W5N/OT-023 Peak 8090

My time in the Land of Enchantment was coming to an end, but I had all morning to explore. I decided to do a nearby peak before returning to Albuquerque. Just a few kilometers north of the house was this unnamed peak.

The actual peak is along a ridge behind that high point.

I tried following other directions to the north side of the peak, but a No Trespassing sign stopped me. Instead I just parked along the side of the road to the east and walked across the mesa. This was slow going for the first mile as I had to pick my way through the knee-high sage. As I started climbing the slope the floor opened up and I just had to go around the trees.

Looking back towards Wheeler peak.

It was a bit steep, but nothing compared to some of the peaks I had been on earlier in the week. At the ridge I followed it along to the high point. I found a rock to sit on and got set up. I was in no rush, so I worked all the bands I had.

The summit is there.

I just retraced my steps back to the car. Overall this peak was not nearly as nice as the ones on the Iconic Peaks list, but I was glad for the excuse to get one more hike in.

Trailhead: Side of Camino de Lovato
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Walk across the mesa to the base of the hill. Climb up the hill to the ridge, then walk along the ridge to the high point.
Red Tape: None.

The Rio Grande gorge nearby is worth a stop too. There was a raft going by when I stopped.

W5N/SE-001 Chicoma Mountain

The hardest part of Chicoma is the drive to the trailhead. From a bit north of Espanola, take road 144 for 26 miles. This is a very rough road in places, and I wouldn't try it without some high clearance. It took us over an hour to drive the dirt road.

Open forest on the way up.

Joe had coordinates of a good place to park, and after driving over a cattle guard I found a pullout to park in. We set out into the woods, heading uphill. The first part is steeper, and was easy going. When the terrain flattens out, there are many more down trees. This required some creative route finding, going over, around, and even along the trees.

This stuff was not easy to get through.

Eventually we made it through the trees, and found ourselves in a large meadow. This was awesome, with incredible views. We hiked up to tag the summit, then both decided that sitting at the top of the meadow was the best place to activate from.

Joe in the meadow.

Neither of us were in a hurry, so we both operated a number of bands. I got a few summit-to-summit contacts which put me over for Shack Sloth. At the time I wasn't sure who, but at home I determined that WW7D was the one who put me over. Eventually we decided we wanted to get back for some dinner, so we packed up and hiked back.

Pedernal in the center.

Back at the car we bumped our way back to the pavement and then the drive back to the Taos Mesa Brewing restaurant, our favorite post-hike meal spot.

Trailhead: Forest Road 144.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Head up the hill to the summit. There are some old abandoned logging roads, but none of them seemed to go in the right direction.
Red Tape: None.

A cairn made of wood?

W5N/SE-018 Cerro Pedernal

Cerro Pedernal is one of the most striking mountains in New Mexico. The mountain was made famous in many of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings, as her ranch had a great view of the mountain. We left the house early, since the afternoon weather was questionable. Allison decided that she didn't want another day of hiking, so stayed back.

View of the peak through the trees.

 The trail head is easy to get to, and we had no trouble finding the road to turn down. I drove up it as far as I felt comfortable, then we parked on the side. The first part of the hike is along roads, and someone with a better car could probably get farther. We didn't mind the walk, however.

Contemplating the climb.

The road passes through a flat meadow, and this is where we turned off and started bushwhacking. Joe let me go first, assuming that I had some route finding superpower. We got to the base of the steep scree slope, and started climbing.

The cave was easy to see from the meadow.

There is a weakness in the cliff band that is about 100' to the left of the small cave. We could easily pick out the cave from below, but it is invisible on the slope. We climbed up, drifting left so that we would know which way to turn when we got to the bottom of the cliffs. After some serious climbing, we reached the bottom.

Climb up here.

As other recent trip reports had noted, there was a large stick leaning against the rock at the weakness, along with the painted arrow and "cal". We took a break at the bottom to have a snack, then Joe offered to climb first. We both made it up without any trouble and decided that it is an exposed class 3 climb.

Starting up.

