Old Man on the Mountain

It’s official, I am retired.  Fifty-three years in the making. Being on the north side of 66 does not mean you are wheelchair-bound.  Maybe a little slower, but with patience and skill almost anything can be done. One of my first acts as KK4Z (ret.) was to do a SOTA activation. I chose Bald Mountain, a 10-pointer in northwest Georgia.

One of the reasons I chose a 10-pointer is I wish to get involved with a group called Southern Appalachian Summit QRPers or SASQ (SASQuatches). The group combines SOTA with a moderate level of Bushcraft.  What’s not to like.  There are skill-based membership requirements and one is a 10 pt SOTA activation within the past year.  I wanted to get my 10-pointer in before the Park Service closes the roads to the summits during the winter. 

I was originally planning on Tuesday for the trip, but the weather was going to be harsh that day.  Lots of wind and rain.  This is what I call the first winter storm of the season.  Between the wind and the rain, it usually finishes knocking all the leaves off of the tree. So, I backed the trip up to Monday and checked the weather (Wx) – all systems go. Preflight check of the Wx 0600 hrs Monday showed VFR (good).  The 10-point mountains are at least a 3-hour drive for me.  Two hours on highway/improved roads and one hour on unimproved/gravel roads.  That last hour covers approx. 20 miles. Along the way, I was confronted by a 6-8 pt deer who thought he was up to the challenge by a 5,000 lb Ram truck.  After a few snorts, he thought better of it and scampered into the wood.  Shortly after this, I heard Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, an omen I didn’t recognize at the time.  When I reached the parking lot below the summit, things weren’t so VFR.  I checked the Wx again and now it showed rain on the way.  The sky had closed in and the summit was in a cloud.  I figured I had just enough time to reach the summit, make the required contacts, and retreat without getting too wet.  When I started the trek, it was 60 degrees.  By the time I reached the activation zone, the temps dropped, and the wind picked up.  When I got back to the truck the thermometer registered 50 degrees.  I estimated that the wind chill put temps in the low 40’s to high 30’s.  Whenever I venture out, I always bring an extra layer, in this case, a Gore-Tex jacket. I forgot gloves and my CW suffered for it.

I climbed just high enough to get safely into the activation zone.  My setup was quick and simple.  I used a Chameleon 40-meter OCF QRP dipole.  I like OCF dipoles.  They do not have to get very high off the ground (10-12 feet is enough) and they are good performers.  I prefer them over EFHWs.  I sit on a cushion on the ground, so I use the supporting tree as a backrest.  Coax is 15’ of RG-316 with a choke on one end.  The radio was my new Elecraft KX2.  I waited quite a while to get the radio. I did set it up at home and made one contact before taking it out.  Since I was in a hurry, I set the radio on my pack and the notebook log on my thigh.  The paddles were N0SA’s SOTA paddles.  I got lucky and got one from his last run. I held it in my left hand.  I sent a spot out and a few minutes later I sent QRL? On 7.057 MHz.  I got a NO, they were waiting for me, I’ve never had that before.  The wind was picking up and I had some difficulty hearing.  As my hands got colder, my CW and handwriting suffered.  I had a pretty good pile-up going and after 19 contacts I called QRT.  There were still some calling, but Wx was not on my side. 

I packed it up and headed down the mountain. By the time I got to the truck, it was starting to drizzle. I really didn’t mind the weather, I need to keep my hands warmer though.

The KX2.  It was everything I had hoped it would be.  I ran it 5 watts and it purred like a kitten.  The quality of the received signal was great. I ran with the filter set to 1K Hz and it was fine, no overloading even with a pile-up. For SOTA, the radio is hard to beat.  I like that I only have 3 cables to the radio, paddles, earbuds, and coax.  Simple and easy.

Next time I will be sure to add some gloves to my pack.  It was fun and I can’t wait to do the next one.  If I knew retirement was going to be this much fun, I’d have done it a long time ago.  72 de Scott