K6EYE SOTA Activations

Mt Vaca, W6/NC-151

Activated 2020-12-27

Posted 2020-12-28

Mt. Vaca is the highest point in Solano County, at 2,822 ft. It sits on the ridge separating Napa and Solano counties, and has views East into the Sacramento valley and Sierras, West and South West towards the town of Napa, Novato and some peaks in Marin, San Francisco, and northern Contra Costa County. There's a nice coverage map here.

The Vaca ridge is covered in radio sites. I believe there are 30 towers stretching North to South over two miles. Site 20 is the high point and is the site of the Mt Vaca Relay station, built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1952. The earliest reference I can find regarding radio work from the peak is from 1945, when McClatchy bought the site to erect FM transmitters for the Sacramento market. AT&T maintained microwave long line relays there.

There are numerous amateur repeaters on the ridge now, and apparently some early linked repeaters were set up there. I've used the linked N6ICW machine from my home in San Francisco to talk to my friend Travis K6XVX in Chico.

Sadly, in October 2020, the Hennessey fire (part of the LNU Lighting Complex Fires) burned up the mountain from Napa county and over the Vaca Ridge, eventually destroying 630 structures, burning 320,000 acres, and causing the death of four people. Numerous transmitter sites were destroyed or damaged- apparently antennas were melted 100' high. There's a good discussion and harrowing video shown in this Zoom meeting of the River City Amateur Radio Communications Society from August.

Obviously, just a few months later, the mountain is still just recovering from the fires. The slopes are bare except for charred manzanita. The ground is blackened. The drive up passes bare foundations and burnt-out cars. There seems to have been an impressive amount of tower work done in the interim, however- the towers are populated with dishes and antennas, and PG&E has long-since restored power.

Strangely, the old Army-built tower seems abandoned. The fencing around it is dilapidated and concrete structure at its base has been broken in to and clearly been the site of various unsanctioned activities. A burnt-through pickup truck and a pile of residential-looking trash sits in front.

It's a very strange feeling up there. The bare, deathly trees and abandoned tower contrast with incredible views and some cool rock formations. There's nobody up there, even though access is extremely easy, though from time to time pickups drive by, I assume on their way to do work at radio sites. Reports on hiker and peakbagger sites talk about it having a weird vibe even before the fires, with trash strewn everywhere and some run-ins with dogs and angry property owners.

There's an ominous no trespassing sign on at the "trailhead" (which is really just a dirt road intersection), which is somewhat offputting, though everything I read indicated that the access itself is public property (or, private but with a public easement). Marked / fenced areas on both sides of the road are private.

Access to the peak is trivial. There are numerous directions online. I went up Mix Canyon Road, which looked like it would have been fun on a bike (apparently it has the steepest mile in California at nearly 17%!) Once Mix Canyon tops out, there's a Y intersections and a wide turnout. This seems to be considered the "trailhead" and generally people park in the turnout and walk to the peak about a mile South along Blue Ridge road (which, as previously mentioned, is marked as being private).