Flag Peak ZL3/CB-737 18th January 2020

This is my third activation of Flag Peak but first blog. It's one of those hills that grows on you, I didn't particularly enjoy my first activation of it, I left the track too early (twice!) and ended up covered in scratches from Spaniard and Gorse. This time it was a doddle, great weather and I had Francie along with me.

Looking down at Akaroa and a visiting cruise ship

Mark ZL3AB was activating Mt John (Observatory) and there was a relatively unobstructed path so I decided to take my portable 2m 3 element yagi. Lucky there wasn't many branches overhanging the track!














Upon arriving I set up the yagi and climbed right to the summit to try our luck south, unfortunately nothing heard either way, maybe if we had gain antennas at both ends? I did work David ZL3DRN on Red Hill and Ian ZL3GIG on Lavericks, 59+++ both ways unsurprisingly!

Why is that Madman waving a TV antenna around?!

HF was set up quickly and a quick 40m CW contact with Mark on 40m had us both smiling.

Tactical Mini pole to left (North) of me, nice rock for me to perch on.

 

Usual setup, KX2, QRPGuys UNUNTenna with 41' wire and 35' counterpoise

This is a spectacular summit, thoroughly deserving of a panorama ;-)
It's so good you suddenly realise that you are seeing in real-time what you have seen since childhood on maps of Banks Peninsula.

Francie had her book and was enjoying the sunshine so we stuck around for the 1pm UTC rollover.

Looking East - next landmass is Chile! Francie in right of picture enjoying the view and her book.

An uneventful packup and walk down, followed by a very nice lunch in Akaroa and home!

How to get there:
Drive to Akaroa and head (carefully) up Stony Bay Road to the Misty Peaks Carpark at the top. Walk back down the road 100m to the track start. Walk well past the peak to where the track turns left and at the gate, turn left and walk up the spur to the summit.
Easy 30 minute walk, 190m altitude gain.
Permission, none needed, Armstrong reserve.

Mt William ZL3/WC-573 New Years Day 2020

This is a really nice mountain, close to Westport where we spent our summer holiday. Mt Rochfort is nearby too but has a longer 4WD track to access - next time.
Weather forecast was Ok for the morning and early afternoon with a very light SW but a change to Westerlies and rain forecast for the afternoon.

The mountain is accessed from the historic mining area of Denniston Plateau, a destination worth visiting in it's own right (I took Francie back there the following day). "Myra's track" starts opposite the Coalbrookdale walk entrance and is a marked bush track but you need to keep your wits about you as it is easy to lose.

Track start at Coalbrookdale

Main bit to watch is not far from the start where you emerge onto a MTB road and it is not clear where Myra's track restarts on the opposite side. I cast around for a while before finding it

Track continues up to right of the MTB track to the right of the three boulders (red arrow)

It's a good climb, the sign says 2 hours and that's what it took me with a couple of breaks. The climb is quite technical in places, it's not just a walk up a hill. There are quite steep sections with limited foot/hand holds. Care required as there is a lot of moss around (I slid down a bit on my backside coming down).

A very old trig marks the summit. Activation zone is large with plenty of room to set up.

I chose to use an overhanging boulder as shelter from the sun so ended up with a fairly unique set-up.

Pack used to keep wire off the rock which seemed to help tuning! Yellow wire is counterpoise.

Scenery was spectacular as you expect on the West Coast - Denniston Plateau and Tasman Sea on one side and mountains around the remainder

I fired up the KX2 on 40m SSB and worked a bunch of other activators and NZART activity day stations. Knowing that Mark ZL3AB was going to be tricky on anything but 60m (he was only 90km away but the other side of the alps) I went there and worked some Christchurch chasers and then Mark popped up with an excellent signal! 30m was next and worked Dan ZL4DVG on a neighbouring West Coast summit and then headed to 20m for VK1MCW, VK4TJ and VK2IO/P.
A few more on 40m and at 2330z I noted the cloud rolling in from the Tasman Sea and wind rising.
I decided to have lunch and be ready to work a few after the rollover and then pack up and get down the track. This strategy worked well as by 0008z I had 6 contacts in the log and it was time to go.

