W6/CT-226 Cerro Negro Benchmark

 I was finally done with work in SoCal, so I headed back to the airport. My flight was later, so I had some time to stop by a peak. I decided on an easy on, Cerro Negro Benchmark. For those who want to be lazy, like I did, the place to park is the top of Sugar Loaf Drive. Looking at a map, this last house may be inside the activation zone, and just inside the gate certainly is. So this peak could be even easier than it already is.

Standing behind the car, looking at the trailhead.

There are lots of signs forbidding overnight parking, but none seemed to ban day parking. So I parked under a tree in front of the last house on the street. From here it is a very short walk up to the summit.

Lots of RF on top.

On the summit I set up in the only shady spot I saw, under some trees right near the fence. On the radio, 20 and 40 were basically unusable from all the interference. However, 17 and 30 were ok, so I did make some HF contacts. My second was a summit-to-summit with Dave N6AN. He asked how long I'd be up, and said he might come over. 

Great views of the San Gabriel Mountains.

About an hour later, a guy with two poles in his pack appeared just below the summit. Dave had left his nearby summit, driven over, and hiked up jus to say hi. We talked for a while while I made a few VHF contacts. All good things must end, though, and I had to say goodbye so I could get to the airport on time. Next time maybe we'll be able to do some summits together.

Trailhead: Top of Sugar Loaf Dr. Don't block the gate.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Go up the trail, make a U-turn at the flat spot up to the summit.
Red Tape: None. Parking hours on Sugar Loaf Dr limited.

W6/SS-375

 I was looking for an easy peak in the area, and this one seemed like a good candidate. I had never been to Lake Isabella, so I was looking forward to seeing that too. For the peak, I parked in a very large pullout just past 25S17 on the paved 25S15, Rancheria Road.

Pullout to park in. Even got a shady spot!

I then walked down to the dirt 25S17 I had just driven by and started walking up the hill. I took the road to the first switchback, where I stepped off and went up.

Start of the dirt road.

It was a little steep going up, but the open forest was easy to navigate. There was not a lot of deadfall like NA6MG reported. It was typical easy Sierra bushwhacking.

Nice open forest on the way up.

Near the ridgeline I found an abandoned trail that seemed to run along the ridge. It was going the way I wanted to, so I followed it. There are a few small bumps along the ridge, but eventually you'll get to the highest, marked with a small cairn and ammo case register.

Summit of 7140.

I signed the register, then started setting up my antenna. There was a nice clearing right at the summit, so I was able to stake out my pole and string out the antenna without any issues. I decided to put up the linked EFHW so I could do 17-40. 

The only view from the summit.

There was decent cell service on top, and I was able to spot myself for all the portable activities, SOTA, WWFF, and POTA. This resulted in some pretty good pileups, and I spent about two hours on the summit operating. When I was done, I retraced my steps back to the car.

Bear! (In front of the orange netting)

As I was in my car, about to pull back into the road, I noticed something in the road above me. I stopped to look, and saw it was a bear! I tried to get some pics, but it started walking away from me. I was not in a rush to get back, so I turned and followed it up to the ski area. Here it went into the woods after looking at me for a few moments. It didn't seem like it was coming back, so I turned around and headed back down to the lake. This made the outing much more exciting, and I was glad I didn't run into it until I was in my car.

Trailhead: Pullout on Rancheria Road, between the ski area and 25S17
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Go up dirt 25S17 to the first switchback, then go straight up to the ridge. Follow the ridge over to the summit.
Red Tape: None.

W6/SS-621

 After activating Peak 8137 and attempting 8819, I returned to the col where I started, ready to get another peak. 

Backside of 7540, from the drainage to the north.

From the col it is a very steep hike up to the top, but class 2 all the way. I don't think there is any path that is particularly better than another. Go to the mountain and find your own way up. If it starts feeling too sketchy, stop and there's a better way nearby.

First visitor since Bob Burd placed a log!

On top I found a new register, that had been placed a few months ago by the famous Bob Burd. I was the first to sign it since then, not surprising seeing how this is not a particularly interesting peak.

