Today, I joined Adam (K6ARK), and Johnny on a hike up to Whale Peak (W6/SD-046 - Whale Peak). It’s in the Anza Borrego Desert as you drop
down out of Julian. I was up at 5 AM and
picked up Adam and Johnny at 6. My
initial recon showed a trail leading up to the peak so no bushwhacking
today.
We parked at the 2-wheel drive location. I might have been able to make it two miles
up the road in my AWD Highlander but there are two questionable areas that need
just a touch more clearance on my vehicle.
I’m sure a truck or a larger 4X4 could make it. We estimated you would need 8” and a touch
more in just a couple of areas. My
Highlander has 8”.... The temperature outside fet like about 35F, and it was
rising rapidly as the sun peeked over the hills.
(Our route here)
(Click on image for larger)
(Our route here)
(Click on image for larger)
The first two miles is just plan sandy
road. An easy walk for sure to the
beginning of the actual trail. The first
part of the trail is a gnarly rock fall up a canyon that requires a bit of
scramboldering. I’d give the hike a
medium in difficulty mainly due to requiring some significant big steps and
navigating large boulders. The hike
wasn’t hard but it would have been a bit easier for me if my legs weren’t
hurting when I left. I was actually
still recovering from the Friday hike and actually was in enough pain Saturday
night that I had trouble getting to sleep.
The final ascent is another scramble over
boulders. It’s steep but not bad. Stay to the right / north as you hit the
final ascent as the path is a touch easier.
I found this out because I chose a little more to the left on the way up
but followed the path on the way down.
There were some really nice views to the
desert floor from the top. The country
is very rugged and this is not the place you want to be in the summer. I setup near the high point and Adam setup
about 150 yds from me. Soon after
spotting, I had a pileup of operators waiting to contact me. Adam worked 2M while I was on 20 and then he
moved to 20 when I went to 4 meters.
This gave us enough separation so that we wouldn’t be stepping on each
other.
I had my first contact to an Alaska station
today, Paul Young (NL7V). I also
connected with a lot of guys that I’ve worked before, some of them thanking me
for all the activations this year and wishing me a merry Christmas. It was a good time. I could hear a couple of stations on 17
meters but I wasn’t able to raise them.
We could have hit another peak on the way back
(W6/SD-454 - Pinyon Mountains (HP)) if we had
planned it and not had other things going on tonight. It would definitely be easier if you could
knock 4 miles off the trip by driving to the trail head.
The trip back seemed kinda long, especially
the last two miles. We stopped and had a
pizza and some beer on the way back to Ramona.
I’d say it was a good day of hiking and ham radio operation.
Contacts
Own
Callsign
|
Date
|
Time
|
Summit
|
Band
|
Mode
|
Station
Worked
|
Notes
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:16
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
N4EX
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:18
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
KD1CT
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:19
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
W0MNA
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:20
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
K9IR
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:20
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
AA1VX
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:21
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
K8TE
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:21
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
NE4TN
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:22
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
K3TCU
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:22
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
AK5SD
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:23
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
KG3W
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:24
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
VE2JCW
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:25
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
KI4SVM
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:25
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
K7WWR
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:25
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
W2SE
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:26
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
N1AW
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:28
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
K5RHD
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:37
|
W6/SD-046
|
7MHz
|
SSB
|
N0MTN
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:42
|
W6/SD-046
|
7MHz
|
SSB
|
K6HPX
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:42
|
W6/SD-046
|
7MHz
|
SSB
|
KI6EAB
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:43
|
W6/SD-046
|
7MHz
|
SSB
|
AA7DK
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:43
|
W6/SD-046
|
7MHz
|
SSB
|
N6DNM
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:44
|
W6/SD-046
|
7MHz
|
SSB
|
AD0KE
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:46
|
W6/SD-046
|
7MHz
|
SSB
|
NQ7R
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:46
|
W6/SD-046
|
7MHz
|
SSB
|
N7LP
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
18:47
|
W6/SD-046
|
7MHz
|
SSB
|
KI6DS
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
19:06
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
W1FOY
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
19:14
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
NS7P
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
19:14
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
KI5ABH
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
19:15
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
N1RCQ
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
19:16
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
VA2MO
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
19:17
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
N7BYD
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
19:18
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
W4KRN
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
19:19
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
NL7V
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
19:20
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
K9PM
|
|
N1CLC
|
23/Dec/2018
|
19:21
|
W6/SD-046
|
14MHz
|
SSB
|
K0LAF
|
Loadout for today:
●
30’ of coax feed line
● 3 L of water (8
lb)
● SOTA Dog
● iPhone with All
Trails, MotionX GPS and sota goat
● Trekking poles
●
Extra LiFePO Battery
● AnyTone AT-868UV DMR radio for testing.
●
Delorme Inreach satellite tracker and communicator.
73,
N1CLC
Christian Claborne
Chris claborne
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