2020-03-21 Monserate Mtn.
Given that it’s been raining a bit, I decided to hike Monserate, W6/CT-235, because the terrain does well after a storm. The weather was partly cloudy and the trail was busy. I enjoy getting outdoors by myself but I had no problem sharing it with the throngs of people that were out and about. Everyone, including me have been cooped up for the week under rainy skys, and I encourage people to get out side. It’’ll lower your stress from Corona Virus as we adjust as well as everything else. And... it feels great to get some fresh air.
I’ve done this hike before. It’s 3.7 miles round-trip onhard pack trail, climbs 1,300 feet with a nice view to the west. Once on top I found a place way out of the way of people, setup and got to work. I had a great view to the south and east as I sat on my rock in my operating position murdering CW. When I was done, I had a pile of contacts, netting15, 4 of them summit-to-summits.
The clouds built a little more for a fantastic cool descent. The hike was nice, the bands were crackling, and the day was epic. Check out the video below.
I put together a video series called “SOTA 360”. It’s currently 4 parts and shows everything that goes into the prep, execution, and logging of SOTA contacts. Check it out.
Contacts
SUMMIT W6/CT-235
| Date | Time | Band | Mode | Other Callsign | Other Summit | Is S2S? |
| 21/03/2020 | 18:09 | 14MHz | CW | W0MNA | ||
| 21/03/2020 | 18:32 | 14MHz | CW | W0ERI | ||
| 21/03/2020 | 18:33 | 14MHz | CW | AC1Z | ||
| 21/03/2020 | 18:33 | 14MHz | CW | K3TCU | ||
| 21/03/2020 | 18:34 | 14MHz | CW | N7JH | ||
| 21/03/2020 | 18:36 | 14MHz | CW | WB5USB | ||
| 21/03/2020 | 18:41 | 14MHz | CW | WN4AT | ||
| 21/03/2020 | 18:43 | 14MHz | CW | WG0AT | ||
| 21/03/2020 | 18:44 | 18MHz | CW | KI4SVM | W4G/NG-012 | ✔ |
| 21/03/2020 | 18:57 | 18MHz | CW | WU7H | W7W/CW-033 | ✔ |
| 21/03/2020 | 19:03 | 10MHz | CW | K7AHR | W7O/CN-033 | ✔ |
| 21/03/2020 | 19:08 | 10MHz | CW | WW7D | W7W/CW-033 | ✔ |
| 21/03/2020 | 19:29 | 7MHz | CW | W6RWS | ||
| 21/03/2020 | 19:39 | 7MHz | CW | K6KM | ||
| 21/03/2020 | 19:40 | 7MHz | CW | K6ARK |
Loadout:
● First aid kit. Make sure it’s a good one... like ability to patch up an impalement wound.
● Elecraft KX2 10 watt HF Radio
● The K6ARK Spider Thread Antenna
● 30’ of coax feed line (not needed
● Slim Jim dual band antenna for my HT.
● 3 L of water (8 lb)
● iPhone with All Trails, MotionX GPS and sota goat
● Trekking poles (not today)
● LNR End Fed multi-band antenna
● SOTAbeams Tactical 7000hds Compact Heavy-Duty Telescopic Mast TAC7000HDS
● AnyTone AT-868UV DMR radio for testing.
● Custom wine bottle cork paddles for CW (crafted by K6ARK)
● American Morse Porta Paddle for CW
● Delorme Inreach satellite tracker and communicator.
● Jetboil MicroMo cooking system (left at the car this trip)
● Yaesu FT-2DR HT (backup left in the car)
● Packtenna. (did not take)
● CHA MPAS with spike and additional MIL mast (and version 2 of the top section) (left in car)
● Yaesu FT-891D HF Radio at 100 watts (left this in the car 🙂 )
● Extra LiFePO Battery (not needed)
73,
N1CLC
Christian Claborne