ZL3/CB-729 Knowles Top 22 May 2020

 This hill near Glentui is one I had been looking at doing for a while but I was focusing on the wrong side! John ZL3MR found the route up through the Ashley Gorge and it's a beaut! David ZL3DRN joined me and we set off on a cold, crisp autumn morning, arriving at the Ashley Gorge bridge about 8.45am. There's no parking on the North Side where the track starts however there is a reserve area in the camping ground on the South side. Follow the signs and walk back across the bridge to the track start.

Head up the Ashley Loop track (take the Right hand fork) and you'll soon come to another sign for the Waterfall Track. Take this one and climb steadily on a well marked and formed track noting the abundance of birdsong - no doubt due to lots of pest traps. You'll soon reach a lookout point with a bench seat dedicated to Neil Judson and a sign pointing to places of interest. 

Depart the track here, turning Left  uphill behind the seat to an unmarked but clear trail straight up the spur. There are clearings and short sections of bush to negotiate but you can't go wrong if you stay on the ridge crest. It's pretty steep (33%) so take your time up this bit and enjoy the views regularly!

 Once you reach the bush-line, you'll find the entrance to a track (unmarked but clear) at the very end of the last clearing which takes you right to the top of the ridge. You'll crest the ridge and descend for about 1 minute and then find a junction where you turn right to head to the summit. There's a pile of old fencing wire on the ground at the junction. If someone removes the wire in the future, the track is clear enough. My GPX file is uploaded to the SOTA Tracks section. Waypoints shown below.

Ridge junction point with fencing wire on the ground. Turn Right here (out of shot).

 From here it's an easy walk to the summit sidling around the ridge. Soon you'll emerge from the bush to a large, tussock covered summit with ample operating areas to pick from. You should be able to find shelter from just about any breeze up here. The views are amazing.

View towards Christchurch with the Ashley River in the foreground

Looking North, Mt Thomas and CB-617 in the foreground and Mt Grey CB-673 in the distance

We set up a 57' foot endfed wire (inverted vee style) with a 17' counterpoise and a VK6YSF UNUN (uses a very economical L01238 toroid from Jaycar). It tuned very easily with the KX2 tuner on all bands and worked very well - good signals on the lower bands and contacts to Indonesia on 20m. I also had an Italian station call me but we couldn't complete. 40 contacts in my log.

57' wire on 6m Tactical Mini pole showing trig and vast AZ

 Summit to Summit contacts with Mark ZL3AB (Big Ben Range ZL3/CB-857) on 2m and 60m were much appreciated and capped off my 100th SOTA activation nicely. Thanks Mark!

This is a really nice summit and definitely on my annual list. The AZ is huge so if you wanted to try 160m SOTA, this would be a good one!

 

Getting there: Drive to the Ashley Gorge Bridge, turn into the camping ground on the South side of the bridge and turn right to head down to the reserve area. Park under the trees and follow the signs to walk back up to the road, cross the bridge (footpath) and the track starts as you exit the bridge on the North side. It is well signposted.

Permission : None needed, Conservation land all the way

Cell coverage: Good on Spark/Skinny (4G)

Time: John's estimate of 2 hours +- is a good one

Repeaters: All Canterbury repeaters and easy 2m simplex to Nth and mid Canterbury

Notes: Steep and slippery heading up/down the spur - walking poles needed and a reasonable level of fitness

Waypoints:

Lookout: S43° 13.453' E172° 14.313'

Track junction: S43° 13.110' E172° 13.852'

Track Entry/Exit point to/from summit: S43° 12.771' E172° 14.669'

 

 

Mt Barrosa ZL3/CB-499 10th May 2021

Having plenty of leave to use due to the pandemic and with Francie in Wellington on a course, I decided to take the caravan down to Mt Somers Domain Camping ground for a few days of SOTA fun in the Ashburton Lakes area. John ZL3MR and Anne were passing through too so activations were arranged - I would do Mt Barrosa and John Mt Guy. 

