Ashley Mountain (W7M/FN-193) SOTA

Ashley Mountain SOTA (W7M/FN-193)

Date: 26 June 2022

Summit Name: Ashley Mountain

Summit Coordinates: 48.28116, -114.71206

Distance: 10.83 miles R/T   Start Elevation: 4,915

Prominence: 1437'   Summit Elevation: 6,297 ft.    

Elevation Gain: 1827'          Elevation Loss: 1827'

  

https://listsofjohn.com/peak/29059

I am not sure exactly what I was thinking at this time but knowing that I can drive to the summit of Ashley Mountain I decided it would be a good idea to take the mountain bike. SOTA is primarily a recreation activity to get some exercise for me. I do love the drive up summits, especially in the winter, but I like to hike up or bike up as a better option. (A hike up to Blacktail mountain is in the future, Blacktail is a drive up at the top of a ski area). I parked near 48.25329, -114.73812 and followed the pine grass trail to the summit. I would say that this was about 50/50 riding and pushing the bike. I was motivated for the "easy" trip down and kept pushing the bike. 

Cell Signal: Minimal but workable. Was able to self spot using SOTA Spotter app.

APRS: Able to send and receive packets. I did not try spotting on APRS.

Trail Conditions: Trail was in good shape. No blow downs to contend with and plenty of water crossings for the dog to drink. 

Equipment Used: 

Elecraft KX2 with internal 11.2v battery. https://elecraft.com/products/kx2-ssb-cw-data-80-10-m-transceiver 

QRP Endfed Antenna 30 meters (k6ark.com). I used the endfed 30m antenna. I was able to tune it to the other bands with the KX2 internal tuner. 

https://www.amazon.com/K6ARK-QRP-Antenna-Matching-Unit/dp/B09MY4RFYC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PQGQ3WO9MARZ&keywords=k6ark&qid=1657516733&s=electronics&sprefix=k6ark%2Celectronics%2C164&sr=1-1 Support Adam's (K6ARK) work on Amazon. Easy to build and well worth the price.

Also check his QRZ profile...great things there also. https://www.qrz.com/db/K6ARK

Yaesu FTM400XDR - KF7PXT-9 (Mobile APRS) (aprs.fi/kf7pxt-9)

Yaesu FT3D - KF7PXT-7 (Hiking APRS) (aprs.fi/kf7pxt-7)

Radio Log:

HF was very tough today. I believe that this was field day and I could not hear a single thing on most of the bands. I switched bands and spotted multiple times with nothing. I was able to get AE1MS out of Georgia and surprisingly he was coming in strong.

https://huntsmarter.app.link/peLN1frezrb (Onx Tracking and Photos on Map)

  

     

 Echo was the highlight of the day. She enjoyed the trip!   

Lake Sylvia

In the video I was attempting to get a good video of the fish jumping. There were plenty of them jumping this evening. But either way you get a video of how awesome of a lake this is. (If you are from Oregon or California bring your bearspray and make sure you spray it all over yourself for this hike...the Grizzlies really like the taste of out of staters)...THIS IS A JOKE, DON'T SPRAY YOURSELF AND THEN SUE ME!! :)

Wild Horse Mountain (W7M/FS-180) SOTA

Wild Horse Mountain SOTA (W7M/FS-180)

Date: 23 June 2022  

Summit Name: Wild Horse Mountain  

Summit Coordinates: 48.05624, -114.39098

Distance: 5 miles round trip   Start Elevation: 4,915

Prominence: 510'   Summit Elevation: 5,210'         

Elevation Gain: 564'          Elevation Loss: 280'

https://listsofjohn.com/searchres?textsearch=wild+horse&Search=Name&State=MT

Colten and I woke up around 6 and headed out to Wild Horse Mountain which was un-activated. We came in through the Kila area up towards Wild Bill and Emmons Creek Rd and then out through Kalispell on Patrick Creek. 

We parked at the gate at 48.04903, -114.36307. The walk was about 2.5 miles each way. The walk in on the roads are great but there is no real trail to the summit. There are plenty of game trails but you really just have to make your way up and find your way. I recommend staying to the ridge on the South east side as you can follow the edge of the thick trees and follow the ridge which is slightly less steep (not much). 

You can see that the area up to the summit is private. See below for information regarding this. 

Cell Signal: There was cell service at the summit and most of the way up. I relied on the reverse beacon network for spotting (Verizon).

APRS: I was getting out location reports for almost all of the trip (Driving and Hiking). Definitely would be able to use APRS to SOTA for spots and send messages from the summit.

Trail Conditions: Road was great...have fun on the last .5 mile assent up to the summit. Hopefully you can find a good trail.

Equipment Used: 

LNR MTR3B_LCD (https://www.lnrprecision.com/) w/9v Battery 

QRP Endfed Antenna 30 meters (k6ark.com). I am going to make this a tuned multi-band antenna but I have to work on some traps. I may start bringing a tuner with me and another antenna until I can get this done. There is the possibility that I only do 30m for the near future though.

Yaesu FTM400XDR - KF7PXT-9 (Mobile APRS) (aprs.fi/kf7pxt-9)

Yaesu FT3D - KF7PXT-7 (Hiking APRS) (aprs.fi/kf7pxt-7)

Radio Log:

The highlighted track that goes to the North is the way that we hiked to the summit. I would not suggest this route as the trees on the north side of the summit are very thick and hard to get through after you enter private land. 

https://huntsmarter.app.link/Pu8YrjoZ6qb

The highlighted route to the South is the way that we came off the summit and back to the truck. It is about the same distance and we dropped steeply off the summit but were able to avoid the thick trees and all of the side hilling. 

https://huntsmarter.app.link/1nCfaVqZ6qb

You can see that too the West of the State Land there is private and is labeled as "SPP Montana LLC." If you visit the website below you can see that this is permanent conservation land that was purchased "to permanently protect nearly 200,000 acres in Northwest Montana through “working forest” conservation easements." This company has bought a lot of land throughout NW Montana and it has many trails running through it. There are no signs preventing access. 

https://www.tpl.org/media-room/nearly-200000-acres-northwest-montana-available-permanent-conservation

                               Summit View on Approach                        Echo hanging with us.

View of Blacktail on the way down.

Back at the truck

Thanks for Reading. 

Mount Conner (W7M/LI-091) SOTA

This is the only picture that I took on the whole trip…I need to get back on my game. I also hid a geocache on the summit. We will see how long until it is found. 

Date: 12 June 2022

Hiking Time: 3:43

Summit Name: Mount Conner

Summit Coordinates: N 48 19.649 W 114 51.126

SOTA summit designator: W7M/FI 091                      Grid Square: DN28Nh

Elevation: 6147 ft.                                                           

Distance: 5.2 miles round trip

Vertical Gain: 1,375 ft.

Cell Signal:There was no signal until just short of the summit…probably the last .5 miles. There is no cell signal at the parking area or the whole drive after leaving Marion, MT. Was able to get data out (SOTA Goat spots) at the summit. (Verizon).

APRS Signal: I left my radio off until the summit. Was surprised to find that I did not get an APRS spot on the summit. 

Trail Conditions: Well maintained. No other parties encountered during the trip. No wildlife spotted but saw plenty of Elk sign. 

Equipment Used: Yaesu FT3D for APRS and FM contacts. Elecraft KX2 was in my bag for HF but I did not have time to deploy because of weather. 

Radio Log:

Weather: I sat in my house all weekend worried about the flood watch and rain that we were supposed to get. I kept looking out at the sun and decided to make a go for it. We did not get any rain until it started to sprinkle on the summit. I had the HT out and made a few contacts as I watched dark clouds coming my way. The wind started to pick up as I was talking to N7LT and I decided it was time to go. Once we got off the ridge the wind stopped and we had a great walk back to the truck.

Cinnamon Mountain (W7M/HB-030) SOTA

My wife and I were in the bigsky area for a conference and took some time just the two of us. Because I am not much of a formal person and prefer to be out walking I decided to head out and do a little hiking. One thing I learned about this area is that it is remote. There is very little APRS signal or cell signal...or people. 

Date: 22 August 2019

Summit Name: Standard Peak

Summit Coordinates: 48.5419 N 114.2471 W

SOTA summit designator: W7M/FN-153.                        Grid Square: DN28vn.

Elevation: 7,196 ft.                                                            Prominence: 1,476 ft.

Distance: 6.2 miles round trip

Cell Signal: Had signal for most of the trip and was able to send spots at summit using SOTA Goat (Verizon).

APRS Signal: I was hitting digipeaters after making the ridge. Definitely would be able to use APRS to SOTA for spots and send messages from the summit.

Trail Conditions: Well maintained. 2 other parties encountered during the trip. There were plenty of Huckleberries along the trail. Bring a Container.

Equipment Used: Kenwood TM-D72 for APRS and FM contacts. Elecraft KX2 for HF. Homebrew dipole antenna (20m).

Radio Log:

Cinnamon Mountain Statistics:

Elevation - 9,231 ft.
Prominence - 1,431 ft.

Cell Signal (Verizon): There was no signal on the hike up. As soon as I got to the summit I had signal but this is not something that I would count on. I would have LTE, then 3G, then nothing all in a few seconds. I was able to use SOTA Goat to get my spots out but I don't know if I would rely on this being a sure possibility.

Trail Conditions:  Great!

