W7I/CI-109 Cotterel Mountains High Point

Almost at the summit.

This peak is an easy drive up mountain near a lot of other easy SOTA peaks. I came up after activating Peak 6220, a few miles to the south. The dirt road to the summit is passable in a sedan, though there were some very steep sections. At one point the car didn't seem to want to shift down to a lower gear on a steep hill, but it did eventually, and I made it up. I parked about half a mile from the summit where I found an area I could turn around in and park off the road. There were some construction workers on top, but I setup in an area out of the way, in some juniper trees. The trees also did a marvelous job cutting down on the wind.

Looking south.

My loop was already adjusted for the 17 meter band, so I started there. I then worked my way down to 30. I thought I heard a JA calling me on 30 meters, but I didn't get a contact. I also called on 15 meters for a while after having a nice QSO with a fellow in Pennsylvania, but didn't get anyone else on the band. After I was done operating, I went over to the true high point, which was a few feet higher than where I had been, then returned to my car.

Trailhead: Along the road to the top, or at the summit.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the road up, if you didn't drive all the way.
Red Tape: None. Appears to be all on BLM land.

Panorama, looking mostly south. Summit behind me.