Bob Cunnings NW8L BB #10
This year I returned to my favorite location, South Sandia Peak in the
Sandia Wilderness Area, overlooking Albuquerque, NM. The location was
atop the long north/south ridge a few hundred yards south of the
summit, at approx. 9600 ft. elevation. This is a nice location for an
antenna, with the terrain dropping off sharply to the east and
west. It's a good 4 hour hike up the South Crest and CCC trails to get
there but it's well worth the effort.
The antenna this year was a simple dipole cut for 20m made from Radio
Shack speaker wire, terminated with a right angle BNC connnector. It
can be extended for 30m and 40m operation but I never budged from 20m
this year. The "shack" was in a nice sheltered depression in the
limestone just below the ridgeline to the west, with a tarp providing
shade. I used my 20/30/40 KX1 with autotuner. It was powered from a
pack of 8 rather tired lithium disposable AA cells. Power out was
only a little over 2 watts on 20m.
I started 30 minutes late but managed a total of 22 qso's - 14 BB and
8 home stations, all on 20 meters. I wasn't chased off by afternoon
thunderstorms this year so I kept going until the very end. Conditions
didn't seem great and most signals were very weak, fading in and
out. The band seemed short at first but toward the end it went longer
and I was able to work N1EU/BB in NY and N4KGL/BB in FL. States worked
included CA, ID, TX, UT, NM, WA, IA, GA, WI, IL, NY, FL. Thanks to
all for another great FOBB!
(IMG) The backpack
As always, I sure was glad to drop the pack when I got to the top. It
was going to be a long day so I had a lot of water in there along with
everything else.
(IMG) The KX1 setup
This is the rig, my trusty KX1.
(IMG) The antenna
The antenna, set up as an inverted vee, resonant on 20m. I brought
only the lower 4 sections of a 32 ft. fiberglass windsock pole which
was tied off to a scrub oak. In the picture the feedline runs off to
the right. The antenna is tied to to a piece of deadwood jammed into
the top of the pole.
(IMG) The antenna kit
The antenna can be extended for 30m and 40m by tying on additional
lengths of wire with nylon rope and connecting them electrically with
the automotive type blade connectors you see at the ends of the 20m
elements in the picture. The extra lengths are in the bag but I
didn't bother with them since I planned to operate single band.
(IMG) The radio shack
Here's the shack, under a Noah's Tarp in a notch in the limestone.
(IMG) The view to the North
Looking North toward the summit of South Sandia Peak.
(IMG) The view to the South
Looking south, with the Manzano mountains in the distance.
(IMG) The view to the Northwest
Looking northwest, across the Rio Grande valley, with Cabezon, a
volcanic plug, on the horizon. The ghost town of Cabezon is located
near Cabezon, which is sacred to the Navajo.
(IMG) The view to the East
Looking east, as I was coming down off the ridge after FOBB was
over. A thunderstorm fired up over the San Pedro mountains but it
fizzled out before long.
For the Sandia Mountains "medallion tree" hunters out there, here are
yet more examples I found along the South Crest trail on the way
down. Rather than take the CCC Trail shortcut I followed the long and
winding South Crest trail all the way down. You must follow the "old"
trail section through the Ponderosa groves to see some of these
medallion trees. All told, going down this way adds an hour to the
hike butat least it's not as brutally steep as the more direct CCC
Trail. Here is the Paul Revere's Ride tree...
(IMG) The Paul Revere's Ride tree
(IMG) A closeup of the medallion
Germination date is 1774, but Paul Revere's famous ride took place in
1775. Close enough.
(IMG) 1st Fountain Pen Tree
This is the 1st Fountain Pen Tree...
(IMG) A closeup of the medallion
Germination date is 1780, which I suppose was the year in which the
fountain pen was invented. This tree is at a point where the trail
makes a sharp turn and it was marked on two sides when the trail was
blazed long ago.
(IMG) Joan of Arc Birth Tree
This is the Joan of Arc Birth Tree...
(IMG) A closeup of the medallion
Germination date is 1413, about when Joan of Arc was born. This is a
very old tree!
I recently ran into another seeker of Medallion Trees on the Pino
Trail in the Sandias. It's nice to see others who are interested in
locating them and sharing info. There are upwards of a hundred of
these trees in the Sandia Wilderness but they are rarely noticed and
remain somewhat of a mystery.