Summit Activated - W4G/HC-036, Pine Mountain, Georgia
Perfect weather, convenient site to Atlanta, moderate-level hike. For a bonus, my eldest son came along and listened in via a second set of headphones. We both had a great time.
It’s a short, steep hike up from the west parking lot off Komatsu Drive in Cartersville. 20 meters was noise free and our chosen frequency was silent. (That’s an advantage of a weekday activation!)
Contacts
- 11 QSO at 10 watts on 20 meters - 14.345 MHz SSB
Thank you chasers!
Radio
- Elecraft KX3. This is the first time I managed to get battery power and SWR just right to transmit with 10 watts. (Nothing wrong with the radio before this – just operator error.)
Antennas
- Easy site for antennas.
- Low trees around the clearing at the summit.
- Space to guy out a vertical.
- Antenna I used:
- 20 meters - EFHW on 31’ Jackite with EARCHI 20 meter matchbox. Bungee-corded it to the trunk of a twisted tree.
- I used a counterpoise of about 21-20 feet.
Cell Phone Coverage
- Easy cell coverage is available at the summit.
Getting There - Driving
- Just follow Google Maps directions. They’re spot on.
- There are no restrooms in the parking area, and the trail is too public to make your own.
Getting There - Hiking
- Cartersville publishes a brochure about the area at http://www.cityofcartersville.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/570 . Print it, and carry the map.
- Note: The trail is clearly but obscurely marked! There are posts with arrows at each intersection. However, some posts have only colored arrows. The color matches the color on the map. If you print the map in black-and-white, you’ve got a problem applying the color code.
- If you didn’t bring a color-printed map, just take the right-most trail at each intersection, going up from the west parking lot.
GPS Waypoints
- Pine Mountain west parking lot - N34.17534 W84.75366
- Beginning of Red Trail - N34.17841 W84.74715
- Summit - N34.17680 W84.74500