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Tim, W3ATB and I took an extraordinary hike to Knox Mountain this afternoon. We walked along the brook enjoying the music and scenery of the spring day. I worked Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Tim worked Illinois and took some fantastic photos.

Barely a quarter of a mile from the pond we came around the corner and found a pile of rubble in the middle of the trail. “It’s a landslide!” said Tim right away. And it was. Tim estimates nearly 100 tons of the hillside (mostly clay) had slid down the hill… some of it reached the brook.

We crossed it easily, although we had mud covered shoes by the time we reached the other side.

It’s always a treat when the pond and cabin come into view after the hike.

The day was warm… perhaps 65F. The black flies have just started to appear, but they’re not biting yet. Tim tossed his line nearly 50 feet over the branch of the large cherry tree near the cabin. He pulled up a Par End Fed for 40 and 20 meters. I chose a smaller maple and used a 33 foot wire sloping toward the south. I was running the KX3 set up on 17 meters. Right away I worked IK2SND, Dan in Italy. Conditions weren’t great, but good enough for solid copy both ways. Meanwhile Tim was working K9MY, Jerald in Illinois with the HB-1B on 20 meters.

Next I worked ED5URL in Spain and CT7/RC2A in Portugal both on 17 meters. Then I switched to 15 meters and worked EA8NC, Manuel… again in Spain. I don’t think the propagation was very good because I didn’t hear many stations. And the ones I worked weren’t that strong.

Tim and I packed up and headed back down along the brook. It’s a day to be savored in memory. Blue skies, warm weather, a hike through some of the most beautiful country anywhere and some wonderful radio contacts… not just across the small pond at Knox Mountain… but across the Big Pond… all the way to another continent.

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