Nice activation close to home.

  • Summit height: 829m
  • Transportation: driving + hiking
  • Rig: KX2, 10W, internal battery
  • Antenna: LNR EFT-10/20/40 Trail Friendly, inverted L (sort of) configuration on SOTAbeams 10m telescopic mast + tree
  • QSOs: 2 on 20m and 5 on 40m including 1 S2S, all SSB

This is the second closest summit to my home and so it made for a good target to activate together with the family. We took advantage of the warm day, packed the baby and radio in the car, and headed off. It wasn’t very clear where to best start hiking through the forest but we found a good enough spot to park and started walking.

After navigating some twisty forest paths we made it to the ridge that seemed to continue all the way to the summit. By now the wind and the shade made things feel somewhat chilly, despite the sun still shining up high.

Once at the top, I quickly set up the antenna by tying its support pole to the conveniently located bench and stringing it up to a tree. After finding an empty spot on the 20m band I spotted myself with the phone and called CQ. 2 QSOs quickly followed, but then nothing. We were getting quite cold by now so I moved to 40m and spotted myself again, hoping to get the 2 more QSOs I needed. This quickly resulted in a small pileup, including a S2S with S575S/P on S5/BI-018.

With 7 QSOs in the log and almost freezing in the wind, we packed everything up and headed back towards the car. Walking and the sun warmed us again, and everything ended up well.

Overall a fun activation with one lesson learned: bring an extra layer of clothing even if it’s a hot day.