Activation of Thomas Mountain (W6/CT-016) and Failed Activation of Lookout Mountain (W6/CT-104)

This past Veterans Day I took the occasion to try to activate some peaks.  Of all the efforts, the only one that panned out was Thomas Mountain (W6/CT-016).

Here's the story.

Left the hotel in Carlsbad in the morning and drove to Thomas Mountain.  This peak can be done as largely a drive-up, or it can be climbed via the Ramona Trail.  I drove up due to time constraints.

Getting there is easy.  Get to the intersection of highway 74 and Forest Route 5S13.  You'll see a nice sign directing you toward Thomas Mountain.  Follow the signs to a dirt road, and follow it up.  I've driven the road in my jeep in years past, and it was obviously just fine.  This time I drove it with a rental car, and it did OK, but it required a some careful driving to ensure that the bottom of the vehicle didn't make contact with the ground in some rougher stretches of road.

Once you get to Thomas Mountain Campground, you should notice a dirt road heading up and to the left.  This road leads to additional camp sites and the summit.  I recommend parking you car here and hiking up in order to make the activation legal (as the final approach to the summit must be on foot).

It was a bit chilly at the top, perhaps 40 degrees Fahrenheit with a stiff wind from the north.  After taking a quick survey of the summit for a location to set up and to sling my wire antenna, I got to operating.  I found a large boulder near the summit which provided some shelter from the wind.  I unpacked by backpack and started operating.

My operating position near the boulder in the midst of setting up.  It was much colder than it looks here.

Ice had formed on the pine trees on the summit, but it was warm enough and windy enough that these icicles would fall every so often.  So watch your head.  Also, one of the things I love about California peaks is how blue the sky can be.

It was a good day for SOTA, although was told over by other stations that propagation conditions were poor.  They weren't poor to me!  10 Meters hasn't been good in a long time but I still managed to make a couple contacts there.

Thomas Mountain Logbook.  21 QSOs in 70 minutes.

As usual, I also attempted to make contacts on 6 meters, 1.25 meters, and 70 centimeters.  And as usual, no takers there.  It's always worth a shot, though, and I like to use some of the lesser-used real estate on the band plan.

Thomas Mountain really is a beautiful area.  The crisp smells, the trees, and the views all mix to make just a lovely spot on the earth.  I think it could actually make a really interesting Field Day site, too.

View looking North.  The mountain range in the distance is the San Jacinto range.  Mt. San Jacinto and Tahquitz Peak are two 8-pointers there.

View looking south.  This was the view that I was looking at as I was operating.  The peak in the foreground is Cahuilla Mountain.  The Palomar range is behind it.

More about Thomas Mountain:  It's named for one of the 49ers.  More here.  Also:  APRS coverage is plentiful, as is AT&T 3G data services.  A National Forest Adventure Pass or an Interagency Pass is required to park a vehicle on Thomas Mountain.  The camp site at the summit is great too, with a fire pit, ample space for parking a vehicle, and plenty of room for tents.

After operating I packed up and headed back to the car for the drive toward Lookout Mountain (W6/CT-104).

I used the traditional Lookout Mountain approach, which is via the PCT.  Simply park the car at the intersection of the PCT and highway 74, and start hiking south until you reach the first ridgeline.  Turn east, and climb up.  There is a well-defined trail, but it can be brushy at time.  Anyways, following the trail, you now come across this sign:

As a German once said:  Scheisse!

So, it appears that Lookout Mountain is now off-limits per SOTA rules, unless you somehow get permission from the land owner.  Needless to say, I didn't notice KD7WPJ's warning on the SOTA page for Lookout Mountain.

It was still a very good activation day, and a great way to spend a Veterans day.  As a veteran myself, it's great to be able to experience such a beautiful country--a country that's worth fighting for.

73.

