W6/SC-301 Spikes Peak

Spikes Peak is the high point of Pacheco State Park, just inside Merced County. I invited a few friends to come along, and there were four of us who hiked to the peak. We left the Bay Area around 9:45 and drove up to Pacheco Pass, where the park entrance is. There was one other car in the lot, and we passed the guy on our way up, as he was returning.

Walking across the parking lot.

We took the Spikes Peak Trail to the summit, which is an old ranch road. It was hot, but not enough to cause problems. The trail goes over a summit which is nearly as high as the main peak, then drops 200 feet before climbing to the main summit. There is a small, marked spur trail that goes to the top. My friends didn't notice it, and were about to head downhill, but I stopped them and we all made it to the summit.

Looking East to the Central Valley and San Luis Reservoir.

There is a tree with a picnic table underneath, the perfect place to setup for an activation. There were no good branches to support an antenna, so I set up my pole. I turned on the radio to 20 meters, and there was a station calling for the Hawaii QSO Party. I made a quick contact with him, then explained what had just happened. Everyone was impressed that I could talk so far. I put out a spot, which netted a few more contacts for 20-SSB. I then moved down to 30-CW, and impressed some more with my CW skills. Most of the usual chasers were worked. No one was in a hurry, so I spent some time tuning around and working stations in Kansas, Ohio, and Hawaii, all of which had state QSO parties that weekend. I spent most of my time on 20, but did go up to 15 to work a contest station.

Very pleasant operating from here.

Update, 3/2019: There is now a large, green water tank at the summit, where the pole is in the above picture. The table is still there, under the tree.

The summit in March 2019.

By this time, people were getting bored, so I went QRT and packed up. The hike down was quick, back to a car that had been baking in the sun. On the way back we stopped at a farm stand to try and get some cheap avocados, but they were out. Instead we got some fresh strawberries to munch on during the drive back. Overall, this is a nice peak, but would be much nicer in the spring.

Trailhead: Pacheco State Park.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map. SP brochure map.
Route: We took Spikes Peak Trail to the summit. Many other trails available for loops and such.
Red Tape: None.

High peaks south of the park. If they weren't on private land, they look like nice hikes.

W6/NC-430 Little Mountain

Little Mountain is a small peak looking over Novato. This was the third peak of the day for me, after Burdell Mountain and Peak 1575. The trailhead is at Ohair park, along Sutro Ave. There is no parking lot, just pull off the pavement. From here, head up the trail that heads into the park.

Little Mountain trailhead on Sutro Ave.

At the first junction, head left. This was signed as a trail easement. There was a lot of poison oak along the sides of the trail, so watch out or wear pants. At a metal bar you can take a shortcut, following a very faint use trail up to a second bar at the trail. Continue uphill until you break out of the trees. Just after this point, turn right and follow the unmaintained trail to the summit. This trail goes along the crest of the ridge, following the vegetation boundary, staying out of the trees.

Small tree swing.

There were a few steep sections, but overall, an easy hike. At the top there are two peaks. The western one is a little bit higher, but both are in the activation zone. There are no trees, so bring an antenna support. I hiked over to the higher peak, and got set up. There was a fair amount of wind, but the guys for my mast held with no problems.

Ready to go.

Little Mountain looks over Novato, and the views were great, all the way to the Diablo range. There was excellent cell coverage, 4G, on top. I put out a spot for 30 meters, and made my contacts. I then spent another 90 minutes calling on other bands and modes, but no one answered. I did manage a summit to summit with a very weak station on the east coast. After I got tired of calling without getting a response, I packed up and headed down. The trip back was easy, only a few steep sections that required care while descending. I got back to my car for the long drive back home.

Looking down to Novato.

Trailhead: Ohair Park, Sutro Ave.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Go up the trail. Take the left fork onto the trail easement. After breaking out of the forest, follow the trail along the ridge to the summit.
Red Tape: None.

"You are a rainbow of possibilities"

W6/NC-354

This nameless peak is at the top of the Indian Tree Open Space Preserve near Novato. I came here after climbing Burdell Mountain. As far as I can tell, the only access is from the north, on Vineyard Road. The trailhead is at the height of land on the road, where the pavement ends. There is parking on the south side of the road, on the dirt section.

Big Trees Trailhead.

From here, take the Big Trees Trail to the ridge. This is also the route the Bay Area Ridge Trail takes, so you can follow the blue arrows. The trail climbs at a rather shallow grade with many, many switchbacks. It passes through various ecosystems, from open grassland to redwood groves.

On the way up.

