First of all, the wx couldn’t be better for a late fall weekend. Day temps in the 60’s (16-18C) and relatively light winds both days! The fall leaf color show was at its peak! And thanks to the many Europeans that I worked during these two days!
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Kaaterskill High Peak W2/GC-008: Tough climb on an unmarked, unmaintained trail. Had about 4 moderate scrambles up rock walls. The south side top had a great vista overlooking the Hudson Valley. Got setup on 40m for an attempted schedule for S2S activators in the NE but it was jam packed with PA QSO Party stations that were just plain loud with me. Had some nice openings into EU on 20m and the same on 30m. It was a long 12 mile (19.4 km) overall day with an elevation gain of 2,100 ft (640m). I was one tired puppy at the end of that day and the campground tent/sleeping bag was more than welcome! More summit detail at Hiking in the mountains: tips for beginner hikers - Mountain Day
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Hunter Mtn W2/GC_002: I choose the easiest route, 8 mile (12.9 km) round trip. It was really nice to hike an old fire road into the summit. Although the road was quite rocky in places, no rock walls or scrambles! The steepest section climbs 1000 ft in 0.7 miles (304 m/ 1.3 km) although. But a beautiful day, temps in low 60’s, very sunny, and light winds. Hunter has a 60’ firetower which was a nice support for my dipole. Had a great run into Eu working a lot of SOTA stations and a number of stateside guys too. Stayed until 4 pm local time to maximize the great antenna support! See Hiking in the mountains: tips for beginner hikers - Mountain Day for more detailed information.
Trip pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/n7un.guy
All in all, with the beautiful fall colors at peak in the Catskills, you couldn’t ask for a much better SOTA weekend.