ACØPR, ham radio blog: Wolf Hole Mountain W7A/NM-035 Start of Summer Bonus in AZ

Approaching the summit

Wolf Hole is an interesting summit. Not too many go up that way. The summit is almost a mesa so once on top it's fairly flat. It's an 8-pointer in AZ with 3 points for summer bonus. There is a mountain road that gets close, although I would never actually take my pickup up it. It was supposed to be a nice day, and even hot later on.

Trail report:

Access is gained through the Arizona Strip area, either from the north or the south. Coming from southern Utah, I approached from the north. BLM Rd. 1069 goes all the way through the area and is a well-maintained dirt and/or gravel road. There is a large area to park just before starting up BLM 1038 (it is marked although the sign is worn) if you plan on using an ATV or other OHV (which isn't a bad idea). The road is fairly rough at times and would be slow going without one.

Once on BLM 1038 you follow it up all the way to the flat. You do have to leave it for another BLM road (1074) to head south to get within close distance of the summit. From the dirt road directly west of the summit it's only half a mile to the summit and a very gentle slope. There is a benchmark and registry at the top. The area is covered with trees and brush, but no actual bushwhacking required with the spaces in between them.

(This is the same area as W7U/AW-035 Seegmiller and both can be done the same day fairly easily). This time I did not do Seegmiller as well, I had done it much earlier while my parents were visiting.

The experience:

Interestingly, there was heavy equipment working on the mountain, like they were going to build something big, but they were still just clearing areas. It's a pretty area, but because it's somewhat flat on top and there are quite a few trees, there's really no views at all.

Luckily it's not so thick that you have to do any bushwhacking, the hike is pleasant, and going up earlier in the morning, not hot. Even so, I setup under a tree to stay in the shade. There wasn't tons of activity on the air. I started by chasing NM5BG already on a summit in NM. He either didn't get it all or forgot it was me because he contacted me again on the same band as my last contact.

After 25 mins on the air, there was a storm coming in. It wouldn't last long since I could see clear behind it, but being up so high, the clouds were low and ominous. I decided my twenty plus contacts were enough and packed up fast to head back down. It was a fast hike down. The ATV route could easily get very muddy and nasty quick, so I didn't dawdle at all. Successful certainly, but not quite as enjoyable as I hoped--having to rush does that.

Date:03/06/2020 | Summit:W7A/NM-035 (Wolf Hole Mountain) | Call Used:AC0PR | Points: 8 | Bonus: 3

Time	Callsign	Band	Mode	Notes
15:16	NM5BG	7MHz	CW	S2S W5N/SI-022
15:20	W5GDW	14MHz	CW
15:22	W0MNA	14MHz	CW
15:22	K6YK	14MHz	CW
15:22	KJ9X	14MHz	CW
15:23	K7MK	14MHz	CW
15:25	ND0C	14MHz	CW
15:26	W0ERI	14MHz	CW
15:27	KW4JM	14MHz	CW
15:27	W8OQ	14MHz	CW
15:28	NS7P	14MHz	CW
15:29	AC1Z	14MHz	CW
15:31	WW7D	14MHz	CW
15:31	WU7H	14MHz	CW
15:34	W7RV	7MHz	CW
15:35	K6KM	7MHz	CW
15:35	KE6MT	7MHz	CW
15:36	K6QCB	7MHz	CW
15:37	K7TP	7MHz	CW
15:38	NG6R	7MHz	CW
15:38	N6WG	7MHz	CW
15:39	W0NF	7MHz	CW
15:40	NM5BG	7MHz	CW	(DUPE S2S W5N/SI-022)