There are a few openings on the climb with views to the north, but for the most part it is in the cool forest. At the top, turn right and follow the fire road up. There is a gate at the edge of the open space, then a barbed wire fence separating the road from the summit. I setup along the fence for convenience. The fence is about 10 feet above the bottom of the activation zone, so no worries there. I had intermittent cell service, but enough to get out a spot. This got me six contacts on 30 meters. I tried 17 for a while, but didn't have any luck.

QRV just below the summit.

 After packing up I crawled under the fence to tag the true summit. The top is totally open, and has a decent sized flat area that could be used to operate from. It is probably a good area for VHF.

Looking toward Mt Tam

 The hike back down was pleasant, there were no steep or loose sections that required slowing down. I did stop at a view point to take a look at the next mountain on the list for the day, Little Mountain.

Trailhead: Height of land, Vineyard Road. Labeled as Big Trees on Google Maps
Website: SOTA Site. Marin Open Spaces website.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map. See open space website above.
Route: Take the Big Trees Trail to the top. Turn right on the Indian Tree Fire Road, and follow this up to the high point. The summit is above you on the left.
Red Tape: None.

Little Mountain.

W6/NC-353 Burdell Mountain

Burdell Mountain is a prominent peak in northern Marin county. There are a number of possible approaches to the top. There is a trail that starta at Olompali State Historic Park on the north side of the mountain, or a few trailheads on the south side, in Novato. I chose to start at the trailhead at the top of San Andreas Drive, because, as far as I could tell, it was at the highest elevation. I think the hardest part of hiking is gaining elevation, and I had two more summits (Peak 1575 and Little Mountain) planned for today, so I decided to try and minimize the total climb.

San Andreas Dr trailhead.

I got to the start fairly early, and there were already a number of cars parked there. I started out up the Middle Burdell Fire Road, which is the route the Bay Area Ridge Trail takes. There were a bunch of joggers and dog walkers out in the cool morning. I took this trail up through some open meadows.

On the way up. Still below the clouds.

The morning clouds hung around until I was packing up after the activation. The Bay Area Ridge Trail turned off onto the Deer Camp Fire Road. At the intersection with the Cobblestone Fire Road, I took the new trail up. The area is signed very well, and the trails are very easy to follow. Just below the summit ridge there is a flat area, with a big tower of to the left. Across the paved tower access road there is a use trail that runs up the last 50 feet to the summit ridge.

Plateau below the summit. Tower to the left.

Running along the ridge is a stone wall of the type you'd expect to find in New England. There is a gap in the wall, and a herd path running along the ridge on the other side of the wall. It was totally socked in when I reached the summit, so I turned left and walked along until I found a good area to set up in.

Summit Ridge and stone wall.

There was a fence marking the boundary of some private property, so I lashed my pole to this and got on the air. I set out an alert for 30 meters and quickly got six contacts. I had a new, large battery with me, so I got on 17 meter SSB, where I made four contacts, one of them to NH. VHF netted two on 2 meters and one on 70 cm.

Operating position. Private property on the other side.

By this time the sun had burned off the clouds, and it was getting warm, so I packed up and headed down. There were some great views to the east, over the flat area west of the Napa River, and to the south once I got farther down the mountain. At the bottom I left and headed over to the trailhead for Peak 1575, on the other side of town.

Mt Tam in the distance, Big Rock Ridge on the right with the towers. Peak 1575 to the right of the frame.

Trailhead: Top of San Andreas Drive. Other trailheads also possible.
Website: SOTA Site. Marin Open Spaces website.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map. See open space website above.
Route: Take the Middle Burdell Fire Road and Cobblestone Fire Road to the intersection with the paved Mt Burdell Fire Road. Across the road is a use trail that leads to the summit. There is a gap in the stone wall, and you can walk along the summit ridge in both directions.
Red Tape: None.

Looking east from the summit.

W6/CC-063 Mt Tamalpais

East Peak from West Peak.

After a discussion on the SOTA reflector about the correct summit of Mt Tam, I decided to go up and check it out. There are three summits on the ridge, East, Middle, and West. East and West are about the same height, close enough that different sources have different elevations. The correct SOTA peak is the West one, with the old military installation and current FAA radar on top.

Trailhead at Rock Springs.

I decided to start at the Rock Springs area. I hiked up past the amphitheater and up the Mountain Top Trail. This took me to the old military installation. All that is left is the foundations, but there are great views from this area. Crossing the area, I continued up the main road to the unofficial summit trail.

That's Barnabe Mountain, center right, and Point Reyes to the left. The ocean is covered in fog, of course.

At the high point of the road, there are pullouts on each side, and a trail that leads up to the summit.

