2. Ham Radio

Tinker Knob (W6/NS-121) SOTA Activation 9/18/2013

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The east side of Tinker Knob up on the Sierra crest, as seen from my house.
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The east side of Tinker Knob up on the Sierra crest, as seen from my house.

  • 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 east side of Tinker Knob up on the Sierra crest, as seen from my house.
  • There are a number of ways to reach Tinker Knob, which is along the Pacific Crest Trail. The traditional way would be to hike PCT southward from where it crosses the paved Donner Pass Road at Donner Pass. The hike would be 7.3 miles one-way with an elevation gain of 1860 feet. That's too far for me so I took an easier route (easier if you have a 4x4 ATV or dirt bike).
  • I unloaded my ATV at the HWY89FS08 point (39.23626N, 120.20701W) on Highway 89 between Truckee and the Squaw Valley ski resort, at the beginning of Tahoe National Forest road 08 that is shown in green. This road is also known as Pole Creek Road and is an easy graveled road that any vehicle should be able to handle if it is dry. At F08F16E84 (39.23769N, 120.23258W) I turned left onto a rougher 2WD road (shown in blue) that leads past the Sierra Club's Bradley Hut. Just a few hundred feet beyond the hut, the road turns into an OHV route (shown in red) which is open to ATVs, motorcycles and 4x4 vehicles. It is rough with some steep spots, but a blast to ride on an ATV. Unless you have a very rugged 4x4 vehicle such as a lifted Jeep or 4x4 ATV, do not attempt it.
  • I eventually arrived at the COLDSTREAM_700 point (39.24973N, 120.27902W) which is a junction with the Coldstream Trail that climbs up to Pacific Crest Trail (the pink line). I began my hike from that point. After reaching Pacific Crest Trail at PCTCOLD (39.2447N, 120.28049W), I turned right (north) until I found a use trail at PCTTINKER (39.24624N, 120.28439W) that leads up onto Tinker Knob. Per my GPS, my total one-way hiking distance was just under 1 mile and the topo map shows an elevation gain of about 700 feet. The hike took me 37 min.
  • Another route that could be used by motorcycles, mountain bikes and hikers is the motorcycle trail that climbs up from Coldstream Valley (the dashed orange line). To get to Coldstream Valley, exit I-80 at Donner Pass Road in Truckee, then proceed southwest on the road that goes by the Chevron station. It runs behind Donner Memorial State Park. Eventually the road crosses under the railroad tracks at COLDTUNNEL. This is a narrow tunnel and the entrance was partially washed out the last time I was out there. Parking at COLDSTREAMVLY (or earlier) is a good idea unless you are on an ATV or have a narrow 4x4 vehicle. The coordinates of the points shown are:<br /> <br /> COLDSTREAMVLY - 39.30321N, 120.25018W<br /> EMIGRANTCYN - 39.29311N, 120.27308W<br /> COLDJUNC - 39.29065N, 120.27385W<br /> COLDANDERSON - 39.27868N, 120.2753W<br /> BIKESONLY - 39.27126N, 120.28445W<br /> COLDSTREAMBIKE - 39.25246N, 120.27756W
  • Back to the route I actually took, here is the sign at the F08F16E84 point. I turned left here, in the direction the sign is pointing.
  • The Sierra Club's Bradley Hut.
  • The OHV route begins here, a few hundred feet past the hut.
  • If you decide to take my route, be sure to schedule your climb for August, September or October. This gate on the OHV route is closed during the other months. I'd wait until at least September to give the off-roaders a chance to come through and saw out the inevitable deadfall. Either that or bring a chainsaw.
  • It's really a fun ride to do on an ATV. In fact, the ride ended up being my favorite part of the day.
  • This section of the Sierra usually has snow year round on the steep north and east-facing slopes (such as this one south of Tinker Knob), but because we had an exceptionally dry winter, all the snow had melted.
  • The OHV trail continues on.
  • My ATV parked at the COLDSTREAM_700 point where I began my hike. The OHV trail continues down behind my ATV to a junction with the motorcycle trail coming up from Coldstream Valley (the orange dashed line in my maps), then eventually ends at easier dirt roads that run down to the paved Cabin Creek Road which is just a short distance from Truckee on Highway 89. There is a pretty nasty set of narrow and tight switchbacks along the OHV route past the motorcycle trail junction that were easy for my ATV, but I wouldn't attempt them in a larger vehicle.
  • Motor vehicles aren't allowed on this segment of Coldstream Trail that climbs up to Pacific Crest Trail.
  • The trail sign at the PCTCOLD point. I turned right (northward) towards Mount Anderson. In the background is Pt. 8761 (not a SOTA summit).
  • The sign on the other side of the post, looking back down the Coldstream Trail.
  • Shortly after turning right onto PCT, you'll reach this sign indicating Tinker Knob's elevation of 8949 feet. Don't leave PCT at this point, continue north until you encounter an obvious use trail leading up to the knob (at the PCTTINKER point on my topo map).
  • I took this shot from the base of Tinker Knob looking back down the use trail. PCT runs along the ridge line.
  • The use trail runs out at this point, and I continued up through the rocks.
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