Good Views From Summit

K7MK and I headed out on a somewhat blustery spring day for our second ever activation. With snow still on higher peaks and Forest Service roads not opening up until April 30th we headed to this nearby 1 pointer. Per Google Earth and other satellite imagery we knew there was a private home on the actual summit. But, it had been activated once before and the terrain looked like we should be able to find a spot in the activation zone somewhere to setup. Actually getting to this summit is a bit of a navigation challenge.

Tiger Mountain is in about the middle of the Tiger Mountain State Forest southeast of Issaquah. Access is via a gravel forest road and you may want to use a GPS or track your mileage as any signs may not lead you clearly to the summit.

K7MK and I headed out to activate this summit as our first ever activation. K7MK has been assembling a SOTA capable station for the last 6 months or so. We have done a dry run or two in his back yard and even hauled it up to a non-SOTA summit back in February on a rare warm winter weekend afternoon. But, this was our first real activation.

If you are headed from Portland to Lincoln City, this could be your activation on the way. Or the way back. It's a drive up on a decent dirt and gravel road with the potential for a nice view at the top.

A successful day on Jester Mountain! Made the minimum required 4 contacts on 146.52-FM, then made a hasty retreat down to escpae the blowing snow and cool temperatures. A great day to be outside after not be able to hike last weekend. Trail to Iron Bear is snow-free; descending the saddle to Jester Mountain there was only trivial amounts of snow. I used my Yaesu VX-6R coupled to an MFJ-1714  1/2 wave dipole.

The Pack Forest is operated by the University of Washington, a bit south of Eatonville, Washington. www.packforest.org.

Red Hill (KH6/MA-001) is the tallest peak of Haleakala (“House of the Sun”) located in Haleakala National Park on the island of Maui in Hawaii. It is commonly called Haleakala even though Red Hill is the actual name of the summit. Red Hill is a drive-up, and a drive-up only. Visitors are not permitted to walk the extra 283 vertical feet on the paved road from the Haleakala Visitor Center at 9740ft / 2969m to the summit at 10,023ft / 3,055m. There is no shoulder on the road. There is also no trail to the summit, and walking off-trail is also not allowed.

This was my first successful joint winter Activation with Chris, KG7OFQ. 

Arrived at the trailhead in rain, heavy at times and a light breeze. 46°F.  My wife, Chris and I quickly made our way to the first trail junction, about 2 miles from the trailhead. From the first junction, the trail becomes very steep as it ascends an open hillside.  After leveling off and then descending slightly, the trail climbs the steep narrow ridgeline towards the summit block.  After some boulder-hopping, we arrived at the small exposed summit at approximately 5200 feet. 

Arrived at the trailhead at about 9:30AM, and only 3 other vehicles - on a sunny summer day, there are usually 100+ vehicles! It was a very wet and windy day, right from the trailhead. About 1.5 miles up the trail, my wife decided it wasn't that much fun hiking in the high winds and rain, for no views at the summit. I pressed on while she returned to our vehicle at the trailhead. I made good time to the summit and the lookout. While there were some icy patches, I was able to navigate around them and as such never bothered to put on my "micro-spikes".  

A very enjoyable day out in the mountains with great company and SOTA success!  This was my first time on Red Top Mountain, although I have summitted many other peaks in the Teanaway region of the Central Cascades.  This was our second joint Activation, with Mark Sandler, K7MAS. Mark is helping me understand the benefits of HF when on the more remote peaks of the Cascades. Once set-up, Mark succeeded in making contacts on HF immediately, while I patiently called "CQ", "CQ" and waited....and waited. After several minutes I made 1 contact on 146.52-FM.