A Gem of a Hike and Activation in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. 6+ Miles round trip with 1,200 feet elevation Gain. Summit Elevation is 8,038, and the views are fantastic!
We had Activated this mountain in November of 2014, and were so impressed with the area, we wanted to return and activate sometime in the future. Our chance came up much sooner than we thought, due to the birth of our first grandchild to our son & daughter-in-law who live in greater LA, and the prospect of a "Wintertime Bonus" made the decision to return a very easy one. We combined this Activation with Kratka Ridge (W6/CT-014), a few miles away. That is a separate report.
The trail has sections of very interesting rock formations and towers of very weathered granite. There are also beautiful specimens of California Incense Cedar trees. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calocedrus_decurrens. Trailhead directions and route descriptions are very easy for this region, because of proximity to LA Basin, many very active SOTA Activators and hikers who keep detailed Blogs and other types of records.
Some excellent examples are: http://www.modernhiker.com/2007/01/26/hiking-thunder-mountain-and-telegraph-peak-via-three-tees-trail/; http://www.hundredpeaks.org/hpslist.htm; http://www.surgent.net/highpoints/ca/california.html.
All contacts were 2M FM, and ranged out to approximately 130 miles. Thank you very much to the "Chasers" for great assistance in Spotting me on SOTAwatch web site, and getting the word out about this and the Kratka Ridge Activation, a few hours later. 2M Contacts with: KM6CEM; AE6CK; KB6CIO; KJ6HJW; N6ZI; KJ6BNX; W4YS; K6QCB; K6DPF.
