2. Ham Radio

Pt. 7481 (W6/NS-211) SOTA Activation 8/6/2013

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Close-up of the road sign for Tahoe National Forest road 05-60.
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Close-up of the road sign for Tahoe National Forest road 05-60.

  • 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.
  • Pt. 7481 as seen from Perazzo Meadows to the southwest.
  • To get to Pt. 7481, travel on Highway 89 between Truckee and Sierraville and turn onto the paved Tahoe National Forest road 07 (shown in black) that runs to Jackson Meadows Reservoir. A sign at the turnoff points towards the reservoir. Within just a few hundred feet, turn right onto the dirt Treasure Mountain Road (TNF road 05, shown in purple). When you reach the Y intersection at F05F0560 (39.51313N, 120.32372W), bear left to continue on the minor road 05-60, shown in blue. Follow it until it ends at the PARK point (39.50468N, 120.3249W). The 05-60 road is a rough 2WD road that is becoming overgrown with snowbrush near the end, so you may need to park a few hundred yards prior to this point unless you don't mind your vehicle getting scratched up.
  • The sign for Treasure Mountain Road. This is within just a few hundred feet of Highway 89, and is before you reach the large asphalt parking lot (OHV staging area) that is just a hundred feet or so further.
  • The Y intersection at point F05F0560. Treasure Mountain Road is fairly well maintained up to this point and any 2WD vehicle should be able to handle it. One could park and hike to the summit from this intersection, adding approximately 1 mile to the one-way distance.
  • Close-up of the road sign for Tahoe National Forest road 05-60.
  • My SOTA steed (Yamaha 700 4x4 ATV) parked, pack is off the rack and on my back, and I'm ready to hike up to the summit.
  • There is no trail to the summit. You will instead need to climb cross-country through logging slash and snowbrush.
  • One of the many thickets of snowbrush along this side of the mountain. The brush is 5-7 feet high, and practically impenetrable. My GPS tracks have many curves and bends in them from me weaving my way around (not through) the brush thickets, large downed logs and other obstacles.
  • Topo map of Pt. 7461 with my tracks. Per my GPS, the hike is approximately 0.67 miles long (including twists and turns around obstacles), with an elevation gain of around 530 feet per the topo map. It took me about 45 minutes to reach the summit.
  • Google Earth view of the summit and my GPS tracks. North is at the top of the image.
  • Near the top it gets a little steep. I found a chute to the right of this shot and climbed up through the rocks, which I'm sure was much more pleasant than trying to climb up through the brush that you see here (and more brush that is out of view).
  • Standing at the summit. Someone built a crude summit marker with some small rocks and a stick.
  • The top is open and I wasn't able to find a shady operating location at the summit. I moved down a bit in the direction I had come, and found this shady operating spot that also happens to be perched next to the edge of really steep terrain that down slopes to the south and east.
  • My 88' doublet towering above Pt. 7481 on my 28' Jackite pole. I didn't use one of the bottom sections, so the antenna is up about 24' above the ground. The wires are oriented generally N-S for maximum signal to the E-W on 20m.
  • I bungeed the mast to this brushy vegetation.
  • This small tree made a nice tie-off location for one end of the antenna. I tied off the other end to some brush.
  • Standing near the edge about 10 feet from my operating spot. In the background, the Little Truckee River twists and turns on its way through Perazzo Meadows. The dirt and historic Henness Pass Road is visible on the other side of the river. The paved TNF road 07 that runs to Jackson Meadows Reservoir is right down at the bottom of this steep terrain, out of sight.
  • Looking east, the Carson Range in Nevada is in the haze and on the skyline along the right side of this shot.
  • A different angle from Google Earth, looking SSE. Down below the mountain is the paved TNF road 07, Perazzo Meadows and the Little Truckee River, and Henness Pass Road on the other side of the meadow.
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