W6/SC-261 Pinyon Peak

Pinyon Peak is one of the peak lining the Carmel River Valley, and a nice hike. KE6MT had attempted to activate this peak last year, but was unable to with only an HT. I brought up my usual setup, and had no problems with the activation.
I followed Rex's route, since it seemed like a good one. The attendant at the Carmel Valley Ranch gate let me through when I told him I was there for a hike. I parked at the end of Oak Place Lane, then walked up the stairs between two of the buildings. At the top is the Huff-n-Puff Trail. There are signs warning you that it is very steep, but it is no worse than any other trail.

It was foggy and overcast as I left the trailhead.

The trail climbs up to a corral. There was construction going on, so I took the marked detour around to the Mucklehead Trail. This climbs along a fence line, the other side clearly marked as private. The trail makes a sharp bend to the left at a junction, with the other option signed "Trail Closed".

Getting more views as I climb.

The Snively's Ridge Trail climbs up the north and east side of the ridge, with views of the Carmel Valley. I was surprised how noisy it was, with traffic noise all the way to the summit. The trail is well graded, and seems to be maintained. At the top of the ridge, the trail levels out for a short distance as it passes an unnamed peak. Near a second peak there is a narrow path that heads off to the right. Take this, and follow the narrower ridge up to the summit. There is a small, rocky bump along the way. There is a trail that goes around each side of the peak. I recommend taking the one that goes around the north side, as it is better graded and easier to follow.

Tower on the summit.

 The final climb up the summit cone is the steepest part of the trail. On top there is a tower and two picnic tables. The second peak, withouth the tower, is slightly higher, and there are herd paths that lead over to it. Between the peaks is an old outhouse. There is no door, but other than that it seemed usuable. Certainly has one of the best views while doing your business.

Outhouse looking east.

I setup at one of the picnic tables, putting my pole in a bush. There were no trees on top, so bring your own support. It was cool and windy, but pleasant when the sun was out. I worked the bands in my usual order, 30, 20, 40, and made contacts on each. I had a strong LTE signal on my Verizon phone. There are some repeaters on the tower, and all the rf was causing interference on 2 meters for me. 70 cms was quiet, and I had a long qso with a fellow down in Seaside. If the other antennas weren't there, it would make a decent VHF peak, with line of sight to Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Salinas.

Me and my setup.

After spending over an hour on the summit, I was getting cold, so I said 73 and packed up. The return trip was better than I had feared, the mud was not slippery. Back at the car, I drove over to Jacks Peak to get in a second activation.

Fremont Peak to the left of the antenna, summit in the clouds.

Trailhead: Top of Oak Place Lane, Carmel Valley Ranch. Also approaches from the north (Garland Ranch Regional Park).
Website: SOTA Site
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map. Carmel Valley Ranch site
Route: Huff-n-Puff to Mucklehead to Sniveley's Ridge Trails.
Red Tape: Trail on the ridge is on easment. Stay on the trail.

Small cave near the summit.

W6/NC-399 Coyote Peak

This was my second time up to Coyote Peak. I took the same route up as last time. However, at the top, I setup on the other summit, just to the east. I got the idea after watching KE6MT's video report, when he mentioned trying to set up farther east to help with propagation.

Interesting rock on the way up. Looks like it eroded after a storm.

The east peak is a few feet lower, but still in the activation zone. I setup my doublet using one of the bushes on top for support. I sat on the ground in front of a rock, which made a decent chair.

Mt Hamilton with Mt Isabel to the right. Mt Misery is directly in front of Mt Hamilton, but very hard to see from this angle.

I was not in a hurry, so I spent over two hours on the summit. I made contacts on most of the bands I tried. I also spent some time on SSB, something I rarely do. This peak is in a good place for VHF, and I did make three contacts on 6 meters. Surprisingly, I didn't get anyone on 2 meters, but there was some intereference from the nearby tower. 220 didn't have anyone listening, but I did manage one contact on 440.

My setup. Coyote Peak summit behind the tower. Loma Prieta on the left, Mt Um between my pole and the tower.

Towards the end of my time up on the summit, the temperature started to drop and the wind picked up. Since I had been up there so long, I finished up my conversation and packed up. The hike down seemed steeper than it had on the way up.

