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QRP to The Field 2000
 Man,
there's nothing like exposure to a new way of doing things to
make a man re-think his philosophy on a given topic. The topic
is camping and the man with the good ideas is Mike, KF2EW. I’ve
done a bit of backpacking but Mike knows how to Camp! From this
point on, whenever I write of Camping with regard to Mike, the
word Camp will be capitalized. It has to be. Let me explain:
Although the contest didn't start until Saturday
morning, Mike and I decided to Camp out Friday night near our
operating sites. This would allow us to check our gear, install
his windom and fend off any bear attacks. And of course standing
around the campfire after dark discussing all manner of topics
while every now and then poking the coals with a stick. Important
stuff. We met at our campsite at Worthington State Forest, NJ
on the Delaware River. Beautiful place. I'll be returning there
with the YL before the summer is out.
All my camping and radio gear will fit in my
backpack. My camping stuff is as QRP as my radio stuff - small.
The radio gear fits into a Ziploc baggie (for weather protection).
And there's Mike with a Jeep-load of gear! A tent bigger than
my house. Furniture for the tent. Rugs for the tent floor. A
2-burner stove. An awning for the picnic table. Of course the
roominess of his tent allows him to bring his radio accessories:
wattmeter, auto-tuner, power station, etcetera. Heavy on the
etcetera. I asked about all this gear, and let me say this:
There are times when the most potentially complex questions
have the simplest answers. What's more, these answers are usually
as profound and Earth shattering as they are simple. This was
one of those times. Mike's answer to why he Camps with all this
gear was, "I don't have to carry it in a backpack so why
not be comfortable?" Yeah, why not?!
I've been so into backpacking that I've ignored
the fact that backpacking gear is a handicap when car camping.
I've been unnecessarily burdening myself with cramped quarters
and limited cooking facilities on those occasions. But no more!
I made the mistake of telling Mayra about the “De Luxe
Method” of Camping and now I’m going to have to
work overtime until Y3K just to pay for all the new gear she
now keeps pestering me to get.
The next morning, Mike and I awoke to cool
temps and a thin layer of ice on our tents and vehicles. After
a quick breakfast, I packed my icy tent and everything else
into my backpack and headed up to Crater Lake to operate the
contest. Mike left for Sunfish Pond. Only after setting up camp
and erecting a kick-butt antenna did I notice that I was in
tick country. These ticks meant business – they were numerous
and big, and there I was without my Mk1 Mod 3 flame-thrower.
After 5 QSOs I had to leave, so I QSYed to a beaver pond in
Stokes Forest to operate the remainder of the contest/campout.
I’ve spent many a starry night camping
at Stokes and really love the place. I have a favorite campsite
there with dipole-friendly trees and an unobstructed view to
the south in case I bring the telescope. I finished up the contest
here with a quickly-erected groundplane. The change in QTH cost
me about 2 hours of contest time but it was a much better place
to camp and the night was not as cold or windy as it would have
been up on the ridge at Crater Lake.
I got up with the sun early the next morning,
threw everything in the back of the pickup and high-tailed it
back to Mike’s site at Worthington Forest. He'd mentioned
something about bacon & coffee and I didn’t want to
miss out. So we breakfasted, compared notes on the contest (including
Mike’s bear sightings!) and then took down his windom.
Then the 45 minute drive home, during which I made a mental
list of all the differences between camping/casual QRPing and
camping/contesting and have got a few changes planned for next
time
 During
the contest I used the following gear:
Wilderness NC40A
DSW20
ZM-2 tuner
Whiterook paddles
Nova 71 headphones
10 alkaline C cells
I contacted 27 SPCs and operated WT category
for a score of 71,400 points. It was a fun contest and I’m
looking forward to the next one!
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