W6/CC-075 Mt Caroline Livermore

This peak is the high point of Angel Island. There are ferries to the island from San Francisco and Tiburon, or if you have your own boat you can head over at any time. I took the ferry from Tiburon, parking in one of the city lots near the Chase bank. I hadn't looked to see exactly where the ferry departed from, but it wasn't hard to find after I walked around the waterfront a few minutes.

View of the island from Tiburon.

The boat ride is short, only about 10 minutes. There were lots of other sailboats and yachts to watch while on board and waiting for it to leave. On the island, head to the left of the dock area and take the North Ridge trail up to the summit. There are some steep steps between the dock and the paved road, but the trail mellows out after this point.

First view of Mt Tam.

The terrain is typical for a hike in Marin, and I made good time up to the summit, passing everyone who had started before me. At the top there are some picnic tables, in three different areas. The one with the south facing view was taken, and there wasn't much room at the summit one, so I took the one just before the summit.

The picnic table is hidden behind the bush.

There was enough room to string out my new 66' end fed antenna, and I had enough coax that I could comfortably sit at the table. It went up much more smoothly than on Laguna mountain the previous day. However, there was no shade up on the mountain. By the time I got on the air field day had started, so I did some search and pounce.

I think that it is the prettiest bridge.

I had no trouble working stations, especially on 40 meters. At one point my radio started overheating in the sun, and I had to take a break to let it cool down. Lots of people walked up and down, but only a few stopped to ask what I was doing. Later, I started getting really hot, so I decided to pack up and head down. I noticed that it got breezier farther down the mountain, which is the opposite of what I'm used to.

One of the old army garrison buildings on the island.

Back at the ring road I checked out one of the garrison sites and the old immigration station before walking back to the ferry. After waiting a few minutes, I boarded the ferry and was soon back on the mainland.

A Fresnel lens from one of the old lighthouses on the island.

Trailhead: Dock area where the ferry drops you off.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Red Tape: None.

2019 Update: Brian, N6IZ invited Rex KE6MT and myself to sail to the island and back. This is a much more fun way to get there.

SF, with Alcatraz in front.