so i finally did my first summit activation last weekend, W4T/SU-001 up near the smokies. been chasing for about 6 months and kept telling myself id get out there and actually do it. anyway the hike up was longer than i expected and by the time i got to the activation zone i was way more tired than i thought id be, had some trouble getting the linked dipole up in the trees because it was super windy, one of the links got stuck and i ended up just operating on 40m the whole time instead of switching to 20 like i planned.

managed to get 4 contacts in about 25 minutes, all phone, one of them was a S2S with some guy on a summit in Tennessee which was pretty cool. logged them all in the app on my phone and submitted when i got home. the points posted fine so i guess it worked but i felt like kind of a mess up there. is it normal to feel like you barely survived your first one? the descent took forever and my knees are still mad at me lol

also forgot to bring a chair so i was just sitting on a wet rock the whole time which was not great. already planning the next one though, thinking about bringing a smaller antenna and maybe doing CW so i dont need as many contacts. any suggestions welcome

4 contacts is all you need and a S2S on your first activation is honestly pretty impressive, most people just squeak by with 4 locals on 2m. dont be too hard on yourself, the first few are always a bit chaotic. i did my first activation three years ago and forgot to bring a coax adapter so i just sat up there eating a sandwich and went home with zero QSOs. at least you got on the air.

the CW idea is a good one if you're comfortable with it, 4 contacts goes a lot faster when you're not hunting around for signal reports on phone. and yeah get a lightweight camp stool, your back and knees will thank you. foam pad works too in a pinch. also next time check the SOTA reflector the night before, sometimes there are chasers already watching for activations on certain summits and they'll spot you before you even self-spot.

haha yeah the wet rock experience is basically a rite of passage i think. i did like 6 activations before i remembered to bring something to sit on. the linked dipole in wind is rough too, ive started just using a end-fed with a 9:1 unun because it goes up faster when im freezing or tired. anyway congrats on the first one, it totally counts