We went to the summer cabin home for Memorial Day and activated 6 summits during the three days that I hiked. I was planning on only 1 on a couple of days but I had the time since a couple of them were pretty easy. I’m been trying to get more summit-to-summit contacts, but this weekend didn’t seem to yield that many.

South Mountain 24-May-2019

For my first activation, I decided to drive up to drive up to South Mountain. I needed to test an update to my vertical. I bent the top section of the Chameleon MPAS antenna and decided to pick up their version 2 of just the top section, which is smaller and lighter. I brought my 20/40 linked dipole just in case and the external antenna tuner.

The drive up here is pretty and I spotted a single deer as she ran across the road.

Setup was quick, and after fixing a small goof, the antenna was working better than ever. The band conditions are pretty bad today but I pulled out plenty of contacts to activate this peak. My first contact was Gary, W0MNA. It’s always nice to kick off an activation with a friendly voice.

Since I had internet access on my phone, I looked up spot reports on hams on other summits. I was only able to get one summit to summit via CW. Unfortunately I found out that there was no contact actually made when I emailed him. He let me know that he didn’t have me down. It was very odd since I my call sign is very distinct to me.

With a good activation, and the test of the antenna modification a success, I packed up and headed into the village of Alpine, AZ for a quick lunch and then a drive to the trail head for Escudilla for a hike up to the peak where the lookout is.

Contacts

Date:24/May/2019 Summit:W7A/AP-010 (South Mountain) Call Used:N1CLC Points: 10 Bonus: 0

Time	Call	Band	Mode	Notes
16:17z	W0MNA	14MHz	SSB
16:19z	VE2JCW	14MHz	SSB
16:20z	N6ANM	14MHz	SSB
16:21z	N4EX	14MHz	SSB
16:22z	W0ERI	14MHz	SSB
16:22z	KI4TN	14MHz	SSB
16:24z	N6WT	14MHz	SSB
16:24z	K6EL	14MHz	SSB
16:25z	W5ODS	14MHz	SSB
16:26z	WD4CFN	14MHz	SSB
16:27z	K0LAF	14MHz	SSB
16:27z	K2JB	14MHz	SSB
16:28z	K1LIZ	14MHz	SSB
16:38z	KX0R	10MHz	CW
16:39z	N0MTM	7MHz	CW
17:25z	VE7KPM	14MHz	SSB
17:27z	K7GT	14MHz	SSB
17:31z	W2ACY	14MHz	SSB
17:32z	NS7P	14MHz	SSB
17:34z	K6YK	14MHz	SSB
17:35z	AB4PP	14MHz	SSB

Escudilla Mountain 24-May-2019

This may sound strange but it felt good to put my 35lb pack on and head up the trail, like visiting an old friend. Although there are days when the pack gets heavy, I’m getting use to it. I haven’t been able to cycle to work for a couple of weeks now due to weather and illness and no hiking due to travel and rain so I expected to be out of shape for the hike to the top of the mountain which is at 10,800 feet. I was pleasantly surprised that I really didn’t feel all that out of shape. I was probably going a little slower but I felt great. (maybe I was hypoxic)

The area has experienced an unusually wet spring, and at-least an inch of snow fell on Monday. The ground is dry now but it's already starting to green up and the aspen looked very healthy. The sky was clear with a visibility of a million miles.

There must have been quite a wind storm recently because the trail was littered with fallen trees, almost all of them dead from the fires in 2012. Jeanette reported the same thing on her hike this morning as she hiked up toward the saddle behind the house.

Along the way there was a single patch of snow across the trail. The nights at my cabin have been around 30F so it wasn’t surprising but it was kinda funny to see this one lone patch on the entire trail.... So this is a tough hike, I had to go over snow to get to the summit (all 2 feet and 2 inches deep of it).

Once at the top I setup my rig and an operating position in the shade. I worked multiple bands, 20, 40, 18, 30. Most of my contacts were on 20, with W0MNA being my first contact. Both summits are 10 points (the maximum) so chasers really wanted my points. There was quite a bit of static up there and I wasn’t sure if it was atmospheric or due to the wind howling through the metal lookout tower.

I decided to try my skills again at CW (morse) and do a little chasing since 99% of the summits that had activity were running CW. I managed 5 summit to summit contacts, a couple of them were on side band. It was fun hanging out at the top of the mountain and doing a little “chasing” of other hams on summits. One of the contacts was a Japanese call sign on a Japan summit. Since I forgot my battery pack for my phone in San Diego, my cell phone was down to 6% and I didn’t want to desummit in the dark given all the fallen trees (it was really bad at the top which required a lot of climbing over and under to get through).

After getting back to my dads 1984 Nissan pickup, I headed just up the road to Terry Flat to see if I could catch the Elk grazing in the expansive meadows on the top of this mountain. I didn’t see any, however, I spotted what looked like a female elk crossing the road and then a group of about 5 very large males about a mile after that. So mission accomplished.

I enjoyed both summits but Escudilla more. It felt good to push some exercise into my body and the weather couldn’t have been any nicer.