From studying maps and aerial imagery I thought I would have to operate very close to the road, but it turns out that the trail runs up to the fence that surrounds the summit. Probably created from all the people who like to collect county high points. I walked along the fence to the east side of the summit, to try and get some help for my antenna, and found a flat area to setup. I had a good view to East Peak, and it looked like it was at the same elevation as where I was. Maybe someone with some surveying equipment could determine which peak is actually higher.

FAA radar dome at the top. This is about where the use trail reaches the fence.

There were some bushes that I was able to strap my pole to, and I was quickly on HF. I made a number of contacts on 30 and 20, including a summit-to-summit. I then got out the HT to see if I could make some contacts on 222 and 440. There was a contest going on, so I figured that people would be willing to work me even with a small antenna.

If only that table was on the other side of the fence.

I made three contacts on 70 cm and two on 1.25 meters, and one on 2 meters. The last one on 440 was with someone down near Fresno. He must have had a big yagi and some power. The hike down was quick, as hiking downhill usually is.

Trailhead: Rock Springs. Also can start at pullout near top for drive up experience, or farther down, such as at Pantoll or Stinson Beach for a strenuous hike.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map. I also took my Tom Harrison map.
Route: From Rock Spring, hike up past the amphitheater and take the Mountain Top Trail to the sub-peak. Make your way to the road, and hike up the road to the pullout near the summit, then follow the use trail to the fence. The road at the pullout is in the activation zone.
Red Tape: None. Don't try to cross the fence at the top.

West Point Inn, and the fog rolling through the Golden Gate.

W6/NC-380

This unnamed peak is at the south end of Point Reyes National Seashore, north of Bolinas. I hiked the peak from the southeast, starting at the Olema Valley trailhead on CA 1. There is a small pullout at the trailhead, and another small one just up the road, each with room for three or four cars. There is a big sign, so it was easy to find.

Trailhead.

 The trail descends slightly to a large meadow, which was cool and green. It was a nice change from yesterday's hot, dry hike in Pinnacles. After crossing the meadow an a small stream, the trail climbs up to the main ridge running through the park.

Meadow at the start of the hike.

I felt like I was back on the east coast, with the lush forest and thick understory. This area appears to be popular with equestrians, and I saw three near the summit. Once on the ridge, the trail climbs more gently, with a few dips.

Climbing up to the ridge.

The summit is blocked by a dense wall of plants. I tried pushing through to get to the high point, but gave up after 20 meters. It wasn't worth the effort. The trail runs through the activation zone, and is wide enough that I could set up on the side without blocking the path. I did, and spotted myself on 30. I had much better luck today, and even made two summit-to-summit contacts. Calling on 20 resulted in one contact. I didn't try VHF because I figured that the higher peaks to the East would block my signal.

Setup on the side of the trail.

I went down the way I came up, and quickly reached the bottom. I then headed back over to Mt Tam, to get the only two-pointer in Marin.

Trailhead: Olema Valley Trail on CA 1.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Olema Valley Trail to Teixiera Trail to Ridge Trail.
Red Tape: None. Watch out for horse droppings on the trail.

Some nice flowers on the way up.

W6/SC-417 Harris Benchmark

Harris Benchmark is a peak at the northern edge of Pinnacles National Park, the high point of a long, U-shaped ridge that runs along the top of the park. There are some sections without a trail, so map and compass navigation skills are needed to reach this peak.
I arrived at the parking lot on the west side of the park around 8:45 and quickly got on the trail. The first section of the hike is identical to the one to SC-423. There were a number of bunnies in the picnic area, and they were fearless. Usually the only view I get of rabbits is their tail as they dive into the bushes. These ones just sat and watched me walk by.

Heading up the North Wilderness Trail.

I took the North Wilderness Trail up and over the saddle to the seasonal stream on the other side. This section was much prettier back in March with the green grass and blooming flowers. On the other side of the hill, I found the stream bed that I planned to follow up to the ridge. There are a few stream intersections here, so be careful to choose the correct one. Initially I hiked in or very close to the stream bed, but I discovered there was an easier path a short ways above the stream, on the west side. I think this is how the animals move around, there was a lot of scat and some herd paths. At the base of the steep section crossed the stream then had a choice to continue to follow the stream up the ridge, or go up a spur. The spur seemed to be less dense so I opted for that route.

Base of the ridge.

I made it to the top, but the plants were dense and scratchy. My arms are all cut up from the bushwhacking. At the top there are two parallel fences, which appear to be an old boundary of the park. I crossed the first fence and hiked up the empty space between them. I didn't see an easy way to get across, so I had to crawl under the bottom strand of barbed wire. It was a tight fit. At the top of the hill I had to cross over the other fence, then was able to follow an old jeep trail along the top and side of the ridge. 

