tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32084309760192256422024-02-19T04:20:22.990-08:00KR7W's SOTA Adventure BlogSota Activations, Antennas, Equipment, and Techniqueskr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-43739407031639819722014-11-02T05:41:00.000-08:002017-04-11T14:26:29.257-07:00Tahtlum Peak W7W/MC-023 14 September 2014 <div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Directions
are from the Seattle Mountaineers book- </span><i>Guide
to 100 Hikes at Mt Rainier National Park</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Driving:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Drive south on SR 410 and </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">park at Chinook Pass (elevation<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">5430')
on the south side of the road.</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Route:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hike the Pacific Crest Trail south to a high point of 5900' and head
left toward Tahtlum Peak. Cross two small bumps and follow the footpath,
staying mostly on the ridge or sometimes just to the left. From the summit, a
pleasant side trip is to return via Dewey Lakes. From the saddle at 5750', head
southward, following easy terrain to reach Dewey Lakes. Return via </span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">the PCT. Yet another option is to complete the loop around Naches
Peak and return via Tipsoo Lake.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Additional Route Info:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
On the return trip at the 5946 ft three way boot track intersection I
noticed a well worn track to the west and followed this. This route turned out to be very well defined
and I recommend going this way to the summit.
The beginning of this track is on the PCT (GPS: N46 51.770 / W121 29.772),
just past the Mountaineers described route above. At
this point there is a way trail that heads downhill towards a large south
facing rock that is popular with visitors.
Head past the rock to find the boot track to the 5946 ft three way
intersection at N46 51.817 / W121 28.981.
Ducking through bushy trees is necessary to find the track. Also, note that Tahtlum Peak is outside of
the National Park boundary- which can provide hikers with dogs, horses and
(depending on the season) hunters. </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3b1nf3ycg7xjEyAAXBc6a3izb3NhmCjnJzPakqLq2Kd4K89XyCuXcxqHuSF8t_n-WR_xZO_qttmDHa8ktm_NKn2YXoM7xcSa1o1dxdK8FwVgbijCSfW1-fJGJb8dYQQ7wBlTJRqkVl_BY/s1600/Tahtlum-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3b1nf3ycg7xjEyAAXBc6a3izb3NhmCjnJzPakqLq2Kd4K89XyCuXcxqHuSF8t_n-WR_xZO_qttmDHa8ktm_NKn2YXoM7xcSa1o1dxdK8FwVgbijCSfW1-fJGJb8dYQQ7wBlTJRqkVl_BY/s1600/Tahtlum-04.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tahtlum, about 1.5 miles from the TH, the boot track- as described in the Mountaineers book cited above. It's about 1 mile to the summit from here.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QiFswt0Sqz5WtSghQxSF_9GB5p5G1a6FY9X8J5gGuJwmkhLkpPGutt74-EQm-IpmFFBRaDjLBlVL8sWTivjprO3VjWq2xg6EbAxjtbAslveA8rmtBO2blyWwBPxmPHdUVmvOV6wCqUeF/s1600/Tahtlum-Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QiFswt0Sqz5WtSghQxSF_9GB5p5G1a6FY9X8J5gGuJwmkhLkpPGutt74-EQm-IpmFFBRaDjLBlVL8sWTivjprO3VjWq2xg6EbAxjtbAslveA8rmtBO2blyWwBPxmPHdUVmvOV6wCqUeF/s1600/Tahtlum-Map.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Garmin map shows my tracks to the summit... and shows the Naches Peak Loop Trail- the popular route for hikers. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was a nice
cool and clear fall morning when I head out from the parking area at Chinook
Pass on Hiway 410. One and a half miles on the PCT to the boot track described
in the Mountaineers book. The track disappeared
quite often but following the ridge top leads to a three way intersection </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">5946 ft</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I regretfully took a left on a well defined
track for ¼ mile, but </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">retreated after
deciding that since no elevation was gained... then this wasn't the way to the summit.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> T</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">raversing to the top of the ridge
at 6400 ft- the track routes along the north slope of the ridge for about
500 ft to a small saddle. The summit is a short distance SW.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The summit is
stomped down gravel- a flat open spot about 6x6 ft. Great for 2 meter handy talkie work, but no support for a HF antenna. The station was set up about
25 ft lower on the north side of the summit. The 20 ft fish pole antenna mast was strapped to a scrub pine tree which also provided some
shade. The Dan's doublet wires were
carefully tied off to other small trees in the scree.</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXIWS1YORzXm8IXamzEu86rgcE37J2Dzs64UeX1mTjgljJ-iBEThHXUYZr-htgNMGT5qNEW-_sSb0N3fru-Bv1AqQ9yS5RgwvRrawMcVmlxkkmtDZzENpef8qVYDG38_Lm8sFI7uUtuO9/s1600/Tahtlum-09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXIWS1YORzXm8IXamzEu86rgcE37J2Dzs64UeX1mTjgljJ-iBEThHXUYZr-htgNMGT5qNEW-_sSb0N3fru-Bv1AqQ9yS5RgwvRrawMcVmlxkkmtDZzENpef8qVYDG38_Lm8sFI7uUtuO9/s1600/Tahtlum-09.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">KR7W's station: KX3, LiPo battery, Log, Easy Chair, picnic basket with wine, cheese, and chocolate truffles- black bears favorite. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On 2 Meters FM contact was made with a ham
at High Rock Lookout (W7W/PL-029) from whom I learned that the ARRL VHF contest
was in progress. I let him know that he was
on a SOTA summit. A couple of hours
later on the trek back to the TH, contact was made with Grover, KG7O who had just
reached the summit of Mt St Helens. 23
HF QSOs were made. This days station consisted
of: KX-3 @ 6W, Dan’s 44 ft Doublet, 20
ft carbon fish pole, LiPo 3S battery, Straight Key, and Kenwood D72 APRS handy
talkie. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From the summit
of Tahtlum other SOTA peaks within a short hike and scramble from
the TH can be seen: Naches Peak- 1 mile, Deadwood- 2
miles, Dewey Pk- 3 miles- shown in photos below. The routes to Naches and Dewey are described
in the Mountaineers book cited above. Of
these, I’ve only activated Deadwood.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIDWK-5z4OekDHB7XrekLvobbzoQ6mZsv6mPJkYgbEONX3pfSbZdut3a9_0HbdlIT11QdbDAkHC_0xt50SKT9r4IYvipv9o5oT9TrwiKmJOtAVps4GEunwTU9jvH8RLzuHjYamTe1r2vu/s1600/Tahtlum-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIDWK-5z4OekDHB7XrekLvobbzoQ6mZsv6mPJkYgbEONX3pfSbZdut3a9_0HbdlIT11QdbDAkHC_0xt50SKT9r4IYvipv9o5oT9TrwiKmJOtAVps4GEunwTU9jvH8RLzuHjYamTe1r2vu/s1600/Tahtlum-05.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Deadwood Pk, about 2 miles to the west. WA Hiway 410 and the PCT can be seen at its base. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QeN9J3Gg7kTe7M1DezJDT0KSEq7PlsNRjnW0Agw_duC7FE_TqAPj-DMZirOyRwnqNVv_OU7Yr5N3E3ArF_YAzdEzKheHjpxF3OU9PvSJ8l31Ha-HyZpCYKhwqOaVWtZtxy4Ipuy8FPgQ/s1600/Tahtlum-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QeN9J3Gg7kTe7M1DezJDT0KSEq7PlsNRjnW0Agw_duC7FE_TqAPj-DMZirOyRwnqNVv_OU7Yr5N3E3ArF_YAzdEzKheHjpxF3OU9PvSJ8l31Ha-HyZpCYKhwqOaVWtZtxy4Ipuy8FPgQ/s1600/Tahtlum-06.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Naches Pk is seen looking west. The popular Naches Pk Loop Trail circumvents this peak.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZmEa1tSIb0m2q5LGC-B981_S92I1fcFsPJ7a1Mxw8rYANHyEwvHAfGDRjuhundrE2h_WDZ3sJ3I2svj-LLEMD6IK1V3vllmv2WOUJRg79mPbXql1FY_hobjsGL9faWCWkVWM1RkfvAnN/s1600/Tahtlum-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZmEa1tSIb0m2q5LGC-B981_S92I1fcFsPJ7a1Mxw8rYANHyEwvHAfGDRjuhundrE2h_WDZ3sJ3I2svj-LLEMD6IK1V3vllmv2WOUJRg79mPbXql1FY_hobjsGL9faWCWkVWM1RkfvAnN/s1600/Tahtlum-07.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">A popular Hiking and Backpack destination is Dewey Lake to the south. SOTA's Dewey Pk is above the lake. The Peak to the right is non-SOTA Seymore Pk.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On the trip to
the summit very few hikers were seen. The return trip provided at least 40-50 visitors walking the PCT to
Dewey Lake and the Naches Peak Loop trail (in Mt Rainier National Park). This area is great place for hikers to go for a walk in
the woods.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">72 Rich KR7W</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-68843754486009833252014-10-29T09:01:00.000-07:002014-10-29T09:01:40.870-07:00Tamanos Mtn – W7W/RS-015 – 24 August 2014<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Tamanos Mtn,
in Mt Rainier National Park is accessed via the Owyhigh Lakes Trail, either
from the White River Road TH or the Deer Creek TH along Hiway 123.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">WTA knows
the way to Owyhigh Lakes:<br />
White River TH: <a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/owyhigh-lakes">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/owyhigh-lakes</a><br />
Deer Creek TH: <a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/deer-creek-falls-to-owyhigh-lakes">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/deer-creek-falls-to-owyhigh-lakes</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhWwgdDoh6zUIliH557q-rrmc3XQCa-npnqrTxxPooSugY1k8uamivInt9MBoq7Xwt1lDmkbbXoQPI65F594l8cQ6Ag2tjb0U6AK0D92qSYZgrPzx2xCqUMIWgrh3OBOyrPayLbs59bBlK/s1600/Tamanos-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhWwgdDoh6zUIliH557q-rrmc3XQCa-npnqrTxxPooSugY1k8uamivInt9MBoq7Xwt1lDmkbbXoQPI65F594l8cQ6Ag2tjb0U6AK0D92qSYZgrPzx2xCqUMIWgrh3OBOyrPayLbs59bBlK/s1600/Tamanos-5.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tamanos as well as some other SOTA summits can be seen from the Sunrise Visitor Center at Mt Rainier National Park. This photo was taken from the Sourdough Ridge Trail.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ms Pat WT7N
and I decided combine this summit activation with a three day - two night backpacking
trip.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From the White River TH we hiked
this popular trail 3 miles to Tamanos Creek BC Camp (permit must be acquired at
the White River Ranger Station).</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanLebTC2MxWjIE4_isQOg7pwSK_V9H_lDwJ8gArUM3zeKiUDBo-1Sb7cUv3gwY7dzXJp3Ey5WJmGLbMYz9VdLAUcc9Cptp_E64L09kL86m2pYgY4q5aII209Ff6ulPSRe8yxTNbyeT0bX/s1600/Tamanos+Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanLebTC2MxWjIE4_isQOg7pwSK_V9H_lDwJ8gArUM3zeKiUDBo-1Sb7cUv3gwY7dzXJp3Ey5WJmGLbMYz9VdLAUcc9Cptp_E64L09kL86m2pYgY4q5aII209Ff6ulPSRe8yxTNbyeT0bX/s1600/Tamanos+Map.jpg" height="640" width="538" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Garmin map shows our route from TH to BC camp to Boot Track up to the Tamanos ridge. The Owyhigh Lakes on the map is the popular destination of visitors in this area of the National Park.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
next morning we continued south towards Owyhigh Lakes.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About ¼ mile further is an open meadow at the
apex of the trail at 5350 ft. The non maintained but obvious boot track to the
summit begins here.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">[Note:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At this point- APRS works flawlessly]</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From the meadow we ascended up the side slope
to the top of the ridge at 6280 ft in 4/10 mile.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then we followed the ridge south for ½ mile
to the summit at 6700.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are
two rock bumps on the summit that remind me of steam ship stacks which can be
seen from afar at the right angle.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We
did not climb onto the rocky stacks but were within 20 vertical ft of the
summit.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3OIJHFkFfFeJuBlSqZcxjN4Xq3NSvSron-s4lKLERJdjJaaJX9719GJax-1cRoZ2tAyY8kXJhTHTROsNgx67VJcYoyOKKS9Iiqn8vEV7WvsVyovdo8TnSvo2fUYsu_5gVgi2TWuS-U1p/s1600/Tamanos-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3OIJHFkFfFeJuBlSqZcxjN4Xq3NSvSron-s4lKLERJdjJaaJX9719GJax-1cRoZ2tAyY8kXJhTHTROsNgx67VJcYoyOKKS9Iiqn8vEV7WvsVyovdo8TnSvo2fUYsu_5gVgi2TWuS-U1p/s1600/Tamanos-6.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Substitute Fishpole mast about 6 ft high. A trek pole was used to place the Dan's Doublet center insulator at the highest point.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I had left
my 21 ft carbon fish pole antenna mast in the car and became concerned that I’d
have to make radio contacts with the antenna strewn on the rocks. The problem was
solved with a scraggly dead tree about 5 ft high that became the apex for my
Dan’s 44 ft Doublet antenna.</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkvwhMGgw85Aow9f_6nIMGmfaiqivQPSIkV4Z4sQwLttpVRkF2gGIdQ4aS6pGmd2pBtYvnrK6kjztENoqMRhWXaQHuhzCYcLZ-Pj-U2lYs9j-6FyvqHpTn6s9giCIzp7KxI07WrEcjbiq/s1600/Tamanos-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkvwhMGgw85Aow9f_6nIMGmfaiqivQPSIkV4Z4sQwLttpVRkF2gGIdQ4aS6pGmd2pBtYvnrK6kjztENoqMRhWXaQHuhzCYcLZ-Pj-U2lYs9j-6FyvqHpTn6s9giCIzp7KxI07WrEcjbiq/s1600/Tamanos-8.jpg" height="464" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">KR7W at Op Position. Rig is KX3, 3S LiPo battery, Russian SK, Dan's 44 ft Doublet Antenna w/ Balun, Kenwood D72 APRS HT. There's a red microphone that almost never gets used.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the
middle of the activation I looked up and noticed dark bottomed storm
clouds.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“QRT BAD WX” was sent a few
times and I went QRT.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some kind chaser spotted
me on sotawatch that I was QRT due to bad WX- a tip of the thank you hat to you
kind madam/sir.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We quickly picked up and
head back down. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At our BC campsite the
rain started.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We quickly broke camp and
headed to the TH in progressively worse rain.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Flash-Boom!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A lot of lightning
and thunder- one strike ¼ mile away was scary too close.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzKNcM-X83PZov8mm23cKMz2_HAoQS00THeCHmTqmrV6tKfLKAJ_GjWujBpZTL43hFcZ6GgZjnfkAvGws9LLHhsjFHXZFeoBpB4JYtosgf3voNfcdQw6wwWuYB8lQZ0eGTUWoYRQ8ORjF/s1600/Tamanos-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzKNcM-X83PZov8mm23cKMz2_HAoQS00THeCHmTqmrV6tKfLKAJ_GjWujBpZTL43hFcZ6GgZjnfkAvGws9LLHhsjFHXZFeoBpB4JYtosgf3voNfcdQw6wwWuYB8lQZ0eGTUWoYRQ8ORjF/s1600/Tamanos-7.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mt Tahoma (aka Lil Tahoma) looms really close to the west. Looks like rain clouds coming in.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4w9x3cLO-EEg_IUAo5XP1Q0m0bcg_EgYLXFmO5rrCpBGqwo9RgB8B8kVVPebyXIlIufniBYHNhHW4RsLBN3cSKLGQBlUcc0QUz4QzFLYg8Ahd-3TpUGnc8LPtn_UmcmAzPhz7GAmKgrI/s1600/Tamanos-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4w9x3cLO-EEg_IUAo5XP1Q0m0bcg_EgYLXFmO5rrCpBGqwo9RgB8B8kVVPebyXIlIufniBYHNhHW4RsLBN3cSKLGQBlUcc0QUz4QzFLYg8Ahd-3TpUGnc8LPtn_UmcmAzPhz7GAmKgrI/s1600/Tamanos-9.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Looky here- Governers Ridge looms to the east. In the valley between the ridge I am on and Gov Ridge is Owyhigh Lakes and the trail.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKirxmMt_j2VSR7DGTvKkIPLzSj4C2nu8is4EEnIRGd2oqUjtN9CQyXyaPpckeabd1qMaBDK_HVytaAKZ1KMA-0rivI2IL2lNIWWc_2pkqdJ85Qa7RErKnHFKmgn-w4oMsJOR_ft-wuv54/s1600/Tamanos-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKirxmMt_j2VSR7DGTvKkIPLzSj4C2nu8is4EEnIRGd2oqUjtN9CQyXyaPpckeabd1qMaBDK_HVytaAKZ1KMA-0rivI2IL2lNIWWc_2pkqdJ85Qa7RErKnHFKmgn-w4oMsJOR_ft-wuv54/s1600/Tamanos-10.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From the 6380 ft point on the ridge... Double Pk and Shriner Pk can be seen. Both are SOTA destinations.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our second
night was to be spent at Dick’s Lake BC Camp in the Palisades area… but we took
a rain check.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">End of Blog. 72
