2. Ham Radio

Black Buttes (W6/NS-170) SOTA Activation 8/8/2013

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Baltimore Lake.
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Baltimore Lake.

  • 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.
  • The Black Buttes in Tahoe National Forest, as seen from near where I started my hike.
  • To get to Black Buttes, travel on Highway 89 between Truckee and Sierraville and turn onto the paved Tahoe National Forest road 07 that runs to Jackson Meadows Reservoir. A sign at the turnoff points towards the reservoir. At Henness Pass, turn left on TNF Road 86 (Meadow Lake Road) and follow it all the way to Meadow Lake. Continue around Meadow Lake on this road until you reach the Summit City site (39.40975N, 120.50318W) which is also a road intersection at the southwest corner of the lake. Note that Meadow Lake Road up to this point is a recently improved dirt road that 2WD vehicles with moderate ground clearance should be able to handle.
  • Unless you have an ATV or a high-clearance 4x4 vehicle, park near the Summit City intersection and begin hiking along the 4x4 route shown in red above. Be sure to continue to the right at the BaltimoreFordyceCreek point (39.40831N, 120.50614W). The red route will appear to be more narrow and rugged than the yellow one (Fordyce Creek Trail, which becomes an extremely difficult 4x4 route further down). Continue until you reach the Beyers Lake Trail trailhead at 39.39438N, 120.5216W. If you DO have an ATV or high-clearance 4x4 vehicle, you can ride or drive all the way to that trailhead.
  • Detail map for the Meadow Lake area.
  • I rode my Yamaha Grizzly 700 4x4 ATV all the way to the trailhead. The sign says "Beyers Lake Trail" but I have also heard it referred to as "Beyers Lakes Trail" since there are multiple Beyers lakes.
  • Motor vehicles are prohibited the rest of the way.
  • People, horses and mountain bikes are allowed.
  • Follow the Beyers Lake Trail down to Baltimore Lake and around its south side. When you reach the LeaveTrail point at approximately 39.39191N, 120.54001W you will need to leave the trail and hike cross-country up to Black Buttes. Per my GPS, the total one-way distance is approximately 3.2 miles, with an elevation gain of about 820 feet from Baltimore Lake. On the way back, you'll climb approximately 300 vertical feet from Baltimore Lake back up to the trailhead. If you had to hike from Meadow Lake to the trailhead, add another 1.6 miles to the one-way distance.
  • Google Earth view of my hike.
  • Baltimore Lake.
  • Looking up at Black Buttes after leaving the Beyers Lakes trail and crossing a willow-clogged stream channel.
  • To get to the summit, follow this white line that I painted on the rock to guide you (just kidding!). Someone with better knowledge of geology would know exactly what this is, it is embedded in the rock.
  • One of the many gullies I hiked up so as to get through a section that was too steep to climb. If you do this summit, gullies are your friend.
  • The first major obstacle along the cross-country hike is this pair of unnamed lakes (I took this shot on the way back down). I had planned to cross the land bridge between them, but that turned out to be impossible due to that large rock formation you see with nearly vertical walls. The terrain to the east of these lakes is vertical and impassable without a big detour further east to get around it.
  • One of the lakes. After an aborted try to get around them that ended up at a vertical wall and wasted about 20 minutes of time, I finally found a route that took me up to the lake to the south and around it's southern shore.
  • On the southern shore of the south-most lake, looking back the way I came.
  • Speaking of unnamed lakes, there are a number of unnamed lakes and ponds along the hike. If you bring a water filter, you'll be able to carry minimal water and save weight. This one is near the top, just before you get a nice section of shaded climb up through those trees to the final major obstacle.
  • And speaking of final major obstacles, here it is. A wall of rock that separates you, at a spot barely within the activation zone, from where you really want to be: the summit.
  • At the base of the formation in that last shot is a large flat. I thought about giving up and doing my activation from there, but I prowled around a bit and found this manageable section that I felt confident enough to climb (I'm not a real climber, I just play one in SOTA). I wish I had put my pack or hiking poles in this shot for scale, because it isn't quite as easy as it looks. Those "steps" are 3-4 feet high, and I had to use both hands to feel safe getting up them. I guess that makes this section class 3 or maybe class 4 (3.5?) depending on whose rating system definitions you choose to use.
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