follow that qar!

I wanted to activate the last of the close summits before the end of 2020 so I would be eligible to go again in the new year. I don't see long drives to high peaks on the horizon and aim to make the most of the 1-pointers that will fit into a 6-hour trip. I'd been up Parker Mountain once before, 10 years ago on a letterboxing jaunt for Kollaps's 12-carve series with moongazer. I found one of those boxes again today, tucked under a small slab beside a short pine, a glaring lock n lock that needed a good rehiding. I also found a geocache and made a trade. The way up was mostly clear, with stretches of trampled snow, stony drainages filled with beech and oak leaves, and. some. steep. parts. Rocks and ledges had an icy sheen. I placed no foot there. Except for a few chickadees, nuthatches, and a creeper, the woods were quiet. Above them I heard only occasional squawks from ravens. My goal was to make my first contact by 14 zulu...

Off to W1/NL-024 after breakfast. Arrived 8:40 with 6 cars in the lot. Got to the tower at 9:05. Turned the rig on at 9:42 and off at 10:51, making 18 QSOs in between. Explained operation to curious passerby. Tried 2m FM before and after HF but got nothing. Back at the lot at 11:44. 8 cars. Home for lunch.

FN53: Bailey Island, September 1, 2020 I was almost to Giant's Staircase, my ultimate destination, but knew I would be too late to catch the morning Atlantic pass of AO-91. I had all but promised the grid to a Northern Ireland op, but the 2-lane, twisting, hilly peninsular road down Bailey Island had few safe places to stop with a clear view and a low horizon. When I found a wide spot next to a long driveway with an open field across the road, I pulled over, unloaded gear, worked him and two more, packed up, and carried on in the span of about 7 minutes. Not long after, I reached the small parking area for Giant's Staircase and cut through the shrubs to reach a rocky promontory where I settled in to wait for the next AO-91 pass. That one gave me 17 QSOs and I soon had a few more on AO-92. I relocated for a better western view and put several 7s in the log, then kept going with SO-50 and PO-101. On the day, I made 48 FM satellite contacts.