{"id":22,"date":"2011-06-15T10:49:21","date_gmt":"2011-06-15T17:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/?p=22"},"modified":"2014-04-07T17:36:11","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T23:36:11","slug":"wofr-102-horsetooth-mountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/sota-trip-report\/wofr-102-horsetooth-mountain\/","title":{"rendered":"W\u00d8C\/FR-1\u00d82 (Horsetooth Mtn.) &#8211; 7613 ft \/ 2320 m"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Horsetooth Mountain (<a title=\"SOTA Database info\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sotawatch.org\/summits.php?summit=W0C\/FR-102\" target=\"_blank\">W\u00d8C\/FR-1\u00d82<\/a>), part of the <em>Front Range<\/em> of the Rocky Mountains, is just west of the City of Fort Collins (CO). It is a prominent landmark\u00a0 and easily distinguishable by it&#8217;s large rock formation at the summit. It was acquired by the City of Ft. Collins in 1982 from the <em>Soderburg<\/em> family and is now a popular destination for hikers\/mountain-bikers\/horseback-riders with approx. 2700 acres (11 square kilometers) and about 30 miles (48 kilometers) of trails. It provides some spectacular views of Fort Collins to the east and to the highest mountains of the Rockies to the west (see the video at the end of the post).<br \/>\n<a title=\"Horsetooth Mountain Open Space Website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.larimer.org\/parks\/htmp.htm\" target=\"_blank\">More info<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Trailhead: 5538 ft \/ 1688 m<br \/>\nSummit: 7613 ft \/ 2320 m<br \/>\nElev. gain: 1454 ft \/ 443 m<br \/>\nRound trip: 5.2 mi \/ 8.4 km<\/p>\n<pre style=\"text-align: right;\"><a title=\"opens in a new window\" href=\"http:\/\/schnizer.com\/SOTA\/\" target=\"_blank\">Compare this summit to my other activated summits<\/a><\/pre>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/SANY0003.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-155\" title=\"My old MB \" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/SANY0003-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/SANY0003-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/SANY0003.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>I have choosen this target for my first SOTA activation due to it&#8217;s proximity to my QTH. I can actually see the summit from my house. It is just a short drive to the trail-head and usually a nice hike. I took my mountain bike to accelerate my ascent in order to have more time available on the summit to fumble with all my new equipment &#8211; or so I thought.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>How to get there:<\/strong><br \/>\nTake exit #265 on I25 and follow Harmony road west for ~7 miles where it becomes Larimer County Road 38E. Continue west and you will find the entrance\/parking lot\/trail head on the north side of the road after about 6.5 miles.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #c0c0c0;\">Trailhead\/Parking lot:<\/span><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps?f=q&amp;source=s_q&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=+40%C2%B031'26.31%22+-105%C2%B010'52.29%22&amp;aq=&amp;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;sspn=64.409204,65.039063&amp;vpsrc=0&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=40.524136,-105.181662&amp;spn=0.007707,0.008991&amp;t=h&amp;z=14&amp;output=embed\" height=\"350\" width=\"425\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><small><a style=\"color: #ffffff; text-align: left;\" href=\"http:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps?f=q&amp;source=embed&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=+40%C2%B031%2726.31%22+-105%C2%B010%2752.29%22&amp;aq=&amp;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;sspn=64.409204,65.039063&amp;vpsrc=0&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=40.524136,-105.181662&amp;spn=0.007707,0.008991&amp;t=h&amp;z=14\" target=\"_blank\">Open Larger Map<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Red tape:<\/strong><br \/>\nHorsetooth Mountain Open Space requires a $5 day use permit for all visitors. You have to share the trail with hikers\/mountain-bikes and horseback riders.<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>The Ascent:<\/strong><br \/>\nThere are at least two options to get to the top.<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u00a0Follow the forest (dirt) road. Highly recommended using a mountain bike<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<ol>\n<li>Follow the forest (dirt) road. Highly recommended using a mountain bike<\/li>\n<li>Take the hiking trail from the parking lot (a lot nicer)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The route I took was a combination of the two. As a result I carried my bike for most of the way up due to the fact that MBs are not allowed on the hiking trail and the fact that it is impossible to bike the hiking trail anyway (at least for me). Since I started early, the temperatures were still comfy and some lingering rain clouds over the city provided a shady ascent to the summit.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>The Summit:<\/strong><br \/>\nTo reach the summit, a short scramble (~30 ft\/10 m elevation) on all your extremities is required. The reward is worth it &#8211; undisturbed views in all directions for miles and miles.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_158\" style=\"width: 730px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/SANY0006.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-158\" class=\"size-full wp-image-158 \" title=\"View from the top of Horsetooth Mtn.\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/SANY0006.jpg\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/SANY0006.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/SANY0006-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-158\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">View from the top of Horsetooth Mtn.<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">My setup exercises in the backyard paid off. Within twenty minutes, my Buddipole was up and tuned and I was able to send my first CQs well ahead of my announced time slot. My second contact was Budd (W3FF) in California. He confirmed a strong signal and was very helpful in drumming up support (contacts) for my activation. Within one hour I had thirteen SSB contacts on 20m &#8211; good enough for my first activation. Sadly, my internal battery was slowly giving up (note to myself: improve\u00a0 power setup).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Going off the air was amazing&#8230; the constant noise of the radio was gone and I just sat there enjoying the sounds of nature. Since it was still early morning, the light and therefore the views were spectacular.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>The Descent:<\/strong><br \/>\nPacking up was a breeze. I climbed down the rock formation back to my bike and saddled up. It was a fast and furious ride downhills. My bike was literally smoking&#8230; at least my break pads!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Some Impression:<br \/>\n<\/strong>httpvh:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JpakVv1Xeyw<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>If you would like to leave questions or comments, please do so through <a title=\"Leave your comments on Youtube\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JpakVv1Xeyw\" target=\"_blank\">Youtube<\/a>.<\/p>\n<HR>\n<p style=\"font-size:10px\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/dd\/Achtung.svg\/877px-Achtung.svg.png\" alt=\"ATTENTION\" style=\"float:left\" height=\"41\" width=\"41\"> \n\n!! WARNING !! There are <b>old<\/b> mountaineers, and \n<b>bold<\/b> mountaineers... there are no old-bold mountaineers. \nHiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required - enjoy!\n<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Horsetooth Mountain (W\u00d8C\/FR-1\u00d82), part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, is just west of the City of Fort Collins (CO). It is a prominent landmark\u00a0 and easily distinguishable by it&#8217;s large rock formation at the summit. It was &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/sota-trip-report\/wofr-102-horsetooth-mountain\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,16],"tags":[25,17,28,10,23,7,6,22,21,8,18,19,9,24,29,74,20],"class_list":["post-22","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-sota-trip-report","category-wo","tag-activation","tag-amateur-radio","tag-buddipole-antenna","tag-colorado","tag-foothills","tag-ham","tag-hiking","tag-k0mos","tag-mountain","tag-mountain-topping","tag-nature","tag-outdoors","tag-sota","tag-summits-on-the-air","tag-trail-description","tag-w0fr-102","tag-wilderness","post_format-post-format-link"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":75,"href":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4017,"href":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions\/4017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}