So I got stuck in a ditch 40 minutes
before the contest. If it wasn't for the whole vehicle being tilted at about 30
degrees, I would have just setup there. Digging out and trying to have another
rover pull
me out (with jumper cables?) didn't work (go figure). This left me
frustrated, the other rover behind schedule and the jumper cables
completely shredded. So as I waited for the tow truck (the only one
in 40 miles) to pull me out, I was still able to get the first QSOs
in the log starting at 1900 on FM. I had a 20 minute gap in the log
as the tow truck got me out and I put up the antennas. I was soaking
wet and cold, but at least the contacts were rolling in. I must have
been having a good time because I didn't notice the ice storm at
first. By the time I was ready to leave, there was about 1/8 inch of
ice on the west side of my vehicle, my antennas, coax, and … my
mast. A push up mast does not come down when covered in ice (strange
huh). How much worse could this day get!? After taking the hammer to
the mast for about 15 minutes, I thought about that question as I
headed down the very steep snow and now ice covered road. But I guess a
higher power felt my day was bad enough and let me get off this hill
without further incident. This all occurred on the “warmer” of
the two days with Sunday dropping into the teens. I still finished
the four grids I planned to activate. Will I do it again? You bet! It cant get
any worse right? (hmm, maybe I don't want to know).
73, Jarred - KF2MRWestern NY
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