZ, AF6RL.
On October 31, 2015, I visited Mount Davidson in San Francisco. This is the highest natural point in the city and it is the home of a giant concrete cross famously featured in the film Dirty Harry. The summit is at an elevation of 928′ and is worth one SOTA point.
After parking in the surrounding neighborhood, it was a very short hike (less than one mile) to the peak. Again, I used a Yaesu FT-60R with a handheld 3-element 2m Yagi to make these contacts. Many curious dog walkers, bikers, and joggers asked questions about my very conspicuous Yagi! All in all, it was a nice, quick trip to the city.
2m QSOs: K6BMC, W4NJK, AF6JP, KJ6OG.
For this SOTA activation (summited April 4, 2015), we went to the tiny (156-acre) Fremont Peak State Park near San Juan Bautista to climb Fremont Peak. The road to the park entrance wound through the Gabilan mountains and offered scenic views of the surrounding valleys and oak groves. Once we finally made it to the park entrance, we were a half-mile hike from the summit with 300 feet to climb. The summit is at an elevation of 3173′ and is worth two points upon successful activation.
There were many lizards on the hike, including the famous five-lined skink. It’s a good trail for lizard watching, but unfortunately I did not get any good wildlife pictures with my crummy smartphone camera. Just imagine the above scene with dozens of lizards running around.
We reached the summit after a very short hike.
This flagpole evidently commemorates the first time the United States flag was flown over California, here on Fremont Peak (named for the US general who raised the flag).
Again, I used my Yaesu FT-60R with a handheld 3-element 2m Yagi. This was a quiet activation, but I managed to make the four required QSOs with some more time for ragchew than usual.
2m QSOs: WD6DWP, KK6IQY, W6IIQ, KM6IKE.
On March 22, I went for a hike to Mount Wittenberg, which is the highest peak in Point Reyes at 1407′. I brought my Yaesu FT-60R and a portable 2m Yagi-Uda to activate the peak for Summits on the Air (SOTA). This peak was my second SOTA activation and it was a success, despite a bumpy (and foggy) start. This time, Stefanie (KK6STE) came along with me for the hike.
We used the trailhead at the Bear Valley Visistor Center and started the hike around 10 am. From this point, the summit was about two miles and a 1300′ climb away.
Soon into the hike, we entered the forest. There are beautiful Douglas fir and oak trees all along the path. The fog started to wrap around us as we climbed.
Eventually, we came to a small clearing a short distance from the summit. The Z Ranch Trail meets at this fork, along with another path that continues into the Sky Trail.
It took a little hunting to find the medallion that marked the actual summit, which is just off the path. The entire ridge is surrounded by trees so it’s difficult to get a good view. After calling CQ for 15 minutes, I was finally answered by KM6G all the way in Gualala! KE6WC soon followed, also in Gualala. We had trouble making contacts for a while, so we took a rest while the fog cleared away. In the meantime, we found a stick lying on the ground that worked beautifully as an antenna mount.
This stick was just what we needed to get the rest of the QSOs! This augmentation got us to Clear Lake, Half Moon Bay, and a trio of hams hiking around Mount Saint Helena. Another successful trip!
2m QSOs: KM6G, KE6WC, AG6DM, N1PPP, N0EDS, KG6NUB, KK6SNM, KK6SLO.
On March 14 (Pi day!) I went up to Vollmer Peak in Berkeley (named for the city’s first police chief), which is its tallest point at 1905′. This was my first attempt at a summit activation for Summits on the Air, an amateur radio activity that consists of hiking up the top of a peak and setting up a mobile station to make contacts with other amateurs.
This was a clear Saturday morning so there were some spectacular views of the bay. I started in Tilden Park, near the steam trains.
I look the Seaview Trail, a paved trail that winds around some phenomenal views before a short climb (1000′ climb over 0.2 miles) to the peak. The hike was about 0.7 miles in total.
The summit is well-developed with plenty of radio equipment taking advantage of the peak’s prominence.
Briones Reservoir off to the northeast.
Mount Diablo looming over in the east.
After enjoying the view, I grabbed my 2m Yagi-Uda and called CQ with a Yaesu FT-60R on 5W. I got an immediate reply from K6EL in San Francisco and the rest followed quickly. Despite my shaky arms (I really need to get a mount!) I was able to make 11 contacts before stopping.
2m QSOs: K6EL, AI6BH, N6HBJ, WA6UHA, KA4VBF, KO6PS, KE5RS, N6NCX, KG6CSE, KI6SZK, KR6BB.
Tom Zajdel 