Re: Activation Plans for Thursday, 27th
I hope I can sneak out of work and get a complete on Wagon Mound tomorrow. Mark N0MTN
On Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 8:35 PM, Raymond Gierlach <rgierlach@...> wrote: Thanks John, we’ll put it to good use! ? Ray KD8EQA ? ? ? ? Here?�?s our .gpx from 2022, FYI.? John K1JD
On Feb 25, 2025, at 4:48?�?PM, Raymond Gierlach <rgierlach@...> wrote: ? Matt/KF0RIG and I/KD8EQA plan to activate Wagon Mound, W5N/EL-016, and West Las Mesas del Conjelon, W5N/EL-014, this Thursday, February 27th.? The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny, with a light wind.? Our planned time for leaving the Wagon Mound trailhead/parking is 8:15am local... activating at 10:30am.? For West Las Mesas del Conjelon, our planned time for leaving the trailhead/parking is 1:30pm local... activating at 3:30pm.? We hope to catch some of you on 40m.? We'll be spotting our bands and frequencies. ?
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Re: Activation Plans for Thursday, 27th
Thanks John, we’ll put it to good use! ? Ray KD8EQA ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John K1JD via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 8:13 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [W5N-SOTA] Activation Plans for Thursday, 27th? ? ? Here?�?s our .gpx from 2022, FYI.? John K1JD
On Feb 25, 2025, at 4:48?�?PM, Raymond Gierlach <rgierlach@...> wrote: ? Matt/KF0RIG and I/KD8EQA plan to activate Wagon Mound, W5N/EL-016, and West Las Mesas del Conjelon, W5N/EL-014, this Thursday, February 27th.? The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny, with a light wind.? Our planned time for leaving the Wagon Mound trailhead/parking is 8:15am local... activating at 10:30am.? For West Las Mesas del Conjelon, our planned time for leaving the trailhead/parking is 1:30pm local... activating at 3:30pm.? We hope to catch some of you on 40m.? We'll be spotting our bands and frequencies. ?
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Re: Activation Plans for Thursday, 27th
Ray & Matt, Here’s our .gpx from 2022, FYI.? 73,
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On Feb 25, 2025, at 4:48?PM, Raymond Gierlach <rgierlach@...> wrote:
Matt/KF0RIG and I/KD8EQA plan to activate Wagon Mound, W5N/EL-016, and West Las Mesas del Conjelon, W5N/EL-014, this Thursday, February 27th.? The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny, with a light wind.? Our planned time for leaving the Wagon Mound trailhead/parking is 8:15am local... activating at 10:30am.? For West Las Mesas del Conjelon, our planned time for leaving the trailhead/parking is 1:30pm local... activating at 3:30pm.? We hope to catch some of you on 40m.? We'll be spotting our bands and frequencies.
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Ray / KD8EQA
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Re: "South Mountain" Cedar Grove
I have both peaks there for SOTA but it is pretty much surrounded by private land. There is BLM on top but parking somewhere and access is via private. A friend of mine knew someone who lived there that allowed us to park on their property and access through it to the top of the mountain. Those people have moved and I never had access again. There are two SOTA peaks on that mountain and I did both on the same day. It is also pretty thick with oaks and large granite boulders. It looks easier than it actually is. NN5K
-Dave
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On Feb 25, 2025, at 16:50, TOM N5ATR via groups.io <atrussell4@...> wrote:
?K5TFL and I were eying that mountain a few days ago as a possible human repeater site in the need of an EMCOM situation. Has anyone hiked up there recently...if not, any known good entry points to get up there aka park and hike?
Tom / DM65UD / Edgewood
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"South Mountain" Cedar Grove
K5TFL and I were eying that mountain a few days ago as a possible human repeater site in the need of an EMCOM situation. Has anyone hiked up there recently...if not, any known good entry points to get up there aka park and hike?
Tom / DM65UD / Edgewood
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Activation Plans for Thursday, 27th
Matt/KF0RIG and I/KD8EQA plan to activate Wagon Mound, W5N/EL-016, and West Las Mesas del Conjelon, W5N/EL-014, this Thursday, February 27th.? The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny, with a light wind.? Our planned time for leaving the Wagon Mound trailhead/parking is 8:15am local... activating at 10:30am.? For West Las Mesas del Conjelon, our planned time for leaving the trailhead/parking is 1:30pm local... activating at 3:30pm.? We hope to catch some of you on 40m.? We'll be spotting our bands and frequencies.
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Ray / KD8EQA
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Having just retired my very old and extremely worn Mule pack, I failed to transfer the knife from it to the new Osprey. This is obviously why the antenna wire next to the 17m trap broke today. Used my teeth to strip the wires, make a temporary splice and then tie a knot which held fine for the windy activation on 6860. SWR was normal. Only a few DX stations, F4WBN (17m & 10m) and EA4R (10m).
