Solo trip up the Catalina Mountains to activate Mount Bigelow W7A/AW-003 for SOTA. The road in is closed for winter this time of year, so the hike starts at the parking lot down below the peak to the south.
Very cold this morning with temps in the 20's and I arrived just before day break so the temp was falling for about the first hour or so. I actually started the hike in the dark as I wanted to be on the peak for the Sunday Sidewinders on Two net 144.250usb at 8:30am.
This is a steep trail hike which I overpacked for, constantly learning.... Great view of Tucson south of the mountain. Second pic is a burned stump from the fire that ran through this mountain 15 years or so ago, in the low light I first thought I was going to encounter my first bear.
144.200usb worked great on this peak as I easily made the trip into Phoenix and Silver City NM. Radio was the 857d coupled to a ELK dual band antenna. Used the HT D74a to make small talk with KI7LLD and KI7OFN on their home stations.
Again, the views were amazing. Wish I had brought a camp stove for a fresh cup of coffee.
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