Spring Hike to the Pemigewasset River

This afternoon I walked down to the Pemigewasset River and worked Italy and Germany.

hill

There’s a steep hillside trail leading into the Corps of Engineers flood control area along the river. In the winter the trail is used mostly by snowmobiles. Today the trail is covered with several inches of snow… the remnants from a snow storm last week. It’s sunny with a brilliant blue sky. The temperature is 42F.

brook

At the bottom of the hill, the trail crosses a lovely brook which feeds into the Pemi. Only a couple of weeks ago it was frozen solid. Now it’s flowing again.

I walk about a mile and come to a spot overlooking Shaw Cove. As the trail rounds a sharp corner, the warm sun has
melted the snow along the edge. It’s a good place to sit and there are some tall pine trees lining the trail.

I toss a half wave wire over a branch and set up the HB-1B on 20 meters. The band is active.

gear

Right away I hear IK2CIO, Vini calling CQ. We quickly exchange 599s and send 73. I tell Vini I am running 4W and he confirms the contact.

I tune down the band a bit and hear Holger, DK4LX just finishing a QSO. I call him and he answers giving me a 439. He says he’s in a rush and apologizes for not chatting. I thank him for his answer and tell him I am running 4 watts. He wants to know more… my QTH, the rig… and the antenna. He copies all the information and congratulates me on the setup. He wishes me good luck and I tell him I will send some photos of my location.

shaw

I’ve only operated for about 10 minutes, but my tiny signal has reached Europe, and I am thrilled to have a beautiful hike and witness the magic of radio once again. I pack up and hike up the hill.

Jim Cluett, W1PID, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Hampshire, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

2 Responses to “Spring Hike to the Pemigewasset River”

  • Ernest Gregoire, AA1IK:

    Great spot Jim. I have an EFHW like this but I can’t see what the second wire is for or is it a rope? It looks like two parallel wires going up.

    73

    DE AA1IK

    Ernest Gregoire

  • Hi Ernie – thanks for the note. Yes… black wire up. Colored cord down (holding up wire). A little bare ground is precious at this time of the year!
    73 Jim W1PID

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