The trip down was uneventful, easy driving leaving home at 0600 and arriving at 0800. I parked the van, plugged in and John and I set off.

 

The thick fog that had stretched all the way from Christchurch dissipated as soon as we entered the Ashburton Gorge revealing fine weather. The start of the Mt Barrosa track is named Blowing Point and so it was! Given the season and strong wind, I packed my big over-jacket as well all the usual layers (and was glad of it later!).

The track is well marked (poled route) and well used. A cool feature is that the track is littered with scraps of gemstones, the mountain used to be covered in geodes but sadly most have been removed. It's a steep-ish but well routed track and should be suitable for most activators.

I arrived at the summit in good time and set up in very windy conditions:

6m telescoping pole in the wind...

 

There is a fence-line running right across the summit so plenty of pole support options. I set up the 2m/70cm jpole but managed no contacts to Christchurch and I couldn't trigger any of the CHC repeaters. There is a sheltered spot only 1m from the summit marker pole so I hunkered down there and fired up on HF.

Operating site with the summit marker just above my poles. Mt Somers CB-387 on the right

 I used my go-to antenna - 20m of wire, endfed with a 49:1 unun arranged as an inverted vee. It's an EFHW on 40m, full wave on 20m, 1 1/2 wave on 15m and plays very well. The KX2 tuner pulls it in easily on the WARC bands and 60m.

60m certainly showed it's value as an NVIS band, I  worked Bill ZL3NB and Rick ZL3RIK just 115km away with big signals and also Roly ZL1BQD some 800km away! 40m was interesting too, just after the UTC rollover Gerard VK2IO and Peter VK3PF called with very strong signals, far better than they had been on 20m earlier.

BD7JNA called me several times on 17m but never responded to a signal report.

The wind kept rising and the forecast weather was rolling in so I packed up about 0030z and headed down, stripping layers off as I reached warmer levels with less wind.

Display of Agates at the summit - traces on the track too

The descent was uneventful and we headed to the traditional coffee break and debrief with John and Anne at the Mt Somers General Store, a quaint shop with lots of essential supplies, retro art and knick knacks.

 

This is a really nice summit - definitely adding it to my annual list.

Getting there: Take the Ashburton Gorge road from Mt Somers and keep an eye out on the right for the parking area and DOC signage. It's about 1.5km past the DOC sign advising that you're in the Hakatere Conservation area. If you get to the Blowing Point one-lane bridge, you've gone too far!

Ascent time: DOC says 2.5 hours, it took me 1.75 hours with one stop (plus a few pauses!). It's 3.5km and the grade is 24.5%. Vertical gain of 830m

Descent: 1 hour - walking poles strongly recommended.

Cell coverage: Good, 4G with Spark/Skinny at the summit

Repeaters: None of the Canterbury ones accessible

Moorhouse Range ZL3/CB-574

First 2 days of our Christmas holiday we were based at Mount Somers domain camping ground (a great base for activators).

It's a 20 minute drive to the start of the easement at the end of Chapman's Road. See Mark ZL3AB's excellent blog for full directions from Christchurch.

I parked the truck in the shade and set off. After a km or so figured out I had left my walking poles in the car but decided to carry on as the weather was getting warm! I would regret that decision later...

Mark's directions were good but I have uploaded a GPS track to the SOTA site as this is an unmarked route. Just a few meters into the conservation area I spotted a red deer hind watching me from about 100m away before gliding off. About 3/4 of the way up an NZ Falcon watched me approach, very unconcerned until I got within about 15m. A beautiful thing to see in it's natural environment.

After a couple of false summits I arrived at point 1153, the highest point of the  Moorhouse Range. Weather was fine but windy, my Garmin was showing 30 degrees most of the way up... A call on 2m FM netted three contacts using the Signal Stick 1/4 wave whip. I put up the pole (conveniently held by the fence wires at the strainer) with HF Ununtenna and 2m Slim Jim. The Slim Jim meant ZL3QR could  copy me for the all-important 4th contact!

