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Saddle Mountain

KJ4ZMQ's picture
Summit: 
W7O/NC-004
Voice Cellular Coverage: 
Good, very usable
Data Cellular Coverage: 
Decent, workable
Cellular Provider: 
Verizon
APRS Coverage: 
Good digi echos

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With an elevation gain of approximately 1500' in 2.5 miles, it was a pretty steep little hike.  The trail head is easily accessible and the trail is very well maintained.  It was a very high traffic area, as to be expected on Memorial Day Weekend. 
 
The summit has handrails around all four sides with no trees in the area.  The view should be amazing if the weather is on your side.  While I was at the top, the mouth of the Columbia was visible two or three times but for the most part the view was hidden in the clouds.  I was able to string a homebrew 20m Dipole between two sides of the handrail, far from perfect but I was able to make contacts in NY, IN, UT, NM, and CA.

I packed up my station a little earlier than I was planning, the summit was very busy and I was taking up more than my share of the area.

This was my first activation having APRS for the hike, I was able to hit several digipeaters from the summit.  I still need to learn a little more about the HT and the APRS system.

Station Info:
Rig: Yaesu Ft-857D
Power Supply: 4S3P A123 Battery
Antenna: Home Brew 1/2 Wavelength Dipole 14AWG
HT: Yaesu VX-8DR W/ GPS
Camera: GoPro Hero2

Pictures: