Thompson-Nicola region of British Columbia, Canada - September 4, 2023
Mike VE7KPZ and Jane VE7WWJ decided to activate a couple of drive-up SOTA peaks that were also inside POTA parks - a little bit of "Salt and Pepper" action from the area southwest of Kamloops BC.
The objectives were Greenstone Mountain (SOTA reference VE7/TN-017, POTA reference CA-3572) and Mount Savona (SOTA reference VE7/TN-019, POTA reference CA-3849).
Greenstone mountain was chosen primarily for its great summit fire lookout and Mount Savona for the opportunity to snag a first activation for POTA.
Greenstone turned out to be epic - a gorgeous location and a great spot to operate from.
Jane gives two thumbs up for operations from the Greenstone summit "shack".
Antenna setup south of the Greenstone fire lookout with fiberglass pole velcroed to existing flag pole mount.
Inside the Greenstone fire lookout. One might even consider spending an extended period of time here...
The radio operating position in the Greenstone fire lookout.
It was so nice on Greenstone we decided to stay the night, camping just below the lookout.
The Unimog parked just below the Greenstone fire lookout.
Mount Savona was not quite as pretty at our time of visit because of an abundance of lower-elevation smoke - there simply was no view to be seen. However, there was something beautiful about the place, the deciduous trees on the way up, the story of a recent fire in the area. We may need to revisit when not in forest fire smoke season.
Some of the infrastructure at the top of Mount Savona.
Mount Savona antenna setup just behind the truck: feed point/match mounted high in dead tree and antenna wire run horizontally via guyed fiberglass pole.
The operating position at Mount Savona. QRM in the area required the use of NB, NR and headphones.
We would recommend Greenstone to all. You can make it nearly to the top with ANY vehicle although if you want to park near the fire lookout, you'll need a 4WD.
Visit Savona only if the skies are clear and you have a 4WD vehicle. The road is fairly steep in sections with a bit of loose gravel. A 2WD car might have a tough time.
Super fun and 73,
Mike VE7KPZ
Ps: right-click on and open each picture in a new window to see a higher-resolution version.