What a beautiful day for a hike!! I was in San Diego for an out and back business trip and my morning meeting wrapped a little early. I had my backpack with me just in case. This summit was a short drive from where it was and seemed like a light effort to squeeze in. I saw no one the entire time on trail and summit. The landscape was rocky with a bit of flora. Got a pic or two of some very odd shaped rocks!
At the summit I ran 2m CW on the Quansheng using my new CEC dongle and a BaMaTech TP-3 key. The dongle worked great! Worked a couple usual chasers and finally barely heard Jon NT6E. He is my top chaser and that’s probably no surprise to any active SOTA activator. I gave him a 119 signal report. Sorry Jon 🙂
It was getting hot so I broke out the KH1 for a few 20m QSO. Eventually it seemed like callers were responding to another OP calling on the same frequency that I couldn’t hear, so I took that as a sign to pack up and drive home. Thanks to all my chasers!
Activation Hike Path
How Hike Stats Are Calculated
These figures are derived automatically from your GPX track file.
Hiking Time & Distance
Time and distance accumulated while moving outside the activation zone at a speed above the stationary threshold (default 0.3 km/h). Periods where you were stopped — waiting at a trailhead, taking a break — are excluded and counted separately as Rest Breaks.
Rest Breaks
Stationary periods outside the activation zone lasting longer than the rest threshold (default 3 minutes). Anything shorter is ignored as normal GPS noise or a momentary pause. Rest break time is shown inside the Hiking Time box for reference but is not added to hiking time.
Activation Time
All time spent inside the activation zone, regardless of whether you were moving or stationary. This captures the full period from when you first entered the zone to when you left — including any walking around the summit, setting up gear, and operating.
The activation zone boundary is determined by one of two methods (see below).
Total Time
The elapsed time from the first to the last GPS trackpoint in the file. This equals Hiking Time + Activation Time + Rest Breaks + any unclassified transition time at the boundaries.
Elevation Gain & Loss
The cumulative altitude gained and lost across all trackpoints. Each uphill step between consecutive points adds to gain; each downhill step adds to loss. Out-and-back routes will show roughly equal gain and loss.
Hiking Speed
Average speed calculated as Hiking Distance ÷ Hiking Time. Only moving segments outside the activation zone are included, so rest stops and summit time do not drag the average down.
Peak & Base Elevation
The highest and lowest elevation values recorded in the GPS track. The highest point is also used as the starting reference for the activation zone when the API method is used.
Activation Zone Methods
API-based zone (currently active): The boundary is retrieved from activation.zone using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) terrain data and the official SOTA rule — the zone extends to where the terrain drops 25 metres below the summit. This is the most accurate method and matches what SOTA adjudicators use.
Contact Map
Activation Logbook
My Summit: W6/SC-453
| Date / Time | Callsign | Frequency | Mode | Their Summit | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 17, 2026 15:01 | K6ELS2S | 14.062 | CW | W6/NC-029 | S2S Summit Unconfirme |
| June 17, 2026 15:04 | W5ODS | 14.062 | CW | ||
| June 17, 2026 15:09 | K6YK | 14.062 | CW | ||
| June 17, 2026 15:14 | N0ROW | 14.062 | CW | ||
| June 17, 2026 15:20 | K1CT | 144.100 | CW | ||
| June 17, 2026 15:27 | W6LOR | 144.100 | CW | ||
| June 17, 2026 15:28 | K6STR | 144.100 | CW | ||
| June 17, 2026 18:19 | NT6E | 144.100 | CW |
