Hi Everyone,
Well, I'm back from the CM79/CM89/CN70/CN80 grid expedition. It was quite an adventure! Operating ham radio from the CM79 corner certianly is difficult -- but it was really rewarding to actually make contacts from up there. I made a total of four trips up and down the mountain, hiking over 20 miles with almost 5000 feet of climbing. Thanks to everyone who was trying to contact me, and for your patience dealing with my weak signals!!
I've put a full writeup with photos and video on my website at: http://kb5wia.blogspot.com
And if you want the short version and just want to see the operating conditions, you can watch the video tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef5_cYzwIZo
Briefly: I was able to stick fully to the plan -- and operate exclusivley from the actual intersection of the four grids down the hill from the ridge, using the remote antenna for the low eastern passes. The weather on the trip was great -- good temperatures, little wind, and sunny. The actual area of the grid intersection is heavily forested, and that really soaked up the UHF downlink signals from the sats! I didn't see any ticks, rattlesnakes, bears, nor mountain lions -- but did see plenty of mosquitoes so I was glad to have a full can of DEET. Solar power worked well. Operating from the exact grid intersection wasn't easy, at first I thought it might be impossible, but over time I figured out ways to make it work. I was very fortunate not to have any equipment failures or other disasters! Thanks also to everyone who provided advice before the trip, especially Bill Moore at ARRL HQ and Russ KB8U for tips about the area. See my full writeup for all the details and pictures.
As usual, no need to send me a QSL card if you've already sent me one before -- just send me an email with the contact details and if you're in the logs I'll send you a card back.
73 de Dave KB5WIA