Yesterday's SOTA adventure took me to the top of Mount Maria near Horseshoe Bend, Idaho for a first time activation.  The hike up was right at 1 mile in length and took about 45 minutes.  The last section was very steep, so had to slow down the pace quite a bit.

The view from the top was spectacular.  To the south you could see the town of Horseshoe Bend.  To the southeast, Shafer Butte.  To the north was a nice view up the Payette river.

Great day weather wise, about 70 degrees and sunny.  Hardly a breath of wind on the top.

The summit has a small repeater for what I'm guessing is for cellular or Internet service to the houses shaded by Mount Maria. It is both solar and wind powered.

It only took me about 10 minutes to get set up for the operation.  I ended up with 39 QSOs mixed between 40m, 30m and 20m, all on CW.  Nice pileups.  I even had 2 Summit to Summit QSOs, one with my good friend and SOTA mentor, K7MK.

Next time I come up here I will probably try a different route.  It may add a couple hundred vertical feet to the climb, but will take off about 2 tenths of a mile in distance each way.

Thanks for all the chasers listening for my 10W signal from my Elecraft KX2.

Until next time...

73, Jim - KK7A