I have been quite busy over the past few weekends and having activated most of my nearby SOTA summits, the next best thing to do as time permits is to operate portable close to home.
Mt Graham is not a SOTA summit but it is at least as good as several SOTA peaks I have visited and is a good place to go for a dry run or to test out equipment before embarking on a full scale multiple summit activation. The Summit is at 250 m and the base is at 196 m. It had been on my “places to check out” list for a while and the allure was strong as I share my surname with this hill.
Mt Graham is not a SOTA summit but it is at least as good as several SOTA peaks I have visited and is a good place to go for a dry run or to test out equipment before embarking on a full scale multiple summit activation. The Summit is at 250 m and the base is at 196 m. It had been on my “places to check out” list for a while and the allure was strong as I share my surname with this hill.
Situated in the Sugarloaf Reservoir Park, Mt Graham is easily accessed from the Eltham - Yarra Glen Road in the Christmas Hills. Enter the gates and drive across the dam wall and park at The Saddle Dam picnic area. The Chris Phillips walking track begins here and runs parallel to the perimeter fence before turning left and following the shoreline . At this point simply continue straight ahead and follow the fence line over native grasslands, through fern thickets and a rough fire track to the summit. There are good views back across the reservoir from the lower parts of the hill but the views from higher up are partially obscured by tall timber. None the less there is sufficient clearance to string a wire so I elected to deploy the doublet antenna as I was not in any particular hurry to activate and move on.
| I was a little late getting on air to catch any of the SOTA activity from earlier in the day – most would be on their way home. However there were still several people to talk to on 40 metres including regular SOTA chasers VK3PF, VK3DET, VK3CAT, VK2UH among others. I was hoping that things might be lively on 20 metres but it was quieter than I hoped. Ability to work several repeaters easily also kept me amused with the HT. Filtered shade from the tree canopy and ease of access make this a nice place to visit and I intend to return at a future date possibly with some portable beams for 2 metres and 70 cm. | 
| ||
Aside from climbing Mt Graham there are a number of activities to do here including fishing, sailing observing wildlife, swatting flies and hiking the 18km track around the dam. A permit is required from Parks Vic to access remote parts of this walk. There are a couple of sheltered picnic facilities with barbeques and plenty of quiet places to explore with the family if doing the radio thing bores the rest of your clan.
