Wilderness is "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." - Wilderness Act of 1964

Last month's #WildWestHackinFest #hamventures as I slowly made my way back to Colorado. I managed to fit 10 summits in during my week-long stay in the #blackhills of South Dakota. It was busy and challenging but very rewarding! Some were simple drive-up peaks while others required miles of hiking.

For the uninitiated - #sota (Summits on the Air) is "an award scheme for radio amateurs that encourages portable operation in mountainous areas." Basically it's operating with portable radio equipment on designated mountain tops for fun and debt. Obtaining a certain number of contacts grants you points for that particular summit, and those that make contact with you also receive points. The rules are made up and the points don't matter. But there are awards! You can find out more at https://www.sota.org.uk/.

I made well over 200 contacts via #morsecode during the week, many of whom hunted me multiple times on different mountain tops! It's always interesting to see how far your signal travels using lower-powered setups. I managed to work F4WBN in France a few times with a mere 4-5 watts of power!

If you've never made it to the Black Hills area of South Dakota I highly recommend you check it out. It's extremely beautiful, especially Custer State Park.

Equipment used is a #LNR precision MTR4bv2, #SOTABEAMS Bandspringer wire antenna, #Elecraft AX1 whip antenna, #Elecraft T1 ATU tuner, and a #CWMorse paddle.

Enjoy some pictures!