Double Activation Report: Pt 5764 (W6/SD-026) and Middle Peak (W6/SC-024)

I'll be spending a large amount of November and December in Southern California doing work-related things.  I'd be a fool if I didn't use these work trips as an opportunity to activate a few mountains in SoCal!  So, on 7 November (last Saturday), I activated a couple peaks.

First on the list:  Point 5764 (W6/SD-026), an unnamed hill along Sunrise Highway in the Cleveland National Forest on the way to the Laguna Meadows.

I had never activated this peak before, but a few others have.  A Google Map study revealed that there was a nearby parking area (the Pioneer Mail parking area) which would be ideal.  Oleh, KD7WPJ's, report said that there was no trail to the summit, though.  Gary, ex-KK6GXD (now K6YOA)'s report indicated likewise.  But a very close look at the highest-resolution imagery seemed to indicate a slight trail along the spine of the ridge which forms 5764.

Sign by the parking area.

Cross the Sunrise Highway from the parking area to the Pine Mountain Trail.

Sign marking the Pine Mountain trail.  Watch out for mountain bikers!

My strategy to hike 5764 would therefore be to basically follow KD7WPJ's instructions, but instead of hiking directly to the top, I would hike to the spine of the ridge and then follow the crest of the ridge up.  That's precisely what I did.

Once I hit the spine of the ridge, I noticed a well-worn path leading to the summit, making access much easier.  Later, I would follow this path down.

The summit is marked by an engineer stake pounded into the ground.

The summit.  This view is looking generally East.  You can see Sunrise Highway snaking along in the background.

The views from the summit were actually much grander than I expected.  To the north you could easily make out Santa Rosa, the San Gabriel, the San Jacinto, and San Bernardino mountain ranges.  To the northwest you could see the Palomar Range with its astronomical optical telescopes.  To the immediate west you could see the Cuyamaca Range (North Peak, Middle Peak, Cuyamaca Peak, and Stonewall Peak).  You could also see the environs of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean.  To the south lies several lower peaks (Viejas among them).  And to the east you could see mountains of the Lagunas (Laguna Mountain, Sheephead, etc.)  To the northeast lies the Salton Sea, Whale Peak, and Granite Peak, and the town of Borrego Springs within radio line-of-sight.

View looking West.  The highest peak in the distance is Cuyamaca Peak (W6/CC-014).  The two summits to the right of Cuyamaca are Stonewall Peak (W6/SC-029) and Middle Peak (W6/SC-024).

View looking generally North.  Numerous mountains can be seen, especially the Santa Rosa range.

View looking South.

View looking East.  Notice Sunrise Highway and the Pioneer Mail parking area.  The Pacific Crest Trail can also be seen leading from the parking area to the left (north).

It was a bit windy on the summit, with temperatures in the 40s, so I hunkered down an an area a bit south of the actual summit that was sheltered from the wind.  I bungee-corded my crappie pole to the engineer stake and slung my EARCHI wire antenna as a sloping wire toward my operating position, and I proceeded to make contacts starting on 20 meters SSB, and then shifting to CW on 20 and 40 meters.  Later, I broke out my HT and made contacts on 2 meters FM.  I also tried to make contacts on 223.5 MHz and 446.0 FM, but not takes, as is usual in this area.  I had one summit-to-summit contact with Peter, WA7JTM, who was activating another unnamed peak in Arizona.

Bungee-corded fishing pole atop the engineer stake.  Antenna is an end-fed wire leading from the pole to my operating position.

The radio.  Somehow when I'm using it, there doesn't seem to be so many wires.

Overall, it was a good activation.  27 total QSOs in under an hour, pretty good for a SOTA activation.

My SOTA log from Pt. 5764 (W6/SD-026).

Ok...for the hike down:  I simply followed the trail along the spine of the ridge south.  This trail intersected the Pine Mountain trail, which is a charted, maintained, and groomed trail.  I built a cairn at the intersection to mark the intersection for follow-on SOTA activators.  I turned left at the intersection and followed the Pine Mountain trail back to Sunrise Highway and the parking area.

