Bear BM has not been activated since the 350,000 acre Hermit Peak fire burned through the area.? We wondered what conditions are like.? The area is “open,” but the Skyline Trail is declared closed. ? AD5A drove his Jeep with 35 inch tires, and transported K1JD and I (KT5X/WS0TA) to the parking place for Bear BM.? There were several severe washouts as a result of the fire.? The 35 inch tires were a must.? An off-road motorcycle probably can pick its way through to parking. ? There is a culvert over a running stream which shows signs of flooding over the road, and the road is giving way.? I don’t know how long that piece of roadway may hold up, and when it goes, have no idea how long it might be before the underfunded forest service might be able to fix it. ? The hike from parking to the true peak usually took less than an hour.? Today it took two hours.? The early part of the trail is not discernable, see photo below.? It helps to have been there before.? Most of the trees are down and aspen are growing up from roots thick as grass.? You have to wind your way, though since it isn’t a steep hike, it was easy albeit challenging to one’s patience.? I won’t complain about Scooter ever again. ? There was no animal sign to speak off. ? 73,? fd ? ?
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For those who are not aware of this free service: ? ? report sent me by this BOT for tomorrow: ? activator - WS0TA
?????????????????? summit -
???????????????????? name - Bear Benchmark
?????????????????? region - Pecos Wilderness
?????????????????? county - San Miguel County, NM
???????????????? alt (ft) - 10,423
????????????????? alt (m) - 3,177
?????????????????? points - 10
???????????????????? grid - DM75fp
???????????????? latitude - 35.6473
??????????????? longitude - -105.5037
??????????????????????????????????????????????????? REL? PROB?????????
?UTC DATE? @? TIME? FLUX? Kp?? TEMP????? WIND?????? HUM PRECIP FORECAST
================== ?====? ==? =====? ============? ====? ====? ========
2024-08-23 @ 08:00?? 200? 2??? 56 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 62%??? 3%? Mostly Cloudy
2024-08-23 @ 09:00?? 200? 2??? 55 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 65%??? 3%? Partly Cloudy
2024-08-23 @ 10:00?? 200? 2??? 54 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 65%??? 3%? Partly Cloudy
2024-08-23 @ 11:00?? 200? 2??? 55 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 64%??? 3%? Partly Cloudy
2024-08-23 @ 12:00?? 200? 2+?? 54 F??? W @? 5 mph?? 64%??? 5%? Mostly Sunny
2024-08-23 @ 13:00?? 200? 2+?? 56 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 61%??? 5%? Mostly Sunny
2024-08-23 @ 14:00?? 200? 2+?? 59 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 57%??? 5%? Mostly Sunny
2024-08-23 @ 15:00?? 200? 2??? 61 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 52%?? 11%? Sunny
2024-08-23 @ 16:00?? 200? 2??? 64 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 46%?? 11%? Sunny
2024-08-23 @ 17:00?? 200? 2??? 66 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 42%?? 11%? Sunny
2024-08-23 @ 18:00?? 200? 2??? 67 F??? W @ 15 mph?? 40%?? 42%? Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
2024-08-23 @ 19:00?? 200? 2??? 67 F?? SW @ 15 mph?? 40%?? 42%? Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
2024-08-23 @ 20:00?? 200? 2??? 68 F?? SW @ 15 mph?? 38%?? 42%? Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
2024-08-23 @ 21:00?? 200? 2??? 68 F?? SW @ 10 mph?? 39%?? 37%? Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
2024-08-23 @ 22:00?? 200? 2??? 67 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 40%?? 37%? Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
2024-08-23 @ 23:00?? 200? 2??? 67 F?? SW @ 10 mph?? 40%?? 37%? Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
2024-08-24 @ 00:00?? 200? 2-?? 62 F??? W @ 10 mph?? 47%?? 15%? Isolated Showers And Thunderstorms
Detailed forecast for UTC 2024-08-23 @ 12:00 to 2024-08-24 @ 00:00:
Scattered showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. West wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Use this link at any time to show the at W5N/PW-014.
Questions? Check the !
Synopsis of raw National Weather Service data below. Follow this link for a of NWS terms.
??????????????????????????? -8 hrs? -4 hrs???? QRV? +4 hrs? +8 hrs?
