W6/CC-021 San Benito Mountain

San Benito Mountain is a high point, of both the Diablo range and San Benito County. It also has over 3000 feet of prominence. Overall, a nice mountain. With an off-road vehicle and some permits, access is very easy. San Benito was the third peak of the day I did with Rex, KE6MT. After leaving Santa Rita peak in a hurry, we drove over. A main road goes to within 200 feet of the summit. From here it is less than half a mile up to the top. The road, for tower access and closed to public vehicles, goes up the south east spur to the summit.

Late afternoon view near the top.

It was a quick walk up to the high point, which is near the lower towers. We looked for a register, but didn't see one. We scrambled up the highest rock, and took turns being the highest person in the county. The summit area is fairly flat, so there is a large activation zone. There is a metal fence on the west side which I used to support my pole and antenna. KE6MT and I decided which bands we would each use to avoid interference, and had our HTs if we needed to coordinate.

That is a very large and well-built tower for only one antenna. Crazy motorcycle man claimed that it was the transmitter for a Sacramento area FM station.

I started on 17, but didn't get anyone after a few minutes of calling. I then went down to 30 where I got the usual pileup. Since it was late in the day, I thought that 60 might provide some contacts, but I only got W7RV there. Because the sun was going down and we wanted to go back to Santa Rita, we didn't spend a lot of time working all the bands.

Setup to watch the sun set.

Trailhead: Jeep trail that leaves to the right, a short distance below the summit.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map. Overview Map.
Route: Walk up the road to the top.
Red Tape: Inside the Serpentine ACEC of the Clear Creek Management Unit. There are old asbestos mines in the area. The permit allows you to spend one day in the ACEC. The permit is free, but there is a $10 online reservation fee. I would recommend going after a rain, so there is less asbestos dust in the air. A vehicle permit is also required, but can be purchased on the way in to avoid the $10 online fee. If you want to drive up, call the BLM office to get gate codes, etc.

Back to the car. A happy KE6MT in the foreground, Santa Rita in the distance.