Link at the end with photos.
I activated SOTA summit W6/SC-127 (unnamed), with POTA US-4541 Carrizo Plain NM on Sunday, 4/27/2025. The summit had never been activated before. I had looked at it for at least the last two years. I knew it was in the Carrizo Plain National Monument, and there was a road or motorized trail to it called the Temblor Ridge Road, but I did not know the condition of the trail. I did a search and found a few YouTube videos on it. Everyone said it was very steep, but the trail looked in good condition. I had been on a small portion of the trail a few years ago. I decided to give it a try.
I woke up Sunday Morning, way to early. It was 04:30, and I had planned to leave by 06:00. I got in the shower and got dressed. I said goodbye to Gail and got on the road. I filled up with gas and got breakfast at McDonald’s. It was still dark as I drove on and made it to Highway 166. From there, it was about an hour and a half.
I drove past my turnoff of Elkhorn Road and into Maricopa to fill up with fuel. I drove the 5 miles back to Elkhorn Road and turned off the pavement. I decided to air down the tires to about 17 psi. I was glad I did. The road is very washboard, and it made it much nicer. It took me about 15 minutes to get to the turnoff for Temblor Ridge Road. I looked at the trail from there and thought it was very steep. I put the truck into 4WD low range and started up the first section. The truck did not even spin a tire. It was not as steep as it looked from below.
It was about 8.5 miles to the summit. Many ups and downs, some were steeper and rutted. I used the rear locker on the truck a few times, but I never used the front locker. When I arrived at the summit, it was about 48°F with some broken clouds, but I could see rain all around me. I jumped out of the truck, put my jacket on, and hastily started to set up the antenna. I looked around for a bush to stick the mast in, but there were none. I set up the mast with guys and tent pegs. I got the wire up and set up the radio with a chair. I called CQ on 40m CW and was picked up by the RBN. First in the log was WB6POT Pete in San Jose, CA. He was very loud and gave me a 599. I was able to work N6MTB Bill, summit to summit on W6/CT-103 Cahuilla Mountain in SoCal. He was loud at a 579. I worked a bunch of the local regulars and then switched to 20m CW. Band conditions were not that good, and I was not making it to the East Coast. I made 26 contacts. I could see that the clouds were moving in with rain all around. I packed up and decided to try for another summit further down the trail. It rained on me a few times as I drove.
It was 6.4 miles to the next summit W6/SC-118 Midway Peak. This one had been activated before by KJ6YOA back in 2016. He did not leave a trip report, so I did not know if he hiked from the bottom or drove up like me. The trail from the last summit was a bit worse, but it was not a problem for the truck. As I arrived, it started to sprinkle. I got out thinking I would try to do it on 2 meters with my HT. I fired up the Yaesu VX-6R and set it to 146.520. I sent out a spot and called CQ. I got one caller, WB6JWB Shawn in Paso Robles. He was strong, I gave him a 57. But that was it, I called CQ for five minutes and nothing else. I had to set up the HF rig. There were no bushes, but there was a fence, so I lashed the mast to the fence and set up the wire. The rain was coming. I got the radio set up and I just sat on the ground. I called CQ on 40m CW , the RBN picked me up. First in the log was W6TED Ted in San Diego. He was loud, I gave him a 599. The first S2S was on 20m SSB, W4LZZ Matthew on W0C/FR-075 South Boulder Peak in the Colorado Rockies. He was weak, I gave him a 55. I made 9 contacts and could see the rain moving closer. I started to pack up and looked at my phone. There was a spot for W6LOR Lorene on W6/SS-454 Chuckwalla Mountain on 2m 146.580. I thought there is no way. I grabbed the HT and stood up. As soon as I stood up, there she was. 55 both ways. She handed the radio to Mike K6STR, and we gave each other 55’s. At the time, I thought it was about 150 miles, but it was only 85, it was still exciting. I packed up and got back into the truck just as the rain came. I had only made 11 contacts, but that was enough.
I continued on the trail to Hurricane Road and back down into the valley. It rained on and off as I drove out of the Carrizo Plain.
I do not recommend this one if you do not have a 4WD vehicle with higher ground clearance. A stock Jeep should be fine. Cell service was great with Verizon.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/NAfw94ToVFqSbvnw9