W6/IN-048

 I had a smokey and fitful night at Horseshoe Meadows. My original plan was to hike up another peak that surrounds the meadow, but I was feeling like I needed an easy day. So instead I drove down to the Alabama Hills, praying it would get less smokey as I descended.

The summit.

There is a good dirt road that drives around the hills, with plenty of pullouts for parking and hiking. There is a small road at the base of the peak, but it looked a bit sketchy for my car, so I turned around and parked a quarter mile up the road at a large pullout. There were some people camping off to the side, so I tried to be quiet as I got ready.

Desert hiking.

I walked to the base of the hill, then realized I forgot my pole. After returning to get it, I started making my way up. I followed a small drainage up to the north shoulder of the peak. It was steep in places, but the footing was good and it wasn't a particularly difficult climb. On the ridge it was a quick walk up to the cairn at the summit.

Looking north towards the Alabama Hills high point.

I stuck my pole in the cairn, and got on the air. It was warm out, but a stiff breeze kept me comfortable. The bands seemed to be in good condition. I made many contacts on 17m and 20m especially. The highlight was two summit to summit contacts that were also completes for me. The first was to KE6MT up on Dry Creek Knoll a few miles north, that I had activated last year. The next was to WN3F on Waonaze Peak in Virginia, which I had been to a few weeks earlier.

So much smoke. At the base looking towards the car.

Once all the contacts had dried up, I packed up and headed down. The eerie sepia tone had returned in force, but all the sites I checked said the air quality was ok. The smoke must've been up high. It was still early, so I decided to drive a bit farther down the road and get the Alabama Hills high point.

Trailhead: Movie Road pullout.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Walk up to the summit.
Red Tape: None.