2. Ham Radio

Pt. 7348 (W6/NS-220) SOTA Activation 7/10/2013

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The beginning of Tahoe National Forest road 450-20.
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The beginning of Tahoe National Forest road 450-20.

  • The SOTA Northern Sierra region logo. This logo is available on Northern Sierra T-shirts, sweatshirts, beer steins, mouse pads, etc. for SOTA participants who qualify for the Northern Sierra Award (offered by yours truly KU6J). The award rules are linked to from my page on QRZ.com.
  • To get to Pt. 7348, drive north on Highway 89 from Truckee. Watch for a sign pointing to Kyburz Flat and turn right on this well maintained dirt road (Henness Pass Road). At the point shown as C450SRIDG in the map above (at 39.50725N, 120.20955W) turn right onto Tahoe National Forest road 450-20, shown in green. Stay to the left at the fork where the blue road drops down from the ridge. Drive to the end of the road (where it becomes overgrown) and hike from there up to the summit. A rugged 2WD vehicle should have no problem making the drive.
  • Another route and the one that I used is to take the Hirschdale exit on I-80 and head north on the paved road that runs past Boca Reservoir. Stay on this road until it ends at a T intersection with the dirt Henness Pass Road (purple line). If you have an ATV or dirt bike unload it here. Turn left and follow the signs pointing towards Sardine Valley. At the intersection in the southwest corner of the valley, turn left to stay on Henness Pass Road (the sign points toward Highway 89 while the sign for the straight-ahead road, Smithneck Road, points to Loyalton). Continue to the C450SRIDG point and follow the directions given with the other less-time-on-dirt route.
  • Pt. 7348 as seen from near Sardine Valley on Henness Pass Road.
  • The beginning of Tahoe National Forest road 450-20.
  • Close-up of the road sign.
  • I encountered a tree across road 450-20 and had to detour around it.
  • My ATV parked at the end of the road, facing the way I rode in.
  • The track log from my hike (red line) and an estimation of the summit's activation zone (the turquoise and white dashed line). To avoid as much brush and logging slash as possible, I first hiked along an old logging skid trail that runs straight up the side of the ridge. I picked up another skid trail that contours eastward along the ridge towards the summit. When that skid trail ended, I bushwhacked the rest of the way up to the top. The hike was approximately 1 mile long with an elevation gain of around 500 feet.
  • Satellite view of same area.
  • The bottom of the first skid trail.
  • Once the second skid trail ends, a bit of bushwhacking through the bright green brush is necessary for the final climb to the summit.
  • The boulder that my pack is sitting on appears to be the summit.
  • Standing on top with Stampede Reservoir behind me.
  • Standing on top with Stampede Reservoir behind me, and Boca Reservoir visible further out (behind my head). The camera is looking SSE.
  • One of these days I'm going to have to bring along my el-cheapo inflatable kayak and paddle over to that island in Stampede Reservoir. My guess is that it won't qualify for IOTA. ;-)
  • Many other SOTA summits are visible from the top with its 360 degree unobstructed views. The white dot on the skyline is the lookout tower on Sardine Peak (W6/NS-160) which <a href="http://www.grizzlyguy.com/HamRadio/SOTA-Activation-812012-Sardine">was the first Northern Sierra summit to ever be activated</a>.
  • Mt. Pluto (W6/NS-138) at the Northstar ski resort on the other side of Truckee, <a href="http://www.grizzlyguy.com/HamRadio/SOTA-Activation-MtPluto">which I've activated on skis</a>.
  • I setup under some small pines on the east slope of the summit. This gave me great shade (none available on top) and maximal "summit boost" for my signal heading east.
  • I used a small pine tree and some rocks to anchor the bottom of my 28' Jackite pole and raised my 88' doublet fed with 300-ohm twinlead. I ran the wires north-south for maximum signal to the east (and to the west, which I don't care about, no offense to Elliott K6EL who always manages to work me from that direction anyway).
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