KR7W</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-85111277700111692502014-10-22T16:16:00.001-07:002014-10-22T16:22:55.623-07:00W7W/RS-008 - Palisades Pk - 28 September 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6C97nihubXvzXnbEGYoXTlGjcmVdFReXrQU7BhJAMFh_SzQ30hYE81qKmd09QGWPSey_4k63bCXVY3Hu6v0JXoEAH9wsbIvNezGx0_NoG81TxgMZyOMPi8YK7SOEIRxumgN3CrGzO43_C/s1600/Palisades-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6C97nihubXvzXnbEGYoXTlGjcmVdFReXrQU7BhJAMFh_SzQ30hYE81qKmd09QGWPSey_4k63bCXVY3Hu6v0JXoEAH9wsbIvNezGx0_NoG81TxgMZyOMPi8YK7SOEIRxumgN3CrGzO43_C/s1600/Palisades-05.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A view from approx 1/2 mile into the hike shows Palisades. We hiked up to the saddle between Palisades and the peak to the left (Marcus Pk). Hidden Lake is hiding below the rocky face of Palisades.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Directions are from the Seattle Mountaineers book: <i>Guide to 100 Hikes at Mt Rainier National Park</i>: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Driving</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Drive SR 410 4.5 miles south of the Crystal Mountain ski area </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">turnoff and turn right on Sunrise Park Road. Drive 13 miles to </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sunrise Point. Park in the large parking lot (elevation 6100').</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Route</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">From the east end of the parking lot, take the trail toward Sunrise </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lake but turn north on the trail marked Palisades Lakes. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Continue on the trail, and before reaching Dicks Lake come to</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">a sign for Hidden Lake. Turn left on this trail and follow it </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">past the lake; then ascend to the saddle between Marcus and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">the Palisades. At the saddle, head north and approach the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">high point over a gentle slope. It may be slightly easier to go </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">beyond the summit and double back on the northwest ridge, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">as this avoids some thick vegetation".</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTVXCgfIajioOOXMk7YhAdoGXgWMtLeCxqd7OHiJhqzsA3Rv4k4MZsN7vPTZDEuK7aQDglx-kL68rDX0bS6nvbDWaz5iH67a4qahNa1ZcQGMsFemAKM1BZ-kYlH5Io2uhoR9AUiLGmA9P/s1600/Palisades-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTVXCgfIajioOOXMk7YhAdoGXgWMtLeCxqd7OHiJhqzsA3Rv4k4MZsN7vPTZDEuK7aQDglx-kL68rDX0bS6nvbDWaz5iH67a4qahNa1ZcQGMsFemAKM1BZ-kYlH5Io2uhoR9AUiLGmA9P/s1600/Palisades-03.jpg" height="606" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Red dots that begin at the saddle <span style="color: red;"><b>X</b></span> above Hidden Lake, elev 6500 ft, show the off trail route to the summit. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Ms Pat WT7N and I followed the boot track from the Lake to the top of the Saddle </span><b style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">X</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> we pushed through thick bushy trees into a large meadow which revealed the route to Marcus Pk. But instead, we ascended the meadow north, found an opening in the thick trees and headed upward toward the top of Palisades. We zig-zagged upward avoiding the thick clumps of trees for approx 400 vertical ft. We ended up on a saddle- about 40 vertical ft below the highest of the two bumps that make up the summit where I uttered, like pioneers before me, " It is enough. This is the place!" at 1245 PM LT. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiqZN6R3eNmk5d17OPwQsQTRHFEXtIQMAUn7454hhwIJnYq5xkCp9sc6q8TJ4LAC9aNiQBZ3syzX5XF6ozWOwG5JsEClZ94PAQyFrn7y1f_Z_T1iHv-h9h5_UTt8fN7aoB7eTPhksqi6I/s1600/Palisades-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiqZN6R3eNmk5d17OPwQsQTRHFEXtIQMAUn7454hhwIJnYq5xkCp9sc6q8TJ4LAC9aNiQBZ3syzX5XF6ozWOwG5JsEClZ94PAQyFrn7y1f_Z_T1iHv-h9h5_UTt8fN7aoB7eTPhksqi6I/s1600/Palisades-06.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This view is from Hidden Lake- looking upwards to the top of the 6500 ft saddle.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSecK6zAVAd5xfOw6qQh9JODQHUWCF5WVpx6a44VmdvudrVhbffvNhqg37vkY5vWpfY7UrgK5E34P8VaDFB7D8MWbdNlW4fcq21abeOOEq1Yl0VEV9jBq5TyOt46oTe6iBwvSrjBp-qML/s1600/Palisades-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSecK6zAVAd5xfOw6qQh9JODQHUWCF5WVpx6a44VmdvudrVhbffvNhqg37vkY5vWpfY7UrgK5E34P8VaDFB7D8MWbdNlW4fcq21abeOOEq1Yl0VEV9jBq5TyOt46oTe6iBwvSrjBp-qML/s1600/Palisades-07.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Looking down to Hidden Lake from (almost) the top of the saddle.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDuOwuyUKIo6guii6nv_Yfzy_w1EGS8j9JRrZ89hPIa_R2OFqGywRfNTRjc7cl1Wet7dsHkgaaHIMrhT3X6KEYNMFp9D_JQbtjxM0uRQD0KOD-UP2jaw4pnS0O-_ZSqNXjDEVpN2aICbVa/s1600/Palisades-08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDuOwuyUKIo6guii6nv_Yfzy_w1EGS8j9JRrZ89hPIa_R2OFqGywRfNTRjc7cl1Wet7dsHkgaaHIMrhT3X6KEYNMFp9D_JQbtjxM0uRQD0KOD-UP2jaw4pnS0O-_ZSqNXjDEVpN2aICbVa/s1600/Palisades-08.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">KR7W- in the meadow to the west of the top... pondering the route up the next 400 vertical feet to the summit.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the summit saddle it was easy to attach my fish pole mast to a scrub tree and then carefully fan out the antennas wires in the scree among the scrubby trees. I propped my 2 meter coaxial vertical antenna in a bush and set the D72 APRS Handy Talkie on a rock next to my operating position.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TVkvfooCL-qjbyj-WB1k7RvEIi6L5dbFdLZ0YSnq1oN-LHlObJfkLs6DOrka9EQtOwxrgrSkeUi6kcatNnlzPBMmITEmbp-_t0d1WTr7HTU9-C1Pfr-v3Or01kc2fyRKsQuXJE_3G2bG/s1600/Palisades-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TVkvfooCL-qjbyj-WB1k7RvEIi6L5dbFdLZ0YSnq1oN-LHlObJfkLs6DOrka9EQtOwxrgrSkeUi6kcatNnlzPBMmITEmbp-_t0d1WTr7HTU9-C1Pfr-v3Or01kc2fyRKsQuXJE_3G2bG/s1600/Palisades-10.jpg" height="464" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">KR7W using straight key for CW. Rig is KX3, Antenna is Dan's 44 ft Doublet + Balun, mast is 21 ft carbon fishing pole strapped to tree (above kr7w's head). Kenwood D72 for 2 meter comms + APRS spotting.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJPKX5tOGJ_nILEVDc7t2Ne4CcPc9jv0udixtxb3m0Ngc89NEitl14WxMAlzi1X_M7KEzpk_0tU0-NMq2jiom_KG41qzNAQo-dgAoDmN8eetNKuYO8cCBzi-o3YXAgbreMbOJAxoaUt8Fg/s1600/Palisades-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJPKX5tOGJ_nILEVDc7t2Ne4CcPc9jv0udixtxb3m0Ngc89NEitl14WxMAlzi1X_M7KEzpk_0tU0-NMq2jiom_KG41qzNAQo-dgAoDmN8eetNKuYO8cCBzi-o3YXAgbreMbOJAxoaUt8Fg/s1600/Palisades-11.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Looking SW, a view of Mt Rainier on the west side of the saddle on the summit.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNQwkFRk_SJTkxdMPEzmo01J7auNil14AAk-QQ2efKmw-LNF09TxS-ApjOMIH34mbvr5IljVf17ePN1xkeOVf6w54B2p6CbaE-uV8DMb6H45nYLY0hsOKKfYtLz-Kd3uZxCXQ-dfNi9yU/s1600/Palisades-09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNQwkFRk_SJTkxdMPEzmo01J7auNil14AAk-QQ2efKmw-LNF09TxS-ApjOMIH34mbvr5IljVf17ePN1xkeOVf6w54B2p6CbaE-uV8DMb6H45nYLY0hsOKKfYtLz-Kd3uZxCXQ-dfNi9yU/s1600/Palisades-09.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Looking west- a grand view of Grand Park - from the summit.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">40M CW was produced 6 QSOs- which is a lot, 5 QSOs on 30M, and 15 QSOs on 20M. 4 QSOs on 2M FM were made interleaved between HF QSOs. I again was amazed by 2M contacts. A newbie ham in Lacey with a $40 HT- 57 miles away, A ham in his living room in Ellensburg- 50 miles away, and to a ham operating a remote base near Nassele, WA- 112 miles away. I could have made many more contacts but time ran out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8F9wlS2RD6T7Tot6aLc0ZfCTe9SplBuHn4icgSZJo00UDzVGof-gDlfFqlWNUk9Y1eSCZIIjqyLYkOyx2UjKuq3W_qWh5qCk4UllhnGjTh0w_ltd0kDSuxivY-zkpSKRUT_h0EIOPR5s-/s1600/Palisades-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8F9wlS2RD6T7Tot6aLc0ZfCTe9SplBuHn4icgSZJo00UDzVGof-gDlfFqlWNUk9Y1eSCZIIjqyLYkOyx2UjKuq3W_qWh5qCk4UllhnGjTh0w_ltd0kDSuxivY-zkpSKRUT_h0EIOPR5s-/s1600/Palisades-04.jpg" height="392" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mountain Goats grazing. Must be good eats in those rocks.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The trip down was <u>almost</u> uneventful- we saw mountain goats grazing on the rocky slopes above Hidden Lake... and there were lots more people on the trail on this beautiful fall day. Some hikers spotted my collapsed fish pole and/or my 2 meter coax dipole in the pockets of my pack. Some would ask, "Hey, what's that for?" I'd reply that I am a ham operator participating in SOTA (and explain that). Some would ask, "What's the furthest station you contacted?". I'd say, "NJ or NH or TN". I actually knew where because more and more chasers are including their STATE in the contact exchange. A tip of the appreciation hat to Chasers who take the time to do that!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUlKqL_XVjNpGkIuCY88nHqOcrcwI7PGqxm_PLPv5-Chp8hHjSHvyGF-C7HGku3ePEtPWZG4KUgixO04-4T4q_XCaU7YKkN0MywkIoU8EuWE3HiL4KVU2ZlOJeiNrf1kj4_GDa273vtFy/s1600/Palisades-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUlKqL_XVjNpGkIuCY88nHqOcrcwI7PGqxm_PLPv5-Chp8hHjSHvyGF-C7HGku3ePEtPWZG4KUgixO04-4T4q_XCaU7YKkN0MywkIoU8EuWE3HiL4KVU2ZlOJeiNrf1kj4_GDa273vtFy/s1600/Palisades-12.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On the return hike... we stopped at Clover Lake- about 1.5 miles from the Trail Head.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next year I will be back to set up my tent for a few days at Dick's Lake back country camp and will attempt to summit Palisades and Marcus Pks from a base camp. I am looking forward to that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Photo credits: Pat WT7N.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A quick movie of this outing:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/rltzsukji0a5xic/Palisades%209_28_2014.wmv?dl=0">https://www.dropbox.com/s/rltzsukji0a5xic/Palisades%209_28_2014.wmv?dl=0</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">End of Blog. 72 Rich KR7W</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-84977629030691625172014-10-20T17:54:00.000-07:002014-10-21T07:46:25.088-07:00W7W/RS-029 - Scarface - 19 October, 2014<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">19 October, 2014 Scarface W7W/RS-029</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Directions to the TH are from the book '100 Peaks in Mt Rainier National Park' by the Seattle Mountaineers:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Drive to Enumclaw, WA and head east on SR 410 toward Mount</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rainier. Turn right on FS 73 and drive 10 miles until you</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">reach Eleanor Creek. At this point the road is almost directly</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">on the northern border of the park. There is a sign on the left</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">side of the road marked “Eleanor Creek, elev. 4520.” Park just past the sign".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our goal for this outing was to hike the E-W ridge west to the summit, do the SOTA thing, hike the N-S ridge south to the Grand Park Trail, enjoy the views as we hiked back to Lake Eleanor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's 100 yards to the National Park boundary and one mile to Lake Eleanor on a boot track originally made by fishermen. Hike another 4/10 mile on the National Park trail to Grand Park to the base of the E-W ridge ('Scarface X' on map below) up towards the summit of Scarface.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpVjy2NHMNdUZULwEaEcmJNnlhJMaJkqxEHIQIgyOdXLzV_sBTAX667Fx6IrH9xnzyO1iZRDaLBZkTHdV9mcF1M4ivHg4ktxk095VcJiZ7JBvZkFwFtxVrO2fRKkAOyeAfluBR07GF1ue/s1600/scarface-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpVjy2NHMNdUZULwEaEcmJNnlhJMaJkqxEHIQIgyOdXLzV_sBTAX667Fx6IrH9xnzyO1iZRDaLBZkTHdV9mcF1M4ivHg4ktxk095VcJiZ7JBvZkFwFtxVrO2fRKkAOyeAfluBR07GF1ue/s1600/scarface-7.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Very scenic Lake Eleanor. Scarface is top center in this photo. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHn0xuiVyQRpFdtKnTWEyRHXcOEIf_4ZdKi6zkDpEQn-yyCZi6zOU_wqg3fPhDhNxzej72Vj6jQx9kvbEZY_6PxBlN0ory558u-oy1cxbLX2TFQiqzcFEcwGiEw_gYxIDWIrTRp3iwH2dh/s1600/scarface-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHn0xuiVyQRpFdtKnTWEyRHXcOEIf_4ZdKi6zkDpEQn-yyCZi6zOU_wqg3fPhDhNxzej72Vj6jQx9kvbEZY_6PxBlN0ory558u-oy1cxbLX2TFQiqzcFEcwGiEw_gYxIDWIrTRp3iwH2dh/s1600/scarface-5.jpg" height="467" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here's the GPS Tracks of the Hike</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>CAUTION:</i></b> Before I go any further... The Mountaineers book I cited above rates this climb with a difficulty level of 2 (out of 5). I personally think it is a bit more difficult. Also, I do not recommend going to this SOTA summit unless the seasoned hiker possess decent route finding skills. The hike is mostly in dense forest with very few landmarks to sight to. A </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">GPS with an adequate map is highly recommended.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The hike along the E-W ridge is about a mile. There's hundreds of blown down trees to navigate around. If I interpret my GPSs stats correctly... the one mile straight line route ended up being approx 2.5 miles of walking.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqDRTz4q0QJWif_gNkac59oZMVdswkvqN76UzTQFQCdkCmqs78uWqvs-77XG4M30OXIcAKzrysFk7QjDyK_WdIvrrEvJNqxZNglbZbrXVujfyK8K13bUXX3_wkAorzwjvCFt8xd_IFCqh/s1600/scarface-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqDRTz4q0QJWif_gNkac59oZMVdswkvqN76UzTQFQCdkCmqs78uWqvs-77XG4M30OXIcAKzrysFk7QjDyK_WdIvrrEvJNqxZNglbZbrXVujfyK8K13bUXX3_wkAorzwjvCFt8xd_IFCqh/s1600/scarface-9.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here's a looky up the E-W ridge.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanY1kaF3YsGQZVGacjhbUOYAAIINQvaGHQ739rdSMADE8nsYZuBAD6l49i81uvZD1n_-DSqIx0W1A0FLaIOaHr0fOcKaJkRZH2jZDb7y2honjdDxBvAUxtlvHSZb2nHMH-JgYVwVHHeWl/s1600/scarface-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanY1kaF3YsGQZVGacjhbUOYAAIINQvaGHQ739rdSMADE8nsYZuBAD6l49i81uvZD1n_-DSqIx0W1A0FLaIOaHr0fOcKaJkRZH2jZDb7y2honjdDxBvAUxtlvHSZb2nHMH-JgYVwVHHeWl/s1600/scarface-8.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Taking a rest to change GPS batteries- still on the top of the ridge. The blow downs are plentiful for the next 1/2 mile.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We followed the ridge for 3/10 miles until a large rock outcropping detoured us to trek along ascending the steep ridge at approx 100 ft below the ridge line. Because we are not on top of the ridge- we are walking at a steep angle.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPqFMVKNnPzxU1cxgY6318U3mTDHTd-7zN4rtAjS3MB0AE9Tv-8su6nfr0VnVZbyzicpu-D4dibGY2w2jcHX5dJRahQMuKa37O1hP43r8-Xqy2oNYEIjJIJKCLMLx_B_1rC8BA97-N0o-/s1600/scarface-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPqFMVKNnPzxU1cxgY6318U3mTDHTd-7zN4rtAjS3MB0AE9Tv-8su6nfr0VnVZbyzicpu-D4dibGY2w2jcHX5dJRahQMuKa37O1hP43r8-Xqy2oNYEIjJIJKCLMLx_B_1rC8BA97-N0o-/s1600/scarface-10.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here's a shot at the summit destination about 4/10 miles away- as seen from the top of the ridge. It's easy to see why John Muir or early Park visitors named this peak "Scarface". </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The map shows a 'bump' at 5800 ft along the ridge. After passing under the bump, we hiked up 30 V ft to see what we could see from the ridge top. The above photo shows our destination. At this point I am somewhat discouraged because it's taking more time than I budgeted and we aren't close yet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZjE690K8poaruiIyat5zraCXZd_oq7OIf7t3jCd3BpMYuWFBIFxOp6rlylCK6UFHqhpB3SOQqh6YZn86EuveujuhtVnBocWqv-uppt7GD6Ppdhu7PIa93d2m62tp7PokYs9aEF_SHwO9/s1600/scarface-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZjE690K8poaruiIyat5zraCXZd_oq7OIf7t3jCd3BpMYuWFBIFxOp6rlylCK6UFHqhpB3SOQqh6YZn86EuveujuhtVnBocWqv-uppt7GD6Ppdhu7PIa93d2m62tp7PokYs9aEF_SHwO9/s1600/scarface-11.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We are out of the woods... so to speak... as we enter this clearing where the E-W ridge meets the N-S ridge. It's an easy (as compared to blown down log hopping and walking at a 45 deg angle) 2/10 mile and 300 vertical feet to go.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We arrived at the true summit about 50 minutes later than I estimated. I began the activation with 2 meter FM and attempted to make comms with hams in Tacoma. I was barely heard on the club repeater. My only contact on 146.520 was with a ham driving through an espresso stand in Mt Lake Terrace, WA, north of Seattle, 63 miles away. Also, there were no APRS comms until I reached the summit. </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvpZpi9HFTXzRTdhWwj8XlHTwz2VGKlBCYdvIjcVt3ibOwydr1psxNumIk8puhUreStX-m1MeLy60RE8qbzJ2klMX8nVh6yfFNsS_g6mTVSIVeFXXpvce-65L1tYEWu-INt-BH_vPvKVP/s1600/scarface-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvpZpi9HFTXzRTdhWwj8XlHTwz2VGKlBCYdvIjcVt3ibOwydr1psxNumIk8puhUreStX-m1MeLy60RE8qbzJ2klMX8nVh6yfFNsS_g6mTVSIVeFXXpvce-65L1tYEWu-INt-BH_vPvKVP/s1600/scarface-13.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A rarely seen frontal view of KR7W at the key. BTW- the old Russian Cold War key that broke down on the last activation was repaired and is back in service here. The radio is a KX3 at 6 watts. The antenna is a Dan's 44 ft Doublet with 4:1 Balun.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">HF propagation was sketchy due to a CME, so I had to cut the activation short after 10 QSOs to be sure to have enough daylight to safely get back down the N-S ridge and then to the National Park trail back to Lake Eleanor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_xOiwzfW42mchXN_TOtJO7ln2JfATLng4OVCzOpRUxHd7BkdMDWMy99wMNstRcpQOq-Pxau8FrLt5_Z6KYzDJIxjdN8RYA1NfIp1Q2Z8d34XYCILKHqzIW9vYaKMur19TLhPx-tmz9Qc/s1600/scarface-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_xOiwzfW42mchXN_TOtJO7ln2JfATLng4OVCzOpRUxHd7BkdMDWMy99wMNstRcpQOq-Pxau8FrLt5_Z6KYzDJIxjdN8RYA1NfIp1Q2Z8d34XYCILKHqzIW9vYaKMur19TLhPx-tmz9Qc/s1600/scarface-6.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The views on this hike were not plentiful... but here's a shot of Lake Eleanor from the very edge of the summit- near the scarred face.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The trek down was nice at first as we walked on game trails along the N-S ridge. We ascended a high bump on the ridge for the views and could see Grand Park and some of Mt Rainier.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUDiMZhMFy182NzkHIxb4gnGRrRFZQf9Nr4URxZ8CvlqLvuVXA-fHSLUXtfX6haymmc32Hy62hm6yi_Tvh0OKG0vHDF-QEXdhH_-siIS-Kra4QmEEHkZC87w66NETeYzuuTTG0KbqJrv6L/s1600/Scarface-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUDiMZhMFy182NzkHIxb4gnGRrRFZQf9Nr4URxZ8CvlqLvuVXA-fHSLUXtfX6haymmc32Hy62hm6yi_Tvh0OKG0vHDF-QEXdhH_-siIS-Kra4QmEEHkZC87w66NETeYzuuTTG0KbqJrv6L/s1600/Scarface-15.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here's a shot of Grand Park with Mt Fremont towering above. The Fire Lookout cabin is seen if you squint just right.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After passing the bump we ended up on a rocky drop off. At this point we had run out of time to follow the ridge down to Grand Park. We descended east following the lay of the land hoping to intersect the National Park trail back to Lake Eleanor. The lay of the land took us to many detours around trees and rock formations which resulted in the 'not the most direct way' to the trail. A mile on the Nat. Park trail to the lake and another mile to the car gave us one hour of daylight left.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Credits: Hiking partner Ms Pat WT7N for the photos and encouragement to keep going to the summit after the going got tough and frustrating for me. Thanks to chasers for the QSOs and waiting for me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">End of Blog. 72, KR7W</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-40326179679964825512013-11-29T09:54:00.001-08:002013-11-30T07:58:13.177-08:00W7W/KG-073 - Bandera Mtn - 28 October, 2013<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">28 October,
2013 Bandera Mtn W7W/KG-073<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our original
hiking destination for this day was going to be 7000 ft Norse Peak, an 8
pointer, near Crystal Mtn Ski Resort, a bit north and east of Mt Rainier
National Park. The Mt Rainier WX report
predicted 30-40 MPH winds at Paradise and Camp Muir in the National Park. We took off for our backup hiking
destination: Bandera Mtn.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><strong style="background-color: #c5c9ab; color: #454c43; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.333333015441895px; line-height: 26px;"><em>Readers note: This text has been edited to clear up a misunderstanding I had about the "Activation Zone". 'Added note' Corrections below...</em></strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
Directions are here: <a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/bandera-mountain">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/bandera-mountain</a> The WTA trip description is not entirely
accurate. I suggest the SOTA activator
read a few trip reports for additional info.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This days
outing was for me and Ms Pat WT7N to hike the Ira Spring Trail towards Mason
Lk. If it was overly windy then we’d
continue onward to Mason Lk for the views.
