Yellowstone Mesa (W7A/NM-062) SOTA activation AZ Summer Bonus season!

 

The first day of summer bonus in Arizona! Living within 10 mins of Arizona allows me to cross over and activate many of the summits that offer a summer bonus starting in June. Since it gets so hot so quickly, I usually go out the first few days and get as many as I can before even early morning is too hot to go.

Harmony High Point SOTA activation (5th year) W7U/IR-019

 

Two days after getting back in the saddle I decided to go to a favorite of mine, Harmony High Point. It's a ways up, but I'm still not sure why no one else has activated it yet. I go every year in the Spring. I was a little later this year, but I didn't get out early this year. I'm glad I went though, the bands were good and plenty of people on the air.

Big Mountain SOTA activation (W7U/SU-051) after a long dry spell

After a long hiatus of not activating (mostly because of work, lack of motivation), after four months I finally made myself get out and enjoy a bit of nature by heading to Big Mt. in Washington Co., Utah. I decided on one that was easy and in a little cooler area.

Winter Field Day and SOTA on Sand Mt (W7U/SU-061)

 

WFD 2021 Jan. 30th on Sand Mountain

I've done Winter Field Day in a different location each time for new experiences, but I do like to have at least a little snow. There wasn't much and it didn't last all day, but it was a good location without having a bear of a hike and it had just snowed so higher summits were pretty covered. It was a good choice for this year.

SOTA/POTA Hike at Snow Benchmark, Southwestern Utah

 

I've been cooped up too long--work, then COVID, then I just didn't have the "umph" to get out there even when I had the free time in December. So I made myself go, and I picked a close although longer hike. Overall it's 7.2 miles. This is SOTA W7U/WS-109 and POTA K-6088 (Red Mountain Wilderness).