My field day

[NJ0Q]

Enjoyed field day with hosting a special guest from Switzerland. Spent the day with Paul HB9DST/AA1MI and accompanied him to a small summit in Iowa to complete his goal of activating from all SOTA associations in the lower 48 states. Also part of the expedition was Jean KF0GDN.

Rig used was my KX2 along with Jean’s MPAS lite. Paul quickly knocked out his activation to complete his goal. Next up was Jean who rocked her first ever SOTA and then made a few more contacts to get a new POTA park under her belt as well. Then it was my turn. With a five time Mountain Goat sitting next to me, my first contact was F4WBN, who I believe was my first ever SOTA contact. After I made nine more quick contacts, we all stopped for a bit to enjoy a celebratory beer and a few snacks. Paul then hopped back on the air for a few more contacts.

Next stop was a local greasy spoon (Paul’s request) where we all enjoyed a good burger. We then headed off to a field day event hosted by WD0AKX at his home. Paul enjoyed meeting the locals and also the beef brisket and pork ribs smoked on-site by the resident expert N0HKA. I enjoyed operating some CW alongside WB9LXK, a former Coast Guard Morse op that can really rock the paddles. After a nice afternoon, it was time to head to Minneapolis again and bid Paul farewell.

I had had only one hour of sleep before heading out to pick up Paul at the airport at 0600 and didn’t return home until almost midnight, but the days events and a bit of coffee kept me going and I had my most enjoyable Field Day yet. Paul is an amazing person and Jean and I really enjoyed visiting and playing radio with him. With a thousand summits under his belt, he kept us fascinated with his stories and info about his home country. Honored to be there for his outstanding achievement and hope to take him up on his offer of hiking and SOTA in HB9 soon!

73, NJ0Q

[k0klb]

Hi Michael.. That summit wasn't by chance "Pilot Knob" in Forest City was it.. I know there are only 2 summits in Iowa (which is amazing to me in itself, LOL) and Pilot Knob is closest to MN.. We camped there last year, but I didn't know it was a summit so I missed the opportunity.. Sounds like you had a great day with friends.. Thanks for sharing.. 73, Kevin ~ k0klb

[NJ0Q]

Yes, that’s the one! It really was a great day!

You’ll have to give it a shot if you get back up there again. The farm I grew up on is maybe 15-20 miles NW of there.

I really like that park, miles of trial to hike. I did a couple SOTA & POTA from there last year too.

73, Mike