Contacts

Date:24/May/2019 Summit:W7A/AE-006 (Escudilla Mountain) Call Used:N1CLC Points: 10 Bonus: 0

Time	Call	Band	Mode	Notes
21:51z	W0MNA	14MHz	SSB
21:53z	K6EL	14MHz	SSB
21:54z	W2USA	14MHz	SSB
21:55z	N9MRH	14MHz	SSB
21:55z	W0ERI	14MHz	SSB
21:56z	N4EX	14MHz	SSB
21:56z	W5ODS	14MHz	SSB
21:56z	AG7KO	14MHz	SSB
21:57z	K0EMT	14MHz	SSB
21:58z	W7JET	14MHz	SSB
21:59z	NJ7V	14MHz	SSB
21:59z	NG6R	14MHz	SSB
22:00z	WB7ULD	14MHz	SSB
22:00z	N0EMU	14MHz	SSB
22:01z	KC0PBR	14MHz	SSB
22:01z	KJ9X	14MHz	SSB
22:02z	N9AMI	14MHz	SSB
22:03z	W2SE	14MHz	SSB
22:04z	WF4I	14MHz	SSB
22:05z	K6LDQ	14MHz	SSB
22:26z	K6ARK	7MHz	CW
22:30z	K6ARK	7MHz	SSB
22:33z	W7USA	7MHz	SSB
22:34z	KD0YOB	7MHz	CW
23:32z	JP3PPL/3	14MHz	CW

Middle Mountain 26-May-2019

The rout that I charted for last year was pretty difficult mainly because I didn’t find that many paths. About a month ago I was looking at the mountain again but via satellite. I could clearly see a road going that isn’t charted on any of the topo maps. I charted it and decided to try that. There is a jeep trail that goes almost all the way to the top. I took my Highlander up about a tenth of a mile and decided to walk the rest of the way. It was very pleasant, and an easy hike.

Like Escudilla, the area is green There are two high points on the mountain separated by a small dip of maybe 20 feet so I decided to use the peak that is 1 foot lower than the other SOTA designated one. Given the prominence, I was still in the activation zone. It’s funny because the US topo maps show the one to the west as being the official peak for middle mtn.

Setup was easy and I had my four required contacts in minutes. I was able to get one summit-to-summit to W7W/SK-167, a small peak in Washington state.

Overall this hike as orders of magnitude than my last time up here. It was a breeze.

Contacts

Date:26/May/2019 Summit:W7A/GR-002 (Middle Mountain) Call Used:N1CLC Points: 10 Bonus: 0

Time	Call	Band	Mode	Notes
15:49z	KV7DX	14MHz	SSB
16:03z	N6DNM	14MHz	CW
16:04z	KK6UHE	14MHz	SSB
16:05z	NW7E	14MHz	SSB
16:07z	W0MNA	14MHz	SSB
16:08z	N4EX	14MHz	SSB
16:08z	NG6R	14MHz	SSB
16:09z	AB4PP	14MHz	SSB
16:10z	W5ODS	14MHz	SSB
16:11z	K3TCU	14MHz	SSB
16:11z	W6PZA	14MHz	SSB
16:12z	K7MK	14MHz	SSB
16:12z	K9DJT	14MHz	SSB
16:13z	W2SE	14MHz	CW
16:14z	K6YK	14MHz	SSB
16:15z	K5RHD	7MHz	SSB
16:24z	K7MK	7MHz	SSB
16:25z	NS7P	7MHz	SSB
16:27z	W7USA	7MHz	SSB
16:28z	WA6MM	7MHz	SSB
16:29z	N0EMU	7MHz	SSB
16:32z	KC0PBR	7MHz	SSB

Mogollion Rim 26-May-2019

If you drive south on the dirt road from where I parked at Middle Mtn., you hit the highway about 10 miles from another relatively easy SOTA summit on the Mogollion rim. I needed some more exercise and adventure so I head further south to that one.

Have also done this one before and remember a lot of fallen trees. Hiking up there is a tad disorienting. Once in the activation zone, I setup nerar where I did last time. The wind was blowing and for some reason the SWR was very high on 40.

My 4 contacts were pretty easy Got very windy and started getting cold, then SNOW. It wasn’t much but there was corn snow coming down.

As I was loading up the car it started snowing again and there was thunder. Pretty wild.

This was a nice hike but was a tad chilly. I logged quite a few contacts and got two summit-to-summit contacts to Oregon, and North Carolina.

Contacts

Date:26/May/2019 Summit:W7A/GR-001 (Mogollon Rim) Call Used:N1CLC Points: 10 Bonus: 0

Time	Call	Band	Mode	Notes
18:30z	NS7P	14MHz	SSB
18:34z	W0MNA	14MHz	SSB
18:34z	N4EX	14MHz	SSB
18:35z	W0ERI	14MHz	SSB
18:35z	K3TCU	14MHz	SSB
18:36z	N6DNM	14MHz	SSB
18:36z	AE7AP	14MHz	SSB
18:38z	N0EMU	14MHz	SSB
18:38z	KD1CT	14MHz	SSB
18:39z	KC0PBR	14MHz	SSB
18:40z	K0LAF	14MHz	SSB
18:41z	N5PBP	14MHz	SSB
18:42z	ND0C	14MHz	SSB
18:42z	K5AMT	14MHz	SSB
18:43z	K6YK	14MHz	SSB
18:44z	N7TCO	14MHz	SSB
18:45z	WA5VRE	14MHz	SSB
18:46z	K9WBZ	14MHz	SSB
19:17z	KF7NP	14MHz	SSB

Timber Top 27-May-2019

This was a nice hike this morning. I knew to stay to the east going up to the summit to avoid the thick groves of oak or aspen.

