Krell Hill is a 3600 foot peak to the south-east of Spokane. It's also known as Tower Mountain for reasons that are obvious to those from the area. The tower complex looms over the City of Spokane, spanning most of the ridge to the south-east of town. It hosts 3 major TV stations and numerous other transmitters. Access to the hill is either from a gated road to the south-west, or from the trail system of the Iller Creek Conservation Area to the north or southeast. Iller Creek has many hiking and biking options. Check out the link to get a detailed map of the area. All of the hike is on public land. No pass is required at the trailhead. The summit of the hill borders on private land but access is not restricted at the point needed for activation. Access to the tower complex is not restricted physically, but is marked private. No matter where you start, or your mode of travel, be prepared to go up! I'd been up to the summit 4-5 times in the last year, but never had the time to do an activation. This time my hiking buddies agreed to wait around while I took the time to get my contacts. Check it out:
First snow hike of the season for us!
As you hike up, you'll have no problem locating the top. Head for the towers!
This is a view from the top, looking south into the Washington palouse:
This is a shot of the Iller Creek area that I took 5 days before the snow hike:
The adventure collie, Abraham, was in his element!
Little Barney the Shih Tzu loves a hike but was clearly out of his element when the snow got deeper. He had to be carried down to a lower elevation:
With my new 4-element Arrow antenna, I started caling CQ. I had to get used to adjusting the beam to where my spotters were. Richard, KG6JXM, from Spokane Valley, called me for 10 minutes before I heard him because I was pointing north-west toward the city of Spokane. Anyway, I got it figured out and got my contacts. By the way, I got a new vanity call this week: K7EHT. I'm still trying to figure out how to change my username on this site :)
Thanks very much to my spotters in the Spokane area. It was great to talk to two new hams, and talk again to two old friends!
And special thanks to my wife Sarah who was on photo duty.
K7EHT