  

 

Standard Peak (W7M/LM-153) SOTA

Not a lot of pictures today. Standard is the peak that is in the back left of the photo. My daughter and I had a great hike up to the summit of this previously unactivated peak. The weather was calling for rain but we decided to make a go at it. We did not get any rain until the way back down off of the summit and then we got dumped on. We did hear a little bit of thunder but saw no strikes. A great hike.

Date: 8 September 2019

Summit Name: Standard Peak

Summit Coordinates: 48.5419 N 114.2471 W

SOTA summit designator: W7M/FN-153.                        Grid Square: DN28vn.

Elevation: 7,196 ft.                                                            Prominence: 1,476 ft.

Distance: 6.2 miles round trip

Cell Signal: Had signal for most of the trip and was able to send spots at summit using SOTA Goat (Verizon).

APRS Signal: I was hitting digipeaters after making the ridge. Definitely would be able to use APRS to SOTA for spots and send messages from the summit.

Trail Conditions: Well maintained. 2 other parties encountered during the trip. There were plenty of Huckleberries along the trail. Bring a Container.

Equipment Used: Kenwood TM-D72 for APRS and FM contacts. Elecraft KX2 for HF. Homebrew dipole antenna (20m).

Radio Log:

Thanks everyone for the contacts. Special thanks to Martha and Gary for the Summit to Summit contacts. Also to the locals who keep tabs on the kids and I and make sure that we make it out safe.

7124 (W7M/FN-161) SOTA Activation (4 Points) Unactivated

If you are in Montana and see this one do not overlook it. You have the chance to see some cool history, and stay in a lookout tower all while doing a Summit.

On August 18th, 2019 the family and I headed out toward Werner Peak to help raise a local radio tower. I had spent the previous day helping to get the tower down and replace some solar panels and install a whether station at the site. Upon arrival it was evident that the repeater antenna had taken a direct lightening strike and was going to need to be replaced. So we headed up there and helped to get the tower back up and then headed down the trail.

Video of Werner Peak Lookout

DNRC Rental Page - Click here for the site where you can rent this lookout. It goes fast so check when the rental page opens for the year. 

The trail has a lot of ups and downs and can be a bit strenuous in places. My 6 year old girl with arthritis did it so use that as your guide. From the lookout you can head straight North following the well used trail. At this point you will have passed the ridge to the summit but the extra .2 miles is well worth it. You will come on an old (1913) trappers cabin that is still standing. There is a seasonal creek (still running today) that runs by the cabin.

Webpage with history of Cabin...check this out as it has some cool history.

We stopped for a few minutes and then my oldest son and I headed back up the trail to the ridge leading to the summit. The rest of the crew stayed at the cabin to get some shade, play in the stream, and find some frogs.

We followed the ridge on the South side of the summit. The first part of this after leaving the trail is very steep but if you just grind through that then the ridge walk to the top is very pleasant with good views of the glacier peaks, Werner lookout and the valley below.

Above is a short video of the trail. It is great condition and has some leisurely spots that are fun to walk.

Cell Signal (Verizon): Signal is sketchy in this area...even at the lookout. If you rely on cell spotting I think that you would have no problem getting a spot out though. It might just take a minute. 

Trail Conditions: When you are on the trail it is in great shape. There is no trail to the summit along the ridge. The ridge is steep at the beginning but then an easy hike after getting up the first part.

Equipment used: I used my Kenwood TM-D72a for all 2m contacts and APRS along the way. My wife (KK7DEL) at the Yaesu VX-6 down at the cabin and I carried the Elecraft KX-1 in the bag. With more time or no luck on 2m I was prepared to set it up.

APRS: There is an APRS node at Wernell and a repeater (146.26 MHz, PL - 100) You will have no issues with APRS during the hike. I was easily hitting 4 other APRS locations including all the way to Missoula on University Mountain.

GPS Tracks:

Driving GPS Tracks
Hiking Tracks

Distance: If you have to park at the gate (most likely) about 6.5 miles r/t if you go to the Cabin. If you skip the Cabin it will be about 6 miles. If you are able to get to the lookout and start from there you can take off about 1.4 miles from each of these distances.

Log: 

I only did 2m FM today on the summit. When all of the kids are with me I don't want to spend a whole lot of time and bore them to death. They had a lot of fun but keeping it interesting is the key. It sure made it a lot easier that most of these people were 1.5 miles away working on the tower, and my wife was down at the cabin with the kids. If I get all of my kids licensed it will be a breeze! :) Thanks Leo, Ann, and Richard for having the radios on down in the valley.

There is some nice looking lakes down near the cabin and the fire lookout says that they have cutthroat in them. This trail also continues along the whitefish divide and could be backpacked with many opportunities.

Looking back at the lookout from along the trail 

Selfie from the summit. 

Huckleberries that Peyton and I picked on the way off the summit.

Kids picking more Huckleberries along the road on the drive down.