W7I/CI-139 Kimama Butte

I was in Idaho for work, and I had some time off, so I decided to go get some SOTA activations in. My first was Kimama Butte, an easy, drive up summit in the middle of the state. From the interstate, I took Idaho 27 north, then left on road 1100. This is a well maintained dirt road. There are other intersecting roads, but the one to the top is obvious. Google was also able to direct me there. Some people reported that the road from the south was locked, so I didn't try to go up that way. I parked about a quarter mile below the summit and walked the rest of the way up.

Parked on the side of the road. Looking North.

There are a lot of towers and antennas on the top, but I didn't have a problem with interference. After tagging the summit, I descended a little to try and get out of the wind. It was cold (at least to a Californian), and the wind made it colder. I ended up sitting on the side of the road. I put the loop together, and got on 30 meters. I quickly got my four contacts, then got four more. There was excellent 4G service (Verizon) on top.

Benchmark at the summit.

I then went up to 17 meters, but the noise floor was higher, so I decided to call on 15. The band was open to the east coast and New England, and I quickly got five more contacts, despite some fading. I called for a few minutes on VHF, but didn't get any responses. There is a low population density here, so I wasn't expecting much from the higher frequencies.

Looking to the summit. The sun did come out briefly while I was up there.

It was getting chilly, so I packed up and walked back to the car. On the way I stopped to watch some crows that seemed to be harassing a raptor. They must have had a nest or something in the rocks they were flying around. The drive back was easy, but Google kept trying to send me down roads that didn't exist, or were in really bad condition. Overall, an easy activation, with not another human in sight.

Trailhead: Park somewhere along the road, or drive to the summit.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the road to the summit.
Red Tape: None.