Many amateur radio operators take fabulous treks to a variety of sparsley populated areas of the world and from there set up operations to try to talk to other hams around the world. These operations are called DXpeditions. This is great because it gives us hams a chance to confirm contact with these under populated areas.
I, lacking the resources (dollars) to travel the world, have contented myself with taking smaller trips, backpacking my way into various parts of the country (mainly Colorado since thats where I live) and setting up small operations from there. I call these little forays into the woods TrailXpeditions or TXpeditions. Here I've got pictures, descriptions, sometimes the logs of contacts I've made, and sometimes QSL cards (postcards) that I've received from the guys that I've talked to. Each one is labeled with the latitude and longitude I operated from and a brief description. Enjoy...... I do.
ARS Bumblebee- 2006
I missed the last couple Bumblebee contests so it was fun to get back into
this one. Forgot the camera no pictures... all you'll see is my log
here. Operated from Green Moutain in Lakewood.
QRP Afield - 2005
Terry and I had got very little chance for any backpacking this year and
decided we had to do a quick overniter just so we could say we had gotten
out this year and... it just happened that qrp afield was this weekend!
QRP Afield - 2004
This was QRP afield constest, Sep 18, 2004. I drove up to Warrior Mountain
between Bergen Park and Echo Lake (near Mount Evans). I had previously
operated the fybo contest and the bubba sprint contest from this location.
ARS Bumblebee- 2003
This was my 4th consecutive year to opereate the bumblebee contest. I
hiked about a mile and a half into the pike nat'l forest from hiway 67(?)
near Buffalo Creek, CO. The location seemed excellent, a small hill
with views to the horizon all around.
QRPTTF Contest- 2003
I operated QRPTTF from Golden Gate Canyon State Park about 20 miles west
of Denver on Apr 27, 2003. The theme of the contest was ghost towns.
The spot I operated from was an old abandoned homestead which was worked
from 1876 to 1950 and then abandoned.
FYBO Contest- 2003
I operated the FYBO 2003 contest from the Warrior Mountain picnic ground
on Feb 22, 2003. I originally planned to hike to the peak but the snow
made it impossible to drive the last 1/4 mile and I decided to settle for
the picnic ground.
Bubba Sprint Contest - 2002
I operated the Bubba Sprint from Warrior Mountain in Colorado on August 24,
2002. This is a rocky peak at about 11000' that I could drive to within
a few hundred feet of the peak.
ARS Bumblebee Contest -
2002
This year I went to what has to be one of the prettiest places in the
world. Terry and I discovered this place while we were hiking the colorado
trail. It is a small mountain lake at about 11200'. It is flanked
on two sides by the 13000' continental divide. I hiked up and spent
one night and then returned.
Rosalie Peak, CO
A hike up the Deer Creek and Tanglewood trails in the Mt Evans Wilderness
up to Rosalie Peak on November 12, 2001. I went up with a non-ham buddy,
Dave and operated from a ridge just east of the peak at 12000 feet elevation.
Mount Elbert, CO - Highest Point in CO
I did this hike with my wife Terry in Oct, 2001. Mount Elbert is the
highest point in Colorado (elevation 14433') and the 2nd highest point in
the lower 48 states.
ARS Bumblebee Contest - 2001
I operated this contest from the same location as 1999, from the top of a
huge granite outcropping about 2 miles from my house.
Harney Peak, SD - Highest point in
SD
Inspired by the Adventure Radio Society 'Top of the World' contest, Keith
(WUØH) and I hiked Harney Peak, SD (elevation 7242') and activated
the highest point in SD on HF on July 7, 2001.
Gem Lake Trail - Rocky Mtn Natl Park, CO
When my wife Terry wanted to go to the Wool Festival in Estes Park, I rode
up with her and I took a hike on the gem lake trail while she spent the day
at the festival. June 16, 2001.
Winter Camp at Kenosha
Pass
This was weekend of Feb 24, 2001. Dan and I did an overnighter at Kenosha
Pass, elevation about 10500', near Jefferson, Co. Weather started out
with wind and snow but cleared up nicely in the evening. Most areas
had about 2 foot of snow.
Kenosha Pass Hike
This was a short hike to Kenosha Pass, elevation about 10500', near
Jefferson, Colorado. Date was Jan 21 so it was pretty cold and quite
a lot of snow!
Rolling Rock Trail Hike
This is a quick hike I took with my wife and a good friend. Highlight
was working three guys who were listening for me cuz I had sent an email
to the qrpl group telling them the time and location.
Rolling Rock Trail
Overniter
This is an overnite backpack that I did with N0BN, Dan, on the rolling rock
trail near the Lost Creek Wilderness. Highlight of the trip was losing
all my antenna feedlines and coming up with a makeshift antenna fed directly
into the back of the rig.
Mount Bierstadt, Colorado
Another 14er. My wife and I hiked to the top of Mt Bierstadt,
elevation 14080 feet. Again, I operated my sw20 QRP rig from the summit
and managed four QSO's. More very nice pictures of the mountains here.
Mount Sherman, Colorado
This time my wife and I and a friend hiked to the top of one of Colorado's
14000 foot mountain peaks, Mt Sherman at 14036 feet. I operated
my sw20 QRP rig from the summit in very windy and cold conditions and managed
four QSO's before I got frozen out. Some very nice pictures of the
mountains here.
Latitude 39.31 North
Longitude 105.13 West
This was the Adventure Radio Society Bumble Bee Sprint, July 25, 1999.
I operated from top of a huge granite outcropping about 2 miles from my house
near Conifer, CO. It was a short hike but very rugged. The operating
site was a 5 foot by 35 foot boulder field that had sheer drop off's of
75 - 150 feet on both sides
Latitude 39.22 North
Longitude 105.30 West
The XYL and I got to take a little trip by ourselves on the weekend of July
11/12, 1999. We hiked along Payne Creek trail in Lost Creek Wilderness
in Pike Nat'l Forest in Colorado. The hike was about five miles
and we ended up in a nice aspen grove at the top of a mountain pass at an
elevation of almost 10000 feet.
Latitude 43.30 North
Longitude 103.24West
This was not really a trail trip but a camping trip in a popup trailer.
Once a year the family goes to Angostora Reservoir, a dam in the southern
Black Hills. There we put in an old ski boat we've got and spend the
week camping and skiing. We headed up there end on June, 1999.
Latitude 39.16 North
Longitude 105.24 West
This was an overnight backpack, with my family, into an area called wigwam
park in Lost Creek Nat'l Wilderness area in Pike Nat'l Forest on May 29/30,
1999. This was the same weekend as the CQ WPX contest so I worked a
lot of contest qso's. Lot of nice pictures.
Latitude 39.32 North
Longitude 105.32 West
This was a hike near Bailey, Colorado and the Meridian Campground in Pike
Nat'l Forest on April 11, 1999. I operated the ARCI spring contest
for about an hour and a half and then did a little rag chewing.
Latitude 39.21 North
Longitude 105.16 West
This was near Buffalo Creek, Colorado in Pike Nat'l Forest. Did this
for the FYBO (Freeze Your Butt Off) contest February 6, 1999.