{"id":5089,"date":"2015-02-20T22:39:52","date_gmt":"2015-02-21T05:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/?p=5089"},"modified":"2017-01-28T21:24:42","modified_gmt":"2017-01-29T04:24:42","slug":"w0cfr070-castle-mountain-2687-8834-ft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/sota-trip-report\/w0cfr070-castle-mountain-2687-8834-ft\/","title":{"rendered":"W\u00d8C\/FR-\u00d87\u00d8 (Castle Mountain) – 2693 M \/ 8834 ft"},"content":{"rendered":"

W\u00d8C\/FR-\u00d87\u00d8
\nCastle Mountain
\n2693 M \/ 8834 ft
\nNov 09, 2013
\nFirst Activation
\nApr 25, 2014<\/p>\n

by KX\u00d8R<\/p>\n

Castle Mountain<\/a> is an interesting minor summit in the eastern part of Rocky Mountain National Park<\/a>, right above the town of Estes Park<\/a>. It provides a fun SOTA activation.<\/p>\n

\"Castle<\/a>

Castle Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n

Since this trip has no marked route, and the terrain is steep, good navigation is required. Study the route, take a topographic map, and follow the directions here to stay on National Park land. The key to Castle is to know where to start the hike.<\/p>\n

Drive to Estes Park, take the Highway 34 Bypass north (W. Wonderview Ave), drive past the Stanley Hotel and west about 1-1\/2 miles, almost to the junction where W Elkhorn Avenue (also Route 34) meets the Highway 34 Bypass west of town. A convenient paved parking spot is on the south side of the Route 34 Bypass, just east of the junction.<\/p>\n

\"Castle<\/a>

Castle Mountain Parking on 34 Bypass<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Castle<\/a>

Castle from Highway 34 Bypass<\/p><\/div>\n

Right across the highway you can see the NPS signs on posts. The land from the highway to the top of the Mountain is part of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). No fee or pass is required for this adventure!<\/p>\n

\"Castle<\/a>

Castle Mountain NPS Marker near Highway<\/p><\/div>\n

Cross the highway and head up a faint path in the gully north of the parking spot. Stay on the west side of the draw to avoid private land just to the east. After about \u00bd mile, the gully ends at a saddle near 8000 feet. From this saddle, head first northwest, and then west up the steep ridge toward Castle \u2013 there is nothing to follow except bits of game trails. No rock climbing is required \u2013 just head up the slope to the rocky ridge leading west toward Castle. On the ridge, stay slightly south to keep inside RMNP. Drop down slightly to a saddle east of the Summit, and continue west up to the easy summit ridge. Climb south toward the obvious peak, and then do a few easy class 3 moves to ascend the prominent summit. Right below the top is a good place to set up and operate. The Needles<\/a>, McGregor Mountain<\/a>, Deer Mountain<\/a>, etc., are close to Castle. Estes Park is over a thousand feet right below. This is a super radio site \u2013 like being on a tower! I worked 2 G\u2019s and an EA on 15M CW – 30 Q\u2019s in all.<\/p>\n\n\t\t