==========================? ======? ======? ======? ======? ======? ===
?????? apparentTemperature????? 56????? 54????? 64????? 69????? 62? F
???????????? ceilingHeight????? --????? --????? --?? 5,600????? --? ft
????????????????? dewpoint????? 43????? 42????? 43????? 42????? 42? F
???????????????? heatIndex????? --????? --????? --????? --????? --? F
?????????? iceAccumulation?????? 0?????? 0?????? 0?????? 0?????? 0? in
?? ???????????mixingHeight?????? 0?????? 0?? 5,500? 11,000?? 5,500? ft
probabilityOfPrecipitation?????? 3?????? 5????? 11????? 42????? 15? %
quantitativePrecipitation?????? 0?????? 0?????? 0?????? 0?????? 0? in
????????? relativeHumidity????? 62????? 64????? 46????? 38????? 47? %
????????????????? skyCover????? 56????? 30????? 13????? 61????? 58? %
???????????????? snowLevel? 14,573? 14,816? 14,744? 15,068? 15,163? ft
??????????? snowfallAmount?????? 0?????? 0?????? 0?????? 0?????? 0? in
?????????????? temperature????? 56????? 54????? 64????? 68????? 62? F
??? transportWindDirection???? 290???? 280???? 250???? 240???? 230? deg
??????? transportWindSpeed?????? 6?????? 5????? 23????? 24????? 20? mph
?? twentyFootWindDirection???? 270???? 260???? 250???? 240???? 250? deg
?????? twentyFootWindSpeed?????? 7?????? 6?????? 8????? 10?????? 8? mph
??????????????? visibility? 52,800? 52,800? 52,800? 52,800? 52,800? ft
?? wetBulbGlobeTemperature????? 51????? 49????? 57????? 61????? 55? F
???????????????? windChill????? --????? --????? --????? --????? --? F
???????????? windDirection???? 270???? 260???? 250???? 240???? 250? deg
????????????????? windGust????? 12?????? 9????? 15????? 17????? 13? mph
???????????????? windSpeed?????? 8?????? 7????? 10????? 13?????? 9? mph
DISCLAIMER: You are responsible for your own safety. Be prepared for all possible weather conditions. ?
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I’m in, see you all there.
Dale AA7OY
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Saturday August 24, 2024 ? ? W5N/MG-009? 10020
(Grassy Overlook)
We will depart my QTH by 0800 for the drive down to trail head
parking.(see GPX file Drive)
Once parked, its a .1 mile hike up the ridge to the summit. (see
GPX file Hike) QRV 1800 or sooner.
Weather will be warm under partly cloudy skies and winds around 8
mph.
Nice summit with tall pines and grassy meadows.?? WB5USB George ?
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Maybe six years ago there was a lightning fire on top of this peak.? For several years afterward we ascended the ridge on the east side.? Then George pioneered going up the powerlines to the saddle, then going up to the peak from there. ? I suggested to John and Mike (for our second peak of the way) that we check out the older route since we hadn’t done that in at least three years.? It goes up under the ponderosas pines until near the top where it was burned.? Up there the last time we saw it, it was regrowing in nettles, thorny locust, and oaks.? I expected that deer and elk would have pushed a trail through it.? The guys foolishly agreed to go along. ? The hike up the ridge line went well, but the upper area of the peak was now heavily overgrown in thorny locust and oak, no game trail through, the last 300 vertical feet was nasty!? Don’t go that way! ? We descended to the saddle then down the powerline (but I forgot to turn my watch back own so that part of the track is a straight line, hi hi. ? It was HOT, 80’s and high altitude sun.? We did fine, but it was at the margin of what we could safely do. ? 73? fred ? 
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K1JD, AD5A, and I tackled this one yesterday.? We parked at the beginning of 4x4 track up the valley on the south side.? We began hiking up that 4x4 road, and, for as far as we went, can report it had been well cleared likely by whoever is running cattle there. ? My partners allowed me to suggest a different route up.? After about 600 meters on the 4x4 track, and after a drainage entered the main creek from the north, we crossed the little creek, and went steeply up the ridgeline.? It was surprisingly open, relatively little downed trees.? While only a little more than a mile, very steep, took just under an hour. Which is a lot shorter than the typical route up the 4x4 track, then along the eastern ridge to peak.? A difference, though, our route went straight to the middle and highest point of Griego from which the view is spectacular. ? The track follows. ? 73,? Fred kt5x ? 
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Tim, Don and I departed my QTH at 0600 en-route to
Bearwallow Mountain. This was my first trip down there so I
decided to check out two different routes. One on the way up was
via Dale's instructions (See GPX file Drive 1) and the other was
one plotted on the way out, using Google Earth and a mapping
program. (See GPX file Drive).
