W6/CT-118 Mt McDill

This peak is a few miles west of Palmdale, and a pleasant hike if you have a few hours. I started at Lincoln Crest, the high point of Bouquet Canyon Road. This is the same place as when I did Granite Benchmark a few years ago. The pullout is still there. The start is the power line access road. There is a gate, but it wasn't locked or signed. I simply opened it enough to get around and was on my way.

Sign on the gate.

There are a number of roads at the start, and no signs. I managed to take the wrong one, and didn't realize it until I had climbed about 150'. I decided to just bushwhack over to the road I wanted rather than go down and up again. There were a few gnarly sections, but not as bad as some I've done. Back on the correct road I started cruising up the hill.

On the bushwhack. Oops!

I almost missed the turn where the trail becomes single track instead of a road, but I caught my mistake before I had gone too far. This section was easy to follow, with no junctions until I got to the road on the other end. It was overcast, and got windier as I got higher. Water was condensing on the bushes, so I got a bit wet from that.

An interesting tree on the way up.

At the road at the other end, I turned right and took it up to the ridge. There is a dirt road running along the crest. There were decent views, and luckily for me, the bottom of the clouds were just above the ridge.

It appears the super bloom is still happening up high.

Turn left at the ridge, and follow the road up to the summit. I found the marker, then retreated to behind some rocks and bushes. The broke the wind enough that I could stay warm enough for an activation. I put up the antenna and was on the air. Once I started getting cold, I packed up and headed back down.

My new 9:1 UnUn, from QRPGuys.

I had no problem finding my way down, and was able to avoid bushwhacking. Back at the car I warmed up out of the wind, and headed back to town so I could shower before going to work.

Trailhead: Lincoln Crest, Bouquet Canyon Road.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Carefully take the power line access road. Take the unmarked single track trail up to the next road, then left along the ridge to the summit. None of the roads appear to have numbers.
Red Tape: None. Just make sure not to damage the power line pylons.