Great event! Thank you all for the summits! Quite an event with so many active! I hope we can do that sometime in my state of North Carolina!
Well done by all and look forward to the stories and pictures!
Kent, K9EZ
This weekend is going to be a blast for chasing…
btw… Thanks for the QSO yesterday… I also had 6 S2S which is my highest S2S total since the UK/USA S2S weekend last year,
Richard // N2GBR
The Great W4G Campout
by Elizabeth Burns, K1LIZ
The SOTA Summits Campout, this is going to be fun,
Backpacks, radios, and antennas are ready, everything is done.
The campout begins, ready to activate we start,
At the campground, from our SOTA friends we do part.
We drove down a rocky road with a really deep rut.
Prayed a tire would not rupture, and we would get stuck.
Mile after mile, we bounced so much it made my teeth ache,
Only to find in the middle of nowhere a locked gate.
With an activators determination, we never accept defeat,
For this mountain was going to become a SOTA complete.
Approaching the mountain from the other side did cause a two-hour delay,
Then a mile and one-half hike, it’s just another SOTA activator’s day.
We bushwhacked through briers, and crawled under a fallen tree,
Crawled through rhododendron so thick you could not see.
Stepped over bear poo, and other things, what they were I don’t know,
To ascend to the summit, thankful there wasn’t any snow.
Sit on a rock, or a log, or anything you can find,
For calling CQ and hoping for chasers is the only thing on your mind.
That magic fourth chaser I always want to hug,
But then I realize crawling up my leg is a big nasty bug.
Another successful activation, as we get ready to hike down,
With a final check we make sure we leave nothing on the ground.
One final pause to just enjoy the mountain for the air is so clear,
And to the chasers we send a silent thank you and little cheer.
And off the mountain hike we know will be slow,
For the next summit awaits and to it we know we will go.
Up the next mountain another summit is near,
Back on with the boots for a two-mile hike is here.
Up it seems like a million uneven rock steps, that make my muscles scream,
Up sloping rocks, and a dirt bank, and even across a stream.
At the ridge crest there is a sign that tells us which path to take,
Only .6 to go, this will be a piece of cake.
Another summit to activate, up here the trees are not tall,
CQ, CQ SOTA, wait an S2S is answering my call.
Activating three summits, what a great day it has been,
But tomorrow we have two more scheduled, so we will do it all over again.
The camping event comes to a close with Dean’s chili and cornbread,
We all sit around the campfire and laugh, even though we feel half dead.
As the sunset brings to an end the day’s light,
Ron’s campfire peach cobbler finishes the night.
A check of the map shows many summits are left behind,
So many summits to activate and so little time.
Sore, bruised, and scratched, but smiling from ear to ear,
I can’t wait for the SOTA campout next year.
Authors note: Many thanks to all the chasers who took the time to tune through the mayhem and chase both my husband (KI4TN) and me. You made the event a great success.
K1LIZ
Nicely done Liz… t’was fun from our side too!
73,
Richard // N2GBR
Great poem, Liz! It paints a wonderful picture of your experiences at the Georgia Campout/Activation. I’m looking forward to hearing the plans for the next one!
73, Walt
Wonderful poem Liz! You nailed the fun.
Can’t wait until we do this again.
Dean ~ K2JB
Fun poem and an event worth every step… sorry I miss Ron’s cobbler! next time c-ya then.