Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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This was my first dry run for the Grand Canyon activation. Were my conditioning efforts getting me where I needed to be? This was a good test climbing from 9,300 feet of elevation to 11,000 feet carrying my 75-liter hiking pack stuffed with radio gear and our tent for extra weight. And is it even possible to activate from down in a hole? Despite the climb, this activation was from the bottom of a 1,500 - 2,000-ft deep granite bowl. If I can activate here, I can activate from almost anywhere.

Buy me a gallon of diesel at:
buymeacoffee.com/TheTravelinHam

00:00 - Introduction
00:50 - Theme
01:10 - Driving/Hiking Montage
06:56 - On Site
08:48 - Setup
11:23 - Radioactive! - CW
24:17 - Radioactive! - SSB
37:37 - Wrap-up
38:54 - Outro

Set Up:
Yaesu FT-891
25-100 watts CW
100 watts SSB
US Morse Straight Key
Nelson 40-Meter EFHW
4.5ah Bioenno LiFePO4
Logging pencil on paper

Music:
"Rusty Nails" - by Got Happy
epidemicsound.com/track/OUORcm6mpd

'Resonance' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au