W6/CC-026 Corte Madera Mountain

I had been in the area the previous week on Los Pinos Mountain, and decided I needed a break from the oppressive heat of Yuma. Corte Madera looked like a good choice, with cool temperatures at the trailhead and not too much vertical for my knee.

Up the trail.

 The mid-60's felt heavenly compared to the 90's in the desert as I started up the trail. There wasn't much space left in the pullout at the trailhead, but I managed to fit in. The first section of this trail is up a dirt driveway. Where it makes a sharp turn to the right, the trail becomes single track and starts up the hill.

Part way up, and finally had a view of the summit.

The trail is narrow, with plenty of poison oak in the shady areas, but is well traveled and easy to follow. In the pass between Corte Madera and Los Pinos it turns right and follows a dirt road for a short distance, before turning off and continuing as single track.

Los Pinos Mountain.

The views got better as I got higher. There were a few interesting rock formations, but mostly just chaparral. The trail ends at a view point above the cliffs. There was a group there when I arrived, so I just signed the log then backtracked a short distance to a large rock. I put up the antenna, and had excellent views sitting on the rock while operating.

Sitting rock, looking west.

I had good service on top, and had no trouble getting contacts. After working everyone on HF I decided to give VHF a try. On 2m I could hear N6AN up in the Verdugo Mountains, but he wasn't able to hear me. We had already worked each other on HF, so I wasn't too bummed I missed the summit-to-summit.

This was my favorite rock formation.

The run down was fast and fun. At the trailhead there was another group just about to start their hike. Even after the 7 miles, I was feeling very refreshed from the cool temperatures.

Trailhead: Corte Madera Trailhead. On Morena Stokes Valley Road Just after the sharp bend where it starts climbing steeply. If you have OHV abilities, you can drive over Los Pinos to the col and start there.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: There is only 1 trail to the summit.
Red Tape: None.

Great views.