W6/NC-265 Table Mountain

This was my second visit to the mountain. My first visit was last May. I hiked up after playing the organ at a service in the morning. The hike from Mountain Winery was as short and easy as I remembered it.

View across San Jose to Mt Hamilton and Mt Isabel.

The highlight was seeing a bobcat on my way up. Near the top I looked up and saw the cat walking up the trail. It heard me, and we looked at each other for a minute before it ran off into the woods.

Bobcat.

As I was setting up, I kept hearing rustling in the bushes, and wondered if the bobcat was still watching me, like one did Joe, AA0BV.

The bobcat.

On top, I set up in the same open area as I did last year, just below the summit. It was quite windy and cold when the sun was behind a cloud. There was cell service the entire time, so I spotted myself and worked the pileups on 30 and 20 meters. Despite calling for a while on 40 I only got one contact. I was cold, but decided to try VHF. I got one contact on 220 and 440. As I was packing up, it rained on me briefly.

Mt Umunhum was a short distance away.

Just before I turned off my HT I heard KK6YYD call CQ SOTA from Mt Davidson. I tried calling him, but he couldn't hear me. Paul, K6WIS alerted him to my calls, but he still didn't hear me. I tried a few more times on my way down, but didn't have any luck.

Trailhead: Highest parking lot at Mountain Winery, Saratoga. This lot is gravel, not paved.
Website: SOTA Site. Mountain Winery Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the dirt road to the summit. At junctions, go uphill.
Red Tape: Winery must be open to access trailhead. Parking fee (and probably very limited parking) if there is a concert or event that day.

The actual summit has no views.