Scott Fusilier N4AAJ is both attempting to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (AT) - 2200 miles, with over half a million feet of elevation gain and loss. There is a bunch of SOTA activators in W4 land rooting for him, led by his wife Betsy N4AJJ. His first activation is Mt. Katahdin, at the northern terminus (start) of the AT on June 1, 2023, on schedule.
The summit of Kathdin is very rocky. and he only managed to hang his wire close to ground level. He was able to make QSOs with chasers including Martha W0ERI and Gary W0MNA, Dean K2JB, Ariel NY4G, Kent K9EZ and many more. On his first day, he hiked down to his first stop Katahdin Stream Campground, for the evening.
The next few days was marred by bad weather, wind and rain as he ventured within the 100 mile wilderness in Maine Adirondack Mountains. He skipped W1/AM-334 Mt. Nesuntabunt, a 1 pointer, and when he reached the 8 pointer White Cap W1/AM-005 it was raining hard.
So far, as of having reached White Cap, he has hiked 66 miles or 3% of the overall distance.
There is a string of four 10 pointers when he reaches the border of New Hampshire at the 166 mile point starting with W1/AM-003 West Peak on Bigelow Mtn. Stay tuned for more updates.
His phone is not holding charge and so he is saving it to make emergency calls only. Right now RBN is picking him up. He just activated Columbus Mtn and on his way to Barren Mtn 8 miles away. He worked a lot of Europeans including Chris F4WBN and less than a handful in the states.
Does anyone know if he has an APRS radio? If not I can donate one so he can spot and keep in touch with Betsy. I even have a small solar panel to charge it. Perhaps I can have it at a stop he might make along the way.
I set a notification for his callsign in my phone’s spotting app. Sounds like he’s on CW, which is not one of my modes, but if I see a spot, I can let others know. I’ll be camping and SOTAing this weekend, so maybe we’ll hear from him then.
Scott N4AAJ will try to secure a phone at the town of Monson which is halfway between Barren Mtn W1/AM-032 and W1/AM-047 Bald Mtn/Carratunk. The big peaks arrive after the 100 mile wilderness between White Cap W1/AM-005 and W1/AM-003 West Peak on Bigelow (10 pts). He will approximately approach mile 100 by Friday or Saturday.
I can drop off supplies anywhere in NJ and PA on my days off (Monday&Tuesday) or after 4pm on other days.
I was going to offer him a ride and/or supplies, batteries, water ect. In the NJ section by me there are plenty of stores within a short drive (Walmart, Tractor Supply) and in PA near the trail and the super easy summit of Smiths Gap W3/PO-029, there is an enormous Cabellas store and shopping center, also a short drive, which I noticed has a table with cell phone chargers and signs implying “through hikers only.”
I could drop stuff off in New England or MD if its really important on my days off.
Scott will reach mile 132 by the end of the day tomorrow and he plans to activate both W1/AM-047 Bald Mtn and W1/AM-085 Pleasant Pond. He has not yet secured a reliably charging phone so he may have reduced ability to self spot. Be looking for his CQ early and late day for both activations.
Do you happen to know when he plans to hit the 975-985 mile region and does he plan on activating w4v/sh-030? I’m asking because that portion of the AT, along with that summit, aren’t far from me, so if we need to get any supplies, messages, etc to him, I can help.
He activated Bald Mt W1/AM-047 this morning and is headed to Pleasant Pond Mtn W1/AM-085. He should arrive in Caratunk, ME tomorrow afternoon for a night in a hostel then be back on trail. Things are going well!
That is hard to say as it is still far away. Keep yourself up to date on this thread as I will keep posting his status. I just missed him on W1/AM-047. He is on schedule to reaching mile 132 today.
Greta activation on Pleasant Pond Mt. this afternoon. He will be resting a day in Caratunk tomorrow evening and Wednesday and back on trail Thursday. He should reach the next summits a few days after that. Thanks for all the contacts today!