At the fork in the trail there was little or no wind… so off to Bandera
we went.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From the
intersection the Bandera trail is an unmaintained boot track that ascends
almost straight up most of the way to the View Point, called Lil Bandera on my
Green Trails map. My GPS said the
elevation here is 5140 ft ASL. This spot is
very scenic and the warm sun on a cool day was inviting. I wanted to operate my radio from this
point. I knew I was approx 60 ft from
the true summit but I couldn’t remember how low the activation zone was. So it was decided to press on the remaining
.8 mile to the true summit. <br />
<br />
It wasn’t obvious to us how to proceed
to the true summit from this spot. Then
a hiker and his dog came by and continued on downhill (which defies my
mountaineering training of avoiding losing elevation whenever possible). We followed him until he decided to turn
back. The trail looses about 200 ft of elevation to a low point on a saddle. The climb back up was one of those hikes where it’s handy to grab tree
branches. After following the faint
rabbit trail a ways… Garmin said we were
500 linear and 20 vertical ft from the proper summit. At this I proclaimed, sort of like I imagine Brigham
Young proclaiming, “This is the place!” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPa2KAhO9xWVPsZ2UW3k_Sp5TJqAyzhRL0G5-ByNwVLFbKOad8d_sc5BNIvptoEWARjSvSlK07z-9oN_HayirnHUUpTxNBIuTUdZNF8SpgyDa5RDvVvNXQjphISFEru4WPKT2edeM4XYo/s1600/Bandera+GT+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPa2KAhO9xWVPsZ2UW3k_Sp5TJqAyzhRL0G5-ByNwVLFbKOad8d_sc5BNIvptoEWARjSvSlK07z-9oN_HayirnHUUpTxNBIuTUdZNF8SpgyDa5RDvVvNXQjphISFEru4WPKT2edeM4XYo/s1600/Bandera+GT+map.jpg" height="416" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><br />The
<b>Green Trails</b> map was correct by saying, “No views”. Peering through the tall trees I could just
make out the top of Lil Bandera and Mt Defiance. Not much sunlight made it through the trees
for warmth while being surrounded with snow that hadn’t melted from last week’s
storm. The bonus is that the insect
population had frozen to death.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35cB3x_XMqWr9fuxfFDy8qEDQZ7WqVLxagMTKAX6DDllCO_U4X2xOyscD2A3u0QvPmhA2yzG7j0J6XiLCQZPyHzl8X4sq6P8rX0xeLG7uhe3MTz2EJHZT-EtgAw_Yef1s7oyQCywiNs6c/s1600/Bandera-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35cB3x_XMqWr9fuxfFDy8qEDQZ7WqVLxagMTKAX6DDllCO_U4X2xOyscD2A3u0QvPmhA2yzG7j0J6XiLCQZPyHzl8X4sq6P8rX0xeLG7uhe3MTz2EJHZT-EtgAw_Yef1s7oyQCywiNs6c/s1600/Bandera-15.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Station set up in No View Trees</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I was glad we stopped at this location because
I could hear the group of young men who began their hike from the TH just before
we did.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">They were on the true summit
being primal and un-stressing by making blood curdling animal sounds.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I wanted to walk over and tell them how ridiculous
they sounded but instead I focused my energy on making 29 CW contacts on 7, 10, and 14 MHz as well as
two difficult dot five two FM QSOs.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">After 45 minutes we decided to pack up and
leave because we were getting cold in the 'no views' shade.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The return
route down to the saddle and back up to Lil Bandera was a different path than our
arrival route. The trail was sometimes
lost but easily found. I always had the
top of Lil Bandera in sight so I never felt lost. A couple of times it took some effort to push
through branches only to find we should have zig zagged another way. The
route from Lil Bandera down to the Ira Spring trail required some concentration
to place each step carefully but with trekking poles navigation was easy
without falling down. Once on the Ira
Spring trail to the TH it seemed like a six lane freeway in comparison.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnhGH_kGvRLrHAcfRX0KV4xMpJWtwudmafa7dbKdXW1fbIRelXO7CKvrzMJQvtLrxonHMUxeY3u0UPfUqruBkUpDal6Cyrc9p0bE4ZxdK-KQSDUeZgmJY1vaCg2WPQbFtNv7Cnis9f0LG/s1600/Bandera-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnhGH_kGvRLrHAcfRX0KV4xMpJWtwudmafa7dbKdXW1fbIRelXO7CKvrzMJQvtLrxonHMUxeY3u0UPfUqruBkUpDal6Cyrc9p0bE4ZxdK-KQSDUeZgmJY1vaCg2WPQbFtNv7Cnis9f0LG/s1600/Bandera-11.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From the Lil Bandera false summit... Mt Defiance (W7W/KG-043) is seen in the distance.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Once back
home I re-read the SOTA ARM manual for W7W/WA.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The summit operation area or Activation Zone is 30 vertical meters (98
ft) from the summit.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">If I had it to do
over again I would have operated from the top of Lil Bandera which is 60 ft
below the summit and well within the AZ.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVWcQD7TvCeokh9Ysu_I4Mx3JeaKBSBM80A4e_YT4jEhPIuGKucKX7L7emICv-y1YgC6GBtsJlWK8u2S7ihkFA6f9KrG5MJXUiEiLM3vSfA2DZXrw19oIrvm1-UUTGAsBeGeyNgn6dFco4/s1600/Bandera-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVWcQD7TvCeokh9Ysu_I4Mx3JeaKBSBM80A4e_YT4jEhPIuGKucKX7L7emICv-y1YgC6GBtsJlWK8u2S7ihkFA6f9KrG5MJXUiEiLM3vSfA2DZXrw19oIrvm1-UUTGAsBeGeyNgn6dFco4/s1600/Bandera-19.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rabbit trail route on the saddle between Bandera summit and Lil Bandera.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><em style="background-color: #c5c9ab; color: #454c43; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.333333015441895px; line-height: 26px;"><strong>Added Note:</strong> Above I mention that Lil Bandera is in the AZ... after careful reading, I think I understand that Lil Bandera is NOT in the AZ. The UK's General Rules, section 3.5.2 states, "the terraine between the Operator Position and the Actual Summit must not fall below the permitted Vertical Distance."</em><br style="background-color: #c5c9ab; color: #454c43; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.333333015441895px; line-height: 26px;" /><br style="background-color: #c5c9ab; color: #454c43; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.333333015441895px; line-height: 26px;" /><em style="background-color: #c5c9ab; color: #454c43; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.333333015441895px; line-height: 26px;"><strong>Added Note:</strong> The WA SOTA ARM manual does not use the term Vertical Distance... but I think this text from the WA ARM (sec 1.3, para 2) manual sums it up: "Another way to describe the AZ is any plact that has a route to the summit point that does not dip below 30 meters of the summit point"...</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Summary with
recommendations: I liked this hike
because the WX was right for it and it was challenging without over doing
it. When I go back I will probably activate
Mt Defiance first and if I have energy on the way back… hike the short but
steep boot track to Lil Bandera and activate from there. My Mt Defiance trip report: </span><a href="http://kr7w-sota.blogspot.com/2013/07/mt-defiance-w7wkg-043-july-19-2013.html">http://kr7w-sota.blogspot.com/2013/07/mt-defiance-w7wkg-043-july-19-2013.html</a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be aware
that there’s not much room on top of Lil Bandera for lots of view seeking
hikers and a SOTA HF operator. But it
should be easy to get four 2 meter QSOs into Tacoma, North Bend, towards
Eastern WA. To navigate the big rocks and gully of a trail
from the Bandera trail turn off to Lil Bandera I highly recommend trekking poles. This trail has southern exposure so extra
water is important. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Flickr fotos
here: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157638153348205/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157638153348205/</a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">End of
Report<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-30- KR7W</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-87201888173145093652013-11-25T21:20:00.001-08:002013-11-25T21:20:22.221-08:00W7W/MC-026 Goat Peak <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">13 October, 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I was once told that there are 61 Goat Peaks, Creeks, Ridges, Lookouts, and Lakes in my great state of WA. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">This </span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">particular</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Goat Peak is located just east of the Cascade Crest here in WA State. <br /><br />Myself, partner Ms Pat WT7N, and Bro Mike
drove 19 miles east of Chinook Pass on Hiway 410 to one of the three Goat Peak
THs. Our TH is located directly across the
highway from the Hells Crossing Camp Ground.
Garmin said that the distance to the summit was 3.2 miles with an
elevation gain of 3000 ft. BTW, we did
not take the </span><a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/goat-peak-1"><span style="line-height: 115%;">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/goat-peak-1</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"> recommended
route.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJ72aSu-qGa-7pv9QdYUwlPgGjnKkDXfuni8tzS2xC7lS47mtDUNZJTOnm2Hmoi7_wgt4Kxie4gmc6zR2C0EUghibgkT3Rjcku9AtwpgSJynNwbXN57Tn976VMAFYPXf0w01yaTiCuPde/s1600/Goat_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJ72aSu-qGa-7pv9QdYUwlPgGjnKkDXfuni8tzS2xC7lS47mtDUNZJTOnm2Hmoi7_wgt4Kxie4gmc6zR2C0EUghibgkT3Rjcku9AtwpgSJynNwbXN57Tn976VMAFYPXf0w01yaTiCuPde/s640/Goat_2.jpg" height="345" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The three of us had visited
Goat Peak a few years before- long before I knew about SOTA. Back
then we hiked to the summit in almost rainy conditions and didn’t see much
except for some old fire lookout phone insulators nailed to the trees. This trip we were rewarded with a lot of
nice scenery on a cool clear warm in the sun fall day.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From our chosen TH at 10
AM, where the temp was 28 deg F, we began gradually ascending in meadow like
terrain. But soon we were climbing up a
gully with a creek in it. The going was
rough for ¾ mile climbing over and around rocks. After that the trail is OK to do business
on. We encountered a bit of snow, left
over from the previous week, on the trail between 5,000 and 5,500 ft elevation. This snowy area of the trail was along the
north side of the ridge in the shadow of the sun. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds_vScpPz8OgY5oSyWMOj8E7g4F8aiYlDRdFpjjEV1LhmDbLZnOgLnjsVliT_d5quVfmGac2KkpPXkU_YsmJTw0p-Kq1CLzxtGquI9wqi-CYD9byenDPGIjHwZ-8N8RHsF5_Yrd3bnG7Y/s1600/Goat_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds_vScpPz8OgY5oSyWMOj8E7g4F8aiYlDRdFpjjEV1LhmDbLZnOgLnjsVliT_d5quVfmGac2KkpPXkU_YsmJTw0p-Kq1CLzxtGquI9wqi-CYD9byenDPGIjHwZ-8N8RHsF5_Yrd3bnG7Y/s640/Goat_9.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The beginning of the snowy trail</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was a bit confused when
we came to an intersection where the WTA trail meets our trail which was about ½ mile from the summit. I was thinking at this point there would be a
spur trail to the summit. But no… our
trail and the WTA trail converge to create the American Ridge Trail which
routes within 50 ft of the Goat Pk summit and keeps on going southwest towards
the PCT. We encountered a party of three humans and two annoying canine hikers
in a snowy area who were heading back down.
We had the whole summit area to ourselves. Fine Business. <br />
<br />
The actual summit is a large flat surface approx 20 x 20 ft where the fire
lookout cabin used to sit. There was no place
to strap or jam my fish pole mast into so I opted to set up my station 40 ft
downhill a bit off the beaten path. But
first I wanted to operate on 146.520 FM.
I had pre-programmed some Yakima repeaters into my 2M HT and called for
ops to QSY to dot five two. A long enjoyable
QSO was had with a ham on a Yakima Ridge and another with a ham on Whiskey Dick
Mtn near the Columbia River close to Vantage.