From my QTH it is 284 miles and took 6 hrs 10 min to reach the
summit via Dales instructions. Easy road all the way to the
summit. The other route is via a (jeep trail)(See GPX file Drive)
is 260 miles and 5 hrs 30 min from my QTH.?? Shorter and less
time, however, it requires high clearance and 4WD over some parts.
Times represent driving time only.. Very scenic drive.
Nice area on top to set up ops with lots of pines/furs on top.
Climbed the watch tower and took some pics.
When Don set up he came under surveillance by a couple of
squirrels. see pic They were not shy about coming right up to him
for handouts. enjoy the pics? 73 WB5USB Geo
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Thinking “out-of-the-box” is a highlight of what we do. ? ? fd ? PS? Conor, you might invite Howie to our discussion group, he may be interested in “reading-the-mail” about NM SOTA activations.
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Depart my QTH around 0600 for the long trip down to
W5N/GW-007 Bearwallow Mountain. Wednesday August 21, 2024.
This is a new one for me so no pics or tracks yet. I will follow
Dales directions to the summit and check out a new return route.
QRV by 1800. Weather will be warm and sunny.? 73 George WB5USB
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Thanks Dale...Geo We shall give it a go Wednesday
On 8/18/2024 21:18, Dale AA7OY wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
[Edited Message Follows]
George,
?
directions to Bear Wallow are easy, Hwy 180 to Bursom road
which takes you through the historic town of Mogollon, 23 miles
to a left on Forrest road 1535 for 8 miles. Good road all the
way and the higher you climb the smoother the road gets. Most
any two wheel drive would make it to the summit.
i included GPX files from Hwy 180 to the summit.
Hope you get to do this one.
Dale
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George,
?
directions to Bear Wallow are easy, Hwy 180 to Bursom road which takes you through the historic town of Mogollon, 23 miles to a left on Forrest road 1535 for 8 miles. Good road all the way and the higher you climb the smoother the road gets. Most any two wheel drive would make it to the summit.
i included GPX files from Hwy 180 to the summit.
Hope you get to do this one.
Dale
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On 7/20/2024 9:16, John K1JD via
groups.io wrote:
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Show quoted text
What? We’re not using transparencies and an
overhead projector? ?
Thanks
info Conor, sounds interesting. Hope Google’s cloud isn’t
dependent on ?CrowdStrike.
73,
John
K1JD
On Jul 19, 2024, at 9:51?PM, Conor
Peterson <n5xr@...> wrote:
?
Re: putting together a slide show.
If you're retired, the following information may be news
to you. :-)
Within the last ~7-8 years, Google Slides has displaced
Powerpoint for many users. With Slides, the file you are
working on lives in the cloud. You can share the document with
other users so everyone can edit it simultaneously, in real
time. If somebody pastes in an image, you see it immediately.
No need to email photos or half-completed copies of .pptx
files back-and-forth. And you can present from within the
browser and export it as a powerpoint if you need to.
It's free for Google users -- which many of you are. You can
try it out by going to . Files created
in Slides live on your , so it counts
against your gmail storage quota. And for the curious, yes,
Google also has a competitor to Word ()
and Excel (). Play with it. It may be
useful for this case.
Having said all that: use whatever works! There is no
shame in sticking with powerpoint. It just means somebody
(i.e. Fred) has to do the cat-herding of compiling all the
photos and stuff into one coherent-looking presentation.
Happy to go into further detail if anybody likes.
Take care,
C
On Fri, Jul 19, 2024, at 9:46 AM, Cloud Runner wrote:
George:
?
- Please
send me a nice photo of Carol activating a peak that I
can use to introduce her for her segment on a SSB SOTA
set-up
- Please
send me a nice photo of you activating or hiking that
I can use as the lead in for your segment
?
Note that there will be just one powerpoint
for the whole thing such that, I will need from you your
segment such that I can insert it.? I don’t know how to
do it, but I think it is easy.
?
Carol: it now looks like
you can have up to seven minutes for your segment on a
SOTA set-up for SSB.? I need to be able to insert any
slides into the one overall powerpoint.
?
John:? please send me a
photo that you would like me to use to introduce you.?
it now looks like you can have up to ten minutes for
your segment on international peak activation (I think
you want to focus on Tasmania).? I need to be able to
insert it into my one single powerpoint which will be
sent to the DCHF near the end of August.? They will have
everything set up for us.? Conor suggests that slides be
made in google something, Conor, pipe up, hi hi.
?
