My second SOTA required a longer hike (~2 miles each way) than Mt. Electric but was also a lot of fun.
I took the same path as KE4HET did during his June 2020 activation -- the longer but easier trek from Sky Country Trailhead -- along a route created on AllTrails.com (see recording below). I set up the KX3 with the SOTABeams linked dispole, although a vertical might have worked better in the limited space near the short bench at the summit.
I was sending APRS beacons from my HT, a Kenwood TH-D72a. When I arrived, I saw an APRS message flash on the radio from DL0QW-12: "Welcome W7EEE ..." Having never received a message like that via APRS, it took me a minute to figure out how to read it. The full message was "Welcome W7EEE on summit W7W/KG-132 Wilderness Pk(CN87WM). gl if yo." DL0QW-12 is an APRS-connected Linux server called Camilla, whose website says, "Via Camilla it is possible to access the GMA network and SOTA and retrieve various information." So apparently Camilla saw my spot alert saying I would be on that summit at about that time, and sent a nice welcome message the moment 'she' saw via APRS that I arrived!
I worked 14 stations during my time there, including a Summit-to-Summit contact (W7A-AE004) with N1CLC, Chris Claborne, a former CW Academy student of mine who inspired me to try SOTA. His blog and YouTube videos have been invaluable to my learning about preparing for and carrying out SOTA expeditions.
