We are are? tight community activators and chasers that is passionate about ham radio and the outdoors. Please feel free to use this forum to announce and recap activations, ask questions, coordinate` group outings and meetings, and discuss techniques and equipment.? Let's share our experiences, communicate and coordinate our activities and have more fun! 73, Walt W0CP

just trying this out

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Bob Witte / K0NR / bob@... / www.k0nr.com

Works :-P

HI Walt,
Thanks for sending me the invite to this new group.? It makes sense to have a more localized W0C group. After all, we do have the most Mt Goats of all NA associations ;-).? I do communicate with several local activators via private email.? However, the group could benefit from these communications as well.? We just need to get KX0R, N0TA, K0JQZ, KC0YQF and other top activators to join in....easier said than done!

In any event, I'll be happy to participate.
73, Brad
WA6MM

I think this group would benefit from "conditions" reporting so here is my first attempt...

Stanley Mtn: W0C/SR-046
Date activated: 5/16/18
Still a snow climb for the first mile or so.? Used microspikes for this section in the morning when the snow was still firm.? Needed snowshoes coming back down when the snow softened up (post-holed ~ 2ft a few times before I put them on!).? You can avoid most of the snow the rest of the way to summit.

Mt Flora: W0C/SR-035
Date activated: 5/24/18
Still a snow climb for the first mile or so.? Used microspikes for this section when the snow was still firm.? Needed snowshoes coming back down when the snow softened up.? There is a large steep snowfield on the north side of Colorado Mines Peak that you need to traverse.? I only used my microspikes and poles for this section.? I was only able to kick one inch steps here so I needed to go slow!? An axe would be useful here if the snow is really firm or icy.? You can avoid most of the snow the rest of the way to the summit.

73, Brad
WA6MM

CR 306, the road extending from West Main Street in Buena Vista up Cottonwood Pass, will be closed at the Avalanche trailhead for an extensive construction project resurfacing the road and installing bike lanes.For hikers in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, that means some trails will be inaccessible until the project wraps up in 2019.The Continental Divide Trail, which runs 3,100 miles from the Canada-Montana border to the New Mexico-Mexico border, crosses the road at the Cottonwood Pass summit. Foot travel along the trail will not be interrupted, but the closure of the road means that hikers would not be able to resupply in Buena Vista.

Construction will extend from Buena Vista town limits to the county line, and would involve pulverizing the road’s current pavement, which was laid in the 1980s and has seen little improvement since, and recycling it into a base, then putting 3 inches of fresh pavement on top of that.

The project will also address slipping guardrails near the Cottonwood Pass summit, inadequate parking at Denny Creek trailhead and haphazard parking at the summit, said James Herlyck, the project lead for Central Federal Lands on the Chaffee County project as well as a concurrent project to pave the portion of the road in Gunnison County.

Both projects are being funded primarily by the federal government through the Federal Lands Access Program, which offers improvements for access routes to federally-owned land that are themselves owned by non-federal entities like counties.

Chaffee County will pay about $2 million for the project. The Gunnison County initial road paving project is estimated to cost over $27 million, with that county also paying a small percentage.

“The easiest resupply point north of Cottonwood Pass is at Twin Lakes. The easiest resupply point south of Cottonwood Pass is the Monarch Crest store (or hitching/arranging a ride into Salida),” said Rachel Brown, the trail information manager for the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. “It’s about 83 miles between those two points.”

Closer, albeit more “logistically challenging” access points are the historic mining towns of Winfield to the north of the pass and Tincup to the south, Brown said.

The CDT is concurrent with the Colorado Trail for over 230 miles, meeting at Georgia Pass near Breckenridge and parting ways finally in the San Juan Mountains southeast of Silverton. The two trails also diverge at Twin Lakes and rejoin around Monarch Pass.

The Colorado Trail is accessible from the Avalanche trailhead, just east of where the road will be closed for construction, and crosses CR 306 inconspicuously just west of Rainbow Lake.