On the air.

I put up the antenna, and was not surprised to find there was no cell service. RBN did its job however, and I mad plenty of contacts. There were enough rocks on the top that I had a pretty comfortable seat, and I could have spent a long time up there. It was getting warm however, so I packed up and headed back.

The town of Kennedy Meadows.

After carefully making my way back to the col, I discovered that there was a road that ended there. I guessed that this was the road I had parked at the bottom of, so I followed it down. I was right, and I could've had an easier walk up a few hours earlier if I had know. Oh well, part of the excitement of doing off-trail peaks. Back at the car I chugged some gatorade, and started back down to civilization.

Trailhead: Sacatar Trail road. See map. The road seemed a bit sketchy in the sedan I had, and might be impassable without clearance or 4WD if its wet.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the road up to the col, then go up to the summit on the left.
Red Tape: None. Hike is entirely on BLM land.

W6/SS-620

 Another week in SoCal meant more summits in the southern Sierra. Today I had a few summits planned, none with names. First up was Peak 8137. I parked along Sacatar Trail in Kennedy Meadows. There is a road that goes up to the col between this peak and 7540, but I didn't see anywhere to stop at the base, so I parked a few yards to the west in a pullout.

Open forest on the way up.

I started up the road, but it seemed to be veering away from where I wanted to go, so I stopped taking it and just went cross country up to the col. This is a pleasant walk, not too steep. At the col I turned right and went down a little to the stream bed. This I followed to the reentrant I had decided would be a good route up to the summit.

Started getting views as I went up.

I took the reentrant, then stayed on the ridge to the left as best as I was able. At the top of this climb is a small flat area between three sub-peaks. One of them is on the main ridge, connected to the highest peak. I decided the best way would be to go around the left (north) side of this peak and up to the summit. Overall this was a decent route up.

My car is parked somewhere down there.

There was no cell service on top, as I expected. I put up the antenna, and was soon making contacts. I had good luck compared to the previous weekend when I was in the area. It didn't seem too hot, and I enjoyed taking in the views from the summit. My original plan was to go down to the north, and then climb up to Peak 8819. I started this, getting down to the col quickly. I then climbed up the first 200 feet, and realized I was tired and didn't have enough water to safely make it. So I turned around.

Starting up towards 8819.

Back at the col I decided the best route to Peak 7540 would be to follow the drainage to the northwest, then return to the first col, with the road. I did this and soon found myself at that col.

Trailhead: Sacatar Trail road. See map. The road seemed a bit sketchy in the sedan I had, and might be impassable without clearance or 4WD if its wet.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the road up to the col. Drop down to the drainage on the other side, and follow it up. At a good point, head up to the summit.
Red Tape: None. Hike is entirely on BLM land.

W6/SS-623 Kennedy Mountain

 After coming down from Pine Mountain I was still feeling good, so decided to get one more peak. Kennedy Peak looks over the small town here, and didn't look like it would be too hard. I first tried driving in from the north, along the road that is at the base of the mountain. This road is gated and signed, so no access this way.

Kennedy Meadow.

The best place to park seems to be somewhere around the fire station, where the road turns left. From here follow the fence that encloses the old landfill across the field. It was not hard to find a path through the scrub, aiming towards the small building on the side of the hill. On the other side is the road that I tried to drive down. In this area it is not signed, so I followed it.

Up the road.

Turn left on the road, and head up the hill. There are some switchbacks, then the road will end. It may be better to leave the road at the top of the switchbacks, but I continued to the end of the ridge, where I turned and went cross country up to the summit. 

Excellent views on the way up.

Most of the off trail section is easy walking, but the summit area is extremely rocky. The first summit you get to is slightly lower, so I went around the very high point, then climbed up the slightly higher south summit. Although it looks like it might be hard scrambling, it is all class 2, maybe 3.

On the high point, looking back at the second peak.

