August 1 - 2, 2024 - a bit south of Three Valley Gap, BC
Austin VE7QH had indicated that he would be in the Okanagan for a family reunion on BC Day long weekend. He suggest to Mike VE7KPZ that he might venture out a couple of days early to go do a Summits on the Air activation. Mike had just the summit in mind: the 2386m Joss Mountain VE7/ON-003, west approach.
Joss Mountain had been on Mike's list of summits to activate for some time, primarily because it is a feasible overnight summit (no tent required) with a vintage 1921 fire lookout atop its peak. But really, the sunset views in Luke Gibson's video showcasing the location begged a visit in real life.
Austin and Mike met up early on August 1 leaving Vernon in Mike's Unimog on mostly secondary roads and FSRs.
The team reached the Joss Mountain trailhead at ~1500m around 11 AM.
The sign at the trailhead hinted at the effort required for the endeavour ahead (black diamond - most difficult).
Progress was made slow and steady through the steep forest section.
Gaining the sub-alpine, many toads were observed eating grasshoppers - this was unexpected but fun to see.
A good rest was had in the last of the trees before the big push along the ridge up to the final summit. Can you spot the lookout in the above picture?
Packs were heavy, not because of the radio gear, but because at this time of year water sources are very scarce. Mike carried 7 litres of water for the 24 hour trip, Austin 6.5.
Some route finding was required...
... but the route was found without any backtracking.
The trip to the top took approximately 8 hours, double the time expected.
It was steep and hot, but fortunately the bugs weren't all that bitey at the summit.
The team was pretty happy after a long day on trail. Austin's inReach calculated our distance travelled at 5.6 km and just over 1000m of elevation gain.
Upon reaching the lookout, the first priority was to get dinner going. Water was boiled and food rehydration started, then masts up for the antennas.
On to operation: Austin jumped on 40m QRP CW via his KX2 and Packtenna EFRW...
... and Mike on 2m SSB and FM (both 5 watts) via his IC-705 and Ed Fong DBJ-2 roll-up J-pole.
Mike made his first QSO with Paul VE7KWA of Vernon (large collinear vertical and power) (~85 km). Other notable 2m SSB and FM contacts were Peter VE7PAE in Salmon Arm (6 watts and a 4 element beam) (~60km), Orin VE7BEE in Keremeos (large beam and power) (~200 km) and Daniel VA7GOV via his vehicle mobile from the Walmart parking lot in Vernon (~85 km). In total Mike put 9 contacts in the log.
HF was not performant with only one contact on 20m after considerable calling on both 40m and 20m. A recent solar storm may have been the cause. Austin moved over to the 2m station and filled his log with a 5 additional QSOs to make his activation a success as well.
All QSOs made while viewing one of the nicest sunsets ever seen.
And then it was time for bed.
The team slept inside the fire lookout.
Around 2 AM an aurora check showed a slight sky glow to the north.
In the morning the team was awoken by a family of curious marmots. The larger marmot was named Dolly (shown above), the smaller one Jolene (not shown).
Breakfast was had and then a decision was made to pack up and start heading down. The SOTA activations had been successful with at least four 2m QSOs each so no need to keep trying with the terrible HF band conditions.
Austin signed the guest book and then it was time to head down the mountain.
The trip down was less arduous, although not without effort. The team made a controlled descent back to the truck within 3.5 hours.
Of course now each team member was carrying less than 2 litres of water for the return trip - a significant pack weight savings.
At the truck celebrations were had with ice-cold 0.0% beers and freezies and then back down the FSRs for the drive back to Vernon. A quick stop at Noisy Creek for a dip in Mabel Lake to wash off some dirt was quite refreshing. Back in Vernon the team concluded the day with a delicious meal of wood-fired pizzas and cappucinos at Masiero Pizzeria Napolitana.
Reflecting on the trip it is always good to have both 2m and HF abilities on summits. If HF band conditions are poor like they were on this date, 2m for the win.
Really big thanks to all of the 2m chasers in the Okanagan who had the patience to work us well after our advertised activation time. Additionally, thanks to all of the other hams who had 146.52 MHz in their scan banks and came back to our CQ calls.
It was a fun trip.
73 and thanks,
Mike VE7KPZ with Austin VE7QH