W6/NC-407 Richardson East Benchmark

This peak is the highest in the Marin Headlands. The closest trailhead, and apparently the most popular, is at the Park and Ride on Spencer Ave, right next to the freeway. There was no problem finding a spot late in the afternoon on a Saturday.

Heading up the Morning Sun Trail.

The trail climbs steeply up, with plenty of steps to make the ascent easier. This part of the hike is visually remote, but aurally you are right next to the freeway. I bounded up the trail, and was soon at the fire road at the top. Turn left here, and follow it for about a quarter mile. The fire road ends at a paved road, which has a big sign alerting you that it is private property ahead. Turn right, and go up the access road, around the chain.

First view of the summit.

The access road curves around to the back of the summit, then ends at the fence surrounding the towers. There is a use trail that goes around the fence. I walked around a bit, and decided to set up at the northeast corner. I strapped my pole to the fence, and soon had my new EFHW in the air.

Looking North to Mt Tamalpais.

I put out an alert on 17 meters, but the only response was from John, ZL1BYZ in New Zealand. I then worked a quick summit-to-summit with Canada, then put another alert on 30. This got me some of the usual chasers, as did a spot on 60. I then did some search and pounce field day, getting a few more contacts.

Looking south, to the western edge of San Francisco.

I thought there might be some VHF activity, so I gave some calls on 2m and 70cm, but only got one taker on 70. I found that the KX3 tuner could match my antenna on 6m, so I called there but only got one contact. The sun was starting to set, and it was really beautiful up on top, and I didn't want to leave.

The Golden Gate Bridge, peaking out behind a different summit.

I spent some time walking around on top, taking in the views. I thought about staying for the sunset, but I had run out of food and was getting hungry. I retraced my steps back to the car, and was quickly there for the drive home.

Trailhead: Park and Ride, Spencer Ave.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Red Tape: None.

One last view of Angel Island, before dropping back into the trees.