Brown said that 70 hikers completed the CDT, which, along with the Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails forms the triple crown of American long-distance through-hiking, in 2017. However, she expects that the closure of CR 306 will most impact those who take on the CDT one section at a time.

“I’ve already spoken on the phone to a fellow who wanted to hike from Leadville to Cottonwood Pass, but because of the road closure, he changed his plans and will be using the Colorado Trail Collegiate East route instead of staying on the CDT the entire way,” Brown said.

The parking lot for the Denny Creek trailhead, hiking trail and the last point before the road is barricaded for winter closures, will also be getting a facelift as part of the project.

The loss of access to that trailhead this summer means that the Brown’s Pass trail, which has offshoots leading to the Texas Creek trail, Kroenke Lake and Mount Yale, will be inaccessible.

Mount Yale is the only one of Chaffee County’s 12 fourteeners whose access will be limited by construction, but the 14,200 foot peak can still be reached by the slightly longer East Ridge route, beginning from the Avalanche trailhead.

Another popular destination in the area, Ptarmigan Lake, will be inaccessible from its typical route off CR 306, but can be reached from the south via a 4WD trail off CR 344.

4-peaks (?) 2-days ...will spot? -?

SOTA-SOTA, Steve/wGOAT

I activated Mt Evans this morning before all the crowds got there.? I plan on doing Rosalie (W0C/FR-007) tomorrow morning.? The crowds are coming now so I want to do this area and the Guanella Pass area before the crowds get worse!!? Next week I'll do some peaks off of Guanella Pass.

73, Brad
WA6MM

开云体育

You guys may already know this but bushducks.com is a good source for seasonal road info in Colorado.
It is 4WD oriented but many SOTA summits are accessed that way (hiking or not).

See

73, Bob K0NR

I activated Mt Evans this morning before all the crowds got there.? I plan on doing Rosalie (W0C/FR-007) tomorrow morning.? The crowds are coming now so I want to do this area and the Guanella Pass area before the crowds get worse!!? Next week I'll do some peaks off of Guanella Pass.

73, Brad
WA6MM

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Bob Witte K0NR
bob@... 

Good info Bob!? I'm not much info 4wd stuff but my wife just bought a Wrangler JK 2dr.? So, maybe I'll try some tougher roads someday...if she'll let me !! ;-).? BTW, what tires and size do you use for the roads you climb?

73, Brad
WA6MM

开云体育

Where’d you hike up from to get up Evans Brad?

Hi Curtis,
I'm ashamed to say that this was my first "drive-up" peak...;-(....after 150 summits.? I'm going to make amends and do Rosalie Pk tomorrow.? Still rather easy but not a "drive-up" peak!!? I'm no longer into getting SOTA points but really like to make 40 plus contacts on every activation.? It's more fun for me now to work all of my many friends!

73, Brad
WA6MM

开云体育

Imagine my disappointment that Brad has lowered his standards to doing drive ups. LOL :-)

73, Bob K0NR

开云体育

开云体育

Hi Carey!
Wow...you had a long tough day! Great job. I'll have to put that peak on my list. I had one of my easiest days on a mountain ;-). It was good training for when I get to Bob's age ;-). I was glad we could complete a S2S.? You were loud indeed.? I also worked K0RS on 20m rather than the usual 60m.? He was 599.

I'm going back to the Mt Evans area to do Rosalie Peak today.? I see you and N0TA will be activating today as well.? More S2S opportunities!? Good luck.

73, Brad
WA6MM

开云体育

I don't consider that a drive up, Brad, since you actually have to gain altitude to get into the activation zone. You need to do Pikes Peak. That's Colorado's signature drive up! How'd the road look?

Hi Walt!
The Mt Evans road is in great shape now.? I've activated Pikes Peak but I hiked up from the Crags Campground...long hike!? Maybe I'll drive up that peak someday ;-).

73, Brad
WA6MM