Blessed to have this summit right in my backyard… but man, the hike is a real grind. About a 2,000 Ft climb, with 1,800 over a short distance. I worked this entire activation on 2m, but mostly CW and SSB. I was in a time crunch to get back. I had my KH1 with me but didn’t get a chance to break it out. The 2m SOTA challenge this year is fun. Los Angeles is a great place for 2m weak signal. There was so much 2m CW on the air today!!!!
Quick shout out to Mark K3MGM. Towards the tail end of my hike I wasn’t feeling well. The heat was getting to me. After a 20 min nap in the shade I was a little panicked I was out of water. I used my InReach to message Mark asking if he might come meet me at the top of Wildwood Canyon road. I was on a less travelled shortcut trail trying to get back to the car and a little wobbly… Much to my surprise a gal Lidia was coming around the corner. I politely asked if I could walk back with her since I wasn’t feeling well and she obliged. We chatted a bit about ham radio and SOTA which was a nice distraction from how crappy I felt. Mark met us on the road with a huge water and hung out with me until I felt better to drive to the office to get some work done (wait, wha???). Thank you Mark and Lidia!
Activation Hike Path
(1h 15m breaks)
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/CT-269
| Date / Time | Callsign | Frequency | Mode | Their Summit | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 16, 2026 1920 | KO6DVZ | 146.450MHz | FM | ||
| January 16, 2026 1934 | KD7DTSS2S | 144.100MHz | CW | W6/CT-228 | |
| January 16, 2026 1940 | KE6EEK | 144.085MHz | CW | DM04sg | |
| January 16, 2026 1949 | NT6E | 144.085MHz | CW | DM03tu | |
| January 16, 2026 2002 | K3MGM | 144.215MHz | SSB | DM04TE | |
| January 16, 2026 2005 | KE6TH | 144.215MHz | SSB | DM04WD | |
| January 16, 2026 2007 | WZ1EEE | 144.215MHz | SSB | DM04TA |
Leave a Reply