Descent was OK apart from the above-mentioned slide and slight worry about losing the track in low cloud, dense bush and with a low cellphone battery... Next purchase will be a dedicated GPS unit!

Mt William is a nice summit and I'd recommend visitors to Westport activate it.

Getting there:
Drive to Denniston (30 mins from Westport) and take the Burnetts Face Road (shingle but OK for 2WD) to the start of Myra's Track (Coalbrookdale Walk is right opposite). Park just before the bridge and walk over it to find the track start. There is another parking area available: instead of taking the hairpin turn, go straight ahead and park. 5 min walk back to trail head - better option for Campervans!
Permission not needed - conservation land but be aware this is still an active mining area, watch for trucks.
4G coverage (Spark) on the summit and Westport National System Node (I could trigger the tail but no-one heard audio from me - maybe faulty)
Time: 2 hours ascent (with breaks), 1 hour descent.

ZL3/CB-551 West Russell Range - 26 December 2019

Needing to blow the cobwebs out on Boxing Day, I headed to this one I have had my eye on for a while. It has a new DOC easement track (no bikes, dogs or hunting) through Ben More and Annavale stations, near Springfield.
The day dawned with low cloud but no wind so job was on! There are two car-parks, one for 2WD vehicles and for those with a (proper) 4WD, you can carry on and save yourself 30 minutes walk. I decided not to take Francie's nice new Suzuki along it, very deep ruts and lots of water-filled holes...

The track junction, turn left over the stile.

Steady climb but soon hit the low cloud!

Looking across the valley to Big Ben Range - it's there somewhere!

Looking back down towards North Canterbury

Nearly at the summit. This Link Track could be a good option to stay at Benmore Hut and attempt Big Ben the next day? And it was nowhere near 1.5 hours on to the SOTA summit (1211m vs Sugar Loaf at 1203m)

It's up there somewhere!

Made it. As this summit is not on the DOC easement track, I only popped up there for a photo and VHF contacts

The track wends it's way through the Activation Zone so after working the locals on 2m, I tied my 6m pole to a handy DOC waratah track marker and set up on HF. Pretty average conditions but I did work a few VKs including Allen VK3ARH S2S. Highlight of my day was having Ian ZL3GIG call me on 40m CW S2S - his second ever CW QSO, I suspect he is now hooked :-)
After an hour of operating the Easterly wind came up and was blowing the cloud around and cooling me down. I packed up, ate my lunch and headed down. Take walking poles on this one, the track is quite slippery with scree at times.

Wild pigs have been busy near the summit....

Getting there: 12km past Springfield look for the turnoff to Ben More Station. Turn left and drive down, across the bridge and turn right at the end of the road. There are reassuring DOC signs around. Drive to the car-park and off you go. Track is well marked with waratahs. Private property gates are also well marked!
Time: It's about a 2 hour climb (from the 2WD car-park), 7.24km and 681m height gain.
VHF - good to Christchurch, North Canterbury and Rakaia

Mt Lyndon ZL3/CB-460 14th December 2019

I'd admired Mt Lyndon whilst activating it's neighbours, Trig M CB-536 and the "Lyndon Lump" CB-570. When David ZL3DRN invited me to join him on the inaugural activation of this peak, I accepted eagerly. At 1489m it would be my highest peak yet so a good challenge.

Mt Lyndon seen from Trig M (June 2019)

We agreed to meet early (7am at Sheffield) to beat the forecast North Wester. We arrived at Lyndon Lodge soon after and were walking by 7:40am in calm conditions. Ascent was uneventful and we made good time to the summit, arriving about 9:15am - much earlier than anticipated. We had stopped just below the summit to put on jackets and beanies as there was quite a cold breeze...

We took the mandatory summit photos and admired the spectacular views before setting up.

Me on the summit with Lake Coleridge in the background. Peak Hill CB-542 behind the lake on the left of shot.