On the top there is a bit more trail before you reach the high point. As you would expect, the top is very narrow. We hiked to the high point, then set up along the path. We each worked one band, then started hearing lightning in our radios, so decided to pack up and get out. The down climb was similar to the way up. We made a small detour to see the cave. Not very impressive. It was a slog down the talus slope back to the road.

One of those peak is Chicoma, our next destination.

Back at the car we drove out, and headed around the mountain for the drive up to the Chicoma trailhead.

Trailhead: Road in Temoline Canyon, off of Forest Road 100.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Hike up the road to the meadow. Bushwhack up to the bottom of the cliff band. About 100-150' to the left of the cave is the spot to climb, marked with an arrow, "cal", and a stick. Climb up this class 3, then follow the trail to the top.
Red Tape: None.

Its hard to see how steep it was here.

W5N/SG-009 Capulin Volcano

After our big day on Wheeler we needed an easy day, and Capulin Volcano was the perfect peak. This peak is an extinct volcano in the northeast part of the state, where the mountains give way to the plains. We had a long but very scenic drive over.

View from the parking lot.

We stopped at the visitors center at the bottom to pay the entrance fee. The ranger said they'd text us when we could drive up, since the lot on top is so small. After waiting a few minutes, we got the message and drove up.

The caldera of the volcano.

There is a paved trail that goes around the rim. We went clockwise, to get to the summit quickly. There were a few benches on the high point, and Joe and I each claimed one. We set up and got on the air. There were so many flies. It was very unpleasant whenever the breeze stopped blowing.

Joe doing his best to keep his KX2 out of direct sunlight.

We didn't linger because of the flies. We completed the walk around the rim, then took the trail to the bottom of the caldera to check it out. Back at the car Allison found a restaurant she wanted for her birthday meal, and we stopped on the way home.

Joe made a video of the hike as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vPLx2vNqIk

Trailhead: Top of the road.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the trail. Clockwise will get you to the high point faster.
Red Tape: None.

Sunset from the house that evening.

W5N/SS-001 Wheeler Peak

The goal for today was to climb Wheeler Peak, the highest in New Mexico, then hike around the cirque to Lake Fork and Kachina Peaks, and descend down the ski slopes. We weren't able to do this, but it was an excellent hike nonetheless. We left the AirBnB super early and got to the Williams Lake Trailhead for a 4am start. It was dark.

The moon lighting up the sky. Somewhere below the lake.

As we were driving over, Allison announced that she had forgotten her headlamp at home. We decided that the two we had, plus the bright moon would be enough to safely do the hike. It was pretty chilly as we set off, but we quickly warmed up as we climbed. In the dark we all managed to go the wrong way at the junction above the lake. Joe had set out a minute before Allison and I, and walked all the way to the lake before realizing his mistake. Allison and I got suspicious that we weren't going up, and turned around before losing too much elevation.

Finally light enough to take a selfie.

As we got to the treeline, it got light enough not to need the headlamps. We started switchbacking our way up the steep slope. The original plan was to be on the summit for sunrise, but our late start made that impossible.

Joe and Allison reminiscing about their first date on the mountain. 

It got much windier as we got higher, and it was quite windy on the ridge. I sped up a bit near the end since I was cold and didn't want to stop to put on more jackets until I got to the summit. I was faked out by a false summit, but did see a herd of bighorn sheep below the summit ridge.

The bighorn sheep run by.

On the summit I bundled up. A man from Georgia caught up to us on the summit, and took some group photos. Joe and I then retreated to the lee side of the mountain to set up an get on the air. Once again, Allison was the videographer, getting some beautiful shots of the mountain and us operating.

Starting the cirque.

After working everyone, we packed up and continued along the ridge. The traverse over to Simpson Peak was easy, and there was a trail out of the wind for most of it. After taking a picture of the plaque on top, we started the class 2 descent. It took us all a minute to find our legs, but the descend was uneventful. At the bottom we paused in a flat area that we called Contemplation Point, at the bottom of FU wall.

Joe posing. Contemplation point is at the top of the green area in front of FU wall.

Joe was the first to climb up the wall. He took one look over and decided that it wasn't a good idea to keep going. We looked to see if there was a way around, but it would have involved a huge descend and climb to get around it. Allison and I then climbed up to take a look, and we all came to the same conclusion: turning around was the best option here.

