As the temperatures rose in the valleys below the Angeles National Forest, it was a great day for a hike to Throop Peak. As I drove up Angeles Crest Highway, I passed Islip Saddle, I was contacted on Simplex by Hal, N6JZT, who said he could see Roxy in the bed of my Toyota pickup. I made a U-turn and drove towards the lone car in the parking lot. I have spoke with Hal on the radio, but never met him person. As I drove towards the car, Hal said he was already on the trail. I looked up and could see him a few hundred yards up the trail. A quick wave and back on the Highway for a few miles to my parking spot at Dawson Saddle.
After parking, I crossed the street to the well visible trail. Elevation at the trail head is just over 7900'.
The Boy Scouts did a great job on the Dawson Saddle Trail. When my son was in scouts, we performed trail maintenance on many trails in the ANF. The trail is in excellent condition and starts with a few switchbacks and gradually climbs to the saddle. The trail meanders through pine trees, offering shade and some nice views.
At nearly two miles and 8900', I arrived at the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail. Turning left takes you to Mt.Baden-Powell (W6/CT-004). Turning right on the PCT will take you to another junction to Throop Peak. We took a short break before setting out on the PCT.
A very short distance on the PCT and you arrive at this fork in the trail. Taking a right at the fork will take you to the top of Throop. I was enjoying the hike on the PCT and missed the cutoff. I had the Waypoint set on my GPS, but I inadvertently erased all the Waypoints when we started the hike and relied on my map to get to the top. Missing the cutoff added nearly a 1/2 mile to the trek as I hiked around the Peak on the PCT. I ultimately left the trail and hiked to the top of Throop without a trail.
We arrived at the summit in 1:08 at a comfortable pace. It is a nearly 1200' elevation gain from the parking area. After a short break, I made a Summit to Summit activation on 2m with Hal, N6JZT, who was nearby on Mt.Islip, W6/CT-010.
I scouted the area for a while before finding a good activation location. There was a good breeze going on the peek, so I wanted to find a spot that afforded a break from the wind. These trees worked out great for the antenna and kneeling next to the log provided some shelter from the wind. I ran my End Fedz antennas from North to South.
Not only did the log proved shelter from the wind, it made for a good bench for my equipment.
The peak provided some views of the surrounding mountains.
I packed up and headed down the mountain, finding the correct trail off of the peak. It took about 45 minutes on the return trip. Roxy was ready to go. Shortly after we started the drive home, Hal got me on Simplex and we stopped for a quick meet and greet below Islip Saddle. It was nice to meet someone I had spoke with several times on the radio and he provided some good suggestions for future treks.
There was a lot of noise on 20m, but made several contacts and four Summit to Summit contacts. Below are my contacts.
Summit to Summit: N6JZT/2m - Mt. Islip-W6/CT-010, WN6E/20m - Keller Pk - W6/CT-013, KB6CIO/20m - Keller Pk - W6/CT-013, N0OI/20m - Onyx Pk - W6/CT-044, KY7S/20m - Big Muffin - W7W/CW-075. KB6CIO/40m - Keller Pk. - W6/CT-013, KN6CCW/40m - Keller Pk. - W6/CT-013, WN6E/12m - Keller Pk. - W6/CT-013
2m - N6JZT, K6CMG,
20m - NS7P, WA2USA, AE9F, N4EX, KF6YGY, W0MNA, VE2JCW, AA7DK, W7CNL, N7AMA, N6MDV, WN6E, KB6CIO, N0OI, KY7S
40m - K6TUY, W7RV, KB6CIO, KN6CCW, NA6MG, WA6RIC. W7JET, AE9F
12m - WB6L, WN6E
THANK YOU CHASERS, SPOTTERS, and S2S!!!
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