W6/NC-190 Marsh Benchmark

Marsh Benchmark is a hill in the Diablo Range, not too far from Mt Diablo. The easiest access is from the Morgan Territory Road Staging Area, on Morgan Territory Road. Coming from Livermore this is a bit past the height of land of the road. There is a large parking area, with bathrooms and a kiosk with maps. I picked up a map, then crossed the road to head down the Clyma Trail.

Start of the Clyma Trail.

I took the trail around a nice, shaded stream bed, then up the hill. After going over a small hill, about 0.8 miles from the trailhead, I turned off the trail in a re-entrant. There was a large tub with a red lid next to the trail here. From here it was a cross-country hike up the ridge to the summit.

First glimpse of the summit.

I followed some old use trails up the ridge. I saw some cattle grazing, which made me wonder if I was actually following cattle paths. The off trail section was not steep, and there were only a few places with rough ground that could have twisted an ankle. As I got closer to the summit, someone started breaking the squelch on two meters, and once I got to the top I could hear that it was Rex, KE6MT. We had just seen each other at the Pacificon SOTA lunch, and I knew that he was heading for Vollmer Peak. He was really weak, but after he walked to the other side of the peak his signal strength came up and I could understand most of what he was saying.

Vollmer Peak, and the sun reflecting off the Pacific Ocean behind it.

There was a lot of really bad interference on VHF/UHF, so I didn't try to make any more contacts up there. Instead I went down to HF CW. There was a convenient wooden post that I was able to strap my pole to. I had a weak 4G signal on top, so spotting was not a problem. I started on 15 meters, and only made one contact. When I moved down to 17, N4EX was waiting for me, and called after I sent a QRL?. Seventeen was open, and I worked John, ZL1BYZ, in New Zealand again. On 20 meters I tried SSB, hoping to find a jamboree on the air (JOTA) station so I could talk to some scouts, but didn't hear any. It was getting late in the day. I finished on 30 and 40 CW, and got contacts with the usual chasers. I also got another summit to summit with KR7RK in Arizona.

Mt Diablo (left) and North Peak.

I found that the noise levels were relatively high on all the bands compared to most other summits. The hike back to the car was uneventful, retracing my steps. I enjoyed the views across the central valley of the Sierra until I got below the trees.

Trailhead: Morgan Territory Road Staging Area.
Website: SOTA Site. Park Website
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the Clyma Trail for about 0.8 miles. After going over a hill, there is a re-entrant with a red water container. Go up the ridge from here to the summit.
Red Tape: None.
Video:  ham_bitious YouTube