Spring Hike to the Pemigewasset River
March 2013

This afternoon I walked down to the Pemigewasset River and
worked Italy and Germany.



There's a steep hillside trail leading into the Corps of Engineers
flood control area along the river. In the winter the trail is
used mostly by snowmobiles. Today the trail is covered with
several inches of snow... the remnants from a snow storm last
week. It's sunny with a brilliant blue sky. The temperature is
42F.



At the bottom of the hill, the trail crosses a lovely brook which
feeds into the Pemi. Only a couple of weeks ago it was frozen
solid. Now it's flowing again.

I walk about a mile and come to a spot overlooking Shaw
Cove. As the trail rounds a sharp corner, the warm sun has
melted the snow along the edge. It's a good place to sit and
there are some tall pine trees lining the trail.

I toss a half wave wire over a branch and set up the HB-1B
on 20 meters. The band is active.



Right away I hear IK2CIO, Vini calling CQ. We quickly exchange
599s and send 73. I tell Vini I am running 4W and he confirms the
contact.

I tune down the band a bit and hear Holger, DK4LX just finishing a
QSO. I call him and he answers giving me a 439. He says he's in
a rush and apologizes for not chatting. I thank him for his answer
and tell him I am running 4 watts. He wants to know more... my
QTH, the rig... and the antenna. He copies all the information and
congratulates me on the setup. He wishes me good luck and I tell
him I will send some photos of my location.



I've only operated for about 10 minutes, but my tiny signal has reached Europe,
and I am thrilled to have a beautiful hike and witness the magic of radio once again.
I pack up and hike up the hill.