ACØPR, ham radio blog: Veyo Volcano W7U/WS-113 Back After Too Long a Break

A good go-to 1-pointer

With the heat of August in the desert, then school starting up again, I got busy and had the longest break away from SOTA since I started--it was over two and a half months since I had activated. It wasn't an on-purpose break, it just happened. This was really just "I have to get out there and get going again" activation. Thus one close to home and simple.

Trail report:

Earlier I decided to go with an approach from the east where the slope is more gradual, although the hike is longer. There is a recreation access road, but no good place to park until you're at the south of the volcano, so I got off as far as possible. There is a small parking lot to the northeast of the volcano, however there is a barbed wire fence to negotiate if you park there and is a little more inclined. Careful footing is required with all the lava rock. Scared up a coyote a little over halfway up. Benchmark and geocache at the summit.

On subsequent activations, including this one, I have gone straight up from the base and prefer that to the long route. Steeper but faster and much shorter.

The experience:
It was good to get back out again. Even though this is a very simple, close to home summit, it had been long enough that I had to go through my entire pack again, do some checking of gear and radio equipment, and of course, had to recharge batteries, the external speaker, the radio and anything else I could think of.

On air it was a typical day and amount of activity. I stayed on my normal amount of time, about 25 mins. Nothing unusual or extraordinary, no DX, no summit-to-summits, but it didn't really matter, it was good just to get some fresh air, have some nice views, get it a hike, and play on the radio some.

Date:26/10/2019 | Summit:W7U/WS-113 (Veyo Volcano) | Call Used:AC0PR | Points: 1 | Bonus: 0

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
16:06	VE2JCW	14MHz	CW
16:07	K8LJG	14MHz	CW
16:08	K4QS	14MHz	CW
16:09	KG3W	14MHz	CW
16:09	N4LSJ	14MHz	CW
16:10	W4DOW	14MHz	CW
16:12	W4KRN	14MHz	CW
16:13	N4EX	14MHz	CW
16:14	K2JB	14MHz	CW
16:14	N4CD	14MHz	CW
16:15	N1ZF	14MHz	CW
16:17	K4MM	14MHz	CW
16:17	WD4CFN	14MHz	CW
16:22	K6HPX	7MHz	CW
16:23	NW7E	7MHz	CW
16:24	N5ZC	7MHz	CW
16:24	WB7VTY	7MHz	CW
16:24	K6ARK	7MHz	CW
16:26	NS7P	7MHz	CW
16:27	N7YY	7MHz	CW
16:28	KR7RK	7MHz	CW