ACØPR, ham radio blog: 1st Activation Spencer, ID W7I/ER-088 (7340)

Summit proper

This was a chance to activate while visiting my folks in Rexburg, ID. I thought about some other summits closer to home, but they were still snowed in with the recent storms they've had. This one, never activated--which is always extra fun--was a 4-point summit about an hour drive north. My dad drove up with me, although he stayed by the pickup to walk about.

Trail report:

Benchmark (says "Three")

This summit is accessed from the town of Spencer, ID right off of I-15. After exiting at Spencer head east "into town" on the short road Opal Way and take a right (south) on Old Hwy 91 which quickly crosses the railroad tracks and takes you to Spencer/Kilgore Road.

After only about 1.5 miles, you turn off north at a field and go through the wire/fence-post gate. The road is very grassy and is not used frequently. Once you start your way up, you'll pass one fork (staying left/west) and reach the next one. From here you can go up where the antennas are and circle around or stay low in the draw. Both options are not optimal for regular-sized vehicles. An OHV is preferrible on both.

I took the high (left) fork up and the other coming down to see what both were like. The lower, draw road is smoother and grassy, but also has ruts caused by run-off. The upper route has nicer views, also grassy, but with rocks underneath. If the weather is dry, the lower route is a better road.

Beautiful flowers!

Going either direction will lead you to a few hundred vertical feet below the summit. There is a benchmark as seen on topo maps, but not quite where you would think. There is remains of an old wood structure, but the benchmark is a little lower elevation than that to the south (maybe 10 yards). The highpoint, however, is around to the east and is easy to spot once on the upper part of the summit. There is good cell service in the area. Some brush, rocky at the top, trees aren't far away.

The experience:

It was a beautiful day. I dropped the ATV at the base and took the higher route up to reach closer to the top. I had a group of three OHV's in front of me for a while. They stopped near an antenna overlooking the small town. It was their first time up this way as well and weren't sure if they should continue on their scouting trip for a hunt in the fall. We all kept going and reached the Targhee National Forest edge. They stopped and I kept going. There was a good flat place to stop and start the hike. It was a nice hike, cool, with lots of green.

The shack

I circled around to the high point and set up. Lots of activity, got 3 summit-to-summit contacts and a total of 30 contacts in 35 minutes on the air. I did have a bunch of ants find me which made for interesting CW I'm sure as I moved around and swiped them off.

I packed up, not wanting to keep my dad waiting too long, and headed back down as I snacked on a packet of fruit snacks. I took the other route back down once reaching the ATV. Much nicer (once down the steep first part). Very enjoyable activation.

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
16:19	W5ODS	14MHz	CW
16:19	VE7JH	14MHz	CW
16:20	W7USA	14MHz	CW
16:21	K6YK	14MHz	CW
16:21	VE7HI	14MHz	CW
16:22	WA7JTM	14MHz	CW
16:22	WW7D	14MHz	CW
16:23	W0MNA	14MHz	CW
16:23	W7HO	14MHz	CW
16:24	WC6J	14MHz	CW	S2S W6/SN-039
16:26	AC1Z	14MHz	CW
16:27	W0ERI	14MHz	CW
16:27	N4EX	14MHz	CW
16:27	WA2USA	14MHz	CW
16:28	N6WT	14MHz	CW
16:29	WU7H	14MHz	CW
16:29	N9XG	14MHz	CW
16:30	W4KRN	14MHz	CW
16:30	K4MF	14MHz	CW
16:32	K6QCB	14MHz	CW
16:32	AB0BM	14MHz	CW
16:33	K0LAF	14MHz	CW
16:34	ND0C	14MHz	CW
16:40	KB7HH	7MHz	CW	S2S W7A/YV-001
16:43	K7TP	7MHz	CW
16:44	WB7VUF	7MHz	CW
16:47	KF7WI	7MHz	CW
16:51	K7DJL	7MHz	CW	S2S W7W/PO-016
16:52	N6PKT	7MHz	CW
16:53	AB6SO	7MHz	CW