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Friday, January 16, 2026
This Martin-Luther King weekend was the annual Winter SotaFest, held again in the Barstow area. This is where amateur radio operators, who hike for award points in the Summits-on-the-Air (SOTA) program, gathered to spend the weekend together. A few of us camped at Sawtooth Campground, others stayed in Barstow Motels. Friday night Tom and I (Carol) arrived at Sawtooth around noon, only to find all sites were taken – except the host site which was empty. This one will do – we said to each other as we pulled into the large area enclosed with a fence, having a concrete pad large enough for two side-by-side trailers, and ample parking for all who would stop by. For Friday night we had 2 trailers, 2 in tents, and 2 visitors. Tim arrived in his large camper trailer. - with Sierra, now 2. Mike K6MII and Jonathan KG6TGR slept in tents, and Ron K6STR and Sheri stopped by for a visit.
Summits activated today were
- Mike K6MII: W6/SD-443 (Goat Mountain)
- Lorene and Mike: W6/ND-224 (Government Peak)
- Ron K6CPR and Sheri K6SBB: W6/SD-481 (Waterman Hills)
Saturday, January 17, 2026
On Saturday morning we split into groups. Tom and I went with Tim and Sierra to Peak 4074, Mike and Jonathan to West Ord, Mike K6STR and Lorene to 3780 and Lane, and David and Mike K6MII to Watkins.
The night was spent with our original party from Friday night, but joined by Kevin KN6FNY, wife Jen, 4-year-old son Luka. They spent the night in their 4Runner with roof-mounted tent. Luka and Sierra were instant friends – having a blast climbing up and down the ladder that led to into the tent. To distract this from this not-kid safe play, Kevin and Jen took Luka to do some rock climbing, then climbed to the cave that was visible from the campground, accompanied by Tim and Sierra. David N6AN also joined us for the evening -- sleeping under the stars. After dinner our motel folks arrived (Lorene, Mike, Ron, and Sheri) and we spent the evening chatting around the campfire. At 9:00 pm “hikers midnight” was called and everyone was sent off to bed.
Summits activated today were
- Carol KE6SRN, Tom KE6SRO, Tim K6TW and Sierra: W6/SD-129 (4074)
- Kevin KN6FNY: W6/SD-093 (4490), W6/SD-089 (4530), and W6/SD-117 (4234).
- Mike K6MII and Jonathan KR6TGR: W6/SD-040 (West Ord Mountain)
- Ben AG6N: got a ride to W6/SD-010 (Ord Mountain) with Jimmy, who had a key to the gate, and Aaron from the Big Bear area.
- Mike and Lorene: W6/ND-299 (3780), W6/ND-238 (Lane Mountain)
- David N6AN and Mike K6MII: W6/SD-218 (Watkins Benchmark)
- Ron K6CPR and Sheri K6SBB: W6/SD-501 (Elephant Mountain), W6/SD-116 (Su Casa Benchmark)
Sunday, January 18, 2026
All but Carol and Tom were heading for home later today, but many made one final hike on their way home.
Summits activated today were
- Carol KE6SRN and Tom KE6SRO: W6/SD-010 Ord Mountain
- David N6AN and Mike K6MII: W6/SD-218 (Watkins Benchmark)
- Lorene and Mike: W6/SD-040 (West Ord Mountain)
- Ron K6SPR and Sheri K6SBB; W6/SD-501 (Elephant Mountain), W6/SD-018 (Rodman Mtns HP)
Monday, January 19, 2026
As all the other SoCalSota campers had left from home yesterday, the only friends we could make Weak Signal contacts with were home in Los Angeles. Tom and I connected our VHF amp for the first time, so that helped a bit compared to yesterday. Lorene sent me this image, which shows that we should not have been able to reach into the LA area
This is what Jon text to me: “On 144.1 i heard both you and KI6CR. And chasers coming in. Huston was calling also and some other station. They thought they were working the activator but actually were working each other. I think KI6CR got confused and moved to 105, but Cam AK6LY was already there. So everyone ended up on the same frequency again.”
