The Road to 10 GHz, a Superior Experience

As it would turn out, I needed more than a battery re-charge and the W4RAY battery booster. I needed a more robust battery than my puny 8 amp-hour gel cell. Knowing how much Murphy enjoys following me on ham radio expeditions, I also picked up a 31 amp-hour gel cell battery from Batteries Plus. There are bigger units availble, but this old man with creaky joints isn't interested in carrying anything that is heavier than that beast.

Here is a map of Lake Superior from the 2003 NLRS Expedition. It gives you a good idea of the strategy. The North Shore team makes numerous stops along the North Shore of Lake Superior, while the South Shore team stays in place. Then the North Shore team works back down the North Shore after the South Shore team has had a chance to move to a new location. The whole process can be repeated on the second day of the weekend. In practice, the North Shore team actually ran from the Thompson Rest Area (slightly southwest of Duluth) up as far as Grand Marais on Saturday while the South Shore team worked from Great Sand Bay. While the North Shore team took a dinner break, the South Shore team repositioned to Mount Brockway, and then the North Shore team worked them at their new location and called it a night. On Sunday morning, the North Shore team started at Grand Portage (far NorthEast corner of the Minnesota border, a stone's throw from Canada), while the South Shore team started at Sunset Bay Campground. The North Shore team then worked our way back to the Thompson Rest Area, and when we arrived there late on Sunday, a few members of the South Shore team moved back to Mount Brockway for some final QSO's.

My wife and I arrived at our hotel late Friday night, without actually knowing just where the Thompson Rest Area was located, but trusting that my GPS would get us there, since we had the coordinates saved. As it turned out, our hotel was about a mile away from our first operating spot, so we easily arrived there by the 07:00 AM starting time that had been agreed upon in advance.

It was cold, windy, and overcast. It took much longer than expected to make the first QSO, as signals were initially very weak. We also had a lot of problems executing our plan to use two different operating frequencies (10368.1 and 10370.1 MHz) so that we could work twice as fast. We eventually decided it was too chaotic, and moved to a single frequency of operation. As it would turn out, our single frequency was about 40 KHz above the calling frequency of 10368.1 MHz, which would end up preventing us from making any contacts with a couple of other operators in Wawa, Ontario. From Thompson to Wawa (EN77nw) would have been a 570 Km path, and if we had been able to do it, my score would have been boosted by 1340 points!

Here you see NØKP calling the South Shore team, while other members of the NLRS North Shore team mill about in the background. Some are also talking with a few hams who were not part of our group, who happened to walk over to ask what we were doing.

Here is NØUK making a contact on the South Shore. Behind him is KCØIYT, who is waiting his turn to do the same.

Here is KBØOZN waiting for his turn to contact the South Shore team.

This is the view from the Thompson Rest Area. Point your dish at about the middle of this picture to contact the South Shore team!

Another view of the panorama visible from the Thompson Rest Area. The fog has started to lift, and the sun is starting to warm up the air. Signals are starting to pick up in intensity also.

WØZQ (at the left) has finished his QSO's from this spot, and is starting to tear down and move to our next location. Also visible are KBØOZN and WBØLJC, and some others.

At the time this photo was snapped, I had only worked WBØVHF and W9FZ on the South Shore. After this photo, I put down the camera, got back into position behind my radio, and worked WA8VPD, KCØP, NØHZO, WA2VOI, N8KWX, WØLMS, and AA9IL.

Thompson Rest Area (EN36VR) to Great Sand Bay (EN57VK), 313 Km, 9 QSO's.
First QSO at 07:52, last QSO at 09:16. We are way behind schedule!

Next stop: Kitchigammi Park!

Here I (WØJT) am, sitting on my folding camp stool behind my 10 GHz rig, at our second North Shore stop of Kitchigammi Park. By this time, the sun was shining nicely, temperatures were much more comfortable, and signals were considerably stronger.

My wife walked down the embankment to the rocky shore, and pointed the camera back towards the 10 GHz operators on the roadway. You can see me at the left, crouched behind my rig, which is set up behind my SUV. Further to the right is NØKP who is standing behind WØZQ, who is standing at his rig operating.

By the time my turn to operate came, signals were quite good. I knocked off 11 QSO's between 10:16 and 10:20 local time. There were 9 QSO's with the same 9 operators as at the first stop, plus two more South Shore operators KDØJI and KCØIJB who were missed at the first stop. I also worked 2 QSO's with WØGHZ and KØFQA, who were located at Herbster, Wisconsin.

Kitchigammi Park (EN46AU) to Great Sand Bay (EN57VK), 292 Km, 9 QSO's.
First QSO at 10:16, last QSO at 10:20.

Kitchigammi Park (EN46AU) to Herbster (EN46IU), 51 Km, 2 QSO's.
First QSO at 10:27, last QSO at 10:29.

Next stop: Stony Point Drive!

