North Chalone Peak (W6/SC-149) SOTA

On 14 March Peyton and I decided late that we were going to head to Pinnacles National Park and do some hiking / SOTA. We arrived at the camping area at Pinnacles about 2330 to find that all of the campsites had been taken. This was not that big of a deal as we were probably just going to throw the sleeping bags in the back of the truck anyway. We parked in the overflow parking area and threw the sleeping bags out and went to sleep. At about 0600 we woke up to frost covered sleeping bags. We tossed them inside the truck and took off, following two other vehicles to the trailhead. There is space for about 12 cars at the TH. Get there early or you will not get one! We ate some breakfast, Cliff bars, and headed up the trail as soon as it was light enough to see it. About 1 mile in I encountered the caves. I knew there was caves but did not realize that our route would take them right through them. They were amazing! We continued on up the trail to the summit. The day was great at about 80 degrees and my only worry was sunburn. We had originally planned to do South Peak also but SOTA always depends on the energy of my trusty companion Peyton. When Peyton is not to motivated to keep going then it is time to head down. He was really excited to get back and explore the caves. If you have never been to PInnacles and have the chance. Do it! The caves are amazing, if they are open. I overheard a Ranger saying that most of the caves are only open in March and again in October depending on the migration pattern of the Bats. We got LUCKY and were there at the right time. 

Cell Signal: 

Good analog signal. Was receiving and sending SOTA goat spots but I would not depend on it.

 Radio working conditions: 

Great conditions

Trail Conditions

Awesome

Weather: 

At wake up about 32 degrees but quickly warmed up to about 80. Cave temperature at a solid 45 degrees. Felt good after the long hike.

Fees:

$5 for park entree. $21 for camping

Everytrail Route

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2702157

Setup: 

PFR3 with 1800 m/ah LiPo - http://www.qrpkits.com/pfr3.html

Lambda Antenna - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXo0XucRpt0&list=FLuy-J6QwwXmIdgM0-I2ue7w&index=1

Elecraft T1 Tuner - http://www.elecraft.com/T1/T1.htm - I was trying this new toy out today. Worked amazing! 

AME Porta Paddle II - http://www.americanmorse.com/portapaddle.htm

Contacts: 

I continue to try and make John's call (KB7HH) KB7SS and he continues to correct me. Somehow I always miss that extra dit at the end. I will get it straight one of these days John. Robert (K6TUY) squeeked in on me at the end of 40m and then was my first contact on 30m. Thanks!

I appreciate everyone who stuck it out for me and continues to stick it out with me on CW. I know that I am not the greatest operator but I do my best to get the job done. This is the first time that I actually showed you my log becuase even it is getting better! In the past it looked pretty scared up! Thank you all so much for sticking with me!

I had 20 Contacts on 3 bands with the PFR3. For more pictures and downloadable gpx tracks see my everytrail post.

Thanks Chasers!

Cerro San Luis Obispo (W6/SC-357) SOTA Activation

On Monday 17 Feb. Del and I were getting ready for the three hour trip back up to the bay area and back to our real life! I saw that Cerro San Luis Obispo (W6/SC-357) had not been activated and was a fairly easy hike to the summit. Del was still pretty sore from our hike on Saturday but was up for this one!

Route: 

Once you are in San Luis Obispo this one is hard to miss. The parking area is right off of the Marsh street exit of HWY 101.

Cell Signal: 

Full digital signal.

Radio working conditions: 

No issues. Nice and quiet on the bands

Trail Condition: 

Very nice trail all the way to the top.

Weather: 

Great day at about 55 degrees. A nice breeze!

Fees: 

None 

EveryTrail Route: 

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2669698

Setup: 

PFR3 with internal AA batteries - http://www.qrpkits.com/pfr3.html

Note: the AA batteries lasted me on all three activations without a charge. I was impressed.

Lambda Antenna - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXo0XucRpt0&list=FLuy-J6QwwXmIdgM0-I2ue7w&index=1

AME Porta Paddle II - http://www.americanmorse.com/portapaddle.htm

Contacts:

16 contacts on 3 bands. Not to bad for a Monday. Even though it was a holiday I am sure that some chasers were at work. Thanks Wendell from chasing me from Montana! It always makes me feel a little bit at home to get a contact from there!

Charlie's sleeping spot in the back seat. We had all our bags a gear in there and he was sleeping on top of it all.

