Hiking from the QTH to my first SOTA activation

Activation Reports
1

Hi, Group,

Last Thursday, my daughter Neva (K4TLI) and I hiked from our house to Lane Pinnacle (W4C/CM-018) where I completed my first SOTA activation. It’s a bit silly, but I waited months for my schedule, the weather, and my ankle to all cooperate for this particular summit to be my first.

Both of my 13 y/o daughters are licensed, but one in particular has been bitten by the radio bug. Neva is currently 85% on her General ticket exam prep. She’s accompanied me on numerous POTA/WWFF activations, but this was our first SOTA activation. She did make one VHF contact, but told me she wants her first valid activation to be on HF. That could be quite soon as we just need to line up a test!

The hike to Lane Pinnacle from our house was challenging, for me at least! I’ve been allowing my right ankle to heal over the past three months after a nasty twist in early December. This hike isn’t long–maybe 2-2.5 miles one way–but it is pretty steep the last 1/4 mile of the trail to the summit is 45 degrees at times. A good 1/2 mile of the hike is bushwhacking. Total elevation gain of 2,000 feet.

On the summit, I paired my Elecraft KX2 with the Chameleon MPAS Lite and racked up 30 contact in 30 minutes on CW (20 and 40 meters). All with 5 watts. It was amazing fun!

I wish I could have taken more time on the air, but I knew our descent would be tricky and slippery so I allowed a lot of extra time.

Our total hiking time was about 5.5 hours with one hour of lunch and radio play on the summit.

We both had a blast! I included a very short video in my field report. Neva couldn’t have been more happy and neither could her dad. We really value father/daughter activities. She may seem dismissive in the video, but that’s only because she doesn’t like being on camera. :slight_smile:

While it might have been a bit silly to save this as a first SOTA activation, I’m glad I did. It was memorable and, frankly, now I’ve a LOT of pent up SOTA energy so you’ll hopefully see me in the spots soon!

If you like, you can read my full report on my blog, QRPer.com.

Cheers & 73,
Thomas
K4SWL

24 Likes
2

Awesome!

When I was in college (in NC), I used to go out to Pisgah for camping and mountain biking. That region is on my shortlist of places I’d love to retire to (others being the type of area in East TN and SW VA).

Chris

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3

Hi Thomas,
I was pleased with our QSO and I’m delighted now reading that it was your very first SOTA activation and you did it hiking right from your house door with your 2 ham daughters. I can perfectly understand your feel of “blast” after having had the CW pileup and even a couple of DX contacts accross the Pond.
I hope the SOTA bug had deeply hooked you all and I can’t wait to chase you again soon.
73,

Guru

1 Like
4

I watched the video and I will say that the slab of rock you showed looked like a marvelous place to be able to set up. Also, it’s heartening to hear that your kids are interested in radio! I look forward to an S2S with you one day.

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5

If Neva is consistently scoring 85%, she’s ready! You probably already know this, but GLAARG are happy to do a 1-off exam with her remotely: https://glaarg.org/

Book her in!
GL
John VK4TJ

2 Likes
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Yes, she is ready to take her exam. I’m going through a local group that, in the past, has been amazing. I will definitely keep GLAARG in mind, though, if something doesn’t work out!

Cheers & 73,
Thomas
K4SWL

7

The SOTA bug has definitely hooked us. Hopefully, you’ll see us on the spots again very soon! Thank you for the contact!

Cheers & 73,
Thomas
K4SWL

1 Like
8

Wow! That is a great first activation. I have often wondered about the ‘trail’ up the ridgeline from the Blue Ridge Parkway. But being in the ‘no stopping/no parking’ stretch of the Parkway through Asheville watershed, it is not a feasible route for me. Lane Pinnacle is always a nice hike and it is awesome that you can get there directly from your house.

73, pat - ki4svm

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9

*Well done Thomas and ladies!
Be listening for you as the summer progresses.
Best 73,
Ken

10

John, here’s a follow-up:

We missed a big outdoor testing session with our local club by one day, so it would be a month or more before she could take the exam. I remembered your recommendation of GLAARG and contacted them on a Saturday afternoon. They scheduled her for a Sunday afternoon test and she passed her General. What an amazingly efficient operation. Once I have proper Internet service at the QTH, I’m going to volunteer to be a VE for them.

Cheers & 73,
Thomas
K4SWL

1 Like