Early in 2021 I learned on Twitter that N6DNM would be activating Santa Rosa on May 15. I thought it would be kind of neat to do a channel island activation on the same day and try for a summit to summit contact! So, I chose to research and plan East Peak Benchmark, W6/SC-329 as pretty easy to get to with the regular service to Avalon. The original concept was to stay overnight Friday, but I learned later that it is a 2 night minimum on the weekend. I booked the 7am boat to arrive about 8:30. Surely I’d be on the peak by 11am!

Long story short, the Garden to Sky trail is pretty steep and I’m slower than I imagined. By the time I got 3 miles up there, N6DNM had finished his 7.5 mile hike, activated with the help of K6CPR+K6SBB and others was getting blown off the mountain! Sorry to miss the S2S rendezvous, Dmitry.

I enjoyed the activation very much overall, thanks to the chasers and a brief clearing of the fog on the way down. However, the climb made this activation feel like “1 point of pain,” LOL. Below are some pictures, followed by lessons learned and shouts out.

Shouts and lessons learned or remembered:

• First, a shout to N6DNM for his gnarly and inspiring DXpedition to Santa Rosa – in quest of satellite grid line and SOTA contacts. Sorry to miss the S2S!
• Next a shout of thanks to KN6LFB, AE6DB & N3XUL for telling other operators I was on the summit, ready for contacts by posting the frequency/callsign/summit spots!
• Thanks to WU7H, the previous activator for the intel on the route, etc. Also, you mentioned taking the cab from Wrigley memorial to get to the important birthday party in Avalon when you were here; that came in handy because I was slow enough getting up and down that I needed to get a cab myself to ensure I got back to my 6pm return boat.
• Thanks to all the chasers who contacted me! Activators don’t do this alone and you are more than a necessary part of the game — you are colleagues, friends, company on the lonely road and sometimes angels watching over on these hikes that challenge us physically.
• Lesson relearned: If I want to send APRS2SOTA from the FT3D I have to turn SQL on for 144.390 the B channel. Otherwise the APRS modem hears the static on the channel, thinks there is traffic and won’t send the message (I had squelch off for Satellites); I remembered this on boat ride home.
• Take note: PAPA DMR repeaters and AnyTone 878 DPRS are a good beacon combo here in SoCal; probably better than analog APRS in many cases, see the track in the gallery above. Use both to maximize tracking? Shout to KK6HNG for doing the bake off on DPRS/APRS in Aug 2019. KN6FNY was able to follow my slow progress to the peak and wait to get S2S because of the DPRS track.
• Lesson relearned: Antenna polarity is a variable and terrestrial FM is usually vertical! I thought the scratchy signals on the peak were due to shadowing/interference from the ridges between my position and the mainland; not entirely. When I turned the ELK sideways to vertical polarity, signals on both sides cleared right up!
• Thought for next time: I usually print copies of my route map to leave one behind at home and put one in the car, and have a couple to give away to lost hikers or use on the trail if my phone dies. Next time I’m going to print an azimuth map of the peak and practice with it and a compass. I was disoriented in the fog atop the peak and it would have helped with pointing my antenna.

A largely successful day thanks to the chasers, the Catalina Express and Island staff, the kindness of strangers on the island and my puppy Barkley who has been working me out 4x a day since October. I would be even slower without him.