W6/NC-423 Mt Davidson

This was my second summit, after San Bruno Mountain in the morning. I drove up the steep and narrow San Francisco streets to the park entrance. There was plenty of street parking nearby. There is also a bus stop at the trailhead for those without a car. It is a short walk (caltopo says 0.5km) up the wide dirt trail to the top, where there is a big, concrete cross and a plaque remembering the Armenian Genocide.

There are a few benches on the East side of the peak, looking out over the Bay, which one could operate from. I decided to continue to the backside of the peak and set up in the forested area, throwing my antenna over a tree. There was a pause in people coming through when I was throwing the weight, making it easier for me to not worry about hitting someone.

There is a flat area visible from the cross, down the hill, which is where I set up. There were lots of people walking through the park, but no one stopped to ask what I was doing.

Operating location, looking back at the cross.

I started on VHF, but didn't get any takers. I was probably very weak, on the backside of the mountain from the rest of the Bay Area. I set up my HF station, and got on 30 meters. I made 8 contacts here, then 1 on 40 meters. I was expecting to make more, since I made so many on San Bruno Mountain, but conditions must have gotten worse. On my way back to the car I stopped to take some pictures from the viewpoint.

Mt Diablo. Oakland is the city across the bay on the left edge.

Trailhead: Corner of Dalewood Way, Lansdale Ave, and Myra Way in San Francisco. There is a bus stop here as well.
Website: SOTA Site
Maps: KB1KXL SOTA Hikes map
Route: Follow the trail to the vista point, then continue to the giant cross. I operated from a flat area behind and below the cross.
Red Tape: None.