View of the class 4 section on top of FU.

FU wall.

We climbed back up the way we had come, and then traversed back to Wheeler. There were a lot of people on the summit by now, but we took a break to enjoy the view. We had passed some climbers on the ridge who claimed they were going to do the traverse, bet we didn't see them at all.

Wildflowers were blooming on the ridge.

The descent down the switchbacks was quick. We decided to glissade down a snowfield, which was a lot of fun. I had never glissaded before. Back at the junction we decided to go check out the lake. Joe and Allison recreated a photo from the last time they were here.

Williams Lake was quite pretty.

At the end of the trail it passes The Bavarian. We decided that the only thing to do was stop and have a beer. I don't know if I've ever had a beer that tasted so good. Back at the car we drove back to the house for some beautiful showers.

Also, check out N0MAP's video of the hike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRdE54_d3_Y

Trailhead: Williams Lake Trailhead. Also possible to start at the Bull of the Woods TH.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the trail up to the junction in the col above Williams Lake. Follow the switchbacks uphill to the summit.
Red Tape: None.

Columbine flowers blooming on the way up.

W5N/PW-015 Hermit Peak

We woke up early at our AirBnB on the Taos Plateau so we could get to the summit before it got too hot. On our way through town we stopped to get some breakfast burritos to fuel our hike up to this impressive peak.

The massive cliffs of Hermit Peak were visible from miles away.

After a long but scenic drive we made it to the El Porvenir Trailhead. There are two small lots for parking before you go over the bridge. On the other side is a campground, which looked pretty nice. You can walk on the road over the bridge to the start of the trail, or take the footbridge near the kiosk and stay on trails. We didn't know where the other side of the bridge went, so we walked around the road.

The start of the trail was very well marked.

 The first mile or so of the trail crosses some private land, and you are required to stay on the trail. This is also the flattest section, and we made good time. We got glimpses of the peak through the trees. Eventually the trail enters a canyon and begins to switchback up.

At the bottom of the canyon.

This is the hardest part, and where most of the elevation is gained. We took it easy since none of us was fully acclimated. At the top we stopped at an overlook for some pictures before continuing.

Made it to the top of the canyon.

From here there is still a little elevation, but it is very gradual. We passed the spring which still had quite a bit of water in it. We then managed to walk over the summit without realizing it, we were so enraptured by the view ahead.

Joe and Allison enjoying the view.

After spending a few minutes taking in the view, we found some places to set up. Since Allison wasn't operating, she walked around videoing us as we set up and operated. I started on 20 since I had had such good results on it the previous day. We both had 2m HTs, and we used them to coordinate band changes. This seems to work well.

A decent number of trees provided shade and held up my antenna.

After working everyone, we packed up and retraced our steps back to the car. The descent was long, but it wasn't hard. Switchbacks make everything easier. Back at the campground we decided to try and take the trail back to the parking. There was a nice set of steps down across from the trailhead sign, and a pleasant walk back to the bridge.

Open forest at the start. The area has been logged.

Also see Joe's video of the hike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acho2IWkkvE

Trailhead: El Porvenir Trailhead. If you get to the campground you've gone too far.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Cross the footbridge by the kiosk. Cross the road and start up the trail at the big sign. The junctions near the bottom were signed well, and mostly led to private land. Only one trail to the top.
Red Tape: None. Stay on the trail where it crosses the church camp's land at the start.

W5N/SI-003 South Sandia Mountain

I was in New Mexico for a week of hiking and SOTA, and this peak was the first on the list. After arriving at the Albuquerque airport, I picked up my car and drove over to the Canyon Estates Trailhead on the east side of the mountain. There is a small lot there, and I found one of the last free spots.

Starting up the trail.

It was a lot hotter than I was expecting, but I figured I had enough water to get up and back safely, so I set off. I took the most direct route to the summit. The first part was a low grade and pleasant walk through the forest. At the waterfall the switchbacks started.

Partway up the mountain.

I turned around occasionally to enjoy the views, which got better the higher I climbed. At the next trail junction I took the middle fork, after some trouble finding it. This trail went straight up the back of the mountain, at a rather steep grade. The forest service map calls this the CCC Trail. As I climbed I started to feel the effects of the altitude.