Use trail leading from the groomed Pine Mountain Trail up to Pt. 5764.  Notice the small cairn I built to mark the trail.

I highly recommend taking the route described here.  It's much less brushy and navigation is much easier.  The extra distance covered is negligible, too.

Beware of mountain bikers on the Pine Mountain trail.  Two of them came upon me at high speed from behind.  I was lucky to have stepped out of the way in time.  They apologized and continued on their way.  One things about people in California:  Everyone is always in a great mood and very friendly!


After having completed the hike, I did some additional research on Peak 5764.  A previous hiker had evidently summitted the peak while carrying a Garmin using the route I described.  The route is shown here.  Peakbagger.com profile for the peak is here.

Additional notes:  Peak 5764 has plentiful AT&T 3G access, SMS access, and APRS digipeater coverage.  Parking at Pioneer Mail parking area requires a National Forest Adventure Pass or Interagency Pass.  This peak has a summer seasonal bonus for being a desert peak, but given its elevation, I think it would be an easy bonus to get if you were to hike it in the summer.

After activating 5764 I decided to head to Middle Peak (W6/SC-024), the peak to the immediate north of Cuyamaca Peak.  It was perhaps a 15 minute drive to the Middle Peak trail head.  I won't belabor writing a description of Middle Peak or explain its navigation since it's basically a hike up a dirt fire road and is well-described here.  I will say that the peak's vegetation was destroyed in a fire back in 2003, and consequently it's dominated by burned-out timbers and very thick thorny bushes.  These bushes have grown a good deal in the last couple of years.  The final 200 vertical feet of the ascent requires bushwhacking through this nasty stuff.

Well, I bushwhacked.  And bushwhacked some more.  While there is a reforestation effort on Middle Peak, and some efforts to try to hold back the brush, the thorn bushes at the summit proved too thick to climb through.  I got to withing 45 vertical feet of the summit though, and that's in the activation cone.  Satisfied with my effort, and also satisfied that I had activated this peak from the summit in years past, I decided to set up my station on a rock on the western side of the mountain.

The road near the summit of Middle Peak.  That wall next to the road is thick thorny bushes, easily 7' tall.  Nasty stuff.

One of the trees planted as part of the reforestation effort.

My operating position.  What a mess.  But it worked!

This activation also went well.  I activated on 30, 20, 12, 10, and 2 meters, mostly CW.  I completed about 29 QSOs, with one summit-to-summit QSO.  I also attempted to make contacts on 223.5 and 446.0 FM, with no takers.  (You might think it's futile to make contacts on these bands, but believe it or not, I have made SOTA contacts on them.  This only happens very rarely.)  K6HPX chased me on 30 meter CW while mobile, which is notable too.

Middle Peak activation log.

After about 1.5 hours on the summit I came down.  The hike back was unremarkable save for the fact that I saw a small herd of deer on the way down.

Two deer, with Stonewall Peak in the background.

Additional notes:  AT&T 3G data, SMS, cell phone, and APRS coverage are all reliable.


It was a good activation day.  Two six-point peaks activated, with two summit-to-summit QSOs.  I was happy to work so many stations.  As always, thanks chasers!  73.

Pilot Knob (W6/SD-435) Activation Report and WLB-817 Battery Pack Review

I activated Pilot Knob (W6/SD-435) back on 11 October..  It's a lowly one-point peak near where the California, Arizona, and Mexican borders meet.  I described a bit about the mountain here.

Some great information on accessing the peak is in this PDF document.

Getting there:  As described on pages 66-68 of the above PDF document.

On a previous activation attempt, I tried to climb using the more direct route along edge of the quarry on the north side of the mountain, but I lost the trail and I ran out of time due to other commitments later in the day.  I decided to instead make an attempt climbing the western slope of the mountain, attempting to use the loop trail described in the book, except I would do an out-and-back hike instead of a loop in order to shorten the hike.  I entered the location of the trail head into my Garmin and went there.