Photos of the inelegant but effective field splice on the workbench before repair and, thanks to Fred, of me at my usual 6860 activation spot.
73,
John K1JD
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LIVE webcam of the Valle Grande… while closed, it gives a sense for how much (or how little) snow is upo there: ? Fd ? 
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Peak known as 9700, W5N/PW-018, remains closed following the Medio Fire in 2021.? Repair of the Tesuque Peak power line will be underway this summer and maybe next with reopening of the area expected when the repair is complete. ? Barillas Peak, the entire hill, entire activation zone, appears to no longer be under a closure order, BUT I expect that there is a winter gate closing the road until after April 1. ? Valle Caldera site says that the ranger station is closed for renovation.? The road in is certainly gated for winter.? There is very little on their website, and with what is going on in Washington, I wonder when or if it will reopen. ? FD kt5x
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Cerro Brillante, W5N/CO-014, on Wednesday, February
26, 2025, we plan to depart my QTH at 0800 en-route to trail head
parking. All roads up are SUBARU capable. see GPX drive.
From parking its a .8 mile hike along a ridge line to the summit.
see GPX? hike. Nice summit with, good views, that sits alone on
the southern boarder of the lava flows. Weather will be sunny and
warm with little wind.
QRV around 1830 UTC.?? 73 all and enjoy previous pics WB5USB Geo..
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Great weather as Don and I headed out to W5N/CO-011
this morning. Sunny skies, no wind and good temps. The drive to
trail head parking is SUBARU capable except the last half mile or
so. Must have high clearance. From parking we took the .4 mile
hike up the side of the crater to the top. The climb is steep even
taking a circular path counter clockwise around the side. Lots of
deer trails to follow up to the top. Don set up ops on the east
side of the crater while I set up ops on the west side. Saw a nice
heard of Elk on the way down. Nice summit. Turns out this summit
is on the continental divide. see pics
73 all and thanks chasers... Geo WB5USB
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Action Plan: W5N/CO-011 Cerro Lobo?? Saturday,
February 22, 2025
With warmer weather at lower elevations I picked Cerro Lobo. We
will depart my QTH at 0800 for the 2.5 hour drive to trail head
parking. see GPX file drive From parking its a .3 to .5 mile hike
to the summit. 20 min see GPX file Hike
QRV should be around 1830 UTC. Weather should be sunny with winds
around 5mph and temps high 40's to low 50's. The road up to
parking might be SUBARU capable, but if I remember correctly, a
couple of places require high clearance. As always anyone wishing
to join us is welcome. 73 all WB5USB Geo..
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That poor guy may need more than a hat but seems happy for the shade.
Thanks for the S2S.
Dale, AA7OY
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?Couldn’t resist creating the SOTA hat photo. Beautiful weather up there today, ZL2AGY on 10m was icing on the cake.
73/72
John K1JD
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Couldn’t resist creating the SOTA hat photo. Beautiful weather up there today, ZL2AGY on 10m was icing on the cake.
73/72
John K1JD
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After Action Blue Bird Mesa
Mostly sunny as we headed out to summit parking in
Squirrel One.
Don's Land Rover had no problems today negotiating the snowy road
up to parking. Snow was only on the north facing slope so once on
top mostly clear. It was cold and windy on top so I borrowed Tim's
extra Boothy and with my snowmobile suit on, quite comfy. I did
not have cell coverage at my op site so I did not get a chance to
text Carol for a contact. Tim, however did get a spot out to
Carol. Did not take any pics today so I'll just send a couple of
previous ones.? Great little summit.? 73 all WB5USB Geo...
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Tim, Don , and I plan to activate W5N/SE-026 Blue
Bird Mesa Wednesday February 12. Meet a my QTH around 0800 then
take the drive up to summit parking. QRV around 1800 UTC. Ranger
station informed Don that the roads might be wet or muddy in a few
spots. Drive up from the Hwy is short. Scott , NM5SW, might join
us, and if he does will be driving his Bronco. Nice to have back
up. Weather will be sunny, cold and windy. Temps in the 30's. 73
all WB5USB Geo
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THANK YOU FRED!?
Dead Horse Point – the state park near there is one of the places we are looking at to camp on our summer trip.? This summer we were going to spend about 3 days on the 4X4 trails at Moab. ?But some of those trails may be done with the 4X4 club in March, that will free up some time. So maybe some SOTA on the summer trip.
Because the 4X4 club doesn’t have many hams, there is little SOTA or POTA interest there.? The four hams I know in the club are only interested in 4X4 comms, and little else.