Some of the lush forest.

There were some sections of lush forest where the trail levels off. I missed a turn here and walked a bit more than I had to, but realized my mistake before I got too far. On the correct trail I crossed over the ridge to the west side and got my first views of Albuquerque, and the summit.

Looking down at the city.

It was quite windy on the summit. I took the trail up the final climb along the top of a cliff. I was glad the wind was blowing me into the wall instead of the other way. The views from the top were excellent. The Sandia Crest is an impressive mountain.

South Sandia and the higher Sandia Crest.

On the summit I stuck my pole in some bushes and used the antenna to help guy it in the wind. I started on 20m and quickly filled the log. After working everyone, I tried 30 and 40, but didn't get nearly as many contacts. Since I was above the city, I tried 2 meters as well. I got a few chasers, and it was nice to hear their voices after only working them with CW before.

What a beautiful place to be.

The altitude was really getting to me, giving me a bad headache, so I didn't spend as long as I would have liked on the summit. The descent went quickly, and my head felt much better the farther down I got. Back at the car I put on a clean shirt and headed into Albuquerque for some dinner before the long drive up to the Taos area where I was meeting Joe N0MAP and Allison for more hiking.

Trailhead: Canyon Estates Trailhead.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Head up the trail. At the first junction, don't turn on to the Faulty Trail. Take the middle fork at the next junction, onto the CCC Trail. Be careful at the top to take the correct trail to get onto the summit.
Red Tape: None.

The crest was very green despite being the middle of the summer.

W4V/SH-030 Blue Mountain

This is an easy peak in the Shenandoah region of Virginia. I drove over after activating the Jefferson County high point in West Virginia. A section of Freezeland Road, VA 638, goes through the activation zone, and there are two reasonable spots to set up. There is the Trillium Trail parking area, or the tower access road. I used the tower road, which is across the street from Allegheny Road. I didn't see any trespassing signs, so I drove down to near the fence. After parking, I walked over to a shaded area and got set up.

Not a very interesting summit.

This is probably not the best spot, but it was easy. There was some noise from the towers nearby, but I had no trouble getting my contacts on 20 and 40. I didn't linger, since I needed to get back to the airport for my flight.

Trailhead: Tower access road.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Set up in a comfortable spot.
Red Tape: None.

W8V/EP-003 Jefferson County HP

I was in the DC area for work, and I finally got a day off. Naturally I headed for the hills to get some activations in. I wanted to get a peak in both West Virginia and Virginia, to get those associations. I started with this peak.

Stairs up at the start of the blue-blazed access trail.

The peak is along the Appalachian Trail, so access is fairly easy. I decided to start at the Blackburn Trail Center. This is run by the PATC, and generally has free trailhead parking. The road to the center is unpaved and steep in sections, but any sedan should be able to make it. I parked in one of the small lots, then headed up to the trail. The PATC does a very good job maintaining their section of the AT, and the blue-blazed access trail is no different.

Back on the AT.

It is a short but steep 0.3 miles up to the AT. On top of the ridge I turned left and followed the white blazes south for about 2 miles. This part of the Appalachian Mountains is characterized by long, flat ridges with shallow gaps between. Everything on the east coast is so lush and green this time of year, I really enjoyed walking though the woods. Less humidity would have been nice, but you can't have everything. I made good time along the ridge, then dropped down into Wilson Gap. This is one of the less impressive gaps on the AT, but it still has a sign.

Not much in the gap.

The climb out the other side felt short, and I was soon at the high point. After tagging it, I turned around to set up in an open forest I had passed on the way. There was a nicely placed rock to sit on, and I put up my antenna. I made 4 contacts on 30, then packed up. I had an evening flight and wanted to get another summit in before I had to go to the airport.

Some interesting rocks along the AT.

I retraced my steps back to the Blackburn Center, then drove back down the hill and over to my next summit, Blue Mountain.

Trailhead: Blackburn Trail Center.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the blue-blazed trail up to the ridge top. Turn left and head south on the AT for about 2 miles.
Red Tape: None.