ACØPR, ham radio blog: 1st Activation of Water Canyon Peak W7U/WS-031

Looking at the southern face

This summit was the last in a group in an area that had never been activated before. I did most of the others a few years back on the quest to reach Mountain Goat. This one is the farthest of the group, the hardest access, and thus ended up being the last for me to activate. It's a 4-pointer, and pretty out of the way for me.

Trail report:
Access is gained going through the town of Enterprise, UT heading west on Highway 219. From Enterprise it's 12.3 miles to the Forest Road turnoff (FR-002). It is the first turn off to the left once you enter Dixie National Forest (very soon after). FR-002 is a decent enough road and goes all the way to the base of the mountain. The first 1/2 mile has some rough parts, but the rest is pretty nice. There are a number of roads that turn off of FR-002, but at this time they are all marked with road numbers. Stay on FR-002 for 6.9 miles.

At this point there is an intersection with FR-878 which leads to the north face. If you continue on FR-002 for another 1.2 miles to reach a open area to park and ascend from the south face. Be advised that this extra 1.2 miles is very rough and not at all like the previous portions of the road. Not recommended for pickups, perhaps a Jeep would be fine (I went by ATV, but still not easy).

It is very brushy (heavy scrub oak) and rocky on both sides. The climb isn't bad, just navigating terrain and scrub oak. I went up the southern face. Near the top I did circle around to the north side to circumvent the boulders. I did see a few cairns near the end so the north route may have a marked path. On the top there is an antenna (vhf type) with a couple of solar panels and a large metal box for a repeater. Not a lot of space on the summit for a wire antenna. While there is cell service on the top, on the way in and up there really wasn't.

The experience:

The antenna setup on the summit

I was certainly a beautiful day and the right time of year to see wild flowers and mountain green. I saw one other person at the very beginning just as I got into the national forest, but from then on, not a soul. There were a very trickle streams to cross, a light breeze, very nice all around. The hardest thing was decided which face to climb. Both sides looked rocky and with lots of brush. The north would mean more elevation, but shorter distance, and the south the opposite, a little less elevation and a longer distance. I went with the south as mentioned above. If I were to do it again, I would try the north.

The shack

The worst part was going through thick scrub oak, just bushwhacking to get through. I didn't see another way. It wasn't long though. Once through that, the rest was a nice hike. Steep at times, but not anymore dangerous than any other hike. The higher I got, the windier it became. Once I could see the antenna, the push to get there kicked in. Almost to the top I came across an old, weathered car battery--obviously for the antenna system--but it seemed the weight was too much for the owner to bother bringing it all the way down.

Once at the top, I took some pictures and video and looked around for where would be a good place to set up. It's a pretty pointy summit, so running a dipole wire north to south (which is the orientation I always use) wasn't going to be easy. I came down a bit to find an open area, yet one with a bush to use to stabilize the mast, and starting setting up. I put up my SOTA flag--which I only do with 1st activations--and decided it wasn't worth trying to get all the wire out needed for 40 meters--just too steep and far off the side of the mountain. So I stayed with the shorter 20 meter part of the wire. With wind picking up, taking longer than I thought, etc. I didn't stay on very long. I did get 21 contacts, including two summit-to-summit contacts, in less than 20 mins.

On the hike back down I did find a little better route to avoid as much bushwhacking, but still some. Then I loaded up on the ATV and headed back. That first portion back on the trail, which was the narrowest and roughest had a tree right on the edge. The trail was rough and I got my ATV too close and the ends of my trekking poles caught the tree and completely bent both of them. Ah! Oh well, it happens. In almost four years of doing SOTA, these were my third set, and now I needed a fourth--one set per year for me it seems. The first set were cheap and just bent while hiking in snow as I had to lean into them, so don't go cheap with those!

Video trail report for this activation

Date:23/05/2020 | Summit:W7U/WS-031 (Water Canyon Peak) | Call Used:AC0PR | Points: 4 | Bonus: 0

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
16:03	K7GT	14MHz	CW
16:04	K4MF	14MHz	CW
16:05	K0BWR	14MHz	CW
16:06	K3TCU	14MHz	CW
16:07	NE4TN	14MHz	CW
16:07	K5DEZ	14MHz	CW
16:08	N0RZ	14MHz	CW
16:09	N4HNH	14MHz	CW
16:11	W5ODS	14MHz	CW	S2S W5O/OU-017
16:12	K9OZ	14MHz	CW
16:13	N4EX	14MHz	CW
16:14	NS7P	14MHz	CW
16:15	K0WRY	14MHz	CW
16:15	WD4CFN	14MHz	CW
16:16	AD0YM	14MHz	CW
16:17	W0MNA	14MHz	CW
16:17	W0ERI	14MHz	CW
16:18	W9MRH	14MHz	CW
16:19	K0LAF	14MHz	CW
16:20	WB2FUV	14MHz	CW
16:21	KX0R	14MHz	CW	S2S W0C/SR-052