Trailhead: Pueblo Day Use Area. There are a number of small parking lots along the road. I parked at the one where the road makes a U-turn, across the street from the Hidden Springs Trail.
Website: SOTA Site
Maps: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/Documents/Santa-Teresa-map.pdf. AA6XA SOTA Hikes map
Route: Hidden Springs Trail is the shortest, other trails also go to the summit. Also possible to start at the base of the mountain.
Red Tape: Don't cut switchbacks. Don't ignore signs saying the area is closed.
Other: Bring a pair of binoculars for the summit, if it is a clear day.

Looking south, through some power lines. El Toro on the left, Twin Peaks on the right.

W6/NC-288 Scarper Peak

Scarper Peak, or Scarpet Peak in some sources, is a prominent mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountains along the peninsula. It is also one of three SOTA peaks in San Mateo County, the other two being San Bruno Mountain and Sierra Morena. The peak is in the Rancho Corral de Tierra section of the Golder Gate National Recreation Area. As far as I can tell, the best trailhead is at the top of Coral Reef Ave. There is space here for a number of cars, and street parking if the area is full.

Trailhead.

Almost immediately the trail starts climbing up a ridge. The maps show a number of trails, but there are no signs or names that I saw. I took the trail that goes up the closest ridge to the trailhead. The trail climbs up, steeply in sections, and joins with another trail higher on the ridge. The new trail continues up the same ridge.

First view of the air force station, the harbor, and Mavericks Beach.

The trail reaches a paved road, where I turned left and continued up the hill. There was a gate just after the intersection on the road, but it looks like it hasn't been used in a long time, and some serious work would be required for it to close again. The pavement ends, and it turns into a dirt road. The rest of the hike is much less steep than the first part.

The trail intersection is just beyond the sign.

Enjoy the ridge walk, with great views up and down the coast. Take the right path at the next two intersections. The second right is under some power lines, and it looks like it is possible to get to the summit via the left fork. From here you begin to hike in the trees and forest more, and there are not as many views. When I got close to the summit I could see the road above me after it had switched back, so I took a shortcut through the brush in one of the less steep sections.

FAA facility on the summit.

The summit is fenced off and has an active FAA station. I walked around part of the fence, and it doesn't seem like the area inside is any higher than at the border. I didn't see a good place to set up at the summit, so I hiked down a little ways. Following the road from the summit down, I took the first left onto a road that is being retaken by nature. Here there were a lot of trees with branches at an ideal height and position for holding an antenna.

Setup on the overgrown road. 

I got my line over a branch after a few tries, and set up. The branch I had chosen was almost too high, I only had an extra foot or two of feedline. Since I wasn't in a rush, I decided to start on 5 MHz and work my way up the bands. I made at least two contacts on each band, 60 through 12 meters. I tried calling on 6m ssb, but didn't get anyone. Surprisingly, I got one contact on 440 but none on 2 meters. After doing all the bands in CW, I decided to get some voice contacts. However, the wind was really blowing and I was getting cold, so after a few QSOs on 20 I packed up.

Cold and windy activation.

I retraced my steps on the way down. There was less wind on the other side of the peak, but I didn't take off all my warm gear until I had hiked over a mile. I passed a few people heading up, including a biker. The fire roads are probably great for biking. In one of the eucalyptus trees at the parking lot I saw a hawk. I tried to get a picture, but it took off right as I got the camera up. Back at the car I drove home, getting home. before the traffic got too bad.

Looking south on the way down. 

Trailhead: Top of Coral Reef Ave, in El Granada.
Website: SOTA Site. NPS Site. The NPS maps are terrible.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take one of the trail up the ridge. At the paved road, head left and follow it as it becomes dirt. At the next two intersections, take the road to the right. Continue up to the summit.

Red Tape: None.

W6/NC-402

This unnamed peak makes a great add-on peak after Berryessa Peak, if you have any energy left after the hike up. The best trailhead is just up the hill from the Berryessa Peak Trailhead, at the top of the hill on the outside of the curve in the road. There is a gate and a pullout large enough for a few cars.

Near the trailhead, looking towards the lake.

