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Fall colors are starting to show. I could see them every where during my brief bike ride in East Andover. I stopped on the trail at a small brook, and set up at a picnic table. I worked Russia, Czech Republic and England.

It was a short afternoon ride… maybe three miles. On a whim I stopped by a small bridge and set up some gear. I stayed on 20 meters with a half wave wire and 4 watts from the HB-1B. Right off I heard Alex, R2UZ in Russia calling CQ. He answered and gave me a 559.  Up the band a bit, Jan OK1RO in the Czech Republic gave me a 569. A few minutes later, I came across Dave, G0GKH. He gave me a 569, but said there was lots of QSB on my signal. Non-the-less, he copied all of my information. He was running 100 watts to a G5RV.

After 15 minutes of operating, I packed up and continued on the ride. It was a perfect day for an outing. The sun was warm even though the ambient temperature was only around 60F. I kept a light fleece jacket on throughout.

Today I road my bicycle along the Pemigewasset River. It was sparkling. I worked a mobile station in Montana and two QRP stations… one in North Carolina and the other in Ontario.

The old road runs along the river in the Army Corps of Engineers flood control property in Sanbornton. Today I rode about a mile north and stopped at a sunny spot right along the river. It was dazzling.

I threw a line over the branch of a tall pine tree and sat down along the bank. I ran 4 watts with the little HB-1B on 20 meters. To my west was the river, and to the east, a steep hillside that rises nearly 700 feet toward Knox Mountain. I was pretty sure any QSOs would not be coming from Europe and I was right. I heard NT7R mobile in Montana calling on the county hunters frequency and I made a quick contact. Then I went up to the QRP calling frequency and heard Steve W5QC calling CQ from North Carolina. We gave each other 559s. Steve was running an 817 at 2 watts with a telescoping antenna right on the back of the rig! Fantastic. He was camping in North Carolina. As soon as we finished, Gary VE3MPQ called me from Windsor, Ontario. He was very strong at 579 and he gave me a 579 too. Gary was also running an HB-1B at 4 watts. We chatted for more than five minutes with perfect copy both ways.

When I told Gary I was sitting by the edge of the river, he sent, “I’m jealous of your QTH.”

After operating for a bit more than 20 minutes, I headed south back down the road. It’s nice to have the camera to record these wonderful afternoons. But it doesn’t record the sound of crickets, or the touch of a cool breeze on my face as I peddle along the river. It doesn’t catch the smell of early fall or the nostalgia of the first fallen leaves along the trail.

This afternoon I hiked from Shute Hill to Hunkins Pond. Once there, I set up in a farm field with a remarkable view. I worked Finland, Cuba, Russia and Spain.

The hike was about 2 miles cross country on an old logging road. The day was so perfect… about 70 degrees, sunny with a sky as blue you could ever imagine. I started out across from a cemetery on the top of Shute Hill. From there I headed south and crossed a small brook coming from a large beaver pond.

As I gained elevation, I went through a brilliant field of golden rod. The sound of buzzing bees was so loud, I could have been inside the hive itself.

The trail goes through the woods and over a pretty high elevation and down toward Hunkins Pond where it meets an old range road at a gate.

I brought my Kenwood TH-D72 APRS handie with me. Here’s an image of my track captured from http://aprs.fi – I continued down the Old Range Road to the east another quarter of a mile, but I couldn’t hit an APRS digipeater from there so it doesn’t show in the image below.

The range road borders the Swain’s dairy farm. The fields are simply gorgeous and so are the views. I set up my little HB-1B on 20 meters underneath one of the huge maple trees that David Swain taps each year for syrup.

I operated here for about 20 minutes using 4 watts and a half wave wire. I had good luck as you can see from the log.

17 Sep-12 1910  14.015 OH/DJ9DZ CW 599 599   Finland
17 Sep-12 1921  14.013 CO6RD    CW 599 599   Cuba
17 Sep-12 1923  14.033 UA6AES   CW 579 599   Russia
17 Sep-12 1930  14.060 EA2LU    CW 559 579   Spain

The last QSO was certainly the most notable. After working the low end of the band, I went to 14.060, the QRP frequency. Hearing no one, I called CQ. Jorge, EA2LU returned the call. He was also QRP. He was running a K3 at 5W with a 3 element yagi. Jorge and I have had at least 20 QSOs in the last five years, and it’s always a joy to hear him.

After this, I packed up for the return hike. It takes about 45 minutes back to the cemetery. These are prime outdoor days in New Hampshire. The bugs are few, the air is crisp and fragrant, and there’s plenty of incentive with cold weather ahead. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow.

It was a perfect September afternoon. Judy and I hiked up to a field on Shute Hill. I worked Bulgaria, Bosnia, Cuba and three stations from Washington state.

We parked the car and walked north on the Rufus Colby Road. The town only maintains about a half mile of it, then it turns into an impassable woods road. After another few hundred yards, we headed east through the woods on an  abandoned farm lane. The woods open into a small field after a few minutes’ walk.

Here, there are two small fields separated by a stone wall. Judy gets a photo of me walking through the first field.

On the other side of the wall, we enter the second field.  I open my pack and setup the little Chinese HB-1B on 20 meters.  I heave a water bottle into an oak tree so I can pull up a wire. I miss my mark,  the bottle hits the ground, splits and all the water runs out. The bottle has lasted  for nearly three years of frequent outings. It had to happen sooner or later. I search in the stone wall for a suitable rock. I find one that’s a bit too heavy and my throw doesn’t go as high as planned. I use a half-wave sloper instead of a vertical! But still… it works.