Bruegge VHF Radio Gear
- ICOM IC-705 with RMItaly LA-144 amp
- CWMorse double paddle
- Arrow 4-element Yagi
- Carol KE6SRN and Tom KE6SRO
Kevin KN6FNY’s trip report
Had a wonderful time this weekend at this years “Winter” SOTA Fest…the most enjoyable weather you could hope for in the desert. Not only was it warm and sunny, but very little wind….which is rare, at least compared to previous years.
My wife, son and I left Orange County around 630am Saturday morning and headed to the desert. The goal for the day was 3 summits, SD-117, SD-089, and SD-093 moving fast and light. Started hiking up SD-117 around 830am and after a short but punchy (600ft) hike I was on summit in about 20minutes. Quickly got my first three contact on VHF but couldn’t round up a 4th, setup my KX2 and got a handful of more contacts on 40m SSB, then back to the truck and on to the next summit.
Just down Stoddard Well Road was SD-089, the approach drive was a little rocky in places, but a little more technical the last 100yards and wasn’t really worth it. Another short but punchy hike, and quickly got my contacts including some 2m SSB using my UVK5 with Mike and Lorene and a CW contact with Ara over on Table Mtn.
Final peak was SD-093, we continued north on Stoddard Well Road passing Stoddard Mountain, and eventually headed west on Stoddard Valley/Dale Evans/PowerlinesRd then turning onto some side roads to get up to a saddle on the east side of the peak. From there I hiked the ENE ridge, couple steep spots in places but overall a very enjoyable hike. Everything was so green with the recent rains. Plenty of ops were on VHF and made contacts with Mike, Lorene, Tim, Carol, Tom, Ara and Mark.
Back at the truck we decided to try and drive north following a questionable road down to the 15/Hodge Rd exit. While it wasn’t a terrible idea…it wasn’t the best. The road required high ground clearance due to the rutting and high center, the 4runner navigated it fine and only scraped the underside a few times. We finally popped out on the 15 and headed to In N Out for burgers and milkshakes.
We arrived at camp (thank you everyone who helped secure the site!) eventually meeting up with Tom, Carol, Tim and his daughter. We scrambled around the surrounding rocks. My wife and I brought our rock-climbing gear and climbed a nearby route close to camp. Ben and Mike arrived and we hung out around camp chatting. We had a campfire and David, Mike, Lorene, Ron, and Sheri arrived shortly after. Eventually everyone tired out and it was time for bed. So glad to have a windless night and not get pounded by the wind. In the morning we made breakfast and climbed one more route next to camp before heading home.
It was great catching up with everyone, I haven’t been very active with radio in the last year and it was so nice reconnecting with everyone. Thanks again to everyone who made the trek out this weekend, we had a blast.
Bruegge Camp Recipes
Muesli
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ½ cup coconut flakes
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 Tbl pumpkin seeds
- 2 Tbl chia seeds
To prepare at home, bake oats in a 350 F oven for 7 min, then add remaining ingredients. Store until ready to use. The night before serving, soak a serving amount with an equal amount of milk. Heat when ready to serve. An option is to add a sliced half banana.
Veggie bean chili
I prepare this at home, then heat when ready to serve. I also bake potatoes at home, then dice and add to the chili when heating. Serve with cheddar cheese, diced green onions.
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15 ou can kidney beans
- 1 15 ou can black beans
- 1 15 ou can diced tomatoes
- 1 tea Chili powder
- 1 tea Oregano
Chicken fajitas
- 1 12.5 can chicken
- 1 7-ou can green chiles
- 2 Tbl soy sauce
- 2 Tbl olive oil
- 2 Tbl lime juice
- Flour tortillas
At camp (or motel) reheat and serve with warmed tortillas and other condiments such as lettuce, tomato, red bell pepper, and guacamole.