Montana Motor Stables: Doris Mountain (W7M/FN-133) SOTA Activation from KF7PXT

Doris Mountain (W7M/FN-133) SOTA Activation

My kids acting crazy and moving during the panoramic picture...looks pretty cool though.

We hiked Doris Mountain on 8/2/2019. I was acquainted with this hike as we had done it on June 15th, but were not able to gain the summit because of deep snow. This time Lily, Colten and I made the trip and it went quickly. We left the house a little after 9 in the morning and arrived at the trailhead just before 11. We did not return back home until after 5. Our actual hiking time was only 2 hours and 5 minutes as can be seen by the GPS below. The rest of the time was spent at the lakes and on the summit. We stopped at the 2nd lake on the way up and the upper most lake on the way down. The cool water was great for a swim. We also spent a couple hours on the summit enjoying the sun, making videos, eating lunch, and doing some Summits on the Air.

There is the remnants of an old fire lookout at the summit but not much is there...the nail that came through my seat cushion reminded me of the past!

There is now a geocache on the summit...give it a few days to post. It is a small container right now but I am going to swap it out for an ammo can on the next trip.

Bring your dog with you. Most of the trip is in the shade and there is plenty of water along the way. After you gain the summit ridge there is not much shade though. There are some small trees in the activation area that provide a little bit of shade.

Cell Signal:

Verizon: I had signal off and on while hiking up but the signal was strong while on the summit.

Trail Conditions:

The trail is in great condition. It is much better then it was the last time that we were out there. I made an attempt at the summit on June 15th but there was still to much snow on the North East side of the summit to get to the top. The trail starts out by dropping down a few hundred feet and then starts to climb again up to the lakes. This low ground can be full of water and make it difficult to follow the trail if done to early. It was a complete swamp on June 15th when we did it. We were wading through water that was over knee deep. The climb to the lakes is relatively gentle and a nice stroll in the woods. There is a ton of fish (likely cutthroat and brook trout) in the 2nd lake. I would bet they are in the others also. After the lake it gets steeper and then once you gain the ridge it will get the blood pumping to the summit.

Equipment:
Elecraft KX2, Home brew 20m dipole, Yaesu VX-6.

APRS:

Did not use APRS today. The last time that I was in this area I was getting my locations out at the lake. I guarantee that there would be no issues with using APRS...I forgot my Kenwood on the charger at the house.

GPS Tracks:

Driving GPS Tracks

This starts from where I left hungry horse road. 11.6 miles on the road to the trail head...seems like forever...keep driving.

Driving Directions:

Drive East on HWY 2 out of Columbia Falls. After passing through the town of Hungry Horse turn South to the Hungry Horse Dam. Drive about 6 miles and turn right to Doris Ridge. Follow this gravel road 11.6 miles to the end and the trail head. Plan on about 45 min. to make the 11 mile drive to the TH.

Log:

As always I appreciate all the chasers! Sometimes I am not the best at CW but I love doing it. It was great to hear familiar voices today and I hope to be more frequent for the rest of the summer.

Hitting the upper lake on the way down. This lake was great for a after hike swim!

I designated my daughter Lily to get Pictures. She got some really neat ones.

A picture from the summit of 2 of the three lakes. The trail goes right by all of these lakes.

There was a lot of bees and horse flies. They left us alone mostly. There was enough breeze in the summit to keep them away. Later the wind calmed down and they were everywhere.