At the high point I found the register. There weren't many entries since the last SOTA activators had come up. I took a pic to send to them, then put up my antenna. No cell service on the summit, so I relied on RBN again. It seemed to work better than on Pine Mountain, so I had no trouble getting my contacts. 

Summit selfie.

I mostly retraced my steps back, but cut straight down to the top of the switchbacks rather than following the ridge to the end. Going down, this was easy. Back at the car the clouds had fully dissipated, making the drive down Nine Mile Canyon pretty spectacular. 

Trailhead: Near the landfill, west end of Goman Ave.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the fence past the landfill and across the field. Take the road up to the ridge, then follow the ridge to the summit.
Red Tape: None. Hike appears to be entirely on BLM land.

W6/SS-328 Pine Mountain

 After activating Bald Mountain I drove back around to the base of Pine Mountain, my next destination. This summit in the Domeland Wilderness has no trail to the summit, and promised an interesting hike. There is a decent size pullout along the road, easy to see in the satellite view. It also seemed like the only place to park in the area.

Parking area.

From here I decided the best route would be to go over the small knoll, then aim towards the col, and head up the north face. This seemed to work. Walking over to the col it seemed like I was following an old fire break. There was trash and other evidence that people go this way somewhat frequently.

Not many pine trees for a Pine Mountain.

As we hiked closer, the skies got darker and darker. It looked like rain in the distance, but so far it hadn't rained where we were. 

Happy before the climb.

At the bottom of the hill, there didn't seem to be any obvious route up. I decided that the rocky outcropping on a small ridge appeared to have the least amount of brush, so went up that way. 

Interesting burned tree.

It was a steep slog up the hill, made more interesting when the rain started. Luckily it wasn't very heavy, nor did it last too long, but the wet rock was more fun. I was clad to get to the summit area, where I found the summit block was easy to walk up. I didn't see a register. 

Summit of Pine Mountain.

I went down to a flatter area to put up the antenna. As I expected, there was no cell service. I had trouble getting chasers, but eventually I got my four. The rain had held off while I was operating, which was nice of it, and it didn't rain the rest of the day. 

Excellent views of the southern Sierra.

I mostly retraced my steps on the way down, but didn't try to go down the rocks. It seems it was easy enough to find gaps in the brush to descend through, and the sandy slopes made the descent fast. Back at the car I was still feeling good, so decided to get one more summit before returning to the hotel.

Trailhead: Pullout on the south side of 22S05. See the map linked below.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Head around the hill to the base of the north face. Climb up to the summit.
Red Tape: None.

W6/SS-285 Bald Mountain

 It was too hot to do a hike in the desert, so a drive to the Sierra was in order. Today I had three peaks near Kennedy Meadows picked out. First up was Bald Mountain. This peak in Sequoia National Forest has a manned fire lookout on top.

Start of the walk.

There is a good quality road to the summit. A sedan might be able to make it, but I didn't want to get stuck, so I just walked. I parked where 22S77 leaves the main paved road, 22S05. There was plenty of space to park.

Up the road.

It was a pleasant walk under blue skies that slowly got more cloudy. There are no intersections in the road, just follow it up to the top. Higher up there are some excellent views and some climbable rocks. A short distance below the summit the road is gated to cars, but open to hikers.

Gate just below the summit.

We went around the gate up to the summit. As we approached a dog started barking at us, but it was up at the top of the tower, so no worries. As I began to set up, the warden came down to ask what I was doing. I gave a quick explanation, and he then returned to the cabin at the top.

There is no cell service on top, so I relied on RBNHole to spot me. It came through this time, and I made my contacts.

View back to the tower.

The views on top are excellent, as you'd expect, and I could've spent all day up there. But there were more summits calling my name, so I packed up and headed back to the car, taking the road down again. Back at the car I drove over to the start for Pine Mountain.

Trailhead: 22S77, either where it leaves 22S05 or at the gate near the top.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the road up to the summit.
Red Tape: None.

