2017-12-27 SOTA checkoff of Cowles Mountain

Today’s hike (12/27/2017)is to check off W6/SC-335 - Cowles Mountain from my SOTA list.  It was a warm day and I got kind of a late start. The place was packed with people.  I was advised to avoid this during the weekend but I’m not retired so my options are limited.

It was an interesting view from the top but the thing I remember the most are the crowds.  The hike was easy but pretty verticle in places.  Poles would have been handy.  Because there were so many people and not a lot of room at the top, I opted for VHF contacts only from my HT.  If I had my CHA MPAS, I would have taken that instead and done some work on HF.

Contacts

●     KR6RG

●     KG7IS

●     KK6TML

●     KM6JUR

Loadout:

●     MFJ-1910 Telescoping Mast

●     MFJ 20M Dipole

●     Yaesu FT-891D HF Radio at 100 watts
●     Yaesu FT-70D HT

●      DDT Ops Anti-Venom field pack with food

●     3 L of water

●     SOTA Dog

●     iPhone with and MotionX GPS

REFERENCE

●      My Typical SOTA Loadout

●      For more info on SOTA, rules, etc, go to the homepage HERE.

●      Ham Terminology
●      SOTA Specific Links

73s,

-- Chris Claborne