An amazing view to the West.

This is a view of Bishop Peak (W6/SC-339) We may do this one if we are ever in the area again. You can see the trail all the way to the top and there were plenty of people going up it.

Del and Charlie on the top of Cerro San Luis Obispo. You can see Bishop Peak and the rest of the sisters in the back and all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

A shot of my operating position. I decided to wear the running shoes and give my feet a bit of a break. This was not the best decision as the trail was a bit rocky and uneven.

Over looking San Luis Obispo.

Charlie found a place to lay down. Also, it seems that you can not go anywhere without someone spray painting something these days.

I used the pole for my antenna. Not a lot of height on this one but it seemed to work. I need to get a pole for getting my antenna a little higher in the air. The main element did go off the side of the rocks which gave it some height off the ground below.

At least he is not trying to roll on a dead animal which is normally the case!

Del and I had to get one more Selfie with Bishop peak in the background before heading back down the hill.

Thanks again for everyone that was patient with me on my rookie CW skills. On thing that I have found is that if I just trust myself it is a lot easier. When I start over thinking things I have to refer to my cheat sheet a lot more. See everyone on the next one.

Cone Peak (W6/CC-023) SOTA Activation

On 15 Feb. I woke up early after camping out on the coast ridge road. We got a little bit of rain during the night but nothing to worry about. Del and Charlie decided to sleep in and take a break from Junipero Serra yesterday. They both did amazing and pushed themselves hard. They had a much deserved break. During the stay at the truck Del was able to see a Bald Eagle and a Grey Fox that walked right by the truck. The fox did not even know that she was there so it presented a good up close view. This was the second fox we saw up there as we saw one the night before on the drive up. We had parked about 1/2 mile up hill from the trailhead so I walked down the road. When I got to the TH I ran into the guy that I had saw on Junipero Serra the day prior. He had made it the 40 miles and two peaks in 24 hours! He told me that he had gotton to the point early in the morning where he could not drink any water anymore. I offered to give him a ride down to his car on the coast. He said that he may take me up on it but he was gone when I returned to the TH. I assume he made the 11 mile hike down. Cone peak was a great time. I spent a couple hours up there and had great sunny weather and some amazing coastal views.

Route: 

From Mountain View, CA take 101S to Jolon Road, just north of King City. Follow Jolon road for about 20 miles and turn right towards Fort Hunter Ligget. Follow map and everytrail from here. Cone Peak road is accessible by any vehicle with a little bit of clearance. I would call the ranger district in advance to make sure that the gate is opened. In the past I have been through the area and the gate has been closed and locked. If you have to start from the gate it adds an extra 12 miles to the round trip hike.

Cell Signal: 

Only analog signal for text at the top. I had to rely on SMS for spotting. It worked great!

Radio working conditions: 

No issues. Nice and quiet on the bands

Trail Condition: 

Very nice trail all the way to the top. Some switchbacks closer to the top.

Weather: 

Great day at about 55 degrees. A nice breeze!

Fees: 

None 

EveryTrail Route: 

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2669737

Setup: 

PFR3 with internal AA batteries - http://www.qrpkits.com/pfr3.html

Note: the AA batteries lasted me on all three activations without a charge. I was impressed.

Lambda Antenna - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXo0XucRpt0&list=FLuy-J6QwwXmIdgM0-I2ue7w&index=1

AME Porta Paddle II - http://www.americanmorse.com/portapaddle.htm

Contacts:

21 Contacst on 20m, 30m, and 40m. I stayed for about 1 hour. I hope that I did not leave any chasers hanging. I am sure that my wire antenna is not the best but it is light and seems to work fairly well for me. 

This was the sunrise from the truck when I woke up.

This is a view of Pt. 3761 (W6/SC-107). This looks like a tough climb with no trail to the top.  Maybe someday.

The trail was good and well defined all the way to the summit.

I read in a different blog that there is a pine tree on Cone peak that is only found native in this area. This is the only pine tree that I saw so I figure it must be the one.

Looking across at Junipero Serra.

The tower at the top. There was two different groups that camped on the summit. Del and I have a plan to backpack up from the coast and stay the night here one day.

A view looking south down the pacific coast.

Panoramic view from North East down to the South.

Panoramic view from the West to the North East

Thanks again to all the chasers! It is amazing how much fun this hobby is.