Tim, W3ATB and I took an extraordinary hike to Knox Mountain this
afternoon. We walked
along the brook enjoying the music and scenery of the spring day. I
worked Italy, Spain, and
Portugal. Tim worked Illinois and took some fantastic photos.
Jim sits on moss-covered rock by the brook
Tim brought his German Shepherd, Lady. He took a nice video of her
along the brook on
the way up.
Barely a quarter of a mile from the pond we came around the corner
and found a pile of
rubble in the middle of the trail. "It's a landslide!" said Tim
right away. And it was. Tim
estimates nearly 100 tons of the hillside (mostly clay) had slid
down the hill... some of it
reached the brook.
We crossed it easily, although we had mud covered shoes by the time
we
reached the other side.
It's always a treat when the pond and cabin come into view after the
hike.
The day was warm... perhaps 65F. The black flies have just started
to appear, but they're not biting yet.
Tim tossed his line nearly 50 feet over the branch of the large
cherry tree near the cabin. He pulled up
a Par End Fed for 40 and 20 meters. I chose a smaller maple and used
a 33 foot wire sloping toward
the south. I was running the KX3 set up on 17 meters. Right away I
worked IK2SND, Dan in Italy.
Conditions weren't great, but good enough for solid copy both ways.
Meanwhile Tim was working
K9MY, Jerald in Illinois with the HB-1B on 20 meters.
Next I worked ED5URL in Spain and CT7/RC2A in Portugal both on 17
meters. Then I
switched to 15 meters and worked EA8NC, Manuel... again in Spain. I
don't think the
propagation was very good because I didn't hear many stations. And
the ones I worked
weren't that strong.
Tim and I packed up and headed back down along the brook. It's a day
to be savored in
memory. Blue skies, warm weather, a hike through some of the most
beautiful
country anywhere and some wonderful radio contacts... not just
across the small pond at
Knox Mountain... but across the Big Pond... all the way to
another continent.
