W6/NC-090 San Felipe Hills

The San Felipe Hills are a series of hills on the west side of Mt Hamilton and the Diablo Range. The best access to the highest one, and the only that is a SOTA summit is from the Smith Creek Fire Station, the same place to start the hike to Mt Isabel. I parked in the same pullout, crossed the bridge, and entered Joe Grant Park. This time I took the Manzanita Trail. The trail climbs up into the hills and heads in a southerly direction.

Typical terrain on the hike.

After crossing a fence I decided to make the hike more interesting and go cross-country up to the summit. It turns out that there were a number of ranch roads that were hard to see on the USGS quad without zooming in, so it was easier than I thought. The roads climb over and around a few small hills before getting to the main hill. There were a few sections with a very steep grade, but overall a nice walk.

Looking west to Loma Prieta, Mt Um, and Mt Misery.

 The western side of the summit is open and exposed, while the steep eastern slope is forested. It was quite warm out, so I set up in the shade. In theory this helped the antenna take-off angle too, but Mt Isabel might have blocked those signals.

View to the south. High peaks of Merced County.

 I had carried up my KX3 and big battery, so I had lots of bands available. There was no service where I was sitting, but I did have a good signal on the other side of the peak. I was feeling lazy, so I just called CQ and let RBNHole do the spotting for me. I jumped around the bands, making contacts on all bands 40-15. Once again John, ZL1BYZ, was the best DX on both 17 and 15.

Mt Isabel towering over the hill. Mt Hamilton just out of frame on the left.

 I thought about trying sideband, but I was still feeling lazy, so I didn't. I packed up and headed back. Near the summit is a marker memorializing the original ranchers of the area.

I believe Poverty Ridge on the left, Day Mtn and/or Black Mtn on the right.

The hike back was uneventful, retracing my route. I thought about driving up to Mt Hamilton, since I was halfway there, but there was not much gas left in my car and I didn't want to run out on one of these narrow, windy roads.

Trailhead: Smith Creek Fire Station, CA 130. Or somewhere in Joe Grant Park.
Website: SOTA Site
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map
Route: Take the Manzanita Trail and cross country.

Still not quite as green as it could be. We need some more rain.