Conor: please coach us on
what you recommend for others to assemble their slides
of peak activations such that he can send it to me and I
can insert it into my overall powerpoint.? Then I will
need you to coach me on actually inserting it.
?
George, it is my thought
your segment be the last to go.? You have a segment of
indeterminate length, could be five minutes, will
probably be ten, whenever we run short on time, I will
interrupt and invite a few audience questions…
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Making sense?
?
Fred
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Proposed schedule…
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Fred: introduction to SOTA with a
focus on helpful websites – ten minutes
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Fred: (quick) presentation of
lightweight SOTA set-up for CW, NO DETAILS, just here it
is: 3 minutes
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Carol: more detailed presentation
on an SSB SOTA set-up, seven minutes
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John: International activation,
Tasmania (and maybe more), ten minutes
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George: New Mexico activations,
ten minutes
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All: audience questions, ten
minutes.
?
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Dale, do you have directions on how to get here???
George
On 8/12/2024 19:17, George Yoakum via
groups.io wrote:
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Show quoted text
Great pictures Dale. It's on our list now...Geo?
On 8/11/2024 22:11, Dale AA7OY wrote:
I didn’t have high expectations for Bear Wallow W5N/GW-007 but
it is a beautiful summit and a good road. Blackberries were ripe just up from
Mogollon NM and I picked a hat full in no time.
?
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tower was not manned today 8-11-2024.
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Another gem to add to your list.
73,
Dale AA7OY
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After Action W5N SM 007 East Grants Ridge
Don, Carol, Alan and I met up at my QTH and departed
for Grants around 0800 with the key to the locked gate in tow.
(Thanks to my cousin Walt) Once through the gate (see picks) we
headed up the road to summit parking. Most of the road is very
passable except in a few places which required high clearance and
4WD. See GPX file Drive for our route. Once parked it was a short
hike to the summit. (See survey marker picture) There is a sign in
sheet on top which we all signed. Weather was warm but, we all
managed to find some shade, under some short trees to set up ops.
(see pics) Excellent views from the top due to no tall pines to
obstruct you view. WOW!
We came back down and met up with Walt to return the keys at my
aunt Norma's where my cousin Kathy graciously invited us in, but
our hungry group decided to head over to a local eatery/coffee
shop. Food was excellent.? Very beautiful area.
73 all and thanks to all the chasers.. George WB5USB
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Great pictures Dale. It's on our list now...Geo?
On 8/11/2024 22:11, Dale AA7OY wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I didn’t have high expectations for Bear Wallow W5N/GW-007 but
it is a beautiful summit and a good road. Blackberries were ripe just up from Mogollon
NM and I picked a hat full in no time.
?
?
tower was not manned today 8-11-2024.
?
Another gem to add to your list.
73,
Dale AA7OY
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Don did his best to activate Mount Withington today
but rain and lightning changed our plans. Decided to depart the
summit. see video link of hail storm
Proposed Activation: W5N/SM-007 East Grants Ridge? Saturday August
17, 2024? QRV around 1730?
This is a new summit for me and thanks to my cousin Walter, who is
passing off a key to the locked gate, I hope to activate it after
driving up the dirt road and then a short hike to the summit.
Having never been here I have no idea what to expect. Oh this
should be fun. Anyone wishing to join us is welcome. I'm hoping
there might be enough for us to take 2 vehicles. If Carol can go,
her jeep would be a good one.
I think the dirt road up is about 2 miles. Walter said it was
graded a couple of years ago but may have washed out in a few
places. 73 all WB5USB George
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Wow, that’s beautiful!? And way back in there… fred
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 I didn’t have high expectations for Bear Wallow W5N/GW-007 but it is a beautiful summit and a good road. Blackberries were ripe just up from Mogollon NM and I picked a hat full in no time.
?
?
tower was not manned today 8-11-2024.
?
Another gem to add to your list.
73,
Dale AA7OY
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Proposed Action: W5N/MG-007? Mount Withington? Monday
August 12, 2024.
We will depart my QTH by 0800. QRV should be around 1730 UTC. I
have already activated this one so I will be chasing and trying
out new antenna while Don activates.
73 all WB5USB Geo
My cousin in Grants said we can have access to W5N/SM-007 East
Grants Ridge. He will provide us with a key to the locked gate
which will give us access via a road around the mines to within a
quarter mile of the summit.
He informed me they graded the road a couple of years ago and not
sure what condition they were in. I plan on letting him know I'm
considering Saturday the 17 of August to check it out. This would
be a new summit for me. If anyone wishes to join me, let me know.
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