With key in hand, I work six stations in about 20 minutes. Here’s the log:

Date      UTC   Time   Call      My His   QTH
———————————————————————————
16 Sep-12 2005  14.021 LZ1DS CW  449 599 BULGARIA
16 Sep-12 2015  14.026 E72U  CW  599 599 BOSNIA
16 Sep-12 2019  14.047 K7TJ  CW  599 599 WA
16 Sep-12 2020  14.048 W7WMO CW  599 599 WA
16 Sep-12 2022  14.049 K7INA CW  599 599 WA
16 Sep-12 2023  14.006 CO6RD CW  599 599 CUBA

This is a lovely, quiet spot to visit on an early fall afternoon. The air is chilly, but the sun is warm. These few days before the first frost are treasured, and I get out every time I can.

This afternoon I rode my bicycle to Old Hill Village on the
Pemigewasset River. Just as I was about to call an Italian station,
a Black Hawk Helicopter landed in the field in front of me.

I wasn’t really surprised… the National Guard from Concord flies training missions along the river. It’s a wonderful, isolated place… not just for nature-loving radio ops, but for helicopter training maneuvers as well.

So I put down the key, and walked out into the field as the helicopter was about to take off again. They had left an airman on the ground.

I walked over to see what was going on. “You want me out of here?” I asked the airman. “No, you’re fine,” he replied. He explained that the helicopter was going to circle the area, drop a rescue litter and then circle again and haul the litter aboard. They were practicing rescue operations. The airman is a medic, and his team is leaving for Afghanistan at the end of the month. I thanked him, wished him godspeed in Afghanistan, and walked off the field to watch the practice session.

Soon the helicopter returned and dropped a line to the airman who guided the litter to the ground.  Afterwards, they hauled both the litter and airman back aboard. Soon I could hear them repeating the drill in a field on the other side of the river.

I returned to my setup at the edge of the field. I was running the little Chinese HB-1B on 20 meters with a half-wave vertical wire. As soon as I sat back down, I heard R1NA calling CQ. Alex was pretty strong and answered my call. He gave me a 449 and copied all of my information. He was north of St. Petersburg, not far from the Finnish border… about 4,000 miles from Old Hill Village.

After the QSO, I packed up and started back to the car. It was a glorious afternoon in Hill. The day was balmy, early fall flowers were in bloom, and I was exhilarated to be in the outdoors once again.

This afternoon my family and I hiked up to the cabin at Knox Mountain. I worked Jamaica, a container ship in the Atlantic Ocean, the Czech Republic and England. It was a perfect, crisp late summer day.

Sunlight filtered through a canopy of green. The air was filled with the sound of crickets mingled with the song of the brook that flows alongside the trail. Mushrooms of every variety and color lined the trail.

The cabin and the pond are about a mile and a half from the trail-head. The place is dazzling at first sight.

While my wife and daughter lay down on the grass to sun and read, I set up a rig under the cherry tree alongside the pond. I used the Chinese HB-1B on 20 meters with a half-wave vertical wire over a branch. The band was active with lots of strong stations.

Right away I called Josh 6Y5WJ in Jamaica after he finished a QSO. We have worked many times before and exchanged greetings and quick 599 reports. Then I went up the band to the QRP frequency and heard Oleg UR5FA/MM calling CQ. He works on a huge container ship and gave his current position in the Atlantic Ocean. He was a 569 and I was only 449. Oleg was running 5 watts to a small loop. He was clearly happy to have made a 2-way QRP contact. So was I!

The little HB-1B is a fine rig. I think it runs about 4 watts with the lithium pack. Dropping down below 14.025 again, I worked two Czech stations in a row. First, Vasek OK1DN gave me a 559 and sent, “UR QRP 4W doing a nice job.” Then I worked OK3AA just a few kHz away. Milan also gave me a 559. I’d been sweeping past 14.021 for quite a while trying to catch Tom G3HGE in England. He was working lots of DX and I was hoping for the chance to call him. Finally, the opportunity came and we chatted for more than 10 minutes. Tom and I have had many QSOs in the past and recognize each other’s call without any logbook lookups. Tom gave me a 579 before signing off.

We headed back down the trail after a bit more than an hour. It’s hard to find a nicer way to spend an afternoon than a hike to Knox Mountain.

This afternoon I took a quick bike ride to the Winnipesaukee River that runs between Tilton and Franklin, New Hampshire. I worked Italy, Lithuania and Hungary. It was a wonderful outing with perfect weather. I headed straight for the river, but several boys were fishing in my favorite spot. So I set up in a field alongside the river.

I set up on 20 meters under a large white birch tree. This photo shows the view from my operating position. I was using the HB-1B at 4W with a half wave wire over a tree branch.

The first contact was with Daniele IK2SND. He gave me a 559 and he was a 599. Then I tuned up the band a bit and answered LY2J who was calling CQ. Pranas had a very hard time copying my call. I repeated my call but Pranas still missed a letter. My antenna was off about 5 degrees from vertical, so I decided to move the backpack and make the antenna perfectly vertical. As soon as I did that, Pranas copied my call and gave me a 519. He was 599. Once again it proves the importance of angle of radiation.  I moved  up to 14.062 and called CQ. I wasn’t expecting a call from Hungary! HA6OD answered right away and gave me a 599. Jozsef was also 599. When I told him I was QRP, he sent “FB UR QRP.” After operating for fifteen minutes, I packed up and walked about 30 yards to get a quick photo of the river.

These warm summer days are numbered. The crickets are talking about it. Some of the maples have already started to drop their leaves. This week we’ve had a few nights in the 50s. I want to get out as often as possible.