I am always amazed by 2M DX.</span><br /><br />
</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinPIe9CrolP0Zcr5_yPsTCwTi26KiCp3eSOTLm4sAbMBljuPqZfJtRFIKZhY0R2ort-MRAX7DnpxkoQjpet2ZMhB9uAZfaLbGDCkRuSxEgRsGLE29W2-zkiwQ-KZR2AZjZ5DxDQc6whuL/s1600/Goat_15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinPIe9CrolP0Zcr5_yPsTCwTi26KiCp3eSOTLm4sAbMBljuPqZfJtRFIKZhY0R2ort-MRAX7DnpxkoQjpet2ZMhB9uAZfaLbGDCkRuSxEgRsGLE29W2-zkiwQ-KZR2AZjZ5DxDQc6whuL/s640/Goat_15.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The summit about 40 vertical ft above the trail. The old fire lookout stood atop this big old rock.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">
Admission of error: I should have
listened on the frequency before I spotted myself on 14.061… as this frequency
had some other SOTA activity on it. I
could faintly hear another activator and the very loud QRO signals of the chasers. I couldn’t make out the summit’s call sign
due to the strong chaser signals. I
wondered if some chasers might think that they made contact with me because of my
error. I moved to 30 Meters and made 10 QSOs. Then back on 20 Meters there was still
activity on 14.061 and I still couldn’t get the activator’s call sign. I moved to 14.065 but did not spot myself. It took a many CQs to finally make a contact. I must have been spotted by another chaser or
RBN and then 27 QSOs were made.<br />
<br />
It was such a nice sunny day basking in the southern sun I’d walk away from my
radio and hike up to the fire lookout location just to look around and chat
with my hiking companions. I was in no
hurry to leave. But backcountry common
sense took over and we packed up our stuff, but a bit later than I’d usually do. It was just getting dark just as we approached the
TH. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4109XQ9L2XSi5qRKLV4_s2cFE4tCSRXIg1USXCHkpxqLZdivFXBKNmVtmBSJ3wb2X8lHhSW5kYlctR3_zRoNO97HlPmnYzGj10KnIIQ4hDoBTvjFQaSv99CW6ZFv5V5xGW78V3nSWPAZ3/s1600/Goat_33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4109XQ9L2XSi5qRKLV4_s2cFE4tCSRXIg1USXCHkpxqLZdivFXBKNmVtmBSJ3wb2X8lHhSW5kYlctR3_zRoNO97HlPmnYzGj10KnIIQ4hDoBTvjFQaSv99CW6ZFv5V5xGW78V3nSWPAZ3/s640/Goat_33.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The snowy trail on the way back to the TH. Bro Mike wears his ORANGE because it's hunting season in WA state.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
Epilog: Just the other day while hiking
to another SOTA location… I was thinking about all of the SOTA outings I’ve
been on this year… and if I had to pick one of them that stand out as my
favorite… It would have to be this trip to Goat Peak. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Here's a few Flickr fotos that show some SOTA radio activity:</span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157638048325035/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157638048325035/</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
73 to all.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
-30-</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
Rich KR7W<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-78263146708153321622013-10-09T12:46:00.000-07:002013-10-09T13:13:38.451-07:00W7W/PL-029 High Rock Lookout<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sunday, Oct 6</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After experiencing the beginning of the 2013 Flu Season for a week... taking a short hike on a nice clear day would be</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> good medicine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />High Rock Lookout is a popular 3.5 mile RT jaunt that gains 1400 ft. I will be the seventh SOTA op to activate this peak. This location is touted by outdoor photographers as the 'cat's meow' for mountain photographs. Also, this hike seems to attract those hikers (you've seen them) with no pack or jacket and only a bottle of water.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><br />Pat WT7N and I had been to High Rock before but in the rainy fog with 30 ft visibility. For this days hike it was clear with superb</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> views of Mt Rainier looking north. Mt St Helens, Mt Adams, and Mt Hood are to the south. Nearby is the Tatoosh range with 4 SOTA summits and further to the east is Goat Rocks with SOTA's Ives Pk. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">According to Washington Trails Assn there are two ways to get to the TH at Towhead Pass. The Family Sedan way and the nondescript way. See: <a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/high-rock">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/high-rock</a> The nondescript route was shorter but way harder on my Subaru. The return trip via the easy-peasy Family Sedan route only had a few potholes to avoid instead of sinkholes. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYxVtDsmvj0SoN6muz7oD3UOFSI_xSxp1DR5PKDdf86tYMhohnunxtjBwkRvYHW3P5ypnD7lHJ6IXajfO1yr0MuPb9g0tnENC7vHjDYi-iXNzYqaXXM-UeK7eGWrTi5fGB3crQB79lkgQ/s1600/IMG_5016-100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYxVtDsmvj0SoN6muz7oD3UOFSI_xSxp1DR5PKDdf86tYMhohnunxtjBwkRvYHW3P5ypnD7lHJ6IXajfO1yr0MuPb9g0tnENC7vHjDYi-iXNzYqaXXM-UeK7eGWrTi5fGB3crQB79lkgQ/s1600/IMG_5016-100.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If you squint just right the white lookout cabin is seen on the tip of the big rock. The drop off is about 600 ft. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />The hike is on a beaten path up a ridge back which ends on a large rock face. A few hundred feet up the rock is the lookout cabin perched on the very end with a sharp drop off. The cabin had its shutters down but the door was open for touring. All of the usual lookout equipment was missing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">At historic lookouts I don't like to use the structure for my antennas so I am not in the way of other visitors. I would normally find a spot away from where the visitors are going to hang out. But here, there are few options. I strapped my 18 ft fish pole to an old hand rail support. To tie off the strings on the ends of the doublet antenna... It was difficult to find cracks in the smooth rock face to jam the string winder into. <br /><br />In my thinking... there's no such creature as 'Murphy' (as in Murphy's Law)... but there is complacency. Complacency on my part revealed itself when I couldn't get my radio to transmit. All the controls and settings looked right. I could TUNE, I could hear myself send Morse, but I had no RF Power output indication. After a few minutes of dinking and rebooting... I remembered that at home I had the radio in the code practice mode which shuts off the RF. It took me a while to recover from that. Phil NS7P kept sending ?? after I TUNEd up on 7r032 which is where I APRS spotted myself. We finally made the contact and I sent: SRI TECH DIFF HR. I tried 40M SSB, but the popular CA QSO party in full swing. 3 QSOs were made on 30M CW. 20M CW was the most fruitful with 22 QSOs. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRHOIM-q0W440EmW307Mw4Hian3LhwuFtfDsQ_9EQIZv12_4ROBkAPT7M7RIUceafjS9sb2UTVcezKATG7J1RnrUWLsg4X5dTTJQekubC9VL0OmM4kBt6ZeQS9LZnjSiCqkRn0BBcaYbb/s1600/IMG_5004-100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRHOIM-q0W440EmW307Mw4Hian3LhwuFtfDsQ_9EQIZv12_4ROBkAPT7M7RIUceafjS9sb2UTVcezKATG7J1RnrUWLsg4X5dTTJQekubC9VL0OmM4kBt6ZeQS9LZnjSiCqkRn0BBcaYbb/s1600/IMG_5004-100.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fish pole is strapped to an old handrail stanchion. This spot was the furthest from the cabin where I could set up and still be in the obvious activation zone. I was lucky to find cracks in the rock face to jam the antenna wire ends string winders into. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Safety First- As soon as I saw groups people coming up the rock slope I shut down and dismantled my antenna. It was too close for comfort on top of the steep rock for lots of hikers and strings and wires.</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><br />Highlights from this outing: I made contact with avid Ped Mobile QRPer W0RW. No slash P was heard so I suspect he was at home. At 1914 Z contact was made with WG0AT. I notice on Sotawatch that he was on top of Mt Herman a few hours later. Steve moves fast. The big enchilada of contacts for me was with G4oBK. Loud signals each way. That's the first NON North America SOTA contact I've made. I noticed new call signs in the 'SOTA Chaser Community'- because I was early to my activation? Maybe, but I betcha it's due to more folks getting involved with SOTA. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fotos and a non prime time short movie can be seen here: <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157636327717146/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157636327717146/</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">End of Report. Best Regards and Happy Trails,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rich kr7w</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">w7w/rs-nnn</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span> </span>kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-28683227331173703062013-09-24T20:51:00.000-07:002013-09-24T21:10:48.709-07:00W7W/RS-036 Shriner Peak 15 Sept, 2013<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Shriner Peak is located in Mt Rainier National Park along the the east boundary. It takes about 2 hours to drive to the TH from our house in Tacoma, WA. The hike begins at 2400 ft ASL and tops out at 5834 ft in 4.2 miles. The first 2 miles gains more than 2000 ft. The summit offers fantastic views of Mt Rainier, Mt Adams, Mt St Helens, and into Oregon on a very clear day. There is an old historic Fire Lookout (which houses two National Park radio repeaters) as well as two primitive back country camp sites. The closest water is at Shriner Lake about 1.5 miles down hill way off the beaten path. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljYv_x16aRbfZGwBttqyU0edpgc9KlgzUzry1Cz3F8oxx3UudMNGXDPEIun5hKpL3l3rzN3g94WCyVNfpWJbkFEXNQNBshdMMgT6p84QCaQy8H0g17SU-fcFNxG8BVSytIzsox39_oWLS/s1600/Shriner+SOTA-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljYv_x16aRbfZGwBttqyU0edpgc9KlgzUzry1Cz3F8oxx3UudMNGXDPEIun5hKpL3l3rzN3g94WCyVNfpWJbkFEXNQNBshdMMgT6p84QCaQy8H0g17SU-fcFNxG8BVSytIzsox39_oWLS/s1600/Shriner+SOTA-1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Shriner Peak is the high spot in this photo which was taken about 1.5 miles from the summit. It's beginning to look a bit like fall in the mountains.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhTBcRXwjB4I6RPDLpuKTfFAQEJ71Eo49NuJqgpUWEfm5Gd0EwmhkmutDuBHXnVxNrJIolJ5MFs3XWIkJF4u_vLogWuRVWH5324p6Lse82viZlTxjYIhc2cxqwcp908P_ndEJ3IQvbKyu/s1600/Shriner+SOTA-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhTBcRXwjB4I6RPDLpuKTfFAQEJ71Eo49NuJqgpUWEfm5Gd0EwmhkmutDuBHXnVxNrJIolJ5MFs3XWIkJF4u_vLogWuRVWH5324p6Lse82viZlTxjYIhc2cxqwcp908P_ndEJ3IQvbKyu/s1600/Shriner+SOTA-6.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Shriner Peak is home to one of the four historic Fire Lookout buildings in Mt Rainier National Park. This photo was taken near the end of our stay when the rain clouds were beginning to look threatening. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The WX was predicted to be a nice mostly sunny day with a chance of mountain thunderstorms in the late afternoon. It seemed like it would be a pleasant hike with 60 deg F at the TH but after a short time it was becoming increasingly hot and humid. After a mile the trail leaves the tree canopy into the open for sunshine from the south.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> I've been to Shriner Peak many times over the last 15 years. At least 5 of those times I've brought a QRP rig and worked some CW on 20M. After I started participating in SOTA I came to Shriner in Aug 2012 for its first activation. No other SOTA ops have been here since and now I am back. I set up at my usual place, campsite #2, a nice spot off the beaten path. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlJiHyVTbT5akB5aiqWkj2QcFgMrm3uocJJYObLP4XRETY4NWjyhI2MTmo5SJlR6c2gD-pYobDUFYwskUoESTLJ-YWCPeWKlu50a6WvCZg_9HLFC_ez_sTr4prK7dQp1v4iZOvo200FyF/s1600/Shriner+SOTA-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlJiHyVTbT5akB5aiqWkj2QcFgMrm3uocJJYObLP4XRETY4NWjyhI2MTmo5SJlR6c2gD-pYobDUFYwskUoESTLJ-YWCPeWKlu50a6WvCZg_9HLFC_ez_sTr4prK7dQp1v4iZOvo200FyF/s1600/Shriner+SOTA-3.jpg" height="640" width="584" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In the trees at campsite #2. Trekking pole holds up my PVC Pipe Coaxial Dipole for ARPS self spotting. My pack substitutes as a desk with the radio on top of. The 44 ft doublet is to the left. The bright red thing on the pack is an Acme QRM Cutter microphone (link below).</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The usual station of KX3 w/ 3S Lipo bat, 44 ft doublet antenna fed w/ TV twin lead+4:1 balun- held up with 18 ft carbon fiber fish pole was set up and OTA at 2100 UTC. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3 QSOs on 40 CW, 10 QSOs on 20 CW, 10 QSOs on 20 SSB, 3 QSOs on 30 CW, and 2 QSOs on 40 SSB. I usually attempt to make SSB QSOs on activations but am rarely successful. I am pleased that I could give 12 SSB chasers points on this outing. Also, this was my first time operating on 40M SSB. KF7TTM, Kathy a pretty new ham in Seattle answered my 40M SSB CQ not knowing what SOTA was. I encouraged her to Google it. Maybe she's a chaser now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Normally I say something about the trip back to the TH was uneventful. Not the case this time. The predicted thunderstorms in the mountains came true for us. When we descended to 5000 ft we were in the clouds which was dark and eerie. A few BOOMs were felt and heard. About an hour into the hike a hard rain broke out and we ducked under a tree to to put covers on our packs. 10 minutes later the rain ceased and the remaining trip to the TH was dry. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Info on this hike can be found here: <a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/shriner-peak">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/shriner-peak</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A few more photos can be found here: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157635825779756/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157635825779756/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Info on the Acme QRM Cutter microphone can be found here: <a href="http://kr7w.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-acme-qrm-cutter-microphone-for-kx-3.html">http://kr7w.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-acme-qrm-cutter-microphone-for-kx-3.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">End or report. Best Regards,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rich KR7W</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">-30-</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /> </span></div>
kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-39086849742507378872013-09-23T21:52:00.001-07:002013-09-23T21:52:31.121-07:00W7W/RS-035 Tolmie Pk 09 Sept, 2013<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Prologue: In 2012 I retired from many years of Telecommunications and Mobile radio work. January 2013 I became a volunteer (one day a week) at Mt Rainier National Park's Telecom- 2 Way Radio Shop. During the summer months I have been hiking to the Parks four historic fire lookout buildings to perform radio system repeater upgrades. Each lookout is located on or next to a SOTA summit. If the work is completed in time then there is time for SOTA activity.<br /><br />I arranged to work on the Tolmie Pk radio system on a Monday so my hiking partner, Ms Pat WT7N could accompany me. We began our hike on a not too hot but sunny almost fall day at Mowich Lake, elev 5000 ft. We hiked the Wonderland trail upwards to the high point of Ipsut Pass. Then downhill and back uphill to Eunice Lake and then another 1000 ft gain to the lookout at approx 5900 ft. The total elev gain is ~1100 ft in 7.5 miles RT. <br /><br /></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrgChnnKWb2LG4EzIvv_rNr2QTd9kcby9QoVBDPQtZm_vsSC1S4zJBhoTqf-U4J0r08DUtzDFRkgprENAlaSJGyPi0h__mmR5iI_1pq0HU3McASJpTG1xY0O8KstzvCTrADWub_Upf6CaO/s1600/Tolmie_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrgChnnKWb2LG4EzIvv_rNr2QTd9kcby9QoVBDPQtZm_vsSC1S4zJBhoTqf-U4J0r08DUtzDFRkgprENAlaSJGyPi0h__mmR5iI_1pq0HU3McASJpTG1xY0O8KstzvCTrADWub_Upf6CaO/s1600/Tolmie_3.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This shot of Mowich Lake was taken 1/4 mile from the TH. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd7hyphenhyphenPT2ZENlL2trNMJS9ZE789S5GKoFILdX_1sABL8Y2ES3DIPXUtk60m6d5vx-05a7QStwiGLkASzuW0FDF8ID68ToCxeNpKZmnomWb07KuWIpoy_cVS1XO-cT3LUiVKzSzAurObRi0r/s1600/Tolmie_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd7hyphenhyphenPT2ZENlL2trNMJS9ZE789S5GKoFILdX_1sABL8Y2ES3DIPXUtk60m6d5vx-05a7QStwiGLkASzuW0FDF8ID68ToCxeNpKZmnomWb07KuWIpoy_cVS1XO-cT3LUiVKzSzAurObRi0r/s1600/Tolmie_13.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's Eunice Lake fed from snow melt. The small box on the ridge top is the lookout building. The white arrow shows the approx location of the SOTA site. It's another 9/10 mile to the summit from here.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KVvRtDaREvRzD9858jHxP0HvzlvxwAQy8aoqoD7_KIJVVxiItxf1M-TFnU0PhJp-0pnaIl8OEh7KIok19cie5h6GvSh7MLs3UE9hzGtYNZHV3jruDjYvMOA2zftXw_Nv8GX6SoRy4pxb/s1600/Tolmie_17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KVvRtDaREvRzD9858jHxP0HvzlvxwAQy8aoqoD7_KIJVVxiItxf1M-TFnU0PhJp-0pnaIl8OEh7KIok19cie5h6GvSh7MLs3UE9hzGtYNZHV3jruDjYvMOA2zftXw_Nv8GX6SoRy4pxb/s1600/Tolmie_17.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's the Lookout.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At approx 1330 LT we headed east on the summit ridge to get away from other visitors to the LO site. From the LO site it looked a bit higher in elevation towards the east. We set up on a sort of precarious hogs back rock formation. The Fish pole mast was strapped to a snag tree and the doublet wires were carefully strung out along the ridge back and attached to trees. On the return trip along the ridge back I noticed that the LO looked higher in elevation. Not to worry... Everyone still gets their points cuz I am sure I was in the activation zone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIjBXHcdDzESJzrxUizKiCYvyY3pQb1PIQQsCO6OsXxh68Hn6uH9FMhuNPdlWWMKKM65FSHU0Z0pZBh_pxD6tVMRTutoWxx-DBNf_sqo93hkx7e8S3x9wdoFYJ07hhbLoKvzzrtiBOwu3/s1600/Tolmie_23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIjBXHcdDzESJzrxUizKiCYvyY3pQb1PIQQsCO6OsXxh68Hn6uH9FMhuNPdlWWMKKM65FSHU0Z0pZBh_pxD6tVMRTutoWxx-DBNf_sqo93hkx7e8S3x9wdoFYJ07hhbLoKvzzrtiBOwu3/s1600/Tolmie_23.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Old worn out snag tree holds up 18 ft fish pole mast. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZG-6nHUifx2x-np9KdGBJXf1OwAOYZ3fk-4EQhvh-c_8tmKfF2KjAQI1F8g6cTrjPZ8jS6RIMtxJlbiKuiZQ4dwreGI1mxkn8RzaEiZwtPO_n8iCOYYzZIq3cMCZ5cNnuKR5v8A3VBVP/s1600/Tolmie_26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZG-6nHUifx2x-np9KdGBJXf1OwAOYZ3fk-4EQhvh-c_8tmKfF2KjAQI1F8g6cTrjPZ8jS6RIMtxJlbiKuiZQ4dwreGI1mxkn8RzaEiZwtPO_n8iCOYYzZIq3cMCZ5cNnuKR5v8A3VBVP/s1600/Tolmie_26.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">KR7W at the op position. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I only worked 20 meters. 