HF fired up and promptly worked the ultra reliable John ZL1BYZ and Andre ZL1TM on 40m CW. 30m was barren but 20m produced a swathe of VKs including S2S with Peter VK3PF and Tony VK3CAT. JA5QJX/0 called in too, a nice surprise. 17m produced Allen VK3ARH and Bill ZL3NB (QSO #102).

I was alerted by Rick that David ZL3ASN was on CB-806 on 2m so grabbed him for another S2S! With the wind increasing, I  packed up HF and briefly called on 2m for UTC rollover.

Heading down the hill, I really regretted the lack of walking poles. By the time I got home my feet were badly blistered due to not re-lacing my boots after the hot climb and extra pressure caused by the lack of poles. I won't make that mistake again! This resulted in my New Years Day summit being walked in jackals- I still can't wear shoes...

A great day out with no human interaction except over the air! This is a nice hill for reasonably fit activators, 10.5 km round trip and 800m of climbing.

Tyrwhitt Peak ZL3/OT-493

This is a new one I have had my eye on for some time. New Years in Luggate meant a golden opportunity to activate. The peak is on Mou Waho, a DOC Reserve island in Lake Wanaka. It has a glacial lake on the island, just below the summit too so you can cool off with a swim! 

The island is also a Buff Weka sanctuary and the curious little fellows are very friendly and cheeky! Don't leave any of your gear lying around, it'll be gone! 

We caught the Wanaka Water Taxi out, I can recommend this outfit, brilliant service and knowledgeable skippers. We headed out and had the island to ourselves, an easy 30 minute climb to the activation zone, only complicated by doing it in jandals (due to blisters from Moorhouse Range). The last bit is bush-bashed off the lookout track to get within the zone, lots of scrub and dead wilding pines but not too bad if you were to wear boots and gaiters/longs!

A very compromised antenna was rigged, the end supported by a 6m telescoping pole with the wire draped across the top of the Manuka trees.

CQ and spot (Spark/Skinny 4G) on 40m CW netted John ZL1BYZ S2S, Andre ZL1TM and Wynne ZL2ATH S2S. By this point it was pouring with rain and I only had 30 minutes to get back down to catch the boat! Peter VK3PF/P S2S responded to a 20m CQ and I was done. Packed up, picked up Fancie from  the lake and headed down to the boat. As I type this, a few hours later, we have torrential rain and a severe weather warning - our timing was perfect!

I recommend this summit if you want something different, it's not cheap (normally $125 pp but $95 at the moment) but it is XYL-friendly and that counts for a lot when on holiday! If they have sufficient bookings for 10am and 2pm trips, you can go out on the early boat and come back on the second, this would allow a more relaxed activation and time for a swim. Note that the discounted price doesn't apply for this option.

Southern sojourn Oct 2020

We had been invited to spend the weekend in Luggate celebrating the first wedding anniversary of our son and daughter in law. An extended family and friends gathering, I was a little under the weather on Saturday morning so was glad I had only alerted for Mt Iron, a 1 pointer in Wanaka!

The day dawned fine but with a predicted lunchtime change. The climb is an easy one, about 20 minutes up a popular public track to a large activation zone with spectacular views over Wanaka and the surrounding mountains. I set up away from the busy summit with a convenient fence-post supporting the pole and worked a steady string of contacts around VK and ZL using the KX2 and 41 foot EFRW. 

View towards Chris on Isthmus Peak. QRPGuys UNUNtenna in foreground

One interested Mountain Biker stopped and chatted about what I was doing. I headed down once the rain started to settle in. I hadn't heard from Chris ZL4RA on Isthmus Peak - of course he was spotted once I was about 10 minutes into the descent!

