2. Ham Radio

Pt. 7740 (W6/NS-189) SOTA Activation 8/7/2012

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Looking back towards the northwest, Castle Peak (W6/SN-038) is visible through the trees.
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Looking back towards the northwest, Castle Peak (W6/SN-038) is visible through the trees.

  • To get to the trailhead for Pt. 7740, start in either Truckee or Kings Beach (Kings Beach is on the shore of Lake Tahoe). Highway 267 connects these two towns. Take Highway 267 to Brockway Summit. Turn onto the paved road that heads southwest and is about 75 linear yards down from the summit on the Kings Beach side. The road is indicated only by a T intersection sign (we call it Mt. Watson Road but I don't know what the official name is). Follow the road for a mile or two until you see the gate for Tahoe National Forest road 16N73B. The coordinates are 39.25023N, 120.08669W. Park along the paved road, walk around the gate and begin hiking up the gradually sloped and well maintained 16N73B road. Note that the Tahoe Rim Trail crosses the paved road within a few hundred feet of this spot, so hiking up it is another option.
  • Previous map zoomed in a bit.
  • The trailhead for Pt. 7740, the beginning of Tahoe National Forest road 16N73B. The coordinates are 39.25023N, 120.08669W. The hike up forest service road 16N73B and then cross-country to the summit is approximately 1.1 miles long with an elevation gain of about 220 feet
  • The road number is on a sign next to the gate.
  • Just past the gate, I'm ready to roll. Note the strategic positioning of the Crazy Creek chair that is hanging off my pack. On my Dixie Mountain activation I was hiking back down the scree-covered slope, lost my footing (both feet at the same time) and landed hard on my keyster. If that were ever to happen again... I'm ready.
  • The road climbs gradually through the forest. The trees in this area are primarily firs. The total hike along this route from the gate to the summit is about 1.1 miles with an elevation gain of about 220 vertical feet.
  • When you reach a wide spot in the road that was once a log landing, turn off the road and onto the old log skidding trail. Follow it until it peters out, then make your way on up to the summit. Note that Pt. 7740 was on your right the entire time you've been on the dirt road and so you could have cut up through the forest at any point. This route is just a little easier as there are fewer downed logs and other obstacles along the way.
  • This shot was taken about 1/3 of the way up the skid trail.
  • The summit area is forested, broad and rather flat. There are plenty of trees available for supporting antennas so leave your mast at home.
  • I chose this one that is about 1.5 vertical feet below the bump of dirt that I proclaimed to be the actual summit. My 20/40m link dipole is hanging from a limb about 30 feet up.
  • A closer shot of the center of my antenna hanging from the tree limb.
  • The point I deemed to be the summit is near the trees that are behind my RG-58 coax hanging down. Feel free to deem and proclaim your own summit point, I think we'd need to bring a transit or theodolite to know exactly where it is.
  • As I was setting up the radio and my operating position, a sailplane flew over under tow. They are headed toward Lake Tahoe and it was too early for a soaring flight, so this was probably a sightseeing ride flight.
  • Off to the races I go. The bands were in good shape and signals were stronger than in past activations. I made a total of 21 QSOs on 20 and 40m CW. When I first showed up on 40m after being on 20m, this is how things went:<br /> <br /> Me: QRL?<br /> Someone: SOTA?<br /> Me: DE KU6J GM ELLIOTT U R 5NN...<br /> <br /> Yup, I didn't have to call CQ and Elliott didn't even need to send his callsign. I knew it was him based on signal strength and the speed he had his keyer set at. :-)
  • The views are limited due to the forest all around. Lake Tahoe is sorta-kinda visible down below and through the trees. You might be able to get a better view if you walk further down slope, but if views of Lake Tahoe are what you are after, Mt. Watson (W6/NS-147) is the summit for you (see <a href="http://www.grizzlyguy.com/HamRadio/SOTA-Activation-822012-Mt">the photo album from my 8/2/2012 activation of Mt. Watson</a>).
  • Looking back towards the northwest, Castle Peak (W6/SN-038) is visible through the trees.
  • The red line is the GPS track log from my hike and the dashed black line is a track log from a previous scouting hike when I took a more direct route on the way down. Going around and over logs is easier on the way down than the way up. The turquoise and white dashed line is my estimate of where the activation zone is based on contours on the topo map. The solid black line is Mt. Watson Road (not signed as such and may not be the official road name). Continuing west on that road brings you to the trailhead for <a href="http://www.grizzlyguy.com/HamRadio/SOTA-Activation-822012-Mt">the more scenic Mt. Watson</a>. (W6/NS-147).
  • Map and track log zoomed in.
  • Logbook page 1.
  • Logbook page 2. Thanks to everyone who worked me!
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