22 CW and 1 SSB QSOs were made. Thanks to all of the chasers who took the time to give out their STate... as it is nice to know where my 6 watts from a compromise antenna is making it to.<br /><br />The hike back was pretty uneventful. Info on this hike can be found here: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/tolmie-peak">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/tolmie-peak</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Oh yah... more photos can be found here: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157635826118454/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157635826118454/</a></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Credit goes where credit is due: Pat WT7N took all of the photos.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">End of report.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />Best Regards,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rich KR7W</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span>kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-12420735341888734652013-09-22T21:02:00.001-07:002013-09-22T21:03:57.370-07:00W7W/RS-038 & RS-030 Mt Attenuator and Bearhead Mtn - 01 Sept, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">North of Mt Rainier National Park, across the Carbon River resides 6 SOTA peaks seemingly within reach of Forest Service road 7810. The Green Trails map revealed that Mt Attenuator and Bearhead Mtn had trails to their summits. About FS 7810... it's a 9 mile drive to the TH with some crater sized pot holes where a smaller car like a Civic could experience damage if a wheel went in. But I think the Civic sized car could make it going very slow. My Subaru had no issues.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcl-cQS9uwVhIirX3wKkBJXQZbr6SAFg7E-UwSncH3zJezirhnUawX1ltfd5k4o4MOEPAtjtCYRLDnY6eTs2OJtPnANNPZ9krn5CcMZgM3sHcxMRubIRhyphenhyphenU11ru4zNZTxSGN4P_2K2ctWz/s1600/Mt+Attn-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcl-cQS9uwVhIirX3wKkBJXQZbr6SAFg7E-UwSncH3zJezirhnUawX1ltfd5k4o4MOEPAtjtCYRLDnY6eTs2OJtPnANNPZ9krn5CcMZgM3sHcxMRubIRhyphenhyphenU11ru4zNZTxSGN4P_2K2ctWz/s1600/Mt+Attn-1.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Looking across summit lake is Mt Attenuator, W7W/RS-038. Keep walking north on the trail around the lake. No need to look for the boot path to the summit as the wide beaten path goes to the summit. The trail that continues north is hard to find.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />On a sunny Sunday, 9/1 at about 10:30 am hiking partner Ms Pat WT7N and myself were at the trail head at the end of the road. A .9 mile hike upward took us to a T intersection at Twin Lakes. We headed north to Summit Lake for 1.5 miles and then a bit further on the beaten path we were on top of Mt Attenuator. This summit doesn't have a name on the map so the SOTA ARM for WA named it for us. I think it should be called Mt Summit or Summit Mtn since it in view of Summit Lake.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Interesting factoid: Looking at Google Earth I can see that Summit Lk is part of prominent SOTA summit.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The summit has enough room for many picnickers and one radio operator. I strapped my 18 ft fish pole to a small dead tree and extended the doublet legs out with mason line. After the first hikers came up I realized my line was interfering with the beaten path. Lucky I was done making QSOs on HF and removed the obstacle. 18 HF Qs and one 2M QSOs were made.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTna_UbzrKWomCxMyQoozk1tws9jtGaZI353OtUXDkBSiMq4_QbZ0jCxo-VfC74JXlPdAOMtH8VTA_zaNOY6DHPFGODzYB7YQdi6lQFHy78DmqickSuVgkxvRUSLfMERjBY6IKRSVMm2me/s1600/Mt+Attn-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTna_UbzrKWomCxMyQoozk1tws9jtGaZI353OtUXDkBSiMq4_QbZ0jCxo-VfC74JXlPdAOMtH8VTA_zaNOY6DHPFGODzYB7YQdi6lQFHy78DmqickSuVgkxvRUSLfMERjBY6IKRSVMm2me/s1600/Mt+Attn-5.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The usual set up for KR7W HF operation: 18 ft fish carbon fish pole, 44 ft doublet fed with TV twin lead to 4:1 Balun, KX-3 set for 6 W w/ palm paddle, 3S LiPo battery. The radio sits on my pack as a desk in the shade to prevent over heating. The coaxial dipole connected to the aprs 2M radio is also strapped to the tree.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_hUt58WZrNsSf7bCi_l9skhLorXhLNkfBrAd66nGxFYDOaTDapMM7LX-e2B4nXEjk4GPX0LRgLzOzCSFUaVqW1wtCh9w7HGvK9-wCzQlytMCsM2y7Qgr2JigHokLDExvQB72ZaK73IWn/s1600/Mt+Attn-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_hUt58WZrNsSf7bCi_l9skhLorXhLNkfBrAd66nGxFYDOaTDapMM7LX-e2B4nXEjk4GPX0LRgLzOzCSFUaVqW1wtCh9w7HGvK9-wCzQlytMCsM2y7Qgr2JigHokLDExvQB72ZaK73IWn/s1600/Mt+Attn-3.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">From Mt Attenuator, views of Mt Rainier and Coplay Lk can be had to the south.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGat5O7YX6Zy97Q7nNR8pkKInHgxA1_J2mU2FD38en6LsKFyJVm7w88qWlxEQaSZHKTldS7OskN-cbpKNYKezaixrxatUnjz69ay-24HNVjWXye3E2QbGR99tqY-rj7YG1rkqir4TzYV0c/s1600/Mt+Attn-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGat5O7YX6Zy97Q7nNR8pkKInHgxA1_J2mU2FD38en6LsKFyJVm7w88qWlxEQaSZHKTldS7OskN-cbpKNYKezaixrxatUnjz69ay-24HNVjWXye3E2QbGR99tqY-rj7YG1rkqir4TzYV0c/s1600/Mt+Attn-9.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It's Sept 1 and the blueberry bushes are beginning to show fall is on the way. This view shows Summit Lk and Bearhead Mtn, our next SOTA stop.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />The trail to Summit Lk is described here: </span><a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/summit-lake"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/summit-lake</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After returning the 1.5 miles to the T in the trail at Twin Lakes... we decided to head south 1.3 miles to the boot path up to Bearhead Mtn. The trail heads gradually upward to the turnoff. This is another one of those trails where the turnoff is the beaten path and the regular trail to the south became a rabbit trail. The .8 mile to the summit was pretty challenging for us late in the day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CT6cC9LOZl_yqnPERne0FzRKtwnzVXKjWVN9A1Z7HAajGACOlArcMEuiXEnQgZN9GUWOyB-sMen7B6NqWzZM3IYq2p31xC_11hrMor9uBK0MVfir6AMf4D692jjQ1i4zFJAmMOoTSzqL/s1600/Bearhead-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CT6cC9LOZl_yqnPERne0FzRKtwnzVXKjWVN9A1Z7HAajGACOlArcMEuiXEnQgZN9GUWOyB-sMen7B6NqWzZM3IYq2p31xC_11hrMor9uBK0MVfir6AMf4D692jjQ1i4zFJAmMOoTSzqL/s1600/Bearhead-5.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is Bearhead Mtn as seen from Mt Attenuator. The trail traverses around the right side and the summit assault is on the far side.<br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-SgqqoQQsSj9PxrqyqMZCHGKJPTF-YgkuEvXDwB4vyUZd9M6TlBRvE7vf8HQWWZSP7vT1dvEd7aZFSQu8cSGszzKaEMtPdn5kx3rk7Z-EdnoGLBFQoFxAVLqikzWK3Pw9PFViM47rsO3/s1600/Bearhead-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-SgqqoQQsSj9PxrqyqMZCHGKJPTF-YgkuEvXDwB4vyUZd9M6TlBRvE7vf8HQWWZSP7vT1dvEd7aZFSQu8cSGszzKaEMtPdn5kx3rk7Z-EdnoGLBFQoFxAVLqikzWK3Pw9PFViM47rsO3/s1600/Bearhead-7.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The usual Geo Bench Mark.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9ODCZXjw5XNrbkpx4ev88brGtWY5xQnj4OdPAYiOjVE7fbyANAH1IajnWNgo54M-e2ezeUHxoESzXBXu_rN4H9_AoIBbPMTqmz7f54q7Co5cj98CEPrAE5aepnxOOp9_CkCJ10Sd0d2I/s1600/Bearhead-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9ODCZXjw5XNrbkpx4ev88brGtWY5xQnj4OdPAYiOjVE7fbyANAH1IajnWNgo54M-e2ezeUHxoESzXBXu_rN4H9_AoIBbPMTqmz7f54q7Co5cj98CEPrAE5aepnxOOp9_CkCJ10Sd0d2I/s1600/Bearhead-11.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Same set up as Mt Attenuator above. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As I arrived on the summit, I noticed three hikers in a group. We said the usual "Hi" and moved on to pick a place to operate. The radio was on the air at 4 PM LT, which was an hour later than I had planned on. During my hamming one of the hikers came by and asked me what I was doing. This nice lady was from Sweden and I took some time to explain to her about ham radio and the score keeping game called SOTA. She took my picture with her Nokia smart phone to show her friends back home. Four 40M, 21 20M, and 3 2M QSOs were made. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0WlT5chi8-C2FU9Zjw7Iusgl-k58buXQ5gYkV3QnsVy_J-wpMaPlKXy-FZtrj7mX4N9eit2dKLj0Zfg5pcXYRkrDG7ZSSS5aU_8X5m4BvjClGnSEeQMPjdDpMcUIIRk18wuUOfxnd732Y/s1600/Bearhead-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0WlT5chi8-C2FU9Zjw7Iusgl-k58buXQ5gYkV3QnsVy_J-wpMaPlKXy-FZtrj7mX4N9eit2dKLj0Zfg5pcXYRkrDG7ZSSS5aU_8X5m4BvjClGnSEeQMPjdDpMcUIIRk18wuUOfxnd732Y/s1600/Bearhead-13.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Pack as a desk for the radio. Soft Heather bushes to sit. No bugs to complain about on this trip.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 20 meter band was in pretty good shape and this made making QSOs pretty easy and plentiful. Thanks to Chasers on the east coast who waited around for me.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjRkCVXAjHgpVNg6GT48ry4QRURGVK-aW_drplxaEPx1sjtJxh72bFB46ZkwoOsZZF59723HwWS7wVL5JHnXjb-BjFC14ABaDSnwZLdnlwi4sK4QCdD4dccD9RKRUvwJDvOkV09rDDpx8/s1600/Bearhead+Log+40M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjRkCVXAjHgpVNg6GT48ry4QRURGVK-aW_drplxaEPx1sjtJxh72bFB46ZkwoOsZZF59723HwWS7wVL5JHnXjb-BjFC14ABaDSnwZLdnlwi4sK4QCdD4dccD9RKRUvwJDvOkV09rDDpx8/s1600/Bearhead+Log+40M.jpg" height="441" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The first 4 QSOs were on 40 meters. KH2TJ was on a summit and weak to copy but the S2S QSO was made. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The hike down began at 5 PM LT, a bit latter than I like, but the trip back to the TH was uneventful. It was a pretty successful SOTA outing with two summits visited. The drive down the crappy 9 mile FS road was in the daylight which was a good thing. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Trip info to Bearhead Mtn can be found here: </span><a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/bearhead">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/bearhead</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">End of Report. Thanks for reading this far. Best Regards,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rich KR7W</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-45377465802271547822013-09-22T19:31:00.000-07:002013-09-22T19:31:35.705-07:00W7W/RS-005 - Mt Fremont - 30 Aug, 2013<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Prologue: </i> In 2012 I retired from many years of Telecommunications and Mobile radio work. January 2013 I became a volunteer (one day a week) at Mt Rainier National Park in the telecom-2 way radio shop. During the summer months I have been hiking to the Park's four historic fire lookout buildings to perform radio system repeater upgrades. Each lookout is located right on or next to a SOTA summit. Sometimes it's easy to combine work and play. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8WklmZ8oeyolppkj-Q6eL3xBEUSsCVWKKorI1_-DNdb2bxXiB9ZAkMT-RjublvCEO0spcKGop1ajc_RjSjbF_ZBqkR-fD7Xm_X5PACBVAAyJTbqrX259CX9Te0ca-ykQuXgXR9V3tJV4n/s1600/Mt+Fremont+LO+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8WklmZ8oeyolppkj-Q6eL3xBEUSsCVWKKorI1_-DNdb2bxXiB9ZAkMT-RjublvCEO0spcKGop1ajc_RjSjbF_ZBqkR-fD7Xm_X5PACBVAAyJTbqrX259CX9Te0ca-ykQuXgXR9V3tJV4n/s1600/Mt+Fremont+LO+web.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I did not take a camera on this trip, but h</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">ere's the historic lookout building from afar. The actual summit route is to the right side of the foto. . This foto was harvested from the WWW.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />On a foggy Aug 30 my supervisor and I hiked to Mt Fremont Lookout to upgrade and perform maintenance on the radio system. After the work was complete we hiked to the proper summit of the mountain. From the lookout, 1/10 mile south and 140 vertical feet, got us to the top.<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbfPhsy3jewfvxNe-g5Yy6OcFrULsjSXCPUMgjwrXOw1NLnlKHAbkbN43qRFlsWsMX3rpD0NK3cUXelr3kd4mTEWMkGNc-VfwLkeId5VAuIReqc3Ka_UxA5k8AyxXLilYkG5-NMqcCVoy/s1600/Mt+Fremont+web.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbfPhsy3jewfvxNe-g5Yy6OcFrULsjSXCPUMgjwrXOw1NLnlKHAbkbN43qRFlsWsMX3rpD0NK3cUXelr3kd4mTEWMkGNc-VfwLkeId5VAuIReqc3Ka_UxA5k8AyxXLilYkG5-NMqcCVoy/s1600/Mt+Fremont+web.JPG" height="432" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This view, looking north, is from the Frozen Lake intersection of many trails. The actual summit is about 3/4 of the way over from the left, horizontally in the middle. The trail along the mountainside leads to the lookout, which can be seen if you squint or press CNTL + . This foto was harvested from the world wide web.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Armed with a 2 meter handy talkie attached to my coaxial dipole antenna - we took turns calling CQ SOTA on 146.520. I made 7 QSOs. One as far away as Aberdeen, WA... which is very close to the Pacific Ocean. I'm still amazed and pleased about the number of hams who monitor six-five-two and who want to make the QSO with the far away ham.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Mt Fremont is not a drive close to the summit kind of activation... but is a pretty easy summit to achieve 8 points if the activator is willing to do the hike. The scenery is spectacular too. Info on this hike can be found here: <a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mount-fremont-lookout">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mount-fremont-lookout</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">End of report. Rich, kr7w</span>kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-14658239355919956162013-08-19T13:05:00.001-07:002013-08-19T13:05:32.444-07:00 W7W/RS-012 Pyramid Peak 8/14/2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Prologue: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tuesday, Aug 12, Myself, Ms Pat WT7N, my Bro John KF7MYI, and Chuck AC7QN began a four day backpack trip in Mt Rainier National Park along the Wonderland Trail to the Indian Henry's Hunting Ground and Emerald Ridge areas. Indian Henry's is a large meadow with four good sized peaks surrounding the meadow outskirts. Three are SOTA Peaks- which the map shows highlighted in </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">yellow. Hey, you are right if this sounds familiar. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09j49_wU2IV79tkFDwH5xfIrzlViwGwFpCpEIKnQMljvZ1vmoGH4VITewwUnor_GkRESi8cv1TyWq2OkMobeizB8GJtm-hJxvYFfEL2PjRWWsZ_w4uVrQu99KeLe9HqK8xxCcm91flP2d/s1600/Green+Trails+Map+Indian+Henrys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09j49_wU2IV79tkFDwH5xfIrzlViwGwFpCpEIKnQMljvZ1vmoGH4VITewwUnor_GkRESi8cv1TyWq2OkMobeizB8GJtm-hJxvYFfEL2PjRWWsZ_w4uVrQu99KeLe9HqK8xxCcm91flP2d/s1600/Green+Trails+Map+Indian+Henrys.jpg" height="570" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Chapter 2: It's Wednesday AM and us four hikers are off to the meadow in search of SOTA peaks. I opted to activate Pyramid Pk and Ms Pat and Bro John want to give the hike a try also. Chuck has opted for Iron Mtn. Pyramid is on the far east side of the meadow and Iron (right next to Copper Mtn) are in the middle of the meadow. After a quick lunch and safety meeting at Mirror Lakes we split up.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAIhRgip3qQTPKoR5cLZZhLpn_Ys7QXsGHYb0er0FfEQzpJwxF6DjlshLRmYMFwGwMtjQKcIT3ta7kck47wUOo4M0faau_NbImhNlFfNFBKB-R4Ny-2nQbukgUUdSInrMmCRTcEyc4E8f/s1600/Pyramid-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAIhRgip3qQTPKoR5cLZZhLpn_Ys7QXsGHYb0er0FfEQzpJwxF6DjlshLRmYMFwGwMtjQKcIT3ta7kck47wUOo4M0faau_NbImhNlFfNFBKB-R4Ny-2nQbukgUUdSInrMmCRTcEyc4E8f/s1600/Pyramid-3.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Pyramid Peak looms across the meadow. Part of Iron Mtn can be seen on the R side of the foto.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The WX is very pleasant with a high ceiling and no direct sunlight. The temp is 60-65 deg- great hiking conditions. As we hike across the vast meadow we are surrounded by gorgeous wildflowers and relentless BUGs. We are all wearing our mosquito bug hats... which for me distorts my depth perception. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After about an hour of walking, it's 1330 LT. Time to make handy talkie radio contact with Chuck AC7QN somewhere on Iron Mtn. Chuck reports that he had a too difficult time going up and is heading back to our campsite at Devils Dream. Also, on frequency is Casey WW7CH at the National Park radio shop. Casey plans to be in communications with us on 146.52 as well as watch my APRS tracks on aprs.fi. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4GyOpohyeT5lJgrbwNCe48o1zRLpx0cbM7nnxBIt-i6_-RfiZsoTyywWW1YjRpLSTRZfsR7ndSROTC9bsJ5ArXjJ16D5bTSY1yYd9MfF-xcTitJMak9qR7TLAirWKV1JK1JpJKKzyAj6/s1600/Pyramid-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4GyOpohyeT5lJgrbwNCe48o1zRLpx0cbM7nnxBIt-i6_-RfiZsoTyywWW1YjRpLSTRZfsR7ndSROTC9bsJ5ArXjJ16D5bTSY1yYd9MfF-xcTitJMak9qR7TLAirWKV1JK1JpJKKzyAj6/s1600/Pyramid-9.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">KR7W Makes 2 meter contact on 146.52 per the safety meeting discussion. My elevation is about 6100 ft.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQM_b3-bSmaUurpbg0v3QOZdzIqDfbWK6eKjwlwqnbB_n0c3cZTThV2cQOKvSh2AldC-a7njps6e-BkfdZlcPziM3774B7AjN9jtpejWIYga0qEUrPOtqNVtE1jqEE6WsMXqOpyDdEl6Cs/s1600/Pyramid-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQM_b3-bSmaUurpbg0v3QOZdzIqDfbWK6eKjwlwqnbB_n0c3cZTThV2cQOKvSh2AldC-a7njps6e-BkfdZlcPziM3774B7AjN9jtpejWIYga0qEUrPOtqNVtE1jqEE6WsMXqOpyDdEl6Cs/s1600/Pyramid-12.jpg" height="512" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fish Pole mast is guyed 1/3 the way up. 44 ft doublet extends N-S with mason string tied to rocks. If there is any directionality - it would be E-W.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">1430 LT, we are on the summit. Wow! what a climb. What a view! At 1451 LT the HF Station is OTA. There are no trees on this summit. Just some goat trimmed grass, sort of like a lumpy lawn. Rocks provide decorations and means to hold the fish pole guy lines down to the earth... as well as secure the ends of the 44 ft doublet Inverted Vee. The only thing that wudda made this place better would be lawn chairs.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-X5qdV6MHpgbcdlLiq7KZpB-7xNB-nRGyABMxxv3SwkTlt8LTDKLQ8SeI0YCcqxQ81Qs3skShVe3Bfb2v3qatRwKrLaAurA4DKUMohJkFLammlt2zR_Q-OyTCk7r5g_HW8vHIpBFj-T3/s1600/Pyramid-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-X5qdV6MHpgbcdlLiq7KZpB-7xNB-nRGyABMxxv3SwkTlt8LTDKLQ8SeI0YCcqxQ81Qs3skShVe3Bfb2v3qatRwKrLaAurA4DKUMohJkFLammlt2zR_Q-OyTCk7r5g_HW8vHIpBFj-T3/s1600/Pyramid-18.jpg" height="507" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Nice soft rocks and grass- actually it was pretty comfy. Fish pole mast is on R. D72 APRS HT is next to KR7W's R elbow.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I figured that we had at least a three hour walk back to our campsite... so I set a "Let's start putting it away" time of 1530 LT. I went directly to 20 meters because of its success with the previous activation. Eleven 20M CW QSOs and six 2M Qs were made. A lot of the 2M Qs were made while we were tearing the HF antenna farm down. It's always amazing to me that there are lots of folks monitoring 146.52... and I am glad that they do. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The hike down the steep scree slope and the rest of the way to the meadow went pretty quickly. Myself and Bro John slipped on the steep muddy trail a few times. Once in the vast meadow the trip was a long slog. For some variety we decided to stop at the Ranger Station Patrol Cabin in the meadow to check it out. Volunteer BC Ranger Phil was on duty and he showed us around the cabin. He mentioned that the WX report suddenly changed and that a low pressure front would be visiting us with rain for a few days. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVUS-Pmd-uwsNKDoFkhX12MdeRksG8xoPqYR4yTjsAsv1eP2OnGbo2RMjn_zT7tbNZpWHd4Rl-GZk5SOgGueZ9WYpcCfm64L2JE4zJ_jVC8XdRJa1SFSJDuwQup_gYuSSaZkZJxmGEqX6/s1600/DSCN1297-100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVUS-Pmd-uwsNKDoFkhX12MdeRksG8xoPqYR4yTjsAsv1eP2OnGbo2RMjn_zT7tbNZpWHd4Rl-GZk5SOgGueZ9WYpcCfm64L2JE4zJ_jVC8XdRJa1SFSJDuwQup_gYuSSaZkZJxmGEqX6/s1600/DSCN1297-100.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's the Patrol Cabin / Ranger Station. My Bro John chats with VIP BC Ranger Phil. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeg8FCTowV8fs0c-lY98PWYdQvWdhEYbrESsUn4JdysRJRHHMMCxaCTQ6hgKcCXnDeOzbIHLDxOOe7qxUUskLsxTBUBh4o9Tq6Q0inBkYcEc_cdgZ_PEyD45lq72v04WtJSJwcEUVhvXf/s1600/DSCN1296-100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeg8FCTowV8fs0c-lY98PWYdQvWdhEYbrESsUn4JdysRJRHHMMCxaCTQ6hgKcCXnDeOzbIHLDxOOe7qxUUskLsxTBUBh4o9Tq6Q0inBkYcEc_cdgZ_PEyD45lq72v04WtJSJwcEUVhvXf/s1600/DSCN1296-100.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Check out the high snow level entrance door. Phil says that there was 6 ft of snow here this June.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The next day was Thursday- the day we were scheduled to hike out of Devils Dream Camp to Somewhere. The plan was for us to hike across Emerald Ridge (the most scenic part of the Wonderland Trail, IMHO) and to South Puyallup Camp to spend the night. OR We could hike back to the car. The best choice for everyone was to hike to the car. The skies were rain free whilst we packed everything up... but as soon as we beat feet the 6 miles to Longmire we caught rain most of the way. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWvq0rsrk_I_M34cMcR4pWzQSCckGACwxxjXqJ1opUgtw47NRao-3UAhd4GKMCzoPeHK89oN6qUlPfW0rtqo_91cz9PNEv-tfm6AsnEVo998EFNNcIbdevKfxU7sKH_GQjM8IlQ1hO7wM/s1600/Pyramid-32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWvq0rsrk_I_M34cMcR4pWzQSCckGACwxxjXqJ1opUgtw47NRao-3UAhd4GKMCzoPeHK89oN6qUlPfW0rtqo_91cz9PNEv-tfm6AsnEVo998EFNNcIbdevKfxU7sKH_GQjM8IlQ1hO7wM/s1600/Pyramid-32.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's our campsite at Devils Dream Camp the day after the trip to Pyramid Pk. Ranger Phil was right about the WX change... as it rained on us all night. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Epilog: My apologies to the Chasers who followed my APRS tracks which had the wrong status message- which said that I was heading back to the TH instead of to W7W/RS-012. Of course, Thanks to the Chasers for being there to help make this somewhat difficult activation successful. Last thing: Sorry Phil that I didn't operate on 40M this time- as there was a lot to do in a short time and I just didn't think of it. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Flickr photos with captions can be seen here:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157635145237964/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157635145237964/</a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Happy Trails to You... Until we meet again.... on 14.061.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rich kr7w</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-3171756431752418752013-08-19T08:21:00.000-07:002013-08-19T15:49:19.371-07:00W7W/RS-033 Mt Ararat<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Prologue: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Tuesday, Aug 12, Myself, Ms Pat WT7N, my Bro John KF7MYI, and Chuck AC7QN began a four day backpack trip in Mt Rainier National Park along the Wonderland Trail to the Indian Henry's Hunting Ground and Emerald Ridge areas. Indian Henry's is a large meadow with four good sized peaks surrounding the meadow outskirts. Three are SOTA Peaks- which the map shows highlighted in yellow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYV1SLvRDIT3OLObNuKWY8nycm6_E9Ic4hMK0X1RAA5IwNpdtv4PdQNLIvwYaIltwoaOCdtIGP95tsCmaUpAejN-SutecNCHDPf6uvMrviqoKVcHB_kd766265HuV7TuAulgX_exVEZ1D/s1600/Green+Trails+Map+Indian+Henrys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYV1SLvRDIT3OLObNuKWY8nycm6_E9Ic4hMK0X1RAA5IwNpdtv4PdQNLIvwYaIltwoaOCdtIGP95tsCmaUpAejN-SutecNCHDPf6uvMrviqoKVcHB_kd766265HuV7TuAulgX_exVEZ1D/s1600/Green+Trails+Map+Indian+Henrys.jpg" height="570" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Chapter 1: Pat and I arrived early (about 2 PM) at Devils Dream back country campground and claimed our site by setting up our tent. At 3 PM we agreed to head up the trail 1.1 miles to Indian Henry's meadow which is the beginning of the ascent to the top of Mt Ararat. Garmin showed the climb to be about 800 ft elev gain in 3/4 mile. My plan was to walk the Kautz Creek Trail until the apex was reached and then head up Ararat. Why walk through brush when there is a trail some of the way? Turns out that the route up Ararat from there was up a rocky face. So we retreated back down the trail to a less steep approach according to Garmin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5Q49F70gIH9vh7ffxdNYPRtUEfc68UlktdzIxLOigL0lgB2FuVrQUK71-EucYNTpLRxODTgywKQTe-O-oWete2yHJqO8hyxvysJmTi9UNiA5FtieWk3yz4WkyeP4ulxlPyc1cdYfd0j8/s1600/Ararat-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5Q49F70gIH9vh7ffxdNYPRtUEfc68UlktdzIxLOigL0lgB2FuVrQUK71-EucYNTpLRxODTgywKQTe-O-oWete2yHJqO8hyxvysJmTi9UNiA5FtieWk3yz4WkyeP4ulxlPyc1cdYfd0j8/s1600/Ararat-1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mt Ararat viewed about 3/4 mile east of the base. The rock face with drop off can be seen in the center near the top.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />Back in the the 80's I'd trekked to the top of Ararat twice. One of those outings I camped on the summit for two days to explore, to find the Ark, see flying saucers at night and hear and feel large ice chunks fall from the nearby glaciers. Back then it seemed like an easy trek down/up to fetch water... but I can tell ya 30 years later that those trees have grown taller, the brush is thicker, and the slope is way steeper. We headed up a rocky gully. When that gully ran out we were in a sloping meadow, then another gully and it repeats until we reached the vast flat topped summit where a small plane could land. The highest point looked to be 1/8 mile to the west... but Garmin said we were on the summit +/- 10 ft. <br /><br />I figured out that a few folks musta been following my APRS tracks because as soon as I circled the the top of a small knoll to find a comfy spot... I began to receive calls on 146.52. The fish pole mast was strapped to a snag tree, the 44 ft doublet was hung in an inverted Vee fashion, and radio set up in the shade. OTA at 0004 UTC the next day.<br /><br />The mosquitoes and biting flies were extra pesky and contributed to my Morse being extra sloppy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On each band I spotted myself via APRS to call sign-SOTA. Only one Q on 40M- with Phil NS7P- who is always in my log, it seems. 4 Qs on 30M. When I got to 20M, I sent dah-dit-dah-dit-dah on 14.061, I was greeted with a cacophony of callsigns- pretty amazing. 15 Qs on 20M CW were made and many more that could be made but I had to shut down in order to have enough time for me and Pat to safely retreat down to the meadow and back to camp.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><br />I decided to follow the 80's route down- due east- with the patrol cabin in sight- which took us to a rocky face with a drop off. Uphill was needed and zig-zag to the south then down a series of gullies and in 45 minutes we were back to the meadow and the trail back to camp. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoHQHrcDL18ZjAEEQBpka1uGoT2MHNEp3ojL97EG0fyby_-wpUYok0vjVzVN0wC0TC4l6nK4TjENk59PmWuUthtoQSXGK8B_Qq_c8bXMepDvmi9KZKvWDqa9MltvqD7W67xYwE8ppZBoM/s1600/Ararat-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoHQHrcDL18ZjAEEQBpka1uGoT2MHNEp3ojL97EG0fyby_-wpUYok0vjVzVN0wC0TC4l6nK4TjENk59PmWuUthtoQSXGK8B_Qq_c8bXMepDvmi9KZKvWDqa9MltvqD7W67xYwE8ppZBoM/s1600/Ararat-9.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Back in the meadow the National Park Service patrol cabin can be seen. Some years this meadow can have 6 ft of snow in it in June. This view of Mt Rainier shows the Tahoma glaciers. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thanks to the Ionosphere gods who made for low noise - high E layer propagation radio contacts during our outing. Thanks to the chasers who waited until late in the day to make contact. I am sorry we couldn't stay there longer and make more QSOs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Flickr fotos with comments can be seen here:</span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157635130064235/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157635130064235/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Best Regards,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rich kr7w<br /></span>kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-2565222945854312562013-08-11T09:33:00.001-07:002013-08-11T18:19:46.508-07:00I Was 34 Years Old Again - SOTA Activation of Silver King Mtn - W7W/RS-010<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Sunday, Aug 4, 2013</b>, Myself, my partner and hiking companion Pat WT7N, and Chuck AC7QN head off to Mt Rainier National Park (WA State) with full backpacks for an overnighter in the <b>B</b>ack<b>C</b>ountry. The main goal was physical conditioning with a full pack to prepare for 'the big hike' the following week- a shake down outing of sorts. Where we were going to camp was based on BC campsite availability within the White River Wilderness area of the Park. I had </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3 BC choices, where two offered SOTA peak access. With SOTA possibilities... we took our radio equipment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEooLCpboKkz0iPtvO3pvhw3TermPwP-ulc7nZWMSjFWVzKD0zACuOsWz5hIpLyO_sBQdQ4EVt8BIFH9eF2JlSOvN5UgWileWOlzCg_XtZy_cQ1KrTLmXiLuxWMjAHJ9hdZsOPXrVFdvtS/s1600/1+SK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEooLCpboKkz0iPtvO3pvhw3TermPwP-ulc7nZWMSjFWVzKD0zACuOsWz5hIpLyO_sBQdQ4EVt8BIFH9eF2JlSOvN5UgWileWOlzCg_XtZy_cQ1KrTLmXiLuxWMjAHJ9hdZsOPXrVFdvtS/s1600/1+SK.jpg" height="504" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>This annotated trail map shows route to the Upper Lake and camp and marked route to the Silver King summit. Silver King Mtn is part of a ridge that contains 3 other prominent (non SOTA) peaks. This ridge forms the west slopes of the Crystal Mountain Ski Resort (Forest Service Land). Another way to get to the summit is via the ski resort direction as Mark K7MAS did- see below.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />We ended up receiving our first choice of BC camps, Upper Crystal Lake. This area offers close access to Silver King Mtn, W7W/RS-010. Note: This peak is called Crystal Mtn in the SOTA database- but on most maps it is labeled Silver King. <br /><br />Lugging myself and pack up the trail I reflected on the fact that we backpacked to this same camp with QRP radios on the first Sunday in August for the last 5 or more years... and even before I was aware of the SOTA program I've wanted to summit Silver King Mtn. Originally- I had hoped to be the first to active W7W/RS-010, but Mark K7MAS beat me to it a few weeks earlier.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Upper Crystal Lake</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> is a spectacular place to visit. The lake is in a partial bowl surrounded by rocky features and alpine forest. This year the snow melted sooner than past and 25 days with no rain the lake level was lower th</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">an I've seen before. Never the less- the scenery is always spectacular.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-smb0uMOav-wK4mbcv8qgMThguSCDKSAHj_rRtEjWnz99Ss3x6LQJC0Imi4ORPSAdsQf6cWIt7LTDgrjcSaYDSqT0w1UnV7ssmADLy8sCN8hsTmoiSMwRxar_QOsZi7R7K06-um5JxfD_/s1600/2+SK.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-smb0uMOav-wK4mbcv8qgMThguSCDKSAHj_rRtEjWnz99Ss3x6LQJC0Imi4ORPSAdsQf6cWIt7LTDgrjcSaYDSqT0w1UnV7ssmADLy8sCN8hsTmoiSMwRxar_QOsZi7R7K06-um5JxfD_/s1600/2+SK.JPG" height="427" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Upper Crystal Lk with Crystal Pk on the left. Our campsite is at the far end (looking west)</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEhG-tDH661AX4IzPMhq15ZniSogT0g-rOTfwNy4jjNsKKK31OTbnmgGO6zTSkrCrxcYRjSHdWFloavFwlWjIBKT4fjt-0ozfrTQFo3UK6gpG07EjhKnIV5P0eh8HLl7gykG-Mtf9HUYh/s1600/6+SK.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEhG-tDH661AX4IzPMhq15ZniSogT0g-rOTfwNy4jjNsKKK31OTbnmgGO6zTSkrCrxcYRjSHdWFloavFwlWjIBKT4fjt-0ozfrTQFo3UK6gpG07EjhKnIV5P0eh8HLl7gykG-Mtf9HUYh/s1600/6+SK.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Looking east from our campsite area. The sun is beginning to set. Almost always there was a breeze to keep bugs away and provide some cooling in the 70 deg sun. Back at 380 ft the temp was 87 deg, sorta warm for Tacoma / Seattle.</b> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXT2XY7W0l_T4LDoh25yQIAZ9ecKaoWaKHQ0cSSmeGizffHB0gdxQmCs_2jfrI2t6te_h_aT89HpNDAzAwPB4sZtE-t6dm7ZuE5BFK0sVHS8f2KVBtTcYH7iG5hmRzANCH7kFzBZuiXwvr/s1600/11+SK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXT2XY7W0l_T4LDoh25yQIAZ9ecKaoWaKHQ0cSSmeGizffHB0gdxQmCs_2jfrI2t6te_h_aT89HpNDAzAwPB4sZtE-t6dm7ZuE5BFK0sVHS8f2KVBtTcYH7iG5hmRzANCH7kFzBZuiXwvr/s1600/11+SK.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A bit up hill and south of our BC camp... the summit can be easily seen. Our route up is to the left of a gray rock pile see under the 'r' of the annotation. The route down was through the tree'd slope on the right side.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgALed6QZyg_Z6xRrOcNYlDKU0lsWAi2IJM9zkAMV4ne5TKMpyMYI5bnx-yFHcyulTwriMUj36vLt67NCDZ_jWufa7WkeAvpZ5HmPC-b9zCFyvkV4F_TkzDuIN_NoSw1U_Av4DzfCsqeckE/s1600/19+SK.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgALed6QZyg_Z6xRrOcNYlDKU0lsWAi2IJM9zkAMV4ne5TKMpyMYI5bnx-yFHcyulTwriMUj36vLt67NCDZ_jWufa7WkeAvpZ5HmPC-b9zCFyvkV4F_TkzDuIN_NoSw1U_Av4DzfCsqeckE/s1600/19+SK.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>KR7W's 18 ft fish pole </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">strapped to old snag tree on the R</b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to support a 44 ft doublet + TV twin lead + balun. The radio is placed in the shade to prevent overheating and shutdown (as has happened in the past). Sorry- it's rude of me to have my back to the camera. Behind the trees is AC7QN operating 2M FM.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The next morning after acclimating to the elevation change (380 to 5800 ft) while sleeping-and after breakfast with mountain brewed coffee... we hit the trail to BC Ranger Ammie's (who we met on the trail and chatted with) suggested route to the summit. The Ammie route took us back down the trail (-150 ft) to a clear spot and then up the slope. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Nearly two hours later and ~1300 ft gain we are on the summit. See crayon marks of the route on the trail map above.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Normally before I leave home I would post an Alert on Sotawatch but for this trip I didn't know exactly where in the Nat Park we'd end up... so no alert. On the summit I had my HF station set up at 1915 UTC and went through the usual bands listening and calling CQ. No luck on 40 or 30 Meters but a CQ SOTA on 14.061 netted 10 QSOs. I asked Chaser </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">NR 1</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">, K1JD in NM to spot me and 9 more CW QSOs were made until the band faded. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />Chuck AC7QN took over my radio and called CQ on 14.343 SSB with no luck. Just goes to show that posting an alert helps to get SOTA QSOs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On my last 3 or 4 higher elevation summits... I've noticed a lot of chatter on 146.520 FM and it was the same here at 7012 ft. While I was operating on 20M CW, Chuck was calling on six-five-two and quickly made 5 contacts. While Chuck as operating SSB I then went to 2M netted 5 QSOs, some Qs with different hams... and one S2S with Derrek K3XD on Granite Mtn to the north. I've noticed that new hams seemed to be tickled to make contact with another (seemingly) far away ham on 2 meters- especially if either or both hams are using HTs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1KDA_rn0NVxzgAGiu-8XKwkrgxtQIf8tWST7zJkvutsg7BVGVHszMhLEkmS5yLCpA4R9XjEewa03mKH3wzqVSAiBCAvGCdJEuSFjdQs3_NjQFpobXYeF8KJDipjUCVr4KM8trz0SpYIv/s1600/20+SK.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1KDA_rn0NVxzgAGiu-8XKwkrgxtQIf8tWST7zJkvutsg7BVGVHszMhLEkmS5yLCpA4R9XjEewa03mKH3wzqVSAiBCAvGCdJEuSFjdQs3_NjQFpobXYeF8KJDipjUCVr4KM8trz0SpYIv/s1600/20+SK.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>KR7W operates 2M FM on six-five-two using Kenwood D72A APRS HT connected to coaxial dipole made from sched 20 PVC and mobile radio whip antenna. Tipping the antenna sometimes reduced multi-path interference- most likely reflecting off of Mt Rainier. It seems unnecessary to elevate a 2M antenna already at 7012 ft with Line O Site to everywhere... but in this case it did help make contact with N7KRE on Camano Island. Now, construction details of this antenna can be found at the end of this blog entry.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Whilst on the summit looking south I could see boot track heading off towards the Pacific Crest Trail. We followed this path down the ridge and ended up on the original route I had formulated before BC Ranger Ammie's suggestion. More fotos with captions can be found here:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157634987462853/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157634987462853/</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Coax Dipole antenna details can be found here:</span><a href="http://kr7w.blogspot.com/">http://kr7w.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Epilog: The Title of this blog entry begins, "I Was 34 Years Old Again - SOTA Activation......" A long time ago when I got into mountaineering and backpacking... I developed a penchant for boulder and steep slope climbing. I enjoy the puzzle of which boulder to hop to or which tree on the steep slope to bushwack through. This SOTA outing provided me the opportunity re-live that passion from 30 years ago but, of course, at a slower old goat's pace. <br /><br />Best Regards,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rich kr7w</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><br /><br /></span>kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-42925496754160087032013-07-29T22:22:00.002-07:002013-07-30T08:06:28.060-07:00Gobblers Knob W7W/RS-050 July 28, 2013<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sunday, July 28, 2013 myself,
Pat WT7N, her bro Mike, and Chuck AC7QN hiked to Gobblers Knob- which is
located in Mt Rainier National Park, WA State.