The 1984 Nissan just keeps delivering.

I got some Summit-To-Summit contacts to Tennessee and Alabama.

Contacts

Date:27/May/2019 Summit:W7A/AP-015 (Timber Top) Call Used:N1CLC Points: 10 Bonus: 0

Time	Call	Band	Mode	Notes
16:54z	K6YK	14MHz	SSB
16:58z	N6DNM	14MHz	SSB
17:00z	W5WTC	14MHz	SSB
17:01z	K0TRL	14MHz	SSB
17:02z	N4EX	14MHz	SSB
17:06z	NS7P	14MHz	SSB
17:06z	K1LIZ	14MHz	SSB
17:07z	KI4SVM	14MHz	SSB
17:08z	NW7E	14MHz	SSB
17:09z	KI4TN	14MHz	SSB
17:10z	KI5WA	14MHz	SSB
17:10z	KD0MQO	14MHz	SSB
17:10z	W1CAM	14MHz	SSB
17:11z	NG6R	14MHz	SSB
17:11z	WB7ULD	14MHz	SSB
17:12z	W7GJ	14MHz	SSB
17:13z	W4KRN	14MHz	SSB
17:13z	KC3EF	14MHz	SSB
17:14z	KF7UOV	14MHz	SSB
17:15z	W2SE	14MHz	SSB
17:17z	K6LDQ	14MHz	SSB
17:17z	AE0JR	14MHz	SSB
17:18z	K5DNA	14MHz	SSB
17:20z	KE5TJP	14MHz	SSB
17:21z	ND0C	14MHz	SSB
17:22z	KE4JM	18MHz	CW
17:41z	KI4SVM	10MHz	CW

Escudilla Butte 27-May-2019

I’ve done this before so I knew to stay to the east side for a little better access and avoid thick oak areas.

It was very windy this afternoon, but I didn’t really mind. This is one of my favorite hikes. There are no tails so it’s a beautiful bushwhack to the summit through open meadows and pine trees. I’m always careful not to disturb thing and definitely am kind to any green growth, especially the new guys, struggling for a place on the mountain.

The threads on the antenna matching unit are completely stripped, so it’s a good thing this is the last activation of the trip. I’ll repair it when I get home to San Diego. (which I did and it’s fixed).

With no network access on my phone I used the Inreach satelite device to spot myself. It was very wind at times making it hard to hear. No network also meant that I couldn't see any other SOTA spots so a summit-to-summit was out of the queston. I still wanted to practice some CW so I hunted around for an operator that was sending his call-sign slowly. If the operator is using a strait key, they run a bit slower. I found one, it took me a while to get his call sign but was able to secure a QSO. He wrote me after I dropped off with a pretty funny email. He wasn’t positive it was me and mentioned that the operator said “MY CW sucks. Sorry.”. Well, at least my sending is good. I can send the phone book but my decoding or “copy”, is going to take some work. The QSO was made difficult by the band going up and down and at times, the wind was blowing so hard it drown him out. I loved the trip down and back out on the road toward alpine.

This is the last summit of the long weekend that I took at my cabin. I had a lot of fun this trip and can’t wait to get back up here.

Contacts

Date:27/May/2019 Summit:W7A/AP-020 (Escudilla Butte) Call Used:N1CLC Points: 10 Bonus: 0

Time	Call	Band	Mode	Notes
20:56z	K0PON	14MHz	SSB
20:57z	N4EX	14MHz	SSB
21:05z	KD0MQO	14MHz	SSB
21:06z	W2ACY	14MHz	SSB
21:06z	KI5WA	14MHz	SSB
21:08z	KI4TN	14MHz	SSB
21:09z	N0MTN	14MHz	SSB
21:10z	VE6AGR	14MHz	SSB
21:12z	K1LIZ	14MHz	SSB
21:12z	N1AW	14MHz	SSB
21:13z	K0LAF	14MHz	SSB
21:14z	K7PAC	14MHz	SSB
21:14z	N1GB	14MHz	SSB
21:15z	KG7JWD	14MHz	SSB
21:15z	K6YK	14MHz	SSB
21:17z	KF7EMB	14MHz	SSB
21:18z	K7AJG	14MHz	SSB
21:18z	KE0NWG	14MHz	SSB
21:20z	AB4PP	14MHz	SSB
21:21z	KF7JQV	14MHz	SSB
21:33z	K5RHD	7MHz	SSB
21:37z	K6ARK	7MHz	SSB
21:38z	N6DNM	7MHz	SSB
21:38z	N0EMU	7MHz	SSB
21:39z	KD6DKC	14MHz	CW