Activation of Tahquitz peak, Riverside County, California - 8,828 Feet, 2,692 Meters.
On vacation with my wife in Southern California, it was possible to combine hiking with Amateur Radio / SOTA. Based in Palm Springs, California, we ranged throughout the San Jacinto Mountains and Joshua Tree National Park for several days of excursions.
Prospect Hill is a privately-owned Christmas tree farm with about eight repeater and telecom sites on the ridge overlooking Independence, Oregon. We were able to secure one-time permission for access to this site as it was convenient to a visit with friends near Salem.
If you find yourself near out of the way northeast Oregon, you might consider driving the scenic Tollgate Road between Weston and Elgin, and then activating Peak 5500 near the top of the pass.
It was a cool rainy day in Spokane. My wife Sarah, our friend Kelly, and I wanted to do a hike. And I wanted to do an activation. So we settled on a hike to Quartz Peak. Quartz Peak is another peak within the Mount Spokane State Park. The peak is right in the middle of the Mount Spokane Nordic Park, a premier location for cross-country skiing in Eastern Washington. Parking for the hike is easy. Simply park at the cross country ski area parking lot. You'll need a Discovery Pass when the ski area isn't open, and you'll need a sno-pass when the ski area is open.
This summit is only about a mile from a large parking lot on the road to the top of Marys Peak but it requires some strenuous up-hill bushwhacking from that readily accessible parking lot. There are some old logging roads in the area, mostly grown over with bushes, that will get you close to the summit but getting to a logging road from that particular parking lot was quite a workout. Looking at the satellite view there appears to be an easier, albeit much longer access route via a logging roads (for hiking) a bit farther to the north from where I started.
It has been foggy around here all week long. Today was a good day to rise above it all and find some sunshine! Anderson Mountain's good access, gentle trail, and easy scrambling made for a rewarding summit to play radio on! Having plenty of time on top for a change made this a very pleasant activation.
Wow... there must a lot of easier ways to get a 4-point activation. I knew there wasn't a trail to this peak and there would be some bushwacking involved because not many folks go there. But oh my gosh, this trip turned into an ordeal!
About 35 miles from downtown Spokane, Mount Spokane (aka W7W/WE-006 Jump-off Joe) is a fixture of Eastern Washington outdoor recreation.
This not-so-epic activation took place Saturday, on probably the busiest peak in the area. The constant flow of hikers up and down the trail didn't slow down until early evening. Be prepared for lots of company on this one.
For the NASOTA weekend, I took the easy way out and went to a peak that I'd already been on, Black Butte, near Sisters, Oregon. It was just me and the sotadog "Cooper" this time so we got a 5am start to head towards central Oregon.