Capturing the Art of Nature
Mt. Hollyburn Activated
We chose Hollyburn for today’s adventure as we needed a summit we could pack radio gear up to without too much difficulty, it was a good choice and we had a very successful day
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2014
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I have hiked Hollyburn twice before, once hidden in fog and the other time buried beneath snow on the upper slopes. So today’s destination was not new but even so there are so many sights to see that one is always finding exciting new scenes to enjoy. My friend from the White Rock Radio Club, Ralph, wanted to climb another peak for the summits on the air program and he looked to me to select a summit that we could do without a lot of difficulty. I really quite enjoyed the Hollyburn location before and it is an easy trail with not too much elevation gain or steepness. And since I hadn’t been there for a few years I felt it would be worth a return visit.
Ralph and I met the Thursday before our hike and planned out the last details. He arranged to borrow a KX3 transceiver from fellow club member Deme and planned to try a new simple antenna he recently purchased. So with the weather forecast looking good – warm but not overly hot – we felt that we were good to go. Early on Saturday I picked Ralph up in my back-country truck and we made for the parking area well up the slope of Hollyburn. It is convenient that this is a popular ski hill with road access well up the slope. The area was in fact part of the 2010 Winter Olympics. We made great time on the roads getting to the hill and the only challenge driving up the mountain road was avoiding all the cyclists that were heading up and then down the roadway. It really is quite surprising at how many there were. We arrived at the area near the access to the power line road where we could park and soon were finalizing our gear for the hike.
We set out at 9:20 and made good time up the first segment of the slope, looking back down at the truck I am always amazed at how quickly it shrinks to a toy size truck. Soon we rounded the first corner and came by a lovely lake where we took a few moments to enjoy the lily pads and the scene. I gathered a few photos as the place truly is quite beautiful. I could be content with just spending the day here and gathering photos from all sides of the pond but the summit was calling. Not much past the lake we left the power line clearing and started up the ski slope. Here the trail was well worn and very easy to follow. We were soon walking through a vast field of wild blueberries and they were ripe which added to our walking pleasure as they can be very sweet and refreshing. The early section of the trail doubles with a segment of the Baden Powell and as such is well maintained. Though the ground was dry there were numerous plank walkways placed to help hikers get over some muddy sections which even today made the trail easier. Once the trails parted, the Hollyburn was a bit less maintained but still in excellent shape and very easy to travel over.
The ascent went well and as we were travelling through trees still early in the day the temperature was not bad and the sun controlled so our pace was fairly good and we made it to the summit in just over two hours. Perhaps not fast for a 20 year-old but then we weren’t really trying. The final couple hundred meters is the steepest section and a few short spots were a bit tricky for Ralph with all the gear he was packing. But soon we arrived at the rocky summit and peeled off our packs and rested and even ate a bit of lunch as we were up with 30 minutes to spare before the scheduled start time for our radio activity. There were several groups on the summit when we arrived and one was using the tree we wanted to commission for our antenna mast. They were quite willing to let us hoist up the wire antenna while asking about our plans. Though the antenna was new and well wrapped it still insisted on getting tangled. So Ralph had to spend time fighting the wires so they could be pulled into position. Fortunately they aren’t all that long and we had them in place in time for our planned start.
Ralph finished setting up the equipment and was immediately in contact with stations in the mid-west and California. Throughout the next two hours he worked stations across the continent – California to North Carolina. Meanwhile I was taking various photos from around the broad summit area and just enjoying the peaceful setting of the fresh air. The views of other peaks to the east and north are always spectacular but the view down into the Fraser Valley was obscured by smog and haze and left little to be seen. After I had finished lunch and feeding a few birds some nuts, Ralph set up his 2m Yagi antenna and I attached my small handheld to it. I put out a few calls and got responses form a chap down in Mt Vernon Washington and another just below us at UBC. I suspended the Yagi in a branch of a small tree and pointed it towards Puget Sound and called out for a contact in the Seattle region. Surprisingly I got a response from a mobile driver on the I-90 over 200kms distant. That’s the furthest I have done with my 2m handheld!
Well it was starting to get a lot hotter up here and we felt we had successfully activated this summit for the first time and so we packed up. We had a good opportunity to chat with numerous groups while on the summit and many were quite interested in what we were doing and quite surprised at the range we could achieve. The walk down went quite smoothly and we made good time. I was quite surprised at the number of groups still hiking up the slope in the mid-afternoon. I wouldn’t want to follow the trail in the dark and these people were cutting it pretty fine. But perhaps them being young they could do the trail in very little time if needed. Well, soon the truck was back in sight below us and we were on the final leg of the hike. It always feels good to get back to the truck and get those boots off. We rested and drank some cool liquid before setting off for the challenge of the high speed traffic. We made it safely home to where we could brag about our achievements. It was a good day not only for our radio success but just for enjoying the beauty of creation.