so i finally did my first SOTA activation last weekend, W4V/SH-001 if anyone knows the area. took me forever to get up there with the pack and i was already kind of tired before i even set up. brought my KX2 and a random wire thrown up in a tree, ran like 5 watts on 40m and 20m.

made 10 contacts which i know isnt a ton but for my first time i was pretty happy. the hardest part was honestly just finding a decent tree to throw the wire over, everything was either too short or too branchy. also my phone was dying so i was scrambling to log on paper which i havent done in years lol

anyone else do activations in the shenandoah area? wondering if theres better spots where the trees cooperate more

10 contacts on your first one is solid man, some people struggle to get the 4 minimum especially if conditions are off. i do a lot of VA summits and yeah the tree situation can be rough. i just started carrying one of those arborist throw bags, makes getting the wire up way easier than chucking a rock tied to some paracord like i used to do

the cell service up in that area is also just bad in general, i keep paper logs as backup for every activation now just out of habit

nice, ive been wanting to try SOTA but havent pulled the trigger yet. did you pre-spot yourself on the SOTA watch site before going up or just wing it? i always wonder if thats worth bothering with ahead of time