Category: hiking
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Camel Bluff again, on a snowy day
Really, just a few pictures taken this morning. I love hiking when it is snowing; it lays a great silence on the world which makes for a tranquil and invigorating experience. That’s about all for today; it’s still snowing now, hours later. It looks like 3 or 4 inches so far. Radio? Soon! Thanks for…
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Mill Bluff Trifecta! and a few random notes
Saturday morning I was up early and managed to get out for a hike before the sun was up; Mill Bluff State Park was my choice. I avoided the three deer crossing the highway and made it to the park just a bit after dawn. Since I had so much time I thought I would…
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A hike around Camel Bluff, and an amplified speaker for the tr(u)SDX
On Saturday I was en route to the nearest Aldi store and realized I would soon be passing by Mill Bluff State Park, which quickly led to trying to remember the last time I had hiked the Camel Bluff trail, or any of the other hikes at this small-but-fun park … I still have no…
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Mid-March omnibus
A summary of what’s been happening lately Tomorrow (the 19th) is the first day of Spring! Astronomical Spring, that is. Meteorological Spring already happened on the 1st; I suppose they do that for consistency in their statistical calculating, makes it easier to just move along and ignore all of that messy real-world stuff. Quick vignettes…
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Dare we hope that Punxsutawney Phil was right?
Barring a couple days of polar weather about 2 weeks ago, the weather in the Driftless has been unusually mild in the month that has passed since the annual proclamation, which, unusually, was for an early spring. This has only occurred 21 times in the138 year history of the noted weather prophet. I greeted the…
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Last hike of 2023, and first hike of 2024
On the 30th, and again on the 1st, I hiked the Ice Cave trail at Wildcat Mountain S. P. to commemorate the passing of the calendar year and to start off the new one in a spirit of happy outdoor fun, also to carry on the struggle to stay in shape for the milder months!…
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A hiking-centric Christmas in the Driftless
The weather has been anomalously warm the past few days (mostly in the 40s day and night), overcast, with generous amounts of dense fog, and no serious social obligations anywhere, so we have been getting in a hike every day ! I try to always have a radio packed, in case I suddenly feel the…
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Omnibus and variorum in K minor, Op. 7_1beta
re: Field Day 2023 The December issue of QST arrived a while ago and I invested maybe 15 minutes looking through the fine print for my score: 440 points. I think that my claimed bonus for Public Information Display was rejected; not unfairly mind you, it was a bit skimpy. Eh, surest way to fail…
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Cut down my knee board today
When I made this I cut it to fit in a good-sized backpack, never thinking that I might want to use it with any of the smaller packs that I more often use for portable operating; this is why it gets carried hanging outside the pack from a carabiner. Today I had a few moments…
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Okay, that’s it, I want an Elecraft KH1
It has been on my mind, on and off, ever since Saturday, when I heard the news about the new handheld HF rig from Elecraft over at qrper.com but I just watched this video: “Wayne Burdick N6KR Elecraft Cofounder Talking About the New KH1 Transceiver at SOTA Luncheon” and I am completely sold. Everything about…
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A non-QRP post
DIY stuff around the house has been taking up a lot of my time these past few weeks, with a proportionate decrease in park activations! I keep on thinking about sort-of-related things that might make interesting posts though, so here are a few of them for your entertainment: circa 10/13/23: Interesting reading, and maybe a…
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This is how you lose readers, isn’t it?
It’s been almost a month with nothing new posted here. That doesn’t seem like a good thing! I haven’t done a park activation since Field Day; I have been preparing another gear-bag post, but all that means is taking pictures and transferring them to WordPress; I’ve taken a few hikes, but nothing special. Most of…