https://video.benmook.com/videos/watch/a8ce1ed3-d8cc-4f5b-a3fa-a95815c0b1fb http://blog.benmook.com/w6-sd-152-bell-mountain/ The forests in California have all been closed to reduce the potential for fire, which means, tons of SOTA summits in W6 are off limits, however, there are tons of desert summits on BLM land which also qualify for a summer bonus. Looking at a map, I decided to hike Bell Mountain, and Little Bell Mountain, 2 points each with 3 bonus points. I left Los Angeles around 8am and headed to Apple Valley, then made my way to the trailhead via a dirt road. The hike was well defined with a bit of scrambling, which I found quite enjoyable. At the top, you will find a post flying an American flag cemented into the ground. Here there was a swarm of seemingly angry flying ants. Because if this I set my station up off to the side, adjacent to a small rock outcropping which offered a tiny bit of relief from the blazing sun. Worked KK6FR on 1.2GHz, then again on 70cm C4FM. Put spots out on 20m SSB, 40m SB and 30m CW. As the day proceeded I lost all my shade, which was my cue to start hiking down. Thanks for all the chasers! https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SD-152 Tue, 02 Jun 2026 22:08:40 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://video.benmook.com https://video.benmook.com/lazy-static/avatars/298a662a-dfdd-4a9f-b98f-8ffd38337b70.png https://video.benmook.com/videos/watch/a8ce1ed3-d8cc-4f5b-a3fa-a95815c0b1fb All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://video.benmook.com/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.