So I finally did my first activation on Saturday, went up to a local summit here in the Cascades, W7W/LC-073 I think it is, maybe I wrote it down wrong. Anyway I lugged my KX2 and a wire antenna up there, took me about 2 hours to hike in and I was totally wrecked by the time I got to the activation zone. Set up a linked dipole between two trees which was kind of a mess honestly because the terrain wasnt exactly cooperating.

I managed to get 4 contacts on 20m SSB before the weather turned and I had to pack up fast. I know you need at least 4 QSOs to qualify the summit so I think I made it? But I'm not sure if I logged everything right in SOTA Spotter or if I even need to use that. I submitted my log to the database already so hopefully thats fine. Also one of my contacts was another activator on a different summit at the same time, does that still count as a regular QSO or is that something special? I've seen people mention S2S but I wasn't sure if it changes whether the contact counts toward the 4 required.

Overall it was pretty great even though I was exhausted and nearly left my paddle on a rock. Going to try another one next month if the weather holds.

congrats on your first activation, sounds like you pulled it off. yeah 4 QSOs is the minimum and it sounds like you hit it so you should be good. the S2S contact absolutely counts toward your 4, and on top of that both you and the other activator get bonus S2S points which is kind of a nice little extra. def worth noting those separately when you log because the database tracks them. the SOTA Spotter app is really for self-spotting while you're on the hill so chasers can find you in real time, you dont have to use it but your pile will be way smaller without it. some folks use SOTAwatch or just post to the reflector ahead of time to get an alert out. sounds like you did fine though, get the log submitted and watch those points roll in lol

I did my first one earlier this year and had no idea what I was doing either so you're not alone. I actually forgot to self-spot at all and just sat there calling CQ for like 20 minutes wondering why nobody answered. Someone finally found me I guess but yeah, lesson learned — get yourself spotted before you even leave the trailhead if you can get cell service. also W7W is a great association, lots of good summits out that way. what rig setup were you running weight wise? im trying to figure out if the KX2 is worth it for packable ops, been going back and forth on that for a while now.