Truth – if it was up to me I’d bypass Yellowstone NP.? I hear it is always crowded, and crowded ain’t my thing.? That’s why this JEEP and trailer.? But Yellowstone is a bucket-list item for Moni…… and she lets me get away with so much.? So if she wants a week in Yellowstone – right after a week at Grand Tetons, she gets it.? Custer Battlefield is for me.? Most Army troopers know some of the history.? I’d like to walk the battlefield and see for myself if I can get a sense for the truth.? Not that Custer lost…. But maybe why he split the command.? Devil’s Tower is for Moni, Custer State Park is for Moni.? Not that I mind, any time out together is good.? From Custer SP we’ll get home in a series of short hops looking for places to pull off and camp for a night.? If we find something interesting we’ll stop early, but we try to limit any day to 300-miles or 6 hours.
I will add these summits to my notes.? Maybe I should give you a list of the whole trip and see what you know.? Previously our travels have been limited because we had so many retired show dogs – Great Danes.? Now we only have one left so she goes with our daughter when we want to travel.
Mike. ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Fred Maas via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2025 12:55 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [W5N-SOTA] PS? Hear me now and listen to me later ? ? A very easy 4x4 road, and probably on your route to Moab… west of Monticello, is a wonderful peak, and you and your group can camp in many places along the road… ? Abajo Peak, W7U/SU-014 ? Near Moab, very near Dead Horse Point:? The Knoll W7U/GR-031 you and your wife can easily do it ? Island in the Sky: Aztec Butte: W7U/SU-058 again you and your wife can easily do it, and the views are terrific. ? All of that said, if you haven’t already, research “The White Rim Trail.”? Not (usually) a difficult 4x4 trek, should do an overnight somewhere along it, like driving through the Grand Canyon.? ? fd ?
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Hear me now and listen to me later ? ? A very easy 4x4 road, and probably on your route to Moab… west of Monticello, is a wonderful peak, and you and your group can camp in many places along the road… ? Abajo Peak, W7U/SU-014 ? Near Moab, very near Dead Horse Point:? The Knoll W7U/GR-031 you and your wife can easily do it ? Island in the Sky: Aztec Butte: W7U/SU-058 again you and your wife can easily do it, and the views are terrific. ? All of that said, if you haven’t already, research “The White Rim Trail.”? Not (usually) a difficult 4x4 trek, should do an overnight somewhere along it, like driving through the Grand Canyon.? ? fd ?
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YES Fred!? You hit it dead-center.? Humans have the capacity to do extraordinary things when the situation calls for it.? But the real question is as you say…. will you recover from it.? How long will that recovery take, and is it worth it?
I find that traveling with my wife in the JEEP-Trailer combo, I am doing more POTA than SOTA these days.? For example, our summer trip is in the final planning stage.? W-TX to NM, AZ, UT, ID, WY, MT, WY (again), ND, SD, NE, CO, and back thru NM to W-TX.? Leaving after July 4th.? Home sometime before Labor Day.? There will be opportunity for about 15 new POTA parks, but only a few summits.? The second pass into WY will be Devil’s Tower.? I DO NOT expect that I will do SOTA there unless I can get a cheap Helo-ride up and down.? But I do believe there will be a chance for some early morning and late evening POTA from the trailer.
We are also planning a trip to Moab next month.? But this will be with the 4X4 club, not sure how much radio time I’ll get, when not wheeling on the trails the club is very social for evenings around a fire.
 ? 
In the trailer, I run an older Yaesu FT-857D.? This radio is special because it is 160m – 70cm (except the 222 band), all-mode, has a remote front panel, and an RX power requirement of < 500-mAh.? No other modern radio meets that.? In 2m and 70cm I run a big mobile vertical with about 6-dB ± gain, I’ve QSO’d over 150-miles on SSB from the Grand Canyon North Rim.? On HF the black fiberglass mast is 46-ft tall.? Depending on the location, antennas will be either a 43-ft vertical, an 86-ft Inverted-L or a 135-ft Inverted-L.? I keep an auto-tuner at the bottom of the mast and at least one 33-ft radial on the ground.
I usually pack along my backpack with the little IC-705 so if a SOTA opportunity comes up I can activate SOTA if the chance arises.? Like Mt Livermore was.
Vy73 - Mike - KD5KC. El Paso, Texas - DM61rt. SOTA W5T-Texas Association Manager. ? ? ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Fred Maas via groups.io
Sent: Monday, February 10, 2025 18:58 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [W5N-SOTA] PS? Fred – I am encroaching on 70 y/o here and don’t feel “nails tough” anymore.? – kd5kc ? <<<? speaking as an athletic coach… and now 80 years of age myself:? … my coaching viewpoint: it ain’t what you can still do, it is what you can recover from. ?
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The drive and hike up Corner Mountain took much longer than I expected, hope I pick a better
summit next time for George and Don.
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Parked at this frozen lake.
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if you like climbing over dead fall you will love this hike!
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A foot of snow in the shady spots.
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Beautiful views from the summit, Doc was first RF here and lots of contacts were made.
Thanks all!
Dale, AA7OY
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John K1JD
Mike Olbrisch