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 Previous: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending September 18, 2004 |  Next: Storm-Weary Amateur Radio Volunteers Confront Hurricane's Aftermath |
By Jim Adkins, W7HOG
September 27, 2004
This trip up to the repeater site was destined to be memorable.
The Great Falls Area Amateur Radio Club repeater site is on top of Highwood Baldy Mountain in central Montana. At 7670 feet above sea level, visitors to this scenic mountain oasis enjoy camping, hiking, mountain biking and photography. The area is rich in wildlife with mountain streams for fishing and big game for hunting.
Our club repeater committee planned a fall maintenance trip to Baldy before the onset of winter. Club members were invited to see the site and participate in the adventure. Since any good ham outing should start with food, we began with our "regular" Saturday morning gathering--a hardy breakfast in the Park & Ponder Coffee House at Gibson Park in Great Falls. Afterward, 19 of us in five 4-wheel drive vehicles headed northeast on gravel and dirt roads, 22 miles to the Highwood Mountains and Highwood Baldy, our destination.
Hitting the Trail
The county roads were well graded and smooth although the gravel was dry and dusty--the result of fall weather without much rain. Eerily, the trucks in front of me disappeared in a dust cloud that hung over the countryside, a giant chalky envelope in the still morning air. I was last in the caravan, driving slower than the rest, to give the dust a chance to settle to the ground. Our leader occasionally contacted us on 2 meters to be sure we were still progressing behind him.
 Looking back at whence we came as we climb toward the Great Falls Area Amateur Radio Club repeater site. [Photos by the author] |
The crackle of the speaker from my mobile rig was an intrusion into my thoughts but it was a reassuring sound. We understood that we all were looking out for each other's well being as we traveled Montana back roads that day.
Rough Road Ahead
At the Forest Service turn-off, the gravel road deteriorated into a two track dirt road, making 4-wheel drive necessary. The trees were close together and the passage wound around various obstacles, rocks and dropoffs. Avoiding ruts and trees made driving interesting. We had a mixture of narrow and wide vehicles so each of us had to pick our own path--lest we slide into a rut or tree and have to be pulled out. The road became rocky, steep and narrow, with switchbacks that turned so sharply we had to back up several times to get around one.
There are electrical power poles most of the way up the mountain, but near the top the power line goes underground. At the transformer and transition to underground, we encountered the first of two locked gates. From here the road deteriorated to the sharp rough rocks of a single lane passage so narrow that even changing a flat tire would have been a difficult chore.
As the last steep section of road was negotiated, the
weather-rounded peak and transmitter building came into view. There is not a
flat place anywhere but the ground rolls off gently for several hundred feet to
the north before dropping away sharply. The ground drops off so quickly that
stumbling and falling could result in a nasty roll down the mountain. The
presence of grass and evergreen trees clinging to the windblown rocky ground
surprised me. The grass is coarse, the trees stunted and distorted by the harsh
environment at nearly 8000 feet altitude.
 The antenna farm and transmitter shack atop Highwood Baldy Mountain, 7670 feet ASL. |
On the Summit
By noon, the day was calm, sunny and warm, T-shirt weather even, a rarity this high up any time of the year, let alone October. After we admired the view and scrambled about the mountain a bit, Jim, N7YO, called us all together for a safety briefing before we approached the transmitter building. As he started to speak he turned to Wanda, W7POO, and asked her if she would marry him, right then and there. After a brief, (very brief) moment, Wanda, with a big smile said, "Yes"!
Is There a Minister in the Crowd?
My truck companion was Tim, NY7A, a Presbyterian Minister
and fellow club member. Tim and Jim had the wedding planned ahead but had kept
it a secret from the rest of us. Tim was prepared with the wedding license and
Bible in hand. As we all gathered around the mountaintop on that absolutely beautiful
and perfect day, a wonderful ceremony unfolded.
 The (sort of) impromptu wedding ceremony begins. |
Ken, W7GMC, and Jody, KD7YZI, were official witnesses to
the ceremony. As the "you may kiss the bride" part was taking place, Quasar,
KD7TMJ, produced a harp (yes a harp!) and set it up in the back of a pickup
truck, where she played for the enchantment of the entire group. We were pretty
sure this was the first time Highwood Baldy has been the site of a wedding
ceremony serenaded by a harpist. The music was absolutely beautiful as it rolled
over the mountaintop that fall day.
 Jim, N7YO, and Wanda, W7POO, are pronounced husband and wife. |
After the ceremony, Ken announced a on the repeater that N7YO and W7POO had just been united in marriage. After many congratulations, champagne was presented to the couple and we all shared in a grand toast.
Back to Routine Business
There was still the transmitter building to tour and a bit
of housekeeping maintenance to be done. Everyone jumped in, accomplished the
work and toured the facility. This repeater site is shared by many
services--private, public and governmental. In addition to the commercial power
lines serving the building, there is a diesel generator for backup power,
making it an ideal site. Tour and work completed, we ate sandwiches and snacks
before packing up and taking one last look around.
 The repeater maintenance crew and wedding party. From the left: Connie Weaver; Dona Rauscher; Keith Larsson, Bob, N7PTM; Holly Cunnins; Presley Etzwiler; Diane, K7BFH; Eric, K7ABV; Jodi, KD7YZI; Katie Whitehead; Wanda, W7POO; Ken, W7GMC; Jim, N7YO; Darlene, W7DDL; Tim, NY7A; Infinity, KD7TMI; Victor, N7PEE; Quasar, KD7TMJ. |
The trip back down from the mountain to the plains below was quiet and subdued. We stopped just past the lower gate and visited long enough to replay the day's events. Jim and Wanda have a wedding memory that will be the envy of anyone there, and one that was especially befitting two hams. Long live their union and may they have many happy QSOs together.
Jim Adkins, W7HOG, of Great Falls, Montana, operates a real
estate appraisal business from home with his wife Penny, KB7SMY. He earned his
first license in 1988 and upgraded to Amateur Extra in 2003. In addition to his
ham radio activities, he is president and newsletter editor of the Electric
City Corvette Club. And yes, he reports--he does ride a Harley (hence the call
sign). You can reach the author at jagtf@yahoo.com.
| Previous: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending September 18, 2004 | Next: Storm-Weary Amateur Radio Volunteers Confront Hurricane's Aftermath |
