On January 3rd, my friend and Elmer, Steve - W4SLT and I drove to the Appalachian Trail where it comes through the Standing Indian State Park, near Franklin, NC. This is about a 90 minute drive for us. 

The previous night, after procrastinating for the whole day, I finally began making the 20 M dipole that we were to use. Needless to say, it got dark a little earlier than I had anticipated. Finally, after about an hour, I confirmed the low SWR and range on my antenna analyzer. 

The next morning, Steve and I made our trip to the AT from Upstate South Carolina. We arrived at the campground and began the set-up of our equipment at the edge of the trail. After the dipole was up, a quick check on the rig showed an extremely high SWR! I could not imagine what went wrong. Thankfully, Steve had a Hustler mobile antenna, which we quickly called into service, and it worked fine.

Once establishing a spot on 20 M, I called NPOTA CQ and worked about three stations rather easily. About one minute later the band exploded with activity. It was almost overwhelming. Quickly, W4SLT began helping me navigate through the pile-up. I am a "Pile-Up Novice" and it took me several minutes to get into the rythum of working the onslaught of calls. It was beginning to become more managable, and the QSO rate began to climb. 

On the way to the park, I was beginning to wonder if it would be a struggle to even get the required 10 contacts. That was no problem at all. Finally, after 90 minutes, our battery began to die, and my voice was beginning to fade. Even the handwritten log entries were becoming scribbly. 

It was a successful event for us. Our 90 minute activation rewarded us with 126 contacts. I only wish that I had taken the time to ask specifically for DX and QRP stations. At my future activations, I plan on asking for DX and QRP stations only during specific times each hour. I think that it is important to do that. 

So, please join me in the fun. Be patient and respectful of those you are trying to work. I will be listening for you on the bands.