On Sunday, 1 March 2026, VK3SRT and I activated VK3/VN-011 Sugarloaf Peak, a 950m summit about 110 km from home and about 85 km northeast of Melbourne.
The climb up from the car park, via Canyon Track, was listed in the Parks Victoria Park Note as hard and taking 30 minutes. The green sign onsite says it is a 45-minute journey.
In 2023 I did it in 42 minutes.
In 2026 - 80 minutes to summit due in part to other hikers on the route, and partly our lack of condition and advancing age. The ‘track’ is marked with orange triangles nailed to trees and glued to rocks. In one part the track is replaced with a steep climb up a rock face which, if you don’t like heights or lack suitable fitness, would be worth avoiding. Other sections are steep ‘steps’ up rock ledges.
Operating only on 2m SSB, I made 7 QSOs, including an aircraft enhanced QSO with @VK3SQ. VK3SRT made 6 QSOS, unfortunately missing @VK3SQ due to the very short AE opening. The first QSO was S2S with @VK3YY on VK3/VT-066.
The antenna was a Diamond 144S5, 5 element Yagi at 3 m AGL using the lower 3 sections of a damaged 9 metre squid pole for support. The squid pole was wedged into the rocks and was able to be rotated by hand as required. When hiking I pack the Yagi in a 90mm PVC pipe with a screw cap. It is awkward at times moving under low branches, but it ensures that antenna arrives in good shape.
The transceiver was FT817ND running full power and the coax was 7m of RG213. QSOs where between 75 and 146 km with most reported as 53 or better.
All logged QSOs were horizontal polarisation. We did try for a vertical QSO with @VK3PF but was beaten by the terrain between us. While I was just able to make out his 100 Watts, he had no chance of hearing my 5 Watts.
There were many other hikers around the top of the ridge, some with the inevitable question, “What is that?” Having had similar questions many times, I can assure you there is far more interest when the reply is “We are trying to bounce signals off aircraft flying between Melbourne and Sydney” than “Just talking with other hams interstate.”
The descent from the summit to the carpark took 53 minutes with only a short delay to allow a Lowlands Copperhead snake to cross the track.
