W4C/WP-010 The Pinnacle

After my quick activation of Anderson Mountain I headed down to Crowders Mountain SP to get the two summits there. The rain seemed like it was getting lighter, and I was happy to see that. Arriving at the park, I parked in the lot at the visitors center.

Start of the trail, looking back at the visitor center.

This park gets a lot of use, and the trails are well marked and well worn. I took the Pinnacle Trail up to the summit. I only saw about a dozen people on my way up.

Ascending through the misty woods.

The trail ends just below the summit with a big scary sign. This area appears to be the bottom of the activation zone, if you don't like scrambling. I like it, so I continued up past the sign to the narrow, rocky ridge.

Sign at the end of the trail.

I hiked up to the high point, then backtracked to a small flat area I had passed. I setup the antenna here, and sat down on the lee side of the ridge. I had good cell service, and had no trouble spotting. Sadly, just as I was finishing with the antenna, the rain started again. It was light, but I made it a shorter activation that I would have liked.

Looking towards the high point.

The highlight was getting an English station on 20. After working everyone on 20 and 40, I packed up. I had a limited amount of time before I had to get back to work that evening. I took the same trail to get down. On the way it poured on me for a few minutes, soaking me.

Soaking wet but still happy.

Back at the junction near the parking lot, I continued straight to head over to Crowders Mountain.

Trailhead: Crowders Mountain SP Visitors Center
Website: SOTA Site. SP site
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the Pinnacle Trail to the top.
Red Tape: None. Parking lot may fill up on nice days.

Marker at the summit.