02/04/2003 | K0NR The weather has been so unusually warm here in Colorado, I decided to combine hiking and radio operating for the January VHF contest. On Saturday afternoon, I hiked to the summit of Mount Herman, a reasonably small peak (DM79, 9063 feet in elevation) west of my home near Monument, CO. The weather was excellent--- little wind, about 45 deg F, sunny. I operated Single Op Portable (I still think of it as "QRP Portable") using an FT-817, a dualband (2M/70cm) Arrow yagi antenna and a dipole for 6M.

This was a true "backpack portable QRP" operation so I carried all of the gear up the mountain. OK, so maybe an FT-817 and a few batteries aren't all THAT heavy. The hike in was relatively easy as there was very little snow (unusual for this time of year in that location). But there were nasty patches of ice on the trail.

Activity on Saturday afternoon was constant enough to keep me working the radio, switching bands and not getting bored. No real "dx" to report as most of the contacts were only a grid or two away. I took along a dualband HT and worked quite a few stations on FM.
No records set, but I had a great time in the mountains playing radio. -- K0NR