There are no trails leading to the summit, but there are herd paths that you can easily follow up. The simplest route navigationally is to follow the ridge that starts right behind the gate. This is generally a good route. However, near the top there is some dense brush, around the 960' contour. At this point, take the herd path that heads to the south and climbs up the reentrant on that side. I did not do this on the way up, and enjoyed some difficult bushwhacking.

The ridge goes straight up here, but turn to the left (south) and go up over there to avoid the bushwhack.

The summit is surrounded by brush, but this is between waist and shoulder high and much easier to push through. The maps show the summit to be just outside the public land, but this is incorrect. It is possible to get to the summit without trespassing. After tagging the summit, I descended to a small clearing along the fence to set up my antenna. It was getting late, and I didn't want to be hiking off trail in the dark, so I did a quick activation.

The no trespassing sign made a good place to wedge in my pole.

Despite not spending much time on any band, I made contacts on all three bands I tried. I then packed up, and mostly retraced my steps back to the car, avoiding the difficult bushwhack I had done on the way up. I hadn't moved my car from the first trailhead, so I had a quarter mile roadwalk to get back to the car.

Roadwalk back to the Berryessa Peak Trailhead.

Trailhead: Berryessa Peak Trailhead. Not marked on the road, but Google knows where it is.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Cross the fence, and follow the ridge up to the summit. There are herd paths that can be followed. At the dense brush, go to the south around it. There is no way to avoid the dense brush at the summit.

Red Tape: None.

Berryessa Peak summit hidden in the clouds.

W6/NC-118 Berryessa Peak

Berryessa Peak is the highest peak in the Lake Berryessa region. It is at the north end of the lake, on the east side. The trail to the top is somewhat long (7.25 mi, 3200'), but it is not a difficult hike. The trailhead is along Berryessa Knoxville Road, and is not marked. There is a gate with some small signs on the other side that confirm you are in the right place. Parking is on the side of the road.

Parking and the start of the trail.

The first few miles are in some valleys. It appears this route was chosen because it is the best route that stays on the state and BLM land. The trail was well marked and maintained, with periodic wooden posts marked "BPT" at intersections or difficult areas. At a spur to the main ridge, the trail switchbacks a few times, then climbs directly up the crest of the spur. Near the top, there is a fence crossing with a stile over it.

Fence stile crossing.

At this point the trail begins a long sidehill traverse just below the top of the ridge. Along this section, the trail passes through easments granted by the ranch owners, so stay on the trail. Other hikers have complained that this section is not very nice, since it is not on the top of the ridge. I think that it was pretty because the central valley is not particularly picturesque, and is usually covered in haze anyway. The view from the Napa side of the ridge is of almost totally undeveloped land.

Plaque along the way.

This section also shows how much work was put into building the trail. Making such a long section of sidehill trail on such a steep hill is not easy to construct or maintain. The trail descends into a small gap at the end of the sidehill section, which was quite damp after the recent rains. There were some steep sections with loose dirt in this area as well.

View down to Lake Berryessa.

On the other side it climbs steeply up to the summit ridge, with an occasional switchback. Here you will finally get some views to the east. After traversing a few bumps along the ridge, it descends a short distance to the tower access road, which it follows the last mile to the summit.

First view of the summit, from the sidehill traverse.

There are some open areas at the actual summit, and I found a bush to hold up my pole, and a flat area to sit in. I strung up the dipole, and got on the air. I operated in the usual order, 30, 20, and 40, and made contacts on each, including two summit-to-summits. I then tried VHF, and made one contact on both 440 and 220. Since I got a new phone over Christmas, I wanted to try out some of the features, so I took a bunch of pictures, including a photo sphere which I added to Google Maps.

Lake Berryessa.

 By the time I was done playing radio and taking pictures, the wind had picked up and I was getting cold. It also looked like some clouds were rolling in from the south, so I started the hike back down. By the time I got back to the fence stile, the peak was enveloped in clouds. I'm glad I got up to the top early enough to get some good views. Back at the trailhead I didn't stop at my car. Instead I walked up the road to go activate Peak 1140.

Trailhead: Berryessa Peak Trailhead. Not marked on the road, but Google knows where it is.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the Berryessa Peak Trail to the summit. Except for the intersection with the access road, junctions and major turns are all marked.

Red Tape: None. Stay on the trail while passing through the easments.

Setup on the summit.