W6/NC-288 Scarper Peak

Scarper Peak, or Scarpet Peak in some sources, is a prominent mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountains along the peninsula. It is also one of three SOTA peaks in San Mateo County, the other two being San Bruno Mountain and Sierra Morena. The peak is in the Rancho Corral de Tierra section of the Golder Gate National Recreation Area. As far as I can tell, the best trailhead is at the top of Coral Reef Ave. There is space here for a number of cars, and street parking if the area is full.

Trailhead.

Almost immediately the trail starts climbing up a ridge. The maps show a number of trails, but there are no signs or names that I saw. I took the trail that goes up the closest ridge to the trailhead. The trail climbs up, steeply in sections, and joins with another trail higher on the ridge. The new trail continues up the same ridge.

First view of the air force station, the harbor, and Mavericks Beach.

The trail reaches a paved road, where I turned left and continued up the hill. There was a gate just after the intersection on the road, but it looks like it hasn't been used in a long time, and some serious work would be required for it to close again. The pavement ends, and it turns into a dirt road. The rest of the hike is much less steep than the first part.

The trail intersection is just beyond the sign.

Enjoy the ridge walk, with great views up and down the coast. Take the right path at the next two intersections. The second right is under some power lines, and it looks like it is possible to get to the summit via the left fork. From here you begin to hike in the trees and forest more, and there are not as many views. When I got close to the summit I could see the road above me after it had switched back, so I took a shortcut through the brush in one of the less steep sections.

FAA facility on the summit.

The summit is fenced off and has an active FAA station. I walked around part of the fence, and it doesn't seem like the area inside is any higher than at the border. I didn't see a good place to set up at the summit, so I hiked down a little ways. Following the road from the summit down, I took the first left onto a road that is being retaken by nature. Here there were a lot of trees with branches at an ideal height and position for holding an antenna.

Setup on the overgrown road. 

I got my line over a branch after a few tries, and set up. The branch I had chosen was almost too high, I only had an extra foot or two of feedline. Since I wasn't in a rush, I decided to start on 5 MHz and work my way up the bands. I made at least two contacts on each band, 60 through 12 meters. I tried calling on 6m ssb, but didn't get anyone. Surprisingly, I got one contact on 440 but none on 2 meters. After doing all the bands in CW, I decided to get some voice contacts. However, the wind was really blowing and I was getting cold, so after a few QSOs on 20 I packed up.

Cold and windy activation.

I retraced my steps on the way down. There was less wind on the other side of the peak, but I didn't take off all my warm gear until I had hiked over a mile. I passed a few people heading up, including a biker. The fire roads are probably great for biking. In one of the eucalyptus trees at the parking lot I saw a hawk. I tried to get a picture, but it took off right as I got the camera up. Back at the car I drove home, getting home. before the traffic got too bad.

Looking south on the way down. 

Trailhead: Top of Coral Reef Ave, in El Granada.
Website: SOTA Site. NPS Site. The NPS maps are terrible.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take one of the trail up the ridge. At the paved road, head left and follow it as it becomes dirt. At the next two intersections, take the road to the right. Continue up to the summit.

Red Tape: None.