Panorama - amazing vistas right around

Looking across to Porter Heights ski-field - Mt Enys CB-152 on the right (with snow)

David is already planning my next big challenge - Castle Hill Peak CB-241

We tried to find a spot out of the cold Nor West wind but it was not possible. Gloves and another layer on and we had the pole set up with David's UNUNTenna and KX2 ready to go.
Let's qualify it on VHF first, it'll be easy... Patchy 4G coverage meant spotting was difficult and we were much earlier than alerted. Fortunately Geoff ZL3QR heard us and we were away, thanks to Geoff, Jim ZL3ND, Gavin ZL3GAV and Rick ZL3RIK. It was nice to hear Oliver ZL3OOC call us too.
By this time, we were feeling very cold despite all our gear - looks like I left it a bit late to put the extra layers on during our ascent and should have carried all my extra merino layers - lesson learned.
As we had the HF antenna set up and knowing John ZL1BYZ would be waiting, David called CQ on 40m SSB. Sure enough, there he was! David saw me struggling to write the contact in his logbook, my hands were shaking uncontrollably and he made the (correct) call to pack up and get moving. David measured the windchill at 3 degrees C from a 20kmh Nor Wester (they certainly aren't warm in the high country!)

We packed down, had a quick snack and set off - "feel like taking the valley route back?" he asks innocently. "There are scree slopes, they are great fun". Feeling better once moving, I agreed. It wasn't until we were committed that he casually mentioned there might be swamps and oh, a waterfall to negotiate too! David was determined to get my shiny new boots dirty!

Nearing the bottom of my very first scree descent - what a rush!!

This sure beats plodding down a track!

Waterfall- spectacular but required a bit of turpentine bush-bashing to skirt it

The scree "surfing" was amazing fun and of course as we got down further, the sun came out! Negotiating the waterfall was tricky and was soon followed by chest-high matagouri, swampy ground and even a bit of beech forest thrown in. A really good way to come down but definitely not for the solo activator - you need someone with you if coming down this way.

A great summit and definitely on my "annual list".

Where: Mt Lyndon via Lyndon Lodge end track
Permission: None needed, Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park
Time: 1 hour 40 minutes ascent with stops (1 hour 16 moving time)
Mobile: 4G at summit (Spark) but patchy
Repeaters: all Christchurch repeaters

View Hill ZL3/CB-756 Saturday16th November 2019

Ian ZL3GIG describes this as a Champagne summit on Banks Peninsula - I have to agree (but couldn't find the bottle!).

On private land, access is readily granted by the farmer via text message the day before. Even though it's only 43 km away across Pegasus Bay, it's a 100 km drive to get there!

View across the bay to home!

Forecast was for 25 degrees and light winds, sounds good right?!

I parked at the sheep yards and started walking. Unlike Ian, I turned left at the strainer post with Number 8 on it and followed the farm track up to where the spur meets the road. Through the gate and straight up the spur to the summit through another gate. No fences need to be climbed on this route (gpx file posted on Sota Summits Track Page) and it's a fairly gentle ascent up the spur. Total walking time from the yards just under an hour. It's a good walk, well within the capabilities of your average SOTA ham.

View of Little Akaloa bay and Kaikoura in the distance from the final gate, just before the summit

Looking South, Mt Pearce on right (with tower), Duvauchelle Peak (centre)

The views from the summit really are spectacular, justifying a panorama really :-)
 The farmers have provided steps to the named summit but bear in mind that this is not the SOTA summit, you need to carry on past the bluffs to the next obvious peak.

I was way earlier than expected so work a couple of locals (Geoff and Bill) on 2m but couldn't raise anyone else. Mild panic, the first time I haven't managed to activate on 2m!
The wind was blowing strongly from the North East so I set up the HF antenna pole in the lee of the summit for a bit of shelter. Even so, the gusts were threatening to snap it so I pulled it down again and guyed it (only the second time I've had to do that).

Antenna de jour was a new 66' (20m) endfed inverted vee. 1/2 wave on 40m, full wave on 20m, close to resonance on 30m and 17m and 3 1/2 waves on 15m. Coupled to the radio with a home-made EFHW transformer coupler, it tuned up nicely on all bands with no need for the KX2's inbuilt tuner.

Coupler with antenna (yellow) rubber banded to my pack for strain relief. Counterpoise (top) and choked coax (left).

