Today was an interesting day. We chose an unactivated peak (VE6/HC-445) about 100 km NW of Calgary in an area of the Foothills where we rarely go. Our first surprise was a group of wild horses about 50m off the trail. They all carefully watched us pass by before returning to browse, what a beautiful sight!
My second surprise of the day happened when I checked 10m SSB for a clear frequency and called CQ. Before even posting a spot, a young man came back to me, explaining he was new to amateur radio, and what was SOTA? What an opportunity to chat with him, explain where I was, how he could participate in SOTA, and tell him that I had just seen a group of wild horses!
My third surprise of the day was the strangest of all. After chatting for a minute with a person from Arizona, he asked if I would wait around for a few minutes when the students would turn up, so I could tell them what I was doing! He was a teacher running an amateur radio club, and indeed about 5 minutes later I was talking to a student and explaining to a room full of kids what SOTA is about, where I was, answering questions about what equipment I was using! Amazing! Crazy!
And all this happened while hiking on a beautiful winter day, with two friends, exploring a new part of the country.
Many thanks to everyone who makes the SOTA program work!
Ian
VE6IXD
18 Likes
There are hundreds of wild horses out the Waiprous way They are beautiful as well. When we were out hunter valley I think we came across some grey wolf tracks as well.
1 Like