There’s two ways to get to Gobblers Knob. We chose the shorter route that approaches
from the west via Forest Rd 59 instead of the longer Westside Road route. See
Washington Trails Assn’s hike info here:
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/gobblers-knob">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/gobblers-knob</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXW35R2RbJWxfc192dP2W3h4jm-7AAmAiKg0P0oIlfWcZkomrpuLzLkoCu4mP1yGQ8yKDrMcF3lj_bMaz2Kpf7GTLG-SsMZ1fumKLqWddl1jd2qztamwtBvmHu1K1lz5l_W_UrBgTVZh-f/s1600/2_Gobbler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXW35R2RbJWxfc192dP2W3h4jm-7AAmAiKg0P0oIlfWcZkomrpuLzLkoCu4mP1yGQ8yKDrMcF3lj_bMaz2Kpf7GTLG-SsMZ1fumKLqWddl1jd2qztamwtBvmHu1K1lz5l_W_UrBgTVZh-f/s1600/2_Gobbler.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The fire lookout hanging over the summit edge. Mr Cameraman was about 150 vertical feet below the summit.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />To save
a mile hiking… we did not turn off of FR59 to head to Lake Christine. We stayed
on FR-59 all the way to a rock/dirt barricade across the road where the TH is marked
by a FS rules and regs kiosk. Follow the trail about 100 ft to
the intersection and head right. Walk .9 miles to the intersection with
the Lake Christine TR 249. Head east on
TR 248 to Goat Lake.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">TR 248
passes through some sweet and sour scenery. The Beljica Meadow and Lake are
unusually pretty on a nice day. The lush green marshy meadow is a heaven
for Mosquito breeding. I had hundreds of the little buggers on my arms-
like the old TV commercial for OFF bug spray. A quick swipe removes them
easily. It's important to walk fast through this area to make your own
breeze. The trail continues a couple of hundred ft elevation gain and
then loss continues through a dense tree cover to one of the sixty something
Goat Lakes (or creeks or peaks) in the State of WA. Goat Lake is very
scenic and offers nice campsites, good fishing and I was told not very many
bugs. So far we have ascended and descended with a net loss of 300 ft in
about 2.8 miles. From this point the
trail begins its approx 1300 ft ascent in 1.3 miles into the National Park and
to the summit / lookout.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDDjexQpLyEND3vlKvlLf7IJYM9tY6knBHEnBZQmC_GPJfiEcQsEnz3y4Us6Z-e8BA-fHkMajH7S37TjcLzmKP_O-N0VvO9GnLgM2pJR_JbRe2tY9HB2rx9pBB3v_Z_A5gNgaKMkUlgXS/s1600/5_Gobbler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDDjexQpLyEND3vlKvlLf7IJYM9tY6knBHEnBZQmC_GPJfiEcQsEnz3y4Us6Z-e8BA-fHkMajH7S37TjcLzmKP_O-N0VvO9GnLgM2pJR_JbRe2tY9HB2rx9pBB3v_Z_A5gNgaKMkUlgXS/s1600/5_Gobbler.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">SOTA station set up in boulder rocks just N of the lookout.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The summit of Gobblers Knob is
not a very big area and has steep drop offs on all sides. The 14 x 14 ft lookout building covers most
of it and the remainder is festooned with odd shaped boulders. I did not want to attach my antenna to or
detract from the appearance of the lookout for visitors sake, so I climbed over
boulders to a location about 50 ft north. My 44 ft doublet was set up in
Inverted Vee fashion with the push-up mast jammed in a rocky crack. The wire ends were tied off to small trees. My two meter PVC pipe coaxial dipole was also
jammed into a crack with the D-72 at the base.
I operated my HF XCVR between two boulders and mostly out of the foot
traffic way. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkQ3QcSyth_kVYOnKloeGvRszpwPIojozdJA1to0ScVPS_bgKGJ3AuhyphenhyphendyHl87wwKIXDupgv0YEJFuIsPLq4AkqQatw1Jl9zEn2dIHka9Uf_FiuJOkfanhzTfFrV08jqxh27w5ZgBZTsV/s1600/4_Gobbler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkQ3QcSyth_kVYOnKloeGvRszpwPIojozdJA1to0ScVPS_bgKGJ3AuhyphenhyphendyHl87wwKIXDupgv0YEJFuIsPLq4AkqQatw1Jl9zEn2dIHka9Uf_FiuJOkfanhzTfFrV08jqxh27w5ZgBZTsV/s1600/4_Gobbler.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fish Pole in rocks to support Inverted Vee Doublet. The pipe with the white base and brown top is a vertical coax dipole 2M antenna- jammed in a crack. The 2M HT is at the base of the pipe.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADjeENeoK8GsOLriVz0jlVjhYNkO9srL_8HogzLN1JOf4uN6mMqGrGnCrzsA8-79jErRbstU72z8EU7yTFiyDVG1IQe5Tmsv_LvHx1PWss_JLxEJjj0RPEaZoJlxfpf6S7jrsYyVK8kwC/s1600/6_Gobbler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADjeENeoK8GsOLriVz0jlVjhYNkO9srL_8HogzLN1JOf4uN6mMqGrGnCrzsA8-79jErRbstU72z8EU7yTFiyDVG1IQe5Tmsv_LvHx1PWss_JLxEJjj0RPEaZoJlxfpf6S7jrsYyVK8kwC/s1600/6_Gobbler.jpg" height="547" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thousands of photos like this one... KX3 in insulated soft lunch box with Super Heros lunch carrier with an actual lunch in it. Duck hunters insulated sit pad in lower left.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />4 QSOs were made on 2M FM, 8 CW Qs on 30M, and 2 CW Qs on 20M. I contacted the usual local hams that follow
my APRS tracks, the usual chasers from around the country, and a few new chaser call signs. <br />
<br />
Fellow ham Chuck AC7QN set up his half wave wire from the lookout railing and
operated 20M SSB while I took a break and ate lunch. After he finished I went back to 20M CW to
continue on with 11 CW Qs and the last Q was a SSB contact with an
Indianappolis Speedway Special Event Station, “I’ll putcha in the log as a
QRPer, old man”. <br /><br />
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">This trip resulted in way less equipment failures than the previous trip to Mt
Defiance. My camera booted up, my KX3
did not overheat and shut off, but the APRS messages I sent to SOTA for self
spotting were not received by the internet again.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<br />
I’ve been to this peak twice now and each time the view of the west side of Mt
Rainier is spectacular- well worth the effort even if you don’t take radios out
in the woods. Happy Trails -30- ….
Rich KR7W</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbN48BIPFDeOtOGQoOfRibDrIGd0NxqF6hoXH8zCMX8584XncH7ssKjG9UWFwtsxOhMwjXOlcT9FIdciavwJ9NNJflkmB52M-w4w7vFr18EpwAaRJzQ5vTPZKGJiJJPQmc66uxYlA1wD-b/s1600/3_Gobbler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbN48BIPFDeOtOGQoOfRibDrIGd0NxqF6hoXH8zCMX8584XncH7ssKjG9UWFwtsxOhMwjXOlcT9FIdciavwJ9NNJflkmB52M-w4w7vFr18EpwAaRJzQ5vTPZKGJiJJPQmc66uxYlA1wD-b/s1600/3_Gobbler.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's the big reason to hike all this way. The W side of Mt Rainier revealing the Puyallup and Tahoma glaciers.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-35051530593124135852013-07-29T21:55:00.000-07:002013-07-30T06:47:48.851-07:00Mt Defiance W7W/KG-043 July 19, 2013<h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mt Defiance is one of the peaks along the I-90 Highway
about 5 miles west of SnoqualmiePass.
Washington Trails Assn’s hike info here: </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mount-defiance">http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mount-defiance</a><br />
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">
To make up for running out of time, a week before, on the SOTA trek to Pratt
Mtn (mostly the same trail but east of Mt Def) I hiked up the first 2 miles of
the Ira Spring Trail way too fast. This
extra unneeded effort resulted in me being burned out for the last 700 vertical
feet of ascent to Defiance. In a way, getting
to the top later than planned was a blessing because when I got there… the last
of the other hikers who passed me were leaving and I had the whole summit to myself. As the last hiker walked by, he heard the
Morse code coming from my radios speaker and said he was surprised that anyone
used it any more. He told me that he
learned Morse as a Boy Scout and was glad it was still alive. His comments elevated my mood a bit.<br /> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">
The Mt Def. summit is a rocky approx 20 x 50 ft area with a few snow beaten
scrub trees on its rocky top. The tall
trees, in case an activator was thinking of tossing a line up, are along the
drop off part of the summit or down the trail a bit and not very
accessible. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFopTTpiercp8wFwcUXkSFzMqYK9gGMWtbw-4GS7b6AzTt86enWbFpcDobUFx_ZFprEDm6IrpCQIu3nBGxxzCefE1OC8TJB8YWbhY-wr1JlID3nMEkikjxfamlbyrfM6KplvE1yAfH5Os8/s1600/Mt+Defiance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFopTTpiercp8wFwcUXkSFzMqYK9gGMWtbw-4GS7b6AzTt86enWbFpcDobUFx_ZFprEDm6IrpCQIu3nBGxxzCefE1OC8TJB8YWbhY-wr1JlID3nMEkikjxfamlbyrfM6KplvE1yAfH5Os8/s1600/Mt+Defiance.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mt Defiance - the trail circles the the left side of Kula Kula Lake, up a ridge and then along the left slope of the peak. I did not take this photo- it was harvested from the web.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first thing I did was to remove my 2M antenna and HT from my pack and set
it up. I electrical taped my PVC pipe
coaxial dipole to my trekking pole handle and jammed it into the ground. My D72 HT was propped up against the
pole. I then heard a CQ on 146.520 from
Mark K7MAS on 8 point Crystal Mtn (W7W/RS-010).
I stopped what I was doing to make this easy S2S QSO. After that I heard Todd W7TAO calling me. Wow, I thought Todd was on a nearby
summit. But no… he had been watching my
APRS tracks from his home office and saw that I was on top… Later in our 40M CW QSO, Todd told me that he
was 70 miles from me which amazed me. After that folks
kept calling on 2M FM. I finally had to announce
that I must stop 2M FM for a while and concentrate on setting up my HF Station.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">
With nylon pack straps I secured my 18 ft fish pole to a scrub tree to support
the center of my 44 ft doublet. The ends
were tied off to small trees with long lengths of mason line. 2 QSOs were made on 40M CW, 7 Qs on 30M CW,
17 Qs on 20M CW, and 11 Qs on 2M FM = 37 Qs total. I sat in the sun for two hours and had the
best SOTA outing (QSO wise, that is) yet.
It all sounds good… but some unplanned and unwelcomed experiences popped up that are worth
mentioning.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">
The first thing that went wrong, before I arrived on the summit was my camera
would not boot up. It was disappointing
because this is the most scenic summit I’ve been on since I went to the top of
Old Snowy in the Goat Rocks 4 years ago.
