Bunches Bald Activation

Fall is fast approaching and Kendall and I took the weekend to go camping.  We had initially decided to camp in the Smokey Mountains but because of the government shutdown we were forced to make other arrangements.  "I bet I will never see my 20 dollar reservation fee."  We decided on a private campground along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Mile High Campground was an excellent choice.  It is an extremely beautiful area, its cheap, and it sits right next to Bunches bald W4C/WM-013.  
So of course I brought along my radio to make an activation.

Kendall and I arrived and setup our campsite late Saturday morning.  I brought an old Eureka tent that belonged to my Grandpa Doogan.  I love this tent but it has been at least 10 years since I pitched it last.  After a few minutes I finally remembered how to set it up and our campsite was ready.

During the planning phase of this trip many of my fellow SOTA operators were curious as to the access to Bunches Bald.  When we checked into the campground I asked the campground guy to see if there was access to the summit and he said it was easy to get to and pointed out the directions.  The summit is very close to the campground and the hike took less than 10 minutes.

To reach the trail head you go to the extreme west end of the campground near campsite T4.
there you will find a path with a metal gate.

Continue past the gate for less that 100 yards and then turn right and bushwack up the mountain to the summit.  The summit is not very bald as you can see from the picture below

 But there are a few spots that open up and you can see the view

It was a great activation and I made contacts with many operators.  I was not able to employ my antenna directly on the summit but I found an open area a few feet away where I was able to creatively deploy it. A big thanks to all of the activators below for your help in activating this peak.

Date:05/Oct/2013 Summit:W4C/WM-013 (Bunches Bald) Call Used:KK4NQQ Points: 10

Time	Call	Band	Mode
17:28z	TO4FM	18MHz	SSB
17:31z	K4KPK	14MHz	SSB
17:37z	AD5A	14MHz	SSB
17:38z	W7RV	14MHz	SSB
17:40z	ND0C	14MHz	SSB
17:40z	VE2JCW	14MHz	SSB
17:41z	AJ5C	14MHz	SSB
17:42z	W6UB	14MHz	SSB
17:43z	K5WI	14MHz	SSB
17:44z	N7SP	14MHz	SSB
17:45z	KV4FD	14MHz	SSB
17:47z	K2JB	14MHz	SSB
17:48z	KD5ZZK	14MHz	SSB
17:55z	KI4SVM	7MHz	SSB
17:57z	N4EX	7MHz	SSB
17:58z	W4WWQ	7MHz	SSB
17:58z	WA2USA	7MHz	SSB
17:59z	NE4TN	7MHz	SSB
18:00z	K4PIC	7MHz	SSB
18:01z	W6UB	7MHz	SSB
18:03z	KK4SMV	7MHz	SSB
18:05z	W4FHJ	7MHz	SSB
18:06z	K2JB	7MHz	SSB
18:09z	WB8CTC	7MHz	SSB
18:20z	ND0C	18MHz	SSB

I headed back to camp and spent the rest of the weekend relaxing with Kendall.  Here are a few of our pics.

What an Awesome view!

Setup the radio in camp to play a bit

Nothing better than campfire bacon and eggs!

Gus is ready for bed already!

Campfire pineapple upside down cake.  1 cake doughnut, 2 slices pineapple, brown sugar and butter.  wrap in foil and place in the coals for 5 to 10 minutes.  mmmm mmmmm good!

 We had a great weekend! 

73's and keep climbing!