[3830] CQP W6ML Cnty Exped HP

[w6kc at arrl.net]

                     California QSO Party
                    
Call: W6ML
Operator(s): W6KC, W6SW, W6JTB, WQ6X
Station: 

Class: Cnty Exped  Power: HP
QTH: Mono
Operating Time (hrs): 25.5
 

Summary:
 Band     CW Qs    Ph Qs    Mults
-----------------------------------
  160:                 
   80:      59      159
   40:     156      151
   20:     354      581
   15:     338      452
   10:     141      836
    6:                 
    2:                 
-----------------------------------
Total:    1048     2179       58  =  435,116

Club: 

Comments:

CQP and Fishing Report:

This was our 10th year operating county expedition in Mono County.  We achieved 
our best results to date.  We finally shook all of the computer bugs and 
successfully ran CT networked with shared serial numbers.  It was fun to see 
the last 10 rate counter occasionally shoot up 400 per hour and to send chat 
messages to each other over the network. Our first hour actual was 263 QSOs. 

Once again we had our traditional pre-CQP warm up dinner at the local Chart 
House Restaurant.  We linked up for the second year with another Mono County 
expedition, W6JA (W7AB & W7FD). We invited W6PH, who was operating about 100 
miles south in Inyo county, to join us for dinner.  He was unable to make it, 
however, he took a rain check for next year.

Another highlight was when K6RG called me on 40M SSB from Butte County.  We had 
gone to high school together and I had not seen or spoken with him in over 20 
years.  When he told me his original call (WA6UTF) I remembered the good old 
days when I was WA6GDS and we were both in the Crystal Crackers ARS at Culver 
City HS.  

This year I was able to spend some time in Mammoth before being joined by the 
rest of the crew (W6SW, W6JTB & WQ6X) for the CQP weekend.  While I was there 
by myself, I enjoyed doing a bit of fishing in the early evenings.  The first 
night I went out about 6:30 pm and promptly caught one nice sized rainbow trout 
that I cooked up for dinner that same night.  The next evening I went out again 
and had quite a different experience.  After fishing for about 30 minutes, 
without results, it was almost dark and I was about to quit.  Just then I 
noticed that about 15 ft to my left were 3 bears. A mother and 2 cubs were 
walking along the shoreline.   I quickly decided to back away and give them 
their space.  I had to leave my fishing pole where it was cast out into the 
lake.   As I backed away the bears came to where I had just been fishing. One 
of the bears got tangled in my fishing line and I could hear the line going out 
as they passed by.  They went about 25 ft and just stopped and lingered.   I 
slowly went back to my fishing pole and began to reel it in.  The line was 
coming from the direction of the bears and was getting stuck on something.  I 
kept reeling and it finally got free and I was able reel it all the way in 
without losing my leader.  It was almost totally dark by then and I quickly 
retreated to the relative safety of my car and drove off.  That's the closest I 
hope I ever come to catching a bear with a fishing pole.  No fish for dinner 
that night, but a good story why I had to let a big one get away.

73 and thanks for all the QSO's,
 
Jim, W6KC @ W6ML - CQP in Mammoth Lakes, Mono County  
http://www.vistasierra.com/w6ml



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