Mount Edith (W7M/HB-026) SOTA Activation
After my relatively easy first activation of Scratchgravel Hills since moving to Montana in June of 2020, I was ready to tackle one of the many higher peaks that speckle the surrounding horizon. Mount Edith quickly rose to the top of my list based on it’s proximity to my house and the eight points it offered. Although it was the 8th of July it sure felt more like fall. This was my real introduction into hiking in Montana.
Getting There
Looking north to Edith from the TH.
From Townsend, head east on Hwy 12 for 14.6 miles. Turn left (north) on Cabin Gulch Rd. After .4 miles continue on NF-423 for 8.25 miles. You will come to a clearing and can park there or continue to the TH but the trail narrows so larger vehicles may have a little trouble navigating the last 1/2 mile.
Parking is located at:
Summit Info:
The Hike
A look south back at my parking spot (clearing).
The trail was easy to follow as it switched back and forth up the southern exposure of the mountain. It eventually tracks north once above the tree line towards the saddle between Mount Edith and Mount Baldy. As I turned north I noticed the trail started to descend slightly so I made the decision to go off trail and up slope towards Edith. This time of year the ground was covered in a kaleidoscope of color with many varieties of wild flowers. 
Forget-me-nots.
On this day it was very windy. A cold wind gusting out of the northwest that did not relent as I crested the summit above 9,500 feet. The bare summit revealed a spectacular 360 degree view but provided no relief to the elements. Thankfully, previous pilgrims to Edith had dug out a windbreak out of stones that allowed me to get down and out of the wind slightly. The temperature had to be in the 30s making the windchill well below that. I did not waste anytime setting up my radio gear.
I brought my Log Periodic Dipole (LPD) along for the first time on a summit in hopes to catch some hams south in Bozeman on 2 meter, which I was able to do. After a quick 5 contacts on VHF I switched to 20 meters and pulled in 31 additional contacts over an hour, 9 SSB and 22 CW contacts. 
Coast-to-coast ham radio contacts.
At the end of the pile up I was starting to shake with the cold creeping in. I knew I need to get off the mountain so before I started packing up I decided to do some jumping-jacks to get my blood flowing. A few jacks into my mountaintop calisthenics I had that creepy feeling that I was being watched. That is an odd feeling when I had not seen another human since I started my drive up the mountain. I turned around and saw another hiker cresting the summit and heading my way. With my antenna still up in the breeze and me jumping and waiving my arms I was certain he assumed I was either crazy or hailing my mother ship (those two are definitely not the same, right?). I attempted to chat with him over the unrelenting wind and explain what the heck I was doing. He seemed to nod in some agreement that I was not a threat. 
Me on summit with Baldy over my shoulder.
He had been backpacking and camping the previous few nights, solo, and mentioned seeing a black bear the day before near Lake Edith. I quickly packed my gear to allow him to use the wind break to rest from his climb and I headed back downhill. It seemed to take forever to get out of the wind and back to the treeline. My rain jacket I was using to cut the wind from piercing my sweatshirt was whipping in the breeze like an un-tethered sail. It made a repeating cracking sound like a machine gun. I was glad when I made it back to the trees and out of the wind. Overall, it was a good and slightly challenging hike that I look forward to doing in the future.
Mount Edith looking from the west.
Gear:
Trekking poles
Should have brought: my down jacket. I was not prepared for the windchill.
Radio Gear:
HF: Elecraft KX3
Antenna: SOTAbeams 40/30/20M linked dipole, Elkhorn Log Periodic Dipole for VHF.
HT: Kenwood DH-72; APRS work almost the whole hike up.
Cell coverage: seemed okay throughout the hike.
An old mind shaft on the way to the TH.
73 and safe hiking!
AL