ACØPR, ham radio blog: 1st Activation of "Bulldog Pass" W7U/WS-112 (5284), Leap Day!

View while approaching the mountain

This is the second of a new "round" of finding never-before-activated summits. This one I've seen a few times, did some map recon, and decided it was time it was activated. It's just a one-pointer in Utah, but I was familiar with the area with a few other summits. First activations are always the most exciting.

Trail report:

The rock wall behind the tree

Access is gained from Old Highway 91. From the north it can be reached through Shivwitts Paiute Reservation, from the south it is just off of I-15 from Littlefield, AZ. Off of Old Highway 91, from either direction you take Mojave Desert Joshua Tree Rd. From the north it starts off paved but turns to a dirt road after just a bit (from the south it’s dirt from the beginning). The road does not require a 4x4 and is a decent road for most of it. From the north it’s just over 10 miles to the trailhead (just over 7 miles from the south). Mapping apps or GPS will let you know when you’re at the base of the mountain—there is a small access road for the electric line where I started the trail.

The hike is steep, but not too bad. The top is quite rocky so I would suggest checking the mapping page route where there is a nice, open access at the top without any scrambling required, although true rock climbers can find a number of other ways to access the top. Once over the top lip, it is rocky and not far to the high point. There is wire marking the high point and currently a registry. Good cell service at the top. Only rock and brush for setup.

The experience:
As is usually the case, Google Earth and topo maps don't always tell the whole story. Once at the base of the mountain, I visually scouted out a couple of routes. The one I went for had a large tree and a cove/entry behind it. The hike went well. Because the tree was so big, what I couldn't see is that instead of an opening, I was facing a rock wall. There was an area where a scramble was possible, but as a hiker who goes alone almost on every activation, I don't take any chances like that.

Luckily, from the base I noticed another possibility. I couldn't see it from where I was stopped, but knew how to get around to it. It took a bit longer naturally, but once I got there it was a simple walk over the top. From there I just had to make the distance back up and make my way to the high point. It was very different on the the other of the mountain--mostly rocky. When I made it to the summit, there was a registry. When I looked at it, only a few people had signed it, like maybe two per year, but one couple had signed it earlier the same morning. I didn't see them though.

With the extra time taken to get to the summit, I didn't stay on very long, just 20 mins. with 21 contacts including one summit-to-summit with KXØR, George in Colorado. I carefully made the hike back down and completed the successful first activation of the summit, so very good day.

Video of the activation

Date:29/02/2020 | Summit:W7U/WS-112 (5284) | Call Used:AC0PR | Points: 1 | Bonus: 0

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
18:09	W9MRH	14MHz	CW
18:09	K7PD	14MHz	CW
18:10	KG3W	14MHz	CW
18:11	KB5EDR	14MHz	CW
18:11	K4MF	14MHz	CW
18:12	AC7P	14MHz	CW
18:12	KG5AUU	14MHz	CW
18:13	W0MNA	14MHz	CW
18:13	W2RAN	14MHz	CW
18:13	W0ERI	14MHz	CW
18:14	WW7D	14MHz	CW
18:15	KX0R	14MHz	CW	S2S W0C/PR-114
18:17	WA2USA	14MHz	CW
18:17	WU7H	14MHz	CW
18:18	WF4I	14MHz	CW
18:19	AD0YM	14MHz	CW
18:19	NR0R	14MHz	CW
18:21	N0RZ	14MHz	CW
18:26	NQ7R	7MHz	CW
18:29	K6EL	7MHz	CW