W6/NC-151 Mt Vaca

Mt Vaca is the high point of Solano County. It is also a great place for radio, so it is very easy to access. To get there, drive up Mix Canyon Road. I parked at the fork near the top, where the pavement ends, but any car should be able to drive farther.

Walking up the road.

The road goes over the north summit and by some of the many towers. There's a small col, then the climb up to the high point. I walked around the car gate and tagged the highest point.

Turkey Vulture modeling on the summit.

I then walked back down the road a short distance to an open area. I setup on the side of the road, and sat on one of the boulders. I had brought my new 2m amplifier, so I started there. I made quite a few contacts, including one up to near Chico. The dc-dc converter I was using to power everything was really noisy on HF, as I thought it would be, so I could only run a few watts on HF.


Looking north.

A few cars drove by, some with ham plates. I assume they were up to do maintenance on their repeaters and remote stations. Back at the car I drove down and over to get another peak before heading home.

Trailhead: I started at the end of the pavement, but you can drive up to the summit.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Walk up the road into the AZ.
Red Tape: None.