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.