Sawtooth is the summit on the far left. The trail is an old fire break that has since had a lot of vegetation growth. The trail, just under two miles, has several ups and downs over the hills to the summit. Dan, NA6MG, had told me the last 1/4 mile has a 500 foot elevation gain.
When I arrived at the base of Sawtooth, it looked quite steep, just shooting straight up. It reminded me of Smith Mtn, W6/CT-120, which gained 800 ft over the last 1/2 mile. I took my time hiking this final section, putting one foot in front of the other, taking a few breaks. I made it to the summit in 1:10 of hiking, quite winded. I could really feel the temperature rising, as this hike is completely exposed to the sun.
The summit is a large, flat area with many easy options to place your antenna. Walking across the summit to the west side and highest point, I was able to locate and sign the Summit Log. While looking at the trail on the hike to the summit, it appeared that this trail did not receive much actiivity. However, in reviewing the summit log, there were several hikers who had ventured out here in 2020.
While setting up my antenna for HF, I was contacted on 2m by John, K6LDQ, followed by Hal, N6JZT. I was surprised to make contact with them on my HT as they are both in the South Bay area. I then made a Summit to Summit contact with Ron, K6CPR. He was on Grass Mountain, W6/CT-130.
A view of Burnt Peak, W6/CT-093, from the summit of Sawtooth. I activated Burnt Peak three days prior to Sawtooth. The gate to the summit of Burnt Peak was open and I was able to drive to the summit, saving me the six mile round trip hike.
My total time on the summit was about an hour. I worked 30m and 40m cw. I had planned on also working 20m cw, but it started getting hot and I knew it would be a tough hike back. I thought the return trip would be easier, but it took me 18 minutes longer on the return for a total of 1:28, as I forgot about all the steep hills I had to climb. When I started the hike in the morning it was 61 degrees when I left my truck. When I returned it was 86 degrees. I would hike Sawtooth again, but I would definately hike it in cooler weather. I did see some Poodle Dog Brush in places along the route, but nothing overwhelming or close to the trail. My bigger concern was that I would come across some rattlesnakes in this area, to which I never saw any. I did see several deer tracks. As the trail provides no relief from the sun, bring plenty of water, particularly in the warmer months.
I made the following contacts. Thank you chasers!
2m - K6LDQ, N6JZT, K6CPR, WA9STI
30m cw - NS7P, WU7H, W0NF, K6HPX, WW7D, KB7HH
40m cw - W0NF, AA7DK, W7RC, WA7JTM, K6YK, WB7VUF, K6KM, K6HPX, N6KZ, KR7RK, K1LB, WU7H, AI6XG, W6STR
40m ssb - K7TSY
20m ssb - K6RIN, W0ERI, K8TE, W0MNA
S2S - K6CPR - W6/CT-130, KB7HH - W7A/AE-035, K7TSY - W7A/AE-035, K1LB - W7N/WC-083