Relaxing (over a couple more drinks!) afterwards I figured I should do Mt John on the way home on Monday. Mark ZL3AB and Rick ZL3RIK provided the email address for the onsite UC Superintendent who was good enough to confirm access a couple of hours later.

 

After a pleasant 2 hour drive from Luggate, the Mt John turnoff is reached (just before Tekapo). You follow the public road and then reach the UC tollbooth (operates 10.30am to 2.30pm) where your $8 toll is paid (Eftpos). It's a pleasant 10 minute drive to the summit and a large carpark which is within the AZ.

Panorama from the operating site.

  I found a spot on the Western edge of the carpark where you can sit on railway sleeper edging (or down on the grass out of the wind). A couple of concrete blocks made an excellent pole support and so I decided to use the 66 foot (60-15m) open wire fed doublet. 

Tip of Lake Alexandrina and the Southern Alps. Open wire feeders and balun in foreground

 

 Good signals from all around the country meant I comfortably activated the hill on 60m prior to UTC rollover. 2m was tried with Rick ZL3RIK and Robin ZL3REW but no contacts resulted. After rollover I worked the ZLs again along with a good number of VKs including Gerard VK2IO mobile! At this point the wind changed and it started to rain quite heavily. A hasty pack up ensued due to the thunderstorm threat.

Operating spot showing the antenna support and SOTA-Dog Skye keeping an eye on me.

 

These are both very easy summits with incredible views - well worth doing if you are down that way. 

As always, thanks to the Chasers, especially the weekday ones!

Ladbrooks Hill ZL3/CB-618 Oct 2020

 This is a re-visit to a very nice summit in the North Canterbury foothills, located between Mt Oxford and Mt Richardson. At 1041m it's a bit more than a "hill"! The views are expansive, back to the alps, across into Lees Valley and across the plains.

 

Across into Lees Valley

 I had planned to do this in the last weekend of the winter bonus period and had carefully planned a route that was on Conservation land from the Lees Valley Road and would avoid having to seek permission to cross farmland. I headed up off the road and straight into thick bush - genuine bush-bashing and, after 1/2 hour of climbing, i stopped to check the GPS and wondered why it was blurry. Went to adjust my glasses which were gone.... Lost somewhere in the bush. With risk factors mounting, i abandoned the attempt and followed the breadcrumb GPS trail back down. No sign of my glasses but I did find a nice Silva compass! Home early, chased everyone else and went to Specsavers!

A week later, I decided to have another crack - this time via the farmers land and nice track!! I rang him on Friday and permission was readily granted. David ZL3DRN decided I couldn't be trusted on my own so came along to keep an eye on me ;-)

Gale force Nor Westers were forecast for the afternoon so we headed up fairly early and found the start of the track. You need to scramble up a bank about 10m around Ladbrooks Corner where your car (preferably SUV, the road is pretty rough) is parked (don't block the gate!) See the GPX track on the SOTA Maps site. The start of the track has several warning signs about being private land - do not ignore these, make sure you have rung and asked for permission to cross (he is very sensitive about trespassers but very accommodating if you ask). The track heads up the ridge through gorse initially but soon opens out into a nice track, sporadically marked. It's a straight-forward climb to the first summit at point 1030, marked Ladbrooks Hill on the topomap. This is not the SOTA summit, you need to continue South East to the next summit at 1041m.

East with the Port Hills on the horizon

West to the Southern Alps

Panorama showing a nice flat summit and spectacular views

 The summit is a large flat area, marked with a rock cairn. Plenty of room for big antennas if you are so inclined. The weather was great, a light NW breeze and warm. We found a spot that would be sheltered if wind came up and set up the HF antenna before working the locals on 2m FM. Mark ZL3AB called in to let us know he was about 30 min away from the summit of Mt Alford.

Looking South towards Mark ZL3AB on Mt Alford (on horizon). Mt Oxford on right

 

HF was tough with the A index at 13. I worked the ZL HF chasers on CW including Jacky ZL1WA, John ZL1BYZ and Wynne ZL2ATH and a couple of VKs. Mark called on 2m for an S2S and then David took over on HF SSB, working a string of ZL and VK stations and really enjoying himself.

