| QRP in the Great Outdoors |
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 By
mid-afternoon, I'd been hiking all day along the Appalachian
Trail and was now on a ridge overlooking the Delaware River
on the NJ/PA border. While a soft breeze cooled me, the orange
and crimson hues confirmed that fall was here at last. The weather
was perfect, water had been plentiful along the trail and the
few fellow hikers I'd met had been filled with the same enthusiasm
that drove me to be out here among the hills and trees.
The other hikers and I were very similarly
equipped - their backpacks, like mine, probably contained a
small stove, some snacks, a tent, sleeping bag and perhaps something
to read once the day's walk had ended. But instead of a paperback
novel to relax with by the fire, my pack contained a complete
20-meter ham station weighing just under 2 pounds. In a very
short amount of time, my tent would be pitched, dinner would
be eaten, a 33' wire would be hanging from a tree branch and
I would be enjoying an after-dinner chat with someone far away.
Odessa, Texas or Odessa, Ukraine - they are equally likely.
One of the wonderful characteristics of ham
radio is that it is actually several hobbies in one. I can think
of no other pastime that offers the variety of sub-hobbies we
have available within ham radio: DXing, ragchewing, public service
- the list goes on. Not so commonly mentioned though is the
ease with which ham radio can be combined with other activities,
such as camping. Technological advances in the past few years
have resulted in tiny, efficient transceivers whose performance
to weight ratio was unheard of only a few years ago. Gone are
the days of lunchbox sized rigs - my 20-meter trail rig is the
same size, shape and weight as a (ham!) sandwich. Also gone
are the days of " lantern batteries" that weigh as
much as a tent. Taking a complete HF station into the woods
can be almost as simple as a mere afterthought.
With a complete station weighing less than
2 pounds it is difficult to find a reason not to combine a great
hobby with the great outdoors. There is some kind of amazing
magic at work to be able to relax outside your tent as dusk
falls and the western sky glows orange from the setting sun
with a chorus of crickets beginning their nightly serenade as
you make final adjustments to your rig and then begin calling
CQ. Who will answer your call? Perhaps it will be YO2ARV or
GI3OQR. - Or maybe 3D2AG and UA0AZ. They've all answered my
CQ from the trail.
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