Activated W7A/MN-121
10/14/2017
Made another SOTA activation this morning on summit W7A/MN-121 also known as summit 2429. No name, just a number. It’s 1648 feet high or 2429 meters high and took me an hour and a half to climb all the way to the summit. Off in the distance of this picture you can see Piestewa Peak directly east of the summit I just finished climbing. This will give some perspective of where I was and the type of mountain that I was climbing. Any thoughts that this was an easy climb can be discounted as Piestewa Peak is a two black-diamond hike and this was her little sister.
From the summit, you can see Scottsdale Airport off into the distance looking quiet this morning. I started the hike at around 7:20 am so there wouldn’t be much traffic at the airport or on the trails. I was a bit relieved because of this as I’m still a bit self-conscious about my radio work and how people perceive me. I’m still worried that I’m bothering other people and try to be a bit overly conscious of the amount of noise that I’m making. And, as I’m still unsure with Morse code, I tend to stick to voice communications when I can.
This is looking south toward Camelback Mountain which is one of my goals to achieve sometime. Too many people need to be rescued off of this mountain every year and my goal is not to become one of them. I’m working on getting into shape so that when I do take on Camelback, I’ll be more than ready for it. I’m taking on the other summits in the Northern Maricopa list until I start tacking the four point summits. Only then will I feel comfortable attempting taking on the summit of Camelback Mountain.
Looking up from the bottom of the trail before I start my hike let me appreciate the task that I’ve set before me. For those that don’t know me, I have peripheral neuropathy which means that some of the time I don’t know where my feet are. For those that don’t have this, it’s scary doing a hike like this as I can twist an ankle or break a leg before I realize that something is wrong. Even still, I was able to make 8 contacts on my radio all local guys who were chasing me and watching my progress on APRS.
Thanks for letting me share my little successes.