Overexposed pic of trailhead.  Lat/Long:  N32 44.065" W114 45.450, looking east.  Sun was rising, hence the overexposure.

At that location I noticed two trails:  One of the left/north, and one of the right/south.  Given that I was going to do the out-and-back route, I selected the left trail and started climbing.  The climb was steep but the well-defined trail made the route simpler, until I reached the crest of the first ridgeline.  Here the trail disappeared.  I ended up shifting to the left (north) a bit, and ultimately found a draw which led to a false summit.  This false summit was at the far end of the east-west ridge which makes up crest of the mountain.  From this spot the going was a bit easier, with numerous trails visible and with the summit in view.

The mountain was made of a mixture of sharp granite and a softer conglomerate (I think).  The softer rock eroded away in places, leaving holes and small caves.  Bats, which I had noticed on my first attempted climb, probably live in many of these small caves.

This cairn was located at the false summit.  My APRS capable handheld's packets were first picked up at this point.

The ridge from the location of the false summit, leading to the peak.  Yuma, Arizona can be seen beyond the mountain.

The hike on the ridge was a good bit easier.  Less steep, and the ground was a firmer granite than the softer rock leading to the false summit.

Getting closer to the summit.  A Gipfelkreuz!--although not as ornate as those in the Old World.

The Summit Cross was made of wood, and appears to be installed into the foundation of the old KIVA television transmitting tower.

Having reached the summit, I quickly deployed my end-fed wire antenna and commenced making contacts using the FT-817ND and the VX-8DR.  Propagation was actually not too bad, given the conditions.

Even with conditions only so-so, I commenced making numerous contacts throughout the US, using both SSB and CW.  I also attempted contacts on 50, 144, and 222 MHz, but no takers.  I did make contact with a ham in Yuma on 446.0 (K7ACS), who also ran an APRS digipeater that received my packets.
  

My Pilot Knob activation log on SOTAData.

As for my spotting technique, I self-spotted using the web browser on my phone.  I could have easily self-spotted using APRS, SMS, SOTA Goat, and likely the Reverse Beacon Network.  AT&T cell signals were plentiful, and APRS coverage, once on the summit and out of the draws, was fine:

My APRS breadcrumbs from the false summit leading to the summit.

At the false summit, by APRS packets were received by the BAJA digipeater, perhaps 50 miles away.  I am N0PCL-7.

At the summit, my APRS packets were received at the K7ACS digipeater.  I worked K7ACS on 446.0 during the activation as well.

The view into Mexico from the summit.  The US-Mexican border is very visible.

Having completed the activation, I started my hike down.  Having more of a bird's eye view while on the summit made route selection a bit easier.  I simply picked a prominent trail that headed west down the mountain.  Given how easy the descent was, I recommend that future activators use the following coordinates as your trail head:  N 32 44.050", W114 44.090".  That will place you approximately one draw to the north of the trailhead I used for this activation, and it will make navigation to the summit much easier!  Simply go to those coordinates and hike up the well-defined and well-ducked trail.

A few other notes for a future activation:

• You are operating very close to the Mexican border.  The place is crawling with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.  I recommend you carry identification on your person in order or alleviate suspicions that might ruin your activation attempt.
• It's a short hike, and not too strenuous, but I still recommend you bring a good amount of water.  On the day I hiked this peak, it was in the mid-80s before the sun came up, and there's not much shade (no shade, actually).

Lastly, I promised a review of the WLB-817 battery pack that I had installed in my FT-817ND.  The battery performed marvelously.  Battery voltage barely dropped, even when transmitting a full 5 watts of power on CW during the five long "dahs" of the "0" in my callsign.  I suspect that there's power for several more activations in a single battery charge.  I'm very happy with this purchase.

Upcoming Activation: Pilot Knob (W6/SD-435)

Pilot Knob, just a few miles from the Arizona, California, and Mexican borders.  Image captured from the SOTA Goat App.

