October at Knox Mountain
October 2013



This afternoon I hiked up to Knox Mountain with my wife and daughter.
It's a beautiful fall day. I worked two German stations and a station from
Denmark. The trail was covered with dried leaves and as we walked along,
we enjoyed the familiar crunching sound and the pungent smell of the season. 
We reached the pond after hiking  25 minutes or so.



I set up the KX3 under a cherry tree near the pond. I operated only on 20 meters.
I tossed a line 50 feet over a branch and pulled up the 10 meter wire. First I heard
Soren, OZ0JX in Denmark. What a beautiful signal. He gave me a 559 and
we said goodbye.

A few minutes later I heard Rolf, DL3AO in Germany. We have worked a
half dozen times before. Rolf was a 599 and he gave me a 559. He told me
that he still hikes with his K2 at 80 years old! How wonderful to hear him
again. As I finished the QSO Joerg DL2DSL called and we had a quick
contact. He was a strong 599 and gave me a 559.



This is a wonderful time of year to hike in the hills. Today it was 21C and
sunny. Very warm in the sun. It's supposed to rain for the next few days,
but I certainly plan to come back before the leaves are all gone.