Antenna running North-South

Fired up on 40m CW and started calling - first contact was Bill again, I still needed 2! Changed to 30m and called, worked Bill again ( still mildly worried!) and then Don ZL3DMC and Allen VK3ARH for #4. Phew! I then worked John ZL1BYZ and Jacky ZL1WA S2S. N7MQ called me on 17m and then Andrew VK1DA for another S2S. I stuck it out until the UTC rollover, worked a few repeat callers and then packed down as the wind was starting to move around to the NW and get really strong.

 The walk down was uneventful apart from having to grab my hat on occasion to avoid losing it and some light spillover rain. It was about 30 minutes back to the car.

Details:
Access permission required from Joanna or Andrew Craw- contact details avail from any of the CHC activators, send her your name and callsign asking for access to the summit. She's a lady of few words - her reply will be brief!

Drive to Little Akaloa (about 1.5 hours from Christchurch), turn right onto Chorlton Road, Turn right to stay on Chorlton Roand and veer right onto View Hill Road.
Park at the Stock Yards on the right (unless you have a 4WD in which case you can carry on).

Walk (or drive) up the farm road until you get to an intersection with a white strainer post and another post with number 8 beside it. Park here if driving. Turn left and walk up the track until you get to the 2nd gate at the bottom of the spur. Through the two gates and straight up the spur to the summit. There's another gate near the summit. Note that the SOTA summit is the second of the two obvious peaks.

Phone access: 4G (Spark) OK at the summit
All Canterbury repeaters within range
Walking Time: 1 hour from the stock yards to the summit, 30 minutes descent.

Mt Guy ZL3/CB-521 Sunday 3rd November 2019

I'd had my eye on Mt Guy for a while as it hadn't been activated and was down in the SOTA playground that is the Ashburton Lakes area, right above Lake Clearwater.
Weather forecast was for 30+ degrees and westerly winds rising to 50km/h so I set sail from home just after 5:30am. It's a 2 hour drive and I arrived at Lake Clearwater and was ready to go at 7:50am NZDST. Temperature was already 15 degrees and the lake was flat calm.
If you have an SUV, you can drive around the 4WD track right to the footbridge and the start of the track. Do not try it in a sedan!

The DOC estimate was pretty close for me, 1 hour 30 with one break to refuel

After a short walk along the lakeside track, the track to Mt Guy is well signposted on your right.

View of the summit from the start of the summit track

My plan worked out well, climbing in the cool of the morning and on the shady side of the summit. It's an interesting climb with great views behind you, necessitating a few stops to admire it ;-)
Like this one 3/4 of the way up:

Lake Clearwater village with Lake Camp (L) and Lake Clearwater (R)

You can see the track leading around to the head of the lake and the footbridge at the start of the track-proper. If you zoom right in you'll see Francie's Grand Vitara parked just before the bridge. It handled the track with ease. Shame they don't make them any more - I would like one for myself!

Looking to the right of the lake gives great views through to the Rangitata River

Same view but from the summit, Mt Potts on the right

Made it! Summit cairn looking South East

You knew there was going to be a panorama, right?! This is one of my better ones. Click on it to expand. It starts looking South East towards Mt Barossa and Mt Somers and does a full 360 degrees. I always feel blessed that we live in such a stunning environment!

So after txting home (Spark OK at the summit) I got set up with the 2m Slim Jim about 4m up my telescoping mast (bungeed to the last track marking waratah) and the 41' HF endfed antenna at the top. Wind was OK and temperature pleasant. First call on 2m netted Rick ZL3RIK/M (heading to Lake Clearwater collecting squares, lakes and summits!) and then Robin ZL3REW from Rakaia. Surprisingly, I also got Jim ZL3ND in Methven - right through Mt Somers! That was it for 2m so I headed to HF and got my fourth contact from my first CQ on 40m CW, thanks John ZL1BYZ! I worked my way up the bands/modes and picked up all the regular chasers, thanks all! 20m CW was no good due to QRM from the North American SS contest, a good sign! 17m CW produced NW7E in Oregon and 30m VK7CW. I shot back down to 60m to see if there were any locals about - worked John ZL1BYZ again with good signals and then called it quits as both the wind and temperature were getting up.

UNUNtenna clipped to pack with KX2 and homebrew thigh rest. belt around thigh, radio velcro attached.

Due to the predicted weather, I had trimmed down the pack contents in favour of more water. Used the KX2 internal battery only, no problems at all. I will do that more often. Thanks to John ZL1BYZ and Mark ZL3AB for the spots and facebook updates, much appreciated.

Getting there: Head to Lake Clearwater via Mt Somers township, about 2 hours from Kaiapoi, 1.5 hours from Christchurch. Take any of the streets to the right down to the lakefront and you'll find the start of the track. If you have an SUV with good ground clearance and HD tyres, you can take the 4WD track to the trail head. Otherwise, park here and walk. The 4WD track and the trail itself are well marked with orange waratahs.

Permission: None needed, Hakatere Conservation Park
Trig marker: none, rock cairn at summit
Cell coverage: Yes (Spark) patchy but OK right at summit
Repeater access: Oops! Didn't try but I doubt it!
Time to the top: DOC says 3 hours up. Driving around to the lake head saves a bit of walking. It took me 1 hours 30 min with a stop for snack. 50 minutes down (walking poles recommended).
Distance traveled: 5.6km with 640m of height gain

Mt Alford ZL3/CB-568

I'd been keen to get down and do some of the Mid-Canterbury summits for some time. The easement to access Mt Alford is closed for lambing 20 September until 20th October (inclusive) so the weekend after Eastfest (in Methven) was selected. Edit Sept 2020 - the easement closure is now 1 Sept - 30 Sept, check DOC website before you go!
Saturday dawned fine and clear with North East winds forecast to increase throughout the day.
It's a 1.5 hour drive from home via the spectacular Inland Scenic Highway (SH72).

I arrived at the carpark and started walking at 8:40am

The track is described as Moderate, lots of rain the previous few days left it boggy in places but easily navigated. As you climb through the beech forest (fantastic birdsong from the Bellbirds), glimpses of the plains show through until you reach the alpine tussock tops.

Fenced area to the left is Mt Alford Station, repeater sites and observatory, track climbs to ridge and along to summit on right

The track crosses areas of volcanic rock with many skinks and grasshoppers sunning themselves on the warm rocks.The summit itself looks like a volcanic boulder field - remnants of a very active volcanic area 89,000 years ago. They make great antenna supports :-)

Pole jammed between two boulders with antenna wire to the operating site. Mt Hutt in the background (North)

The larger boulder in the next photo came in handy (to stand on) when I heard Richard calling from Mt Barossa, the other side of Mt Somers and Mt Winterslow

Mt Somers (left) and Mt Winterslow (right)

I think the radio signals (on 2m) refracted over the ridge - anyway, it worked!
Radio-wise, it was an interesting activation. No Australians (first time that's happened). Worked S2S: Mark ZL3AB on Dunblane (Hanmer) on 10m CW, Richard ZL4FZ on Mt Barossa (2m), John ZL1BYZ on Puketutu  and the gang of loyal chasers as well. Also worked David ZL3UDH in Timaru (2m). Thanks everyone!

Wind was reasonably strong but not too bad. I packed up and headed down about 1:30pm. On the way down I met an 88 year old gent with his son climbing up, Dad apparently does the walk every couple of days - he looked in great health!

I'm a sucker for a panorama, especially with breathtaking scenery like this, open the photo by clicking and pan (if necessary) using your mouse. The panorama is 360 degrees, starting and finishing at Mt Hutt and panning across the Canterbury Plains.

Getting there: SH72 to the Mt Alford car park via Alford Settlement Road

Permission: Easement access and DOC conservation land so none needed. Easement closed 20 Sep to 20 Oct each year inclusive. EDIT Sept 2020  - the easement closure is now 1 Sept - 30 Sept, check DOC website before you go!

The track is well marked.
Trig marker: none, but there is a cairn and wooden pole.
Cell coverage: Yes (Spark)
Repeater access: all Canterbury repeaters.
Time to the top: DOC says 3 hours up. It took me 2 hours 40 min with stops. 1 hour 30 minutes down with a couple of stops again.
Distance traveled: 8.7km with 713m of climbing