I'm planning on activating Pilot Knob (W6/SD-435) next Sunday.  Look at SOTAWatch Alerts for updates.  Wikipedia article about Pilot Knob here.

It's a volcanic plug, which makes sense given that the Chocolate Mountains to the north are volcanic in origin.  Other volcanic plug mountains I've activated include Bishop Peak (W6/SC-339) and Black Hill (W6/SC-378).  These two peaks are a part of a series of peaks between Morro Rock (itself a volcanic plug) and San Luis Obispo.  But enough about that...

I once attempted to activated Pilot Knob before, but my time was limited and I ended up hiking up a dead-end trail without making it to the summit.  I had to give up for lack of time.

I should have more time available for me to do this activation.

I'm using the helpful "Hiking Guide to Trails in the Yuma Area," by Geo Montopoli to assist with planning the ascent.  See pages 66-68 of the PDF for more info on Pilot Knob.

I'll be APRS-capable, so watch for my breadcrumbs as N0PCL-7.  I'll be phone & CW capable on all bands from 40 meters through 70 centimeters (including 222 MHz.).  I'm also going to try out a new counterpoise for a portable HF antenna, so I may be able to load it up on 60 or 80 meters, albeit very inefficiently.  This will also be the first time I try using the WLB-817 battery system in the field.

We'll see how it goes.

73.

Lessons Learned: Spotting Techniques on Half Dome (W6/SN-040)

Climbing the cables.  It's a confidence-building experience.  XYL Photo.

Success results from experience.  Experience results from failure.  With that maxim in mind, I'm going to describe both successful and unsuccessful SOTA activations with the aim of reducing the "experience" needed to become a successful SOTA activator for the new-to-SOTA ham.

In summer 2013 my XYL and I (along with some family friends) took a summer camping vacation to Yosemite National Park, with a climbing of the famed Half Dome (W6/SN-040) as the pinnacle event of the trip.  For those that haven't climbed this peak, it's a bit of an experience.  Our hike took us up the Mist Trail, followed by the hike to the Sub Dome, the climbing of the cables, and then the summit.  We decided to return by following the John Muir Trail, not the Mist Trail.

Part of our party moving up the Mist Trail.  XYL photo.

One of the falls along the Mist Trail.  XYL photo.

At the time I was carrying my Yaesu FT-817ND, stock internal batteries, the hand mic, and the SuperAntenna MP-1D portable vertical antenna.  I didn't have an HT at the time.  I also had my 10 Essentials and my iPhone 4.  Take note that I didn't carry a CW key, as I wasn't proficient at CW at the time.  I didn't have an APRS capability.  I only had the '817 with hand mic.  The combination of equipment allowed me phone (SSB & FM) operation on 40 Meters through 2 Meters, plus 70 cm.

This was early in my SOTA career--I had a successful activation prior to this.  Notably, I completed an activation of Mt. Baldy (aka. Mt. San Antonio, W6/CT-003).  Still, this was my second attempted activation.  It was a rather ambitious peak to activate, too!

Baldy / Mt. San Antonio - My first activation!  Not too bad.

The hike up was memorable--indescribable, actually.  The Mist Trail is utterly beautiful, and climbing the cables to the top up 50-degree-steep slick granite is a surreal experience.  I was very excited to get to the top!

A permit is required to climb Half Dome.  XYL photo.

N0PCL and XYL in a photo at the bottom of the cables.  XYL photo.

XYL used a climbing harness and carabiners for safety.  Me?  I don't need safety.  I just carefully climbed.   XYL Photo.

N0PCL pulling himself up the cables.  My gloves are just gardening gloves.  XYL photo.

It's steep.  XYL photo.

After getting there, I set up my station and started calling "CQ SOTA" on 14.3425 MHz--one of the more common phone frequencies used by SOTA activators.  No one returned my call.  I pulled out my cell, and though I had several "bars" of signal strength, I had no cell phone data connectivity.  I didn't know about the SMS-to-SOTA gateway, either.  So I returned to the radio, hoping--praying that somebody would hear me.  I put out an Alert on SOTAWatch with my expected frequencies.  And I was on the summit at the Alerted time.  But still...

N0PCL calling CQ on Half Dome.  XYL was being understanding.  XYL photo.

Static.

I tuned up and down the bands.  I heard pileups.  I heard a Boy Scouts special event station.  I tried calling them.  No joy.  Nobody heard me.

N0PCL trying VHF.  No joy.  XYL photo.

I tried 40 Meters.  15 Meters.  10 Meters.  Even 6 Meters, 2 Meters, and 70 cm.  FM and SSB.  Calling frequencies.  Other frequencies.  Scanning.  Everything.

Nothing but static.

My family and friends were kindly waiting for me to complete my quest.  My XYL came up to me after some time (she had gone out searching for USGS survey markers), and she asked "How many do you have?"  She was asking about the number of QSOs completed.

Zero.  Zilch.  Nil.  Nada.  Nichts.  Nothing.

After spending perhaps an 75 or 90 minutes trying, I gave up.

A failed activation.  Completely failed.  Not a single QSO.  Not even a partial QSO.  Nothing.

Looking back, I don't think the failure was of my equipment.  It was a failure of operator skill and poor planning.  Perhaps propagation played a part of it, but I doubt that--I was hearing many stations out there.

I was a new SOTA activator--very new, actually.  I didn't realize how important a self-spot was to a new SOTA activator.

The deck is already stacked against the SOTA Activator.  He or she is almost always running QRP power, using a portable makeshift antenna, carrying his own equipment, and very subject to other considerations (weather, other people, critters, daylight, leaving enough time for hiking off the summit, etc.)  I know that self-spotting is forbidden in most contests--and that's fine and good.  But SOTA isn't a contest--it's an award's scheme.  The SOTA Activator needs every advantage he or she can get.  Self spotting therefore helps a great deal.

There are numerous self-spotting methods available:

1. A cell phone with data connectivity can spot using either the SOTA Goat app, or another app. 
2. Alternatively, you can load the SOTAWatch website and self-spot that way.
3. A phone with SMS (texting) capability can assist with self-spotting provided you've registered to access the SMS-to-SOTA Gateway.
4. A 2 Meter APRS-capable radio can also assist with self-spotting using the APRS2SOTA Gateway, provided you've registered.  The FT-817ND, by itself, does not have this capability.  But it could work using the WolphiLink interface and an Android smartphone.  Or you can just get an APRS-capable HT.  (I now carry a Yaesu VX-8DR.  But the Kenwood TH-D72A performs great.  Or you can pair up the WolphiLink with an inexpensive Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood, Alinco, or one of the new Chinese HTs, like a Baofeng or Wouxun).
5. A proficient CW operator can self-spot using the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), provided a SOTAWatch Alert has been posted for approximately the correct time.
6. Lastly, you can completely negate the requirement for a self-spot if somebody can provide a spot for you.

From this list, it's clear to me that option 3 above, possibly option 4, and almost certainly option 5 could have worked on Half Dome.  Options 1 & 2 would not have worked there because of the lack of cell data access on Half Dome.

To be sure, some prior planning would have been required.

You need to register for SMS-to-SOTA and APRS2SOTA for those gateways to work.  Proficiency in APRS operation can be tricky at first, too.

To make RBNGate work, you also need to register for the SOTAWatch site and post an Alert there, and be proficient enough for CW operation.

I did several training hikes to get ready for the Half Dome trek.  But I neglected to appropriately prepare myself for the radio portion of the activation.

Lesson learned.  I've used all of the above listed self-spotting methods.  It's best to ensure you always have an option.  Then the SOTA chase can begin...

Still, hiking Half Dome was a tremendous experience.  I highly recommend it, and I hope to get the chance to reattempt an activation of that peak.

N0PCL enjoying a beer after the hike.  XYL photo.

Let me know if you have any questions, experience, or advice in the Comments Section below.

73.

Throwback: 8 December 2013: Activating Mount Woodson (W6/SC-187)

This morning I'm heading to the Shenandoah National Park to activate some summits there, but in the meantime, here's a post about some activations in December, 2013.

I was conducting a joint activation on Mount Woodson (W6/SC-187) with fellow SoCal SOTA activator Gary, K6YOA (ex-KK6GXD).  Meanwhile, Adam, KJ6HOT was activating El Cajon Mountain (W6/SC-115).  He shot this video while activating.

You can hear me about 50 seconds into the movie, and again at about 3:38 into the movie.  (I'm slightly embarrassed complaining about an A Index of 6 in the movie, but earlier in the day it was very low.  6 was a bit of a spike, although I've seen much higher A indices since then.  More on A and K Indices here.)

(Credit is due to Adam, KJ6HOT, for filming and editing the movie.  You can see more of his videos here.)

On my activation of Mount Woodson that day, I worked the following stations:

I remember it being a bit chilly, maybe in the 40s or low 50s Fahrenheit, and a bit breezy. There are two major routes to the top of that peak, the longer and gentler approach up the west side, or the very steep eastern service road to the summit on the east side.  Gary and I hiked up the east side.  Afterwards we went and had some beer and grub in Poway, California.  It was a pleasant activation.

Hello, World!

Hello.

I'm Nate.  Among other things, I'm an amateur (ham) radio operator, operating with N0PCL as my callsign.

I'm a married guy in his mid-30s.  I've been licensed since the early 1990s, but was dormant in the hobby for most of that time.  I was 11 years old when I earned my no-code Technician privileges, and for my birthday, my parents purchased a Yeasu FT-411E handheld radio for me.  (It was a VERY extravagant gift for me.  Looking back I'm a bit embarrassed at their largess).  Living in the suburbs of Saint Paul at the time, I used the N0JVR 145.31 repeater to chat with other kids with ham licenses.  It was all great fun until I destroyed that radio (I incorrectly wired a home-brewed power supply for it).  With my radio toasted, my interest shifted to computers and other things.  Time ticked on, but whenever the time came to renew my license, I always did.

Fast forward to August, 2012.  I was a Captain in the Marine Corps fighting in Afghanistan when I realized that I needed to get back into the radio hobby.  I ordered the ARRL General and ARRL Amateur Extra study guides with the intention of learning the material, rapidly upgrading, and getting back on the air.  After returning from that Afghanistan deployment, I rapidly earned those license upgrades.

In the midst of studying, I found the small group of radio amateurs that were doing the Summits On The Air (SOTA) activity.  Given that I lived in Southern California (stationed at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base at the time), and that there were many SOTA peaks in the immediate area, I decided to set my sights on that part of the hobby.

Marit's (XYL) photo of us departing Vetter Mountain.

After upgrading, I headed to the San Diego Ham Radio Outlet and purchased a new Yaesu FT-817ND portable transceiver and a SuperAntenna MP-1 portable antenna.  My re-entry to the hobby was immanent.  I started activating SOTA peaks in the spring, 2013.  My XYL has accompanied me on many of my activations.  She's a superb photographer, and I'll be sharing some of her photos on this blog, too.  Though I love to hike, she's a very hardcore hiker--probably even more so than me.  She has many unique hiking accomplishments to her name.


For SOTA activations, I've done reasonably well.  I have just shy of 600 SOTA activator points to date, with over 100 activations.  I'm well on my way to Mountain Goat status: earning 1000 activation points.  I've also learned CW and I have aspirations toward getting into other parts of the hobby in the near future.

This blog will chronicle those adventures.

I'll also discuss other aspects of amateur radio, including antennas in CC&R locations, portable operating, digital modes, APRS, and other topics.

Lets get going!

N0PCL operating from Tahquitz Peak in January, 2014.  Marit took this photo.