This day could see for miles to the south to see Mt Adams and of course
Rainier. To the north I could see Glacier Peak, Mt Stewart and Baker. It
was a beautiful clear day.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">
Then I noticed that I was unable to send any APRS messages with my D72 HT. Position/status reports yes, messages to SOTA
for spotting- No. APRS self spotting has always worked for me until now.</span></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">But wait! There’s more… After operating my KX3 in the
hot sun for two hours… it shut itself off right after the “HIGH TEMP” message scrolled
across the display. Oh Oh… I picked it
up and it felt hot enough to drop it (but I didn’t). Removing the battery connector and re-booting
did not work. So, I </span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;">couldn't</span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"> make that
last SSB QSO with K7UYG who contacted me on 2M FM from some faraway place N and
E of Ellensburg to arrange the contact. I
stowed the radio in its shady insulated lunch container case and picked up the
rest of my camp site.</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">
I was having so much fun making HF and 2M QSOs I did not notice that the hot sun was
behind me and burning the back of my ears and neck, even after applying
sunscreen. I also </span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;">didn't</span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"> notice those
little biting flies chomping on my legs. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">
My GPS calculated the trip back to the TH was 5.2 miles with 3800 ft elevation
loss which was an uneventful hike down except for running out of drinking water
short ways before the car.<br /> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i>Epilog:</i></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i> </i> </span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">My KX3 manual has a short
paragraph about the radio shutting itself off if it gets too hot.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">I emailed a person I know at Elecraft and he
mentioned that the VFO and PA monitors its temperature and will shut down or
not allow boot up if it’s too hot. </span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">The
radio has performed just fine for a few outings since this one… and I am not
concerned that the radio is damaged. </span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">I
ordered a new battery for my camera and a few spares that are now in my pack
along with the spare GPS, headlamp batts, and D72 batt.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">I am still puzzled about my D72 not reliably sending messages to the
internet.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">I suspect that something might
be wrong with the local I-Gate digipeater(s) or their connection to the
internet.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-68594639602740760702013-06-13T08:29:00.000-07:002013-06-13T08:29:30.480-07:00Rattlesnake Mtn - W7W/KG-113 - June 10, 2013<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Rattlesnake Mtn</i></b> is part of King County's "Big Backyard" series of hikes. There is a trail head at the northwest end of the mountain at Snoqualmie Point and at the southeast end at Rattlesnake Lake. Walking from TH to TH is about 11 miles. We took the Lake route which is 4.3 miles and gains ~2500 ft. See: <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>h</b></span></span><a href="http://your.kingcounty.gov/ftp/gis/web/vmc/recreation/BCT_RattlesnakeMtn_brochure.pdf"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>ttp://your.kingcounty.gov/ftp/gis/web/vmc/recreation/BCT_RattlesnakeMtn_brochure.pdf</b></span></a><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Myself, Ms Pat WT7N, and Chuck AC7QN hit the trail about 10:30 AM and arrived at the high point at 13:10 PDT. There is a very old Comm Tower at 3517 ft ASL, about 150 ft from the trail. We opted to set up away along the trail and away from the possible interfering comm tower at 3501 ft ASL. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Local chasers were following me on APRS and once they knew I was at the summit (The D72A provides the frequency of the 'B' band in the APRS status message)... I began getting calls on 146.520. 4 stations were quickly worked on 2M FM. I had to sign off of 2M in order to have time to set up my HF station.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><br />I erected my 18 ft Crappie Pole with 44 ft doublet and attached the pole to a trail marker sign post. I also attached my PVC pipe 2 meter Coaxial Dipole to this same post. Mason twine tied to nearby trees elevated the ends of the doublet.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPJh74BbBGGfz_oKXGVdap3io9e8t5L5ke0yb4XSbPQ3DSm8TD2xgZIPcUJ5IpM4wuGBH91YvpMMFK_xyvRbrB37uGGAalGP_JBcUMIPGlKgsS8F-7LGy_XDv0Al7Z3alKbINj0_nQ6xXR/s1600/DSCN1158-100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPJh74BbBGGfz_oKXGVdap3io9e8t5L5ke0yb4XSbPQ3DSm8TD2xgZIPcUJ5IpM4wuGBH91YvpMMFK_xyvRbrB37uGGAalGP_JBcUMIPGlKgsS8F-7LGy_XDv0Al7Z3alKbINj0_nQ6xXR/s1600/DSCN1158-100.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">The black crappie pole is seen emanating from the trail sign post. One red doublet wire is seen heading north. It's hard to see the white PVC pipe vertical dipole also strapped to the post. </span><br /></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />This activation was my first use of the homebrew 44 ft doublet fed with TV twinlead and a homebrew 4:1 balun. I operated 40M, 30M, and 17M CW. I skipped 20M because Chuck AC7QN was set up nearby on 20M SSB. We interfered with each other but I made my CW QSOs quickly and then he was able to work some SSB Chasers.<br /></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Qz2jP2pNO9qsTsi0K-fkkhMX8sXVSzXW0ynR11mZVR7FX2sXbQuA5jQYyClL_qpWGcYIgxe-RlEJMrOtBS6TXnigrB0pLOGgfxb6uCjX0dG6FgdS2zUOWTklhttJ_YiU4Kq0lQa2V_HN/s1600/DSCN1162-72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Qz2jP2pNO9qsTsi0K-fkkhMX8sXVSzXW0ynR11mZVR7FX2sXbQuA5jQYyClL_qpWGcYIgxe-RlEJMrOtBS6TXnigrB0pLOGgfxb6uCjX0dG6FgdS2zUOWTklhttJ_YiU4Kq0lQa2V_HN/s1600/DSCN1162-72.jpg" height="481" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>My KX3 and 2600 ma/hr LiPo battery are sitting on a piece of 1/4" plywood which is normally used as a lap-desk. The TV twinlead and balun box are seen. The Handy Talky is a Kenwood D72A for 2 meter QSOs- but mostly used for Spotting myself to sotawatch.org.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This my first time operating 40M on a SOTA outing. 3 local stations were worked but the highlight was Phil NS7P on SOTA summit W7O/WV-088. 30M and 17M provided a handfull of QSOs. Thanks to all who followed my aprs tracks and made contact with me. Here's a movie I created of Chuck AC7QN's activation of Rattlesnake Mtn: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/9020106340/in/set-72157634077239308"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/9020106340/in/set-72157634077239308</b></span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgiQ8jqe_ACX7AK9XRQpZcNJfc32yyEmsRjZz_7mDYn5pERmEfbiA2pxn30H0qWqvqgZqW-T992ZAiVcYLfSxO3RcPPuV16H63Hln5AsUJUBE8AK6ig6A_Peb78L2aJY6pxtz2t5_xe11/s1600/DSCN1155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgiQ8jqe_ACX7AK9XRQpZcNJfc32yyEmsRjZz_7mDYn5pERmEfbiA2pxn30H0qWqvqgZqW-T992ZAiVcYLfSxO3RcPPuV16H63Hln5AsUJUBE8AK6ig6A_Peb78L2aJY6pxtz2t5_xe11/s1600/DSCN1155.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>There is a bench at the summit that has this view looking east toward Snoqualmie Pass down the I-90 Corridor. It's pretty scenic for being less than 30 miles from the metropolis of Seattle.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Happy Trails,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rich KR7W</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-12505604126060757102013-04-19T08:35:00.000-07:002013-04-19T08:35:06.291-07:00W7W/CW-095, Baldy Mtn... Mar 23, 2013<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On <span style="background-color: white;">Saturday March 23, 2013</span> I met my brother John KF7MYI at the BLM Big Pines Campground, half way between Ellensburg and Selah, WA in the scenic Yakima River Canyon. It's spring time in Central Washington State where the sagebrush is aromatic and the rattle snakes are still dormant. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZdwwx5FDJelI3CJ6GjbbSYkv8udKnXRWrBqmyPibOgBcLZm25khyphenhyphen2IqNUzOCaPLgqvYHzUjZEdV1Tkc8FEjZ8unxmC70rPQFEK4mxD4xNvHAeUwXpjprxXux3mUELiOsC4vX6Fn7dJ56/s1600/Baldy+Mtn_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZdwwx5FDJelI3CJ6GjbbSYkv8udKnXRWrBqmyPibOgBcLZm25khyphenhyphen2IqNUzOCaPLgqvYHzUjZEdV1Tkc8FEjZ8unxmC70rPQFEK4mxD4xNvHAeUwXpjprxXux3mUELiOsC4vX6Fn7dJ56/s400/Baldy+Mtn_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We started out at 1270 ft ASL and the temperature was 32 degrees at 10 AM. The hike to the summit would take us up 3234 ft in about 1.5 miles. Google Earth shows a route from the campground, called the TP Jim Monument Trail. The apparent TH took us through an old gate and followed an abandoned road. The road petered out and we followed a steep boot track up the side of a gully. We stopped to rest and my brother mentioned that he didn't realize we were following <i><u>that</u></i> trail. I said that I'd hadn't noticed <u><i>that</i></u> trail until now. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />We followed </span><u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>that</i></u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> trail along</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> an old fence line, probably 80+ years old, along the ridge. Most of the wood posts have rotted away but the three strands of rusty barb wire laid on top of each other on the ground. Just when I thought the trek was leveling out a bit... we were at the top. My D72A's GPS put us at ~10 ft shy so we set up on the east side of the summit away from the Comm Sites. At noon time it was mostly sunny and about 50 degrees. Fortunately there was minimal wind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My brother and I set up my 16 ft fiberglass fish pole which sets on top of two 3 ft sections of 3/4" PVC pipe guyed with paracord. Luckily there were plenty of rocks to hold down the guys. The fish pole supports a homebrew 1/4 WL 20 meter vertical dipole- similar to the Buddistick. 7 ft wire links are added to each leg for 30 meter operation. The radio used is a KX3 powered by a small LiPo battery. Tracking, self spotting via APRS and 2M contacts were made with a KW D72A HT using a homebrew vertical coaxial dipole. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ten 30M CW QSOs, four 20M CW Qs, five 20M SSB Qs, and three 2M FM Qs were made. A S2S QSO was made with K6ILM on 30M to boot. But the most memorable QSO was with a ham who proudly said that he was at 7000 ft level on the north side of Mt Adams with his Handy Talky. Knowing that there is still 5 ft of snow at 2700 ft on Mt Rainier... I asked him how he got there. In a suspicious way, he said that he couldn't tell me. Me thinks he shouldn't have been there... and for safety's sake it was good that he had his HT on 146.520.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I didn't realize this hike was so steep until we headed down. My legs were quivering from being tired. We followed </span><u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>that</i></u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> trail</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> down which at first didn't seem like it was taking us back to the campground... but it eventually did. This-a-way added 1/4 mile to the return trip. We eventually ended back at the gate we started out at... but to the left of it. There was no obvious way to tell that that-a-way was the best route at the beginning of the hike. This hike would be great for folks who are training to climb Mt Rainier or Adams. <br /><br />Photos to view here: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157633092114557/show/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157633092114557/show</a>/ Note: In one of the fotos a 'wind turbine farm' can be seen in the distance. We lucked out with very little wind during this activation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best Regards,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rich KR7W<br />Tacoma USA<br />W7W/Rainier-Shalish<br /></span><br />
<br />kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-37001427259521652152013-01-16T14:22:00.000-08:002013-01-16T14:55:02.202-08:00QRP Ops Battery Power... FYI<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1iTQquxvlarD07a6HUyyeIkkvrHxWlSU_IWJgdQt2OV-zGPgvB-RqOk00-e8D8e2N0pJv_sdrQQNSkTGp71-X3RRV2ZZXEvkCTEYsmUekP-qcbf-CKuZhiZIIjuZbU-wBOWBdMOQtj8i/s1600/QRP_FT817_w_LiPo_Batt_100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo1iTQquxvlarD07a6HUyyeIkkvrHxWlSU_IWJgdQt2OV-zGPgvB-RqOk00-e8D8e2N0pJv_sdrQQNSkTGp71-X3RRV2ZZXEvkCTEYsmUekP-qcbf-CKuZhiZIIjuZbU-wBOWBdMOQtj8i/s320/QRP_FT817_w_LiPo_Batt_100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My trusty dusty 9 year old FT-817 operating from the </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Glacier feed creek bed of Kautz Creek in Mt.<br />Rainier Nat. Park. Note the milk carton speaker</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">reflector- the sides fold in for storage. A 3S 2600</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">ma/hr LiPo battery props the front of the radio up.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I now use an Elecraft KX3 for my QRP operations to the field. Previous to owning my KX3 I was a Yaesu FT-817 user for 9 years. I sometimes take my old Heathkit HW-9 QRP transceiver to the field for the thrill of making Qs with 1984 technology.<br /><br />Previous to my current QRP Ops power sources... I used Sealed Lead Acid batteries of different sizes. I used 1.2 a/h for my KX1 and a 7 a/h burglar alarm panel battery for my 817. This battery weighed in at just under seven pounds. Now I use Lithium Polymer hobby batteries for just as many watts at ~20% of the weight. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5LXHrDWczXZ_PrtrbJSeawfRwqfM7athgxT9IWqrE30pmUIioO6U7l3BHd0U0YITBMl4CBuMuqvSboFp4xbqfLlSLQfCCWobhvvGFPJhAPEdDlAT5pLDNqXBF8gVa2-AozthY0PBx_vH/s1600/QRP_4S_Lipo_battery_100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5LXHrDWczXZ_PrtrbJSeawfRwqfM7athgxT9IWqrE30pmUIioO6U7l3BHd0U0YITBMl4CBuMuqvSboFp4xbqfLlSLQfCCWobhvvGFPJhAPEdDlAT5pLDNqXBF8gVa2-AozthY0PBx_vH/s320/QRP_4S_Lipo_battery_100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turnigy 4S / 4000 ma/hr LiPo battery.</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I purchased this at hobbyking.com, USA store.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On extended backpacking outings of up to 4 nights in the woods I will take my 4000 ma/hr 4S LiPo battery which weighs in at 14 oz. The maximum charged battery voltage is 16.7 volts which is a bit high for the FT-817 or the KX3. I tried a couple of three amp diodes in series to drop the voltage down not to exceed the 817's 16 volt max input voltage. This worked well but I could feel the heat from the 1.4 volts dropped across the diodes which means that I was wasting Watts. Web surfing for an adjustable efficient voltage lowering solution took me to <strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">
</span></strong><a href="http://www.dimensionengineering.com/products/de-swadj3"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">
http://www.dimensionengineering.com/products/de-swadj3</span></strong></a> to purchase their swadj3 voltage regulator which is made to replace a LM-317 linear (heat wasting) regulator to drop the 817's voltage to 11 volts- which is considered to be the optimum operating voltage for the little radio to produce 5 watts output. Using a piece of PCB, heat shrink tubing, and Manhattan construction I built a Regulator Module with Power Pole input/output connections and a LED to remind me to shut it off with I QRT.<br /><br />FT-817 users might find <strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">
</span></strong><a href="http://www.ka7oei.com/ft817_pwr_opt.html"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">
http://www.ka7oei.com/ft817_pwr_opt.html</span></strong></a> interesting regarding optimum input voltages for optimum power output. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChLvQADJ1r366mBux6lpyqbOmCMnqY2N1BVYSJhkaLpK2T8xPsnd8Rhoj8kZNq-f_hbc_ak7cDjVDjiRql6msGc__zaq0cqTrtf4hIgl1CayNNWEV4csL0AyJjiut_LJvQPFvsRtGkRtV/s1600/QRP_SW+Mode_Reg_100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChLvQADJ1r366mBux6lpyqbOmCMnqY2N1BVYSJhkaLpK2T8xPsnd8Rhoj8kZNq-f_hbc_ak7cDjVDjiRql6msGc__zaq0cqTrtf4hIgl1CayNNWEV4csL0AyJjiut_LJvQPFvsRtGkRtV/s320/QRP_SW+Mode_Reg_100.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tested the Dimension Engineering swadj3 efficiency in a quasi-lab set up. Watts in vs Watts out calculated to ~93% efficiency. And I can not detect any regulator noise in the HF bands that I operate on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">While out on single day portable QRP ops... I use a 3S LiPo 2600 ma/h battery which weighs about 7 oz. This battery charges up at 12.4 volts and I've depleted it down to 11.4 volts on a single outing. This battery works well with the FT-817 at full 5 watts output... as well with the KX-3 at reduced power of 5 watts.<br /><br />I carefully charge my LiPo batteries with a Turnigy Accucel 6 amp smart charger. This device will charge SLA, NiCad, LiPo, LiFe batteries. It gets its power from an external 13.8 V supply. A large wall wart will work with this charger if the charge current is programmed to be low. </span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaqK7bh6DDLknZ49KIVM7cnKtcllxQfzlyY3Uoud7dfKlKESNorseAdyWTPxsMTsoWMtnkJoWGBoYNtC48_x_tnt1hg-gHxighP8fjAp1Zew2qO2KJMUloxYNbyl9KLW3SYleuPeGGP2a/s1600/QRP_Lipo_Batt_CHARGER_100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaqK7bh6DDLknZ49KIVM7cnKtcllxQfzlyY3Uoud7dfKlKESNorseAdyWTPxsMTsoWMtnkJoWGBoYNtC48_x_tnt1hg-gHxighP8fjAp1Zew2qO2KJMUloxYNbyl9KLW3SYleuPeGGP2a/s320/QRP_Lipo_Batt_CHARGER_100.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I purchased my batteries and charger at <a href="http://www.hobbyking.com/">www.hobbyking.com</a>. I've read that some folks have issues with hobbykings batteries or their service. I am perfectly satisfied with them so far.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">View more Photos of my QRP field ops battery equipment HERE: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157632536012941/show/">www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157632536012941/show/</a> The photo captions give more info. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="mailto:599kr7w@gmail.com">599kr7w@gmail.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I hope this info is useful to someone. Regards...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">30</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">73</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Rich Kr7w</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208430976019225642.post-17254481251400307142013-01-08T17:13:00.001-08:002013-01-08T17:13:43.573-08:00W7W/KG-134 Little Si Jan 2, 2012<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">January 2 was
unusual because the sun was shinning for the whole day. On the spur of the
moment we decided on a hike in the woods. Our destination was Little Si, which
is next to the popular Mt Si, located near the town of North Bend,
WA.<br /><br />Little Si is a mole hill of 1550 ft compared to Big Mt Si at 3900+
ft. Little Si is just to the south of Mt Si, about 1.5 miles from the Starbucks
at exit 31 on I-90. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The temp was 37 degrees with
pretty gusty winds at the trailhead. The 5 mile round trip with 1200 ft
elevation gain hike was uneventful. Most of the trail is under the tree canopy
and foilage looked especially green. No rain for a few days meant no mud to
walk in. The last 1/4 mile was pretty steep over rocks and roots. Little Si is
pretty much a big rock which reveals itself on the top. The views from the
summit were spectacular with the sun on the low horizon. Some snow was seen at
the higher elevations.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixGiQE6DYgp4gDBBqrZHPrwKubHb4JD_MeKnsV3XRAafGp4PpkPr4anlPvwFkKpEp9zjFBvXCAWNuXQps3GJa2NpfmJAujQQtLdLEglASSF3i6JX872GsTw6j4zFBoa4pUCKlWampfTSa/s1600/L+Si+Forest-1_100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixGiQE6DYgp4gDBBqrZHPrwKubHb4JD_MeKnsV3XRAafGp4PpkPr4anlPvwFkKpEp9zjFBvXCAWNuXQps3GJa2NpfmJAujQQtLdLEglASSF3i6JX872GsTw6j4zFBoa4pUCKlWampfTSa/s320/L+Si+Forest-1_100.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I operated my SOTA station which
consists of an Elecraft KX3 and homebrew vertical dipole made from scrap wire
and a 16 ft crappie pole. Propagation seemed poor and not the usual amount of
contacts were made. I made QSOs on 30M and 20M CW, but no takers on 20M SSB
after calling CQ for 10 minutes. I was able to spot myself to sotawatch.org
with my Kenwood handy talkie. 1 hour and ten minutes were spent on the very
windy summit.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr7w-sota/sets/72157632426289791/show/" target="_blank">Link to Flickr Photos</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>kr7whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12925283975807120485noreply@blogger.com0