W5RJD Summit on the Air (SOTA) Activations

  I did this as part of a two week trip to Tennessee.  It's right on the TN/NC border and technically in North Carolina I think. Park in the parking lot (which is also a place to do POTA), and walk up toward the visitor center. Then keep going to the dome, a walk of roughly 1/2 mile.  It was a little misty the day I was there. It was not cold, however, just wet. If you have a disabled plate you can drive to the top I think.  There are a few places to set up off the trail, and lots of trees you can throw a wire into. One thing I read was that the rangers can get nasty and tell you that you need a permit.  I didn't encounter any on this activation, but the top was very crowded with people. So you have to be a little selective where you set up.  I chose to be bold and set up right in the crowd, with my antenna hanging in trees behind me. This allowed me to have some good conversations with people about what I was doing, at the risk of being scolded by rangers....

This was an easy drive up on our summer trip to Tennessee. My wife sat in the car just below the summit and I hiked up the road to the locked gate, and set up there.  I strapped my mast to one of the gate posts. I decided not to go past the closed gate. Easy to spot on ATT cellular.  Seems like a lot of summits in TN are drive ups.

 

 

  Like all the posts I read, this was truly a "drive thru activation".  Michele stayed in the car to do work while I strolled over to the old fire tower and decided how to set up.  I used my rock-weighted throw bag to get paracord into a tree, and then started to haul up my end fed.  I've done this many times before, but this time it got stuck on a branch.  While trying to get it lose, I broke the antenna wire, leaving half of the antenna unreachable. Fortunately, I had brought an extra antenna.  This time I strapped my push up mast to the fence.  I spotted (ATT Cellular worked fine) and made contacts. If anybody ever does this summit, yes that yellow wire in the tree belongs to me. :-)

I know a repeater control operator with gear on Loma Prieta, so he drove us up for this one.  The road is narrow and 4WD is recommended but probably not required.  Need high clearance for sure.  The real issue with this summit is there's a locked gate with a no trespassing sign just below the activation zone.  You could hike into the AZ if you go around this gate, but it's at your own risk.  There are cameras everywhere, but there's also a lot of buildings and equipment so many people have access to the site. If you are with someone that has a key to the gate it's a drive up.  If you have to hike around the gate you'll have to hoof the last 1/2 mile or so and risk getting in trouble. That's the main reason this summit has so few activations.  There's also a private road sign several miles from the gate, but except for getting shot by pot growers I don't think there's much to worry about there. We just set up our end fed by the building our friend was...