W6/CT-025 Josephine Peak

 After activating Hoyt Mountain and Peak 4202, I started up the trail to Josephine Peak. There is a fire road all the way to the top, maintained for the tower on the summit. This meant the hike wouldn't be as steep as Hoyt, but it would be a lot longer.

Just past the trailhead gate.

This would be a great peak to do by bike. I had just arrived by plane however, so nothing that easy for me. It was hot as I started, but I figured I had enough water to make it to the summit. I began the trudge to the top.

Finally getting some views.

As you climb the views get better. I was hoping there'd be some breeze higher up, but I was disappointed. The first half of the climb is on the south side of the ridge. At a col between Josephine and Strawberry the road crosses over and climbs up the rest of the way on the north side.

Almost at the summit.

I was regretting my decision to go up, but I made it to the top without much trouble. It is not steep, except the last little bit after the road ends. There wasn't any shade on top, so I just picked a spot to sit that was comfortable and had a nice view.

Sign on top in case you forget where you are.

There was no cell service on this summit either, but some local 2m chasers were willing to spot me, so I had a good run on the HF bands I used. By this point I still had a four mile walk back to the car, and not much water, so I packed up and headed back. It seemed like a really long walk down, but that was probably because of the lack of water.

Looking back at the two peaks I had done earlier.

Back at the car I turned the AC on full, and headed down the hill to my hotel, ready for a shower and meal.

Trailhead: Just down the hill from Switzer Visitor Center.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the fire road (2N64) up to the summit.
Red Tape: None.

W6/CT-150

 After getting Hoyt Mountain I drove over to the Switzer Visitor Center, at the intersection of the Angeles Crest and Angeles Forest highways. I wasn't sure where to park, so parked in the big dirt area across from the visitor center. I didn't see any signs forbidding it, and I didn't get a ticket, so it must've been ok.

Pit toilet at the start.

There is a well worn use trail that goes to the top of this peak. It starts at a gate just to the left of the pit toilet. Go through the gate and up the hill. This peak is much easier than nearby Hoyt. It is a similar distance, but much less elevation. 

Always impressive views in Angeles NF. Looking east along the road.

I made it to the top pretty quickly. After putting up my antenna I was surprised to have cell service. Not sure why this peak has it but the nearby ones don't. 

On the summit.

It was no problem getting contacts. I did wish there was some shade though. It was getting pretty toasty in the sun!

Managed to use a yucca to hold up the pole without stabbing myself.

Back at the road I crossed it and walked down to the Josephine Peak Road to get myself one more summit.

Trailhead: Switzer Visitor Center, behind the toilet.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Go through the gate to the left of the bathroom, then follow the use trail up to the top.
Red Tape: None.

W6/CT-146 Hoyt Mountain

 This was the first peak planned for the day, and it looked like a short and hopefully easy hike. I parked at the small lot at the east side of the peak at Georges Gap. There is room for about a dozen cars here, but it was empty on a Tuesday morning.

Start of the "trail"

There is not a maintained trail to the summit, but there is an old firebreak that was bulldozed up the ridge that seems to be the main route. This trail is quite steep.

View back to the road and start.

It was hotter than I expected, but I still made good time up the hill. A few sections seemed like they'd be sketchy coming back down, but nothing impossible. About halfway up there is a flat section. The climb after that is much less steep, but still a good workout. 

Small reprieve from the climbing.

The summit is broad and flat, and there was plenty of space to set up my antenna. I was surprised not to have cell service, but wasn't worried since I had an alert up. I started on 20 meters, and started calling and calling with no response. After a while I got frustrated and decided that I might have better luck on VHF since I had a great view of the LA basin. I soon got some contacts in the log, and one person even offered to spot me on HF. With the help of a spot I got some CW contacts.

Yuccas and the view from the top.

It was hot and I had two more summits planned, so I didn't spend too long on the summit. The hike down was steep and quick. I was glad my boots had plenty of tread, or it would have been a ski trip.

Trailhead: Pullout, CA 2. Google calls this "Georges Gap Trailhead"
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the old firebreak steeply up the ridge to the summit.
Red Tape: None.