Jeep trail, just before crossing the second fence. Harris BM in the center distance.

The trail was wide and easy to follow. Even better, it skirted around the first two peaks, thereby avoiding some extra climbing. I made good time on this section. At the low point of the ridge, the jeep trail continues north off the ridge, but the SOTA activator must turn and bushwhack up along the ridge. I looked around for an old trail or something to make the passage easier, but didn't find anything. This required more fighting through the sharp bushes. Part way up I found this erosion gully and was able to follow it for a while.

Deep gully.

I broke out of the bushes and onto the final jeep trail, which led directly to the summit. The summit had a large open area and excellent views of the park. I found the disk at the top, then set up. There are no trees at the top. I brought my mag loop because it fits inside my backpack, and bushwhacking with a crappie pole on the outside of the pack is even more difficult. I had decent cell service, and sent out a spot for 30 meters. After calling for a while, I had gotten no responses. Usually I can quickly qualify a peak on 30, so I was getting worried that all the effort to get to the top had been for nothing. I moved up to 20 and sent out another spot. I eventually made five contacts, much to my relief.

USGS marker. Didn't have the peak name or elevation marked for some reason.

I decided to try 40, but didn't have any luck there. A few calls on VHF/UHF also came up empty. By this point I had been on the summit for an hour, and was starting to get worried about my water situation. I had brought three liters of water, and had less than one left for the six mile hike back to the car. I packed up and headed down, retracing my steps. On the steep descent to the stream I started feeling bad, which I know means I'm getting too hot, but there was nowhere to stop on the steep slope. At the bottom I found a shady area and stopped to cool down for a while.

QRV on the summit. North and South Chalone in the center, Hawkins Peak in front of them. I could see all the SOTA peaks in the park from here.

I made back to the stream bed before I ran out of water. I saved a mouthful for the top of the climb, then headed up. It was the most unpleasant climb. At the top I drank the rest, then headed down as fast as I could. The water spigot was a welcome sight, and the water was wonderful, even if it tasted bad. Once I got back into town I stopped by a convenience store to buy a drink that tasted better for the drive home. That evening I couldn't tell if my arms hurt because they were sunburnt or badly scratched. It was the scratches.

Trailhead: Pinnacles National Park West Entrance.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map. I also took the Tom Harrison map.
Route: See description above. North Wilderness Trail, bushwhack, old jeep trail, bushwhack, old jeep trail.
Red Tape: None.

What I think of the heat.

Mono Lake and Devil's Postpile

After climbing Half Dome the day before we had a leisurely day driving through the park to Lee Vining and Mono Lake. Along the way we stopped at some viewpoints, and at Tuolumne Meadows.

Foggy view from Olmstead point. Clouds Rest and Half Dome.

A short break in the rain.

Lake where we had lunch.

Tuolumne Meadows, with a coyote.

It was rainy, but we were still able to get some views from Olmstead Point of Clouds Rest and Half Dome. We had lunch at Tenaya Lake, then walked around in a break in the rain.
Walking around Tuolumne Meadows was nice, and we saw some coyotes running around. This area is probably very pretty in June when the grass is green and the flowers are blooming. There were some southbound PCT thru hikers at the general store, repacking their supply drops and enjoying the food.

Bubbling springs in the meadows.

View in the canyon heading down to Mono Lake.

The next day we spend at Devil's Postpile National Monument and Mono Lake. After getting breakfast at the grocery store down the street, we drove down 395 to Mammoth Lakes. Here we got on the windy, narrow road for the drive to the monument. This road is closed to private vehicles in the summer, but there weren't very many people in late September. At the trailhead we bundled up from the wind and set out. It was a short walk to the base of the formation.

Devil's Postpile.

Top of the postpile.

We admired it and took some pictures, then continued around and climbed to the top. The top was neat, with hexagonal and pentagonal patterns in the rock. We then decided to hike down to Rainbow Falls, at the south end of the monument. This was a pleasant hike, though a bit chilly in the wind. The falls were neat.

Rainbow Falls. 

We hiked back to the parking lot, and had a chilly lunch by the river.
Next, we returned to Mono Lake to walk around the Tufa.

South Tufa.

Up close with the tufa.

There were some signs giving information about the area and formations. They were pretty cool. We then drove over to a small volcano and hiked around the rim. There was a lot of obsidian laying around, but we weren't allowed to take any home with us.

Mono Lake from the nearby volcano.

After we returned to town for the evening.
The final day of our trip, Friday, we went up to the Bodie ghost town and walked around. This was a neat area, and I wouldn't mind going back to explore some more.

Bodie.

Central Bodie.