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Posted by: Ron Polityka Posted On: 12/10/00 Subject: AT in PA Dec. 10, 2000 Summary (Long) Message Posted: Hello, Today I set out to hike about 3 miles of the Appalachian Trail in PA. I also wanted to try out my new light weight 40 meter dipole that I have recently made. I arrived at the parking lot around 10:30 AM. The temperature was around 28 to 30 degrees F. with a light wind and overcast sky. I put on my backpack and headed out to a location called Round Head. This is about a 3 mile hike which should take around an hour to hike. I was bundled up with a good parka and quilted outdoor pants. About a half of mile in I seen two swans nestled in a pile of leaves. I was very surprised but I remembered that there is a shelter near by which has a year round attendee. I figured that the birds belong to the shelter. After hiking for about 30 minutes I noticed my breathing was very labored, I contributed this to the cold air. I took frequent 1 minute stops to regain my breath. I noticed that I was sweating very heavy and I did not want to stop too long for fear of catching a chill. I came upon a ridge where I could see my final destination which looked far away. The wind was blowing hard and I had thoughts of turning back. But after a brief rest I decided to continue. I know there were many people worried about me in the cold. Especially since I had three throat surgeries back in September of this year. But I work as an electrician and a lot of my work is outdoors or in a building with no heat and open walls. So I am use to the cold and my body gives off a lot of heat. just ask my wife and my two cats, Louie and Scarlette, the cuddle up close to me in the winter months. I continued on where the trail goes down into a ravine. To my surprise I came across a dozen boy scouts hiking with their scout master. I stop briefly and asked where they were hiking from and they told me the following. They started at route 183, this is my usual hiking area, and they camped out over night. They were heading to route 501. I told them that they had about 1.5 miles to go. I wished the good luck and started up the other side of the ravine. I arrived at my final location around 12 noon or 17:00 UTC. I found a good spot to set up my tent and antenna. After about a 45 minute setup I stripped off my heavy pants and parka. I was wearing my summer AT stuff under my heavy parka and pants which were soaking wet. I put on a fleece pull-over and jumped into the tent. After a few minutes in the tent I notice a thin ice coating on the inside walls of the tent. I opened the vent on the top and the ice started to disappear. I called CQ at 17:45 UTC and worked my first station. The following is my log of stations I worked. 17:45 WB2PEF NY H- RST 579 M-RST 559 At the 18:18 UTC I decided to cut my trip short due to falling temperatures and strong winds. I asked Craig to post something on the internet that I will be going QRT in 45 minutes. My light weight dipole had 20 feet of RG-8X coax with a SWR of 1.05 to 1. The antenna was only about 10 feet off the ground and pointed in a North/South direction. The ends were actually a little higher than the center due to some overhead branches. I was very happy with the performance of the dipole with my SW-40+ running 1.5 watts output. Now I was a little bit dryer and the hot chocolate warmed me up also. I heard something outside and it was sleeting. So I broke camp and started to hike out around 2:55 PM. I decided not to wear the heavy pants back and to leave my parka open about half way. This help me stay dry and cool. I arrived back at my car at 3:59 PM. Wow I did 3 miles in just about 1 hour. Now I did take a could of 1 minute breaks up the hills. Next time I plan to go out I am dressing light and taking along the heavy parka for the camp site. I think this will allow me to stay longer and keep dry. I had a ball and I would like to thank those who made a QSO with me. It made the time go real fast. The only draw back was all those guys that were tuning up on the frequency I was chatting on. The QRM made me move down to 7.035 at one time for about 10 minutes. I was CQing but I had no replies. As soon as I went back to 7.040, when it was clear, the QSO's picked back up. When I got home I jumped onto the scale to see what kind of weight I was carrying. I carried 55 lbs, which included my clothing, tent, chair and radio equipment. Check www.n3epa.org/Pages/AT/AT%20in%20PA.htm on Monday evening around 7 PM and I will have some pictures on this site of my trip. You can look for me on the AT in January 2001 sometime. I plan to hit the trail once every month, more in the summer months. Hi Thanks Again & Happy Holidays!! Ron Polityka vvv Eastern Pennsylvania QRP Web Page vvv EPA QRP #1 ARRL Life Member |
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