Saturday, February 22, 2014

Return to House Mountain



What a beautiful late winters day!  It has been a long busy winter for me, and I have been itching to get back out on the trail.  To start the new year I decided to head out to House Mountain.  House is the first mountain I ever activated, so I thought it would be fitting to blow the cobwebs off!

 House Mountain is a mountain located in Corryton, Tennessee, about 8 miles northeast of Knoxville. Rising to an elevation of 2,064 feet , House Mountain is the highest point in Knox County.  This is a short hike of about 2.6 miles round trip to the summit.  The trail rises about 850 ft in 1.3 miles.  Most of the trail is easy going, but there are some steep sections.

 In fact there are two routes to the summit.  The first, and shortest, is the West Overlook at 0.8 miles.  This is the shortest and steepest route, but offers some awesome views.
Today I decided to take the Mountain Trail to the Crest Trail, and onward to the summit.  This, I believe is the easier of the two trails.  

On a side note while researching House Mountain I can across a blog from the Appalachian Irishman.  He has climbed House over 100 times. In Late December a landowner and Game Warden claim to have spotted a Black Mountain Lion along the ridge.  Boy, that would have been a sight to see!


The last quarter mile is the steepest section of the Mountain Trail as you can see above.  The trail switches back several times, and is rocky in some spots.  The trail is well traveled, and on a nice day such as this you will see many fellow hikers.

After the Mountain Trail intersects the Crest Trail the path is very easy going to the summit.

The stairs to the right go up to the remnants of the old observation tower on the summit.  The views on the summit are mostly obscured by trees, but a bit of the scenery can be seen.  

 I set up the KX3 and my 88' inverted V antenna and started activating.  It was a good day with some great contacts.  As always thanks to all the chasers today! 
TimeCallBandModeNotes
16:58zW8OMI7MHzSSBHouse Mt
16:58zK8OMI7MHzSSBHouse Mt
16:59zN4EX7MHzSSBHouse Mt
16:59zNE4TN7MHzSSBHouse Mt
16:59zN4MJ7MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:00zW0MNA7MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:01zK0LAF7MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:02zW0ERI7MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:02zKJ4TRN7MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:03zWA2USA7MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:04zWH6LE7MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:05zKI4SVM7MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:06zNS7P14MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:06zW7RV14MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:07zVE2JCW14MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:07zK5WI14MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:08zND0C14MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:08zWB5USB14MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:21zW6UB14MHzSSBHouse Mt sts Roundtop
17:28zG4OBK18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:29zW7CNL18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:30zAB7YL18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:30zKA5PVB18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:31zEA4LU18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:32zW5RST18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:33zVA6FUN18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:34zKK1W18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:36zN6JZT18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:38zAA7DK18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:39zAA5CK18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:40zN7AZ18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:41zN1EU18MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:46zW7USA24MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:47zWB5USB24MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:48zHK3C24MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:51zW7RV24MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:54zAA7DK24MHzSSBHouse Mt
17:55zWX4ET144MHzSSBHouse Mt sts Max Patch
18:00zW7JET7MHzSSBHouse Mt sts W7A/MN-094

Made a few long distance contacts today.  These included G4OBK in England, EA4LU in Spain, and HK3C in Columbia.  I also had several Summit to Summits including WX4ET, my FIRST 2M STS contact.  Thanks Erik!  It was a great day to start out 2014.  I also had the opportunity to try out my new long distance pack.  So far I love it!  The larger pack fits my larger frame very well LOL!  I will work up a video review of my new Eberlestock Battleship in the near future.  I think its going to be a great year!

 73's AND KEEP CLIMBING!!!






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