Hi All!
Most of the years of my life, I have done a big backpacking or bicycle camping trip in the summer. I’m 51 years old so that amounts to going up and down the west coast of the United States multiple times. This past spring I got involved in amatuer radio, and recently I learned about Summits on the Air. It seems to be a natural fit for my interests; As a young man, I was a United States Marine Corps radio operator. 30+ years later, SOTA seems like a very enjoyable return to my roots! My backpacking trip for this summer is planned for August 11th to the 27th. I plan to hike around Lake Tahoe, in Northern California. 200+ miles with SOTA opportunities aplenty. I’m not following the Tahoe Rim Trail exactly but I do plan to put my foot down on every mile of the Tahoe Rim Trail.
My only radio at this point is a Yaesu FT-60 with a roll up J-pole, so I will need help from chasers in the Sacramento Valley, the Tahoe basin, and Nevada to successfully achieve activations.
Afternoon thunderstorms may affect my activation plans. I have been on a peak during a lightning storm and it scared the he** out of me. I’m not doing it again.
My approximate itinerary with all the summits looks like this:
Aug 11/12/13 - Donner Summit to Tahoe City
W6/NS-149 Mt. Lincoln 8 pts
W6/NS-121 Tinker Knob 8 pts
W6/NS-115 Granite Chief 8 pts
W6/NS-128 East Twin Peaks 8 pts
Aug 14/15/16 - Tahoe City to Mt Rose Highway
W6/NS-147 Mt Watson 8 pts
W6/NS-189 Gold Star Peak 8 pts
W7N//WC-001 Mt Rose 10 pts, or
W7N/WC-003 Tamarack Peak 8 pts
Aug 17/18/19 - Mt Rose Highway to Highway 207
W7N/WC - 005 - No name, elevation 9295 8 pts
W7WC - 008 - Herlan Peak 6 pts
W7/WC - 006 - No name 8728’ 6 pts
W7/TR - 014 - Duane Bliss Peak 6 pts
W7/TR - 007 - Genoa Peak 8 pts
Aug 20/21/22 Highway 207 to Highway 89
W6/NS - 061 - Monument Peak 8 pts unlikely unless I get motivated
W6/NS - 086 - No name 9614’ 8 pts maybe
W6/SN - 034 - Freel Peak 8 pts… Highly likely. 10,882’. Higher than 10 point peak Mt Rose. Highest peak in the Lake Tahoe basin. I may take an extra day here if thunderstorms prevent my success on my first try.
W6/NS - 084 - No name 9647’ - unlikely but possible.
Aug 23/24 - Highway 89 to Highway 50
W6/NS - 087 - Little Round Top 8 pts
Aug 25/26/27 - Highway 50 to Tahoe City
W6/NS - 068 - Dick’s Peak 8 pts
W6/NS - 154 - Lost Corner Mountain 8 pts
W6/NS - 128 - East Twin Peaks 8 pts (second shot at it)
If I get ahead of schedule, I may try to push all the way to Northstar and activate Mt Pluto. Resupply needs along the way will make getting ahead of schedule difficult though.