NY State Portable

Today was a nice sunny day with the weather man calling for a high temperature of 45 F, I decided to spend the afternoon outside and explore a new place to set up a station. After kicking around a few places I settled on Harriman State Park in New York over the New Jersey border.
I went camping and fishing in the past at Harriman and know of a very nice overlook with a great view of the surroundings. Plus with the cold winter months no bears or snakes to meet up with, just deer and they are always nice to look at.  The equipment was on the heavy side but with the help of my backpack the short hike from the car was no big deal, just had to be careful crossing the small stream, wet feet on a cold day would have me back in the car super fast. The temps ended up at 40 F mark and the lake in the distance had a covering of ice.

Time to unpack

Equipment List:
FT-857D
Buddipole
Weaker battery
MFJ-259B (lowest SWR for the Buddipole)
Water & snacks (muffins)
Pad, pencil, & camera

BuddiPole Antenna

Ft-857D & Accessories

Only two contacts were made, a Northern Ireland station, 2I0BSA came back to my cq call and also WB8QEY from TN, both on the SSB side. My battery was not fully charged when I left so it did not last long. I tried for one more station in England but he said I was coming over at a S1 and very weak on his end. Decided to start packing up after an hour or so when the winds started to pick up.  Only two contacts but was very nice to get outside.

I can't wait to do it again.

Great View!