Traveled to the top of Newcastle Ridge in the SE corner of CO60, near Sayward on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island.   The ridge is home to 2 microwave towers and the 146.700/100 repeater, visible in the heavy rain and cloud below.    The deer in the trail was checking me out - part of the posted site surveillance team no doubt. 

 

This site was the best location of the trip for 6M through 432.   1296MHz contacts were made to Mt. Brenton where VE7DXG operated.  Getting up here is definitely a 4WD effort with 10 miles of ditches, culvert washouts, overgrown brush, and severely eroded "riverbed rock" trail to the top.   I survived however with only a dented muffler and a broken vertical on the hood.  I briefly met VE7UY at the top finishing up some repeater maintenance.   VE7BZY in Sayward down below provided some CO70 contacts for me and navigation assistance as well.   I elected to stay the night in the truck as traveling down this mountain in the pitch dark seemed unwise.