What a fun camping trip! (Well maybe except for the rain on Sunday.) As most of you know, we met at a group campsite at Pine Point campground at Timothy Lake up on Mount Hood on Friday for a two night outing. The ARES trailer was on hand for some HF contacts and training. We put up the fan dipole antenna and had great SWR. The new slingshot antenna launcher was a big help getting high up into the trees.
In all we had 27 friends and family participate. Some stayed both nights, some only one night, and several visited during the day on Saturday. The Forest Service just lifted the campfire ban the day before our adventure so we had a rip roaring fire each night and morning. It was a bit chilly up there dipping into the upper 30s at night so the fire was a great place to warm up.
Saturday evening we all converged on the group picnic area for a potluck dinner. I somehow think camping food tastes better because of the good clean air and there was not a single dish that I tried that was not excellent. We are lucky to have such a wonderful group of folks who are great people, great hams, and great cooks, too.
Other news to report is that Ralph AG7FE has agreed to transition in as the new Alpha Team Leader! Robert WX5TEX will be training Ralph for the next few months and will take on the PIO position. A big thanks to Ralph for stepping up to fill this very important role!
Congratulations to Jim KA7AGH as he has earned his HF certification and to Ralph AG7FE who has earned his PRRO certification.