W6/NC-244 Sunol Peak

2023 Update: This article does not describe a good way to go to the summit. See this one instead. No jumping over fences required!

Sunol Peak is the peak with the highest prominence in Alameda county, and it is worth the trip up. There are a few different routes described on its peakbagger page, and I decided to start from Palomares Road. This road goes up a narrow canyon off of Nile Canyon. About 1.3 miles from Niles Canyon Road there is a gated access road that leads to the summit. I parked in a pullout on the other side of the road a short distance below the gate.

Looking back at the gate on the start of my hike.

The road starts out by following the stream bed, but quickly reaches the steep section. There are a number of steep switchbacks that take you up the forested lower slopes of the ridge. From the tire tracks, it looks like the road is frequently used by technicians needing access to the towers on top. Partway up there is an intersection with a dirt road and a small pond that looked like it was man-made.

Stop on the way up. The peak is visible just to the left of the trees.

 I stopped at this point for a quick break, and also got my first view of the summit from here. At the top of the switchback section the road leaves the forest and continues climbing steeply through the open grass of the ridge top. Eventually, you get to the top. The highest point is fenced off, but you can get pretty close. I setup on the west side, using some wooden posts to hold up my antenna pole. I had excellent views to the south, west, and north.

Looking north. I could pick out all the major peaks, Mt Tam, Vollmer Peak, Rocky Ridge, Mt Davidson, San Bruno Mountain, Loma Alta.

The temperature was perfect for operating, and the breeze was intermittent, so it was perfect for spending time on the summit. I worked the usual chasers on HF, avoiding the sweepstakes contest, then went up to VHF. I had a long chat with K6WIS about VHF/UHF operating. After talking with him, I'm convinced that there's something wrong with my TH-F6A that is causing all the noise I hear on 222 MHz. I think I'll have to get a transverter and antenna for the band.

Mt Allison and Mission Peak on the left, Loma Prieta and Mt Um in the far distance. Mt Beilawski is somewhere over there as well. I could see Maguire Peaks, but I have trouble picking out which massif they are. Vargas Plateau in the middle distance.

 After I had finished operating I packed up and went over to the other side of the peak. The tri-valleys area was right below me, Mt Diablo was prominent as always, and the Sierra was visible through the haze. With a pair of binoculars and a clear day, you could see almost all the SOTA peaks in the Bay Area.

Mt Diablo and North Peak on the left, Marsh BM in the center, Brushy Peak on the right. Windy Point in there as well.

As I was leaving the activation zone, I heard K6KEL call on 2m, so I answered. He was portable in Palo Alto with a big signal, running 50 watts to an Arrow Yagi. The descent was not as bad as others have made it sound. It would have been a lot worse on loose gravel. As I was heading down, I saw a dark shape run across the path down the hill in front of me. After some Googling, I think it was a bobcat. The first one I've seen in the wild. Very cool!

Trailhead: Service road off of Palomares Road. Park in a pullout somewhere.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the paved road to the top.
Red Tape: None.

Me with Mt Diablo.