’05 FOBB Reflections: A view from above the clouds

It was the morning of Sunday, July 31, 2005. I had waited a whole year since the last FOBB. At 7 a.m. EDT I watched the Weather Channel to determine the weather for the day. It did not look good. Storm warnings were predicted for the area of New Hampshire that I would be operating from. Heavy rains with thunder and lightening predicted from 12 o'clock into the late afternoon hours. But this just could not be, after a year wait. What was I to do?

I wanted to be in a high, beautiful, mountain location for this event, and had been making plans for months. The spot I chose, Pawtuckaway State Park:

The exact location I had kept "secret," as not to bump into anyone else atop "South Mountain":

As I left my home the sky was getting dark. Rain was eminent, but how much, and when? When I arrived at the base-camp parking-lot, still no rain, though I had driven through a few rain showers on the way. Would I have a dry day ahead? Time would tell.
I got my 35 pound backpack ready, along with a chair and table that would make operating the contest a bit more comfortable from the summit. Even my dog "Heidi" was ready and filled with energy, excitement and anticipation. So was I!

The air was saturated with humidity and just the first 5 minutes up the trail was an effort with near 90 degree temperatures. Heidi lead the way wagging her tail and turning to look back at me every few seconds, as to say, "Hurry Up!". We took several breaks as we made way to the summit. Even Heidi had to stop for a few water stops. It seemed I was sweating out more water than taking in.

Finally, the summit! But just as we arrived, so did the rain. The sky grew darker and darker. I knew that something big was heading our way. There was nowhere to stay dry, nowhere that is except the top of the fire-tower. It rained and rained, sometimes very heavy.

I was quite wet and Heidi was soaked. Should I set up an antenna during the peak of a storm at the top of the summit? NO WAY! But time was a'wasting and by now it was 2:30 p.m. EDT and I had missed the first 1 ½ hours of the contest.

By about 3PM (2 hours into the FOBB) there was a break in the rain and up went the end-fed Zepp, all 190' of it. My slingshot worked well for one side of the antenna and got the far end up about 40' into a tall pine. I had no other choice but to use the fire-tower as a operating position. It was the only dry spot, and just a few square feet under the watch-tower house. By 3:40PM I had the Zepp up and had my station setup on the stairs that headed up to the fire-tower watch-house, about 40' above ground-level. It was dry enough and my first contact was made at about quarter to four. Only 1 hour and 15 minutes left. I would really have to work fast to make-up for the storm delays.

Well, it seemed that all the bands were quiet, all but 40M. There I sat pounding away "CQ BB de WA1ZCQ/BB". After what seemed like a few minutes the band got very quiet, and as I looked at my clock I realized it was 5PM EDT and time to call it quits.

After the contest, the sun tried to break-out from behind the clouds. The rain stopped, and I had time to snap a few pictures of my FOBB '05 adventure. The view was breath-taking, and as you will see from the pictures, I was "looking down at the clouds" from high-atop my perch, seated in the fire-tower atop South Mountain

The clean-air, view, and excitement made it all worthwhile, but my total Q's were just a small handful. So as I snapped the following shots I thought about how good next year's FOBB would be. And the adventure continues . . .
* * * * * * * * * *
Carl Achin, WA1ZCQ, is an avid QRPer who loves outdoor operation. He lives in Hampton, NH.

Pictures attached:
1.) Base-camp Parking with everything that was going up the Mountain



	’05 FOBB Reflections: A view from above the clouds
		By Carl Achin, WA1ZCQ / BB Special to The ARS Sojourner
July 2006 It was the morning of Sunday, July 31, 2005. I had waited a whole year since the last FOBB. At 7 a.m. EDT I watched the Weather Channel to determine the weather for the day. It did not look good. Storm warnings were predicted for the area of New Hampshire that I would be operating from. Heavy rains with thunder and lightening predicted from 12 o'clock into the late afternoon hours. But this just could not be, after a year wait. What was I to do? I wanted to be in a high, beautiful, mountain location for this event, and had been making plans for months. The spot I chose, Pawtuckaway State Park: http://www.nhstateparks.org/ParksPages/Pawtuckaway/Pawtuckaway.html The exact location I had kept "secret," as not to bump into anyone else atop "South Mountain": http://www.nhstateparks.com/firetowers.html#12 http://hikenh.netfirms.com/TDPawtuS.htm As I left my home the sky was getting dark. Rain was eminent, but how much, and when? When I arrived at the base-camp parking-lot, still no rain, though I had driven through a few rain showers on the way. Would I have a dry day ahead? Time would tell. I got my 35 pound backpack ready, along with a chair and table that would make operating the contest a bit more comfortable from the summit. Even my dog "Heidi" was ready and filled with energy, excitement and anticipation. So was I! The air was saturated with humidity and just the first 5 minutes up the trail was an effort with near 90 degree temperatures. Heidi lead the way wagging her tail and turning to look back at me every few seconds, as to say, "Hurry Up!". We took several breaks as we made way to the summit. Even Heidi had to stop for a few water stops. It seemed I was sweating out more water than taking in. Finally, the summit! But just as we arrived, so did the rain. The sky grew darker and darker. I knew that something big was heading our way. There was nowhere to stay dry, nowhere that is except the top of the fire-tower. It rained and rained, sometimes very heavy. I was quite wet and Heidi was soaked. Should I set up an antenna during the peak of a storm at the top of the summit? NO WAY! But time was a'wasting and by now it was 2:30 p.m. EDT and I had missed the first 1 ½ hours of the contest. By about 3PM (2 hours into the FOBB) there was a break in the rain and up went the end-fed Zepp, all 190' of it. My slingshot worked well for one side of the antenna and got the far end up about 40' into a tall pine. I had no other choice but to use the fire-tower as a operating position. It was the only dry spot, and just a few square feet under the watch-tower house. By 3:40PM I had the Zepp up and had my station setup on the stairs that headed up to the fire-tower watch-house, about 40' above ground-level. It was dry enough and my first contact was made at about quarter to four. Only 1 hour and 15 minutes left. I would really have to work fast to make-up for the storm delays. Well, it seemed that all the bands were quiet, all but 40M. There I sat pounding away "CQ BB de WA1ZCQ/BB". After what seemed like a few minutes the band got very quiet, and as I looked at my clock I realized it was 5PM EDT and time to call it quits. After the contest, the sun tried to break-out from behind the clouds. The rain stopped, and I had time to snap a few pictures of my FOBB '05 adventure. The view was breath-taking, and as you will see from the pictures, I was "looking down at the clouds" from high-atop my perch, seated in the fire-tower atop South Mountain The clean-air, view, and excitement made it all worthwhile, but my total Q's were just a small handful. So as I snapped the following shots I thought about how good next year's FOBB would be. And the adventure continues . . . * * * * * * * * * * Carl Achin, WA1ZCQ, is an avid QRPer who loves outdoor operation. He lives in Hampton, NH. Pictures attached: 1.) Base-camp Parking with everything that was going up the Mountain 2.) Rig setup in the "birds-nest", up 40' 3.) The family dog "Heidi", a miniature long-haired Daschund 4.) Looking "DOWN at the clouds" after the contest, Lake Pawtuckaway off in the distance 5.) The fire-tower atop South Mountain