David hard at work

 The Nor Wester was starting to build so we decided to pack up and adjourn back to the first summit for lunch in the sun (and shelter) and then headed back down the track with an uneventful descent.

Permission required: The first 300m is across private land. Ring Tim 029 2359909 the day before and request access. He'll ask you to txt your car registration number and your approx entry and exit times.

Directions: Drive to Lees Valley Road (just North of Oxford) and head towards Lees Valley. It's about a 1/2 hour drive along a rough road. Over the Middle Bridge, past a set of yards and you come to Ladbrooks Corner where two power lines meet at the road. Park on the corner (away from the gate!) and walk about 10m further along the road and you'll find the access point.

Spark and Vodafone 4G coverage at the summit (but not along the valley road)

All Canterbury repeaters accessible.

Walking Time: 1 hour 20 to the summit, about the same on descent. 540m elevation gain.

 

An unusual day of SOTA and long distance driving - Peak Hill ZL3/CB-542 Sept 2020

 The weather forecast for the weekend was for strong Westerlies however I identified that Mt Alford ZL3/CB-568 would be somewhat sheltered and worth climbing. I did my usual planning and checked that the easement would be open by using my photographs from last year - 20 Sep to 20 Oct the sign said...

Saturday saw an early start, leaving home at 6:45am to get there for an 8:30am start and QRV by 11:30am. Upon arrival I was greeted with a new sign on the gate proclaiming the easement closed, despite the permanent signage still showing the later dates

After fuming for a bit, I re-planned to head back North West and try Peak Hill ZL3/CB-542. The wind seemed to be OK, steady but not too strong. I followed the usual road through the Lake Coleridge village and was greeted by a closed road...

This day is not going well! I reasoned there must be another road so backtracked and found it, Homestead Road then Algidus Road. Soon I was at the base of Peak Hill and ready to start the hike at 9:45am. Quite windy but warm enough and only a light dusting of snow visible.

The climb was uneventful until I stopped at about 60 vertical meters from the summit to update the locals on my progress. Geoff ZL3QR passed on a message that I was to ring home ASAP... Ominous. Hmm, no cell coverage until I get to the top of this one so off I set, hustling to the summit. Mark ZL3AB called in from his Banks Peninsula summit with more information that my daughter had had a blowout in Otago but was OK. I pushed on to the summit and sure enough - cell coverage! Caught up with the full info - the car was badly damaged and being towed to Dunedin but they'd need a lift home due to have a dog with them, they couldn't fly! I made 4 quick 2m simplex contacts and hustled down the slippery (from snow melt) hill. Only fell over once (and took it a little slower after that). The wind was gusting 40 kmh which made the ridge traverse interesting but not dangerous.

 

Looking West to the Alps - note Nor West Arch above

Once I reached the car, a quick snack and then I set off South via SH72, the Inland Scenic Route (beautiful road, lots of SOTA summits!) and made it to Dunedin about 5pm. Packed up their gear and we were off back to Christchurch! I arrived home at 10:25pm. Google tells me it was a 15 hour/860 km day!

Lessons learnt/reinforced:

1. Don't rely on last year's notes - check the DOC website for current closures etc...

2. Make sure your partners, kids etc have contact details for your SOTA buddies, in this case my daughter contacted David ZL3DRN who alerted the rest of the troops and the message was passed as soon as I was reachable. Fantastic work, thanks guys.

What a day! Very thankful it all worked out as well as it did. For interest, the rear tyre of their Landcruiser Prado blew out at 100 kmh causing them to clip a power pole and come to rest in a ditch. Passenger side window broken, wing mirror destroyed and multiple front suspension components bent/broken. Skillful driving by my daughter's partner as there was oncoming traffic - it could have been so much worse...

Here's how Google saw my day: