September 9-10, 2024 near Burton, BC
Wilf VE7OHM had suggested that Mike VE7KPZ's next Summits On The Air activation might be at the glorious Saddle Mountain VE7/CK-034 just outside of Nakusp, BC. After a little online research about the location, Mike agreed and set about hiking up to the 2304 m/7800 ft summit with his friend Aiden.
We were fortunate to start at the upper parking lot, shaving off the steepest section of the hike leaving ~4 km of pleasant switchbacks and 650 meters of vertical elevation gain to go.
About half way up the remains of the old lookout attendants' cabin was found. In the late 1920s this is where the staff stayed each night, as the lookout was just a canvas tent at that time.
Nearing the alpine the first glimpse of the lookout was seen.
Gaining the alpine the views opened up (Saddle Mountain to the left and Upper Saddle Mountain (VE7/CK-014) on the right).
The hardest part of the hike was navigating the boulder field.
Rounding the corner just south of the summit, we stopped for a minute to watch some frolicking chipmunks. It was surprising to see chipmunks at this elevation (around 2250 meters).
A bit more goat trail up from the west and we were on top.
A couple of day hikers were ahead of us. We chatted with them for a bit before they headed down.
The summit was ours but it was only 1 PM. We were very early. Time for some HF operation.
The HyEndFed EFHW was strung up between the lookout's railing and a guyed SOTABEAMS tactical mini mast. 5 watts QRP phone seemed to work best on the 20 meter band via the IC-705.
With 6 HF contacts in the log we were made aware that another SOTA activator from Alberta was also on 14.341 MHz, so we relinquished the frequency to them. A move over to the 40 meter band brought one more contact with good friend Austin VE7QH.
The sky was looking rather ominous, so the HF wire was brought down in case the storm rolled in quickly.
But it was only 3:30 PM, so we made ourselves at home inside the lookout.
What luxury to have such a nice place to eat and sleep on top of a high mountain summit. Big thanks to the Nakusp & Area Trails Society who restored the lookout building in 2017.
After setting up our beds, we proceeded to make dinner and then it was time for the main event, the 5 PM 2 meter band activity as originally scheduled (and communicated to the SOTA chasers and Okanagan 2m SSB group).
We used Aiden's hiking stick velcroed to the lookout's railing to support the Elk log periodic antenna effectively giving us ~20 watts ERP for 2m activity.
We had three local QSOs on 2m FM (big thanks to Rob Murray VA7RMM of Edgewood who told the Arrow Lakes community about the planned activation) and then switched to 2m SSB (to work Rob again and) to reach further (over multiple mountain ranges) into Salmon Arm (~110 km), Kelowna (~120 km) and Vernon (~95 km).
With another 7 QSOs in the log for 2m activity it was then time to tear down the radio gear and focus on the evening's feature event - the sunset.
The earlier stormy sky began to clear.
These views are the real reason we climb these summits - SOTA is the bonus.
With the sun setting the temperature outside dropped considerably. Fortunately the lookout stayed warm well into the morning so our light sleeping bags were sufficient.
We rose at sunrise, ate breakfast, packed up, swept the lookout and finally signed the guest book to leave record of our visit.
The morning light made the trip down quite beautiful.
Like the way up, Aiden also led the way back.
We made it back to the car in very good time (just 1.5 hours).
This was an epic trip, and considering the current poor ionospheric conditions for HF radio operation, we did quite well with a 5 watt QRP phone signal.
The lookout does get very busy on the weekends (7 people slept over the Sunday/Monday before us) but this would be a great location for a group SOTA event/summit campout. The trail is quite good and the elevation gain is consistent with the switchbacks.
One thing to change for next time: bring more coax. Packing in 7 litres of water (each) for a late-season summit means radio gear weight is kept to a minimum. However, it would have been nice to have been able to operate from inside the lookout instead of on the breezy porch. Then again, it's unusual to spend 3 hours operating because you got to the summit too early and needed something to pass the time.
Big thanks to Wilf for suggesting to bag this peak, Aiden for joining in on the trip and all the SOTA chasers who came back to our CQ calls. It was super fun.
73,
Mike VE7KPZ
Ps: right-click on any picture and choose "Open Image in New Tab" to see a higher resolution image.
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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
Repost of a press release from our national amateur radio club, Radio Amateurs of Canada:
ISED Gives Advance Notice of Update of Basic Amateur Radio Exam Questions
For immediate release – July 6, 2024
On July 5, 2024, Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) posted the following announcement on its website:
“Working with the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) plans to update the Basic Amateur Exam questions and answers in early 2025. An advance copy, in PDF format, will be posted in the coming months on our Downloads page so that instructors and examiners can update their material before the transition. After this update, ISED will perform a similar review of the Advanced Amateur Exam, with new exams expected after 2025.”
As indicated in the announcement, this is the result of a RAC initiative – which was presented to ISED in 2022 – and over a year of hard work by the members of RAC’s Examination Standards Committee (ESC). The final details of the update to the Basic Amateur Exam are being worked out now. ISED must put the completed draft of the Basic Question Bank through some internal processes before it can be published.
ISED will publish the new Basic Question Bank on its website several months before it is implemented to allow instructors, authors and candidates the opportunity to adjust to the changes. The existing Basic Question Bank will be used until the new bank is implemented sometime in 2025.
RAC’s Examination Standards Committee is now working on recommendations for updates to the Advanced question bank.
You can see ISED’s announcement at these links:
Dave Goodwin VE3KG
Regulatory Affairs Officer
Radio Amateurs of Canada
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For all those members who have Yaesu FT-891s:
I use an 891 for portable ops like POTA and it does a great job for me in that role. But otherwise it sits in a go-bag and I forget how to use its menu system.
I've found a great one-page guide for its menu system that manages to cram EVERYTHING into a single page of 8.5x11", which you can print and even have laminated if you wish.
Ritchie VA7RLX