Here I am at Stony Point Drive, listening in to the other QSO's being made by our team. Signals were good at first, but Murphy decided to peek in on me at this operating location. When my turn to transmit came, my battery gave up. Figuring it was no big deal, I passed my turn to the next operator, and went to trade the dead pair of 8 amp-hour gel cells for the (heavy) 31 amp-hour gel cell that was in the back of my SUV being charged whenever the engine was running. Unfortunately, by the time everyone on our side had worked, and I went to take my turn last, signal quality had faded terribly, and I was unable to work any of the operators at Great Sand Bay (a 277 Km path). I lost a couple of thousand points because of this flub.

Visible in this shot by my wife, from left to right, are WØJT, KCØIYT, NØNAS (his back to the camera), and WØAUS (walking off with his gear to head to the next location).

Here is WØJT getting ready to work the pair of folks in Herbster, over a 51 Km path.

In the center of the picture is KCØIYT making a Q. Further back and to the right is me, WØJT, studying my log sheets.

Stony Point Drive (EN46CW) to Great Sand Bay (EN57VK), 277 Km, zero QSO's.

Stony Point Drive (EN46CW) to Herbster (EN46IU), 39 Km, 2 QSO's.
First QSO at 12:03, last QSO at 12:03.

Next stop: Flood Bay!

I'm not quite sure why I never pulled out the camera at this stop, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Flood Bay (EN47EA) to Herbster (EN46IU), 31 Km, 2 QSO's.
First QSO at 12:48, last QSO at 12:49.

Flood Bay (EN47EA) to Great Sand Bay (EN57VK), 263 Km, 10 QSO's.
First QSO at 12:59, last QSO at 13:09.

The lead team on the North Shore side tried to work the South Shore folks, but had no luck due to an overgrowth of foliage since last year, so most of them decided to "bag it" and head for the next stop. We arrived as they were packing up to go, so we decided to skip calling the folks at Great Sand Bay from this stop also, but we did set up long enough to work the Herbster team over a 34 Km path. We did not stay here long enough for me to take a photo.

Castle Danger (EN47FC) to Great Sand Bay (EN57VK), 255 Km, zero QSO's.

Castle Danger (EN47FC) to Herbster (EN46IU), 34 Km, 2 QSO's.
First QSO at 13:47, last QSO at 13:47.

Made two quick QSO's with the Herbster team, then after a short delay, made 11 QSO's with the team at Great Sand Bay. The first 10 QSO's with them were with the same 10 operators as before, and the 11th QSO was my first with WB8TGY.

East of Split Rock (EN47HF) to Herbster (EN46IU), 42 Km, 2 QSO's.
First QSO at 14:10, last QSO at 14:11.

East of Split Rock (EN47HF) to Great Sand Bay (EN57VK), 240 Km, 11 QSO's.
First QSO at 14:40, last QSO at 14:44.

The next planned stop was Palisade Head, but for several reasons, we decided to pass it by and skip to the next stop. These included the fact that we were way behind schedule due to the lateness in making first QSO's from our first stop at Thompson, the fact that we seemed to be having better propagation via ducting at the surface of the lake than from high locations, and the fact that access to Palisade Head is poor, with very limited parking.

This stop went smoothly. We made our last two contacts with the Herbster team, who packed up for the weekend after this stop, and then made 11 QSO's with the South Shore team at Great Sand Bay.

Taconite Harbor (EN47MM) to Herbster (EN46IU), 78 Km, 2 QSO's.
First QSO at 16:10, last QSO at 16:11.

Taconite Harbor (EN47MM) to Great Sand Bay (EN57VK), 208 Km, 11 QSO's.
First QSO at 16:19, last QSO at 16:22.

Next planned stop was Lutsen, a popular winter ski resort on the North Shore. We again considered our lateness, and poor parking (here due to crowding, rather than lack of spaces), and decided to bypass it.

Signals from Grand Marais to Great Sand Bay were incredibly strong. I worked the usual 11 operators, and picked up yet a new South Shore operator, N8PUM, who had dropped in to work with our group at Great Sand Bay for a short time.

About a half-hour later, two of the North Shore team members, KØGCJ and WØAUS, decided to take a short run to Pincushion Mountain (EN47US), and the rest of the North Shore team members worked them to get their uniques.

I am really puzzled by the fact that I didn't pull out the camera at this stop. there was plenty of time, we had an interesting lineup of vehicles with dishes that would have made a pretty picture, we had plenty of time, we had enough light, and so on. I guess I was just so caught up in the radio operating that I forgot my secondary task of photojournalism! Oh well.

Grand Marais (EN47UR) to Great Sand Bay (EN57VK), 160 Km, 12 QSO's.
First QSO at 17:30, last QSO at 17:35.

Grand Marais (EN47UR) to Pincushion Mountain (EN47US), 5 Km, 2 QSO's.
First QSO at 17:57, last QSO at 17:58.

After the supper break, during which the South Shore team moved from Great Sand Bay to Mount Brockway, the North Shore team set up again in Grand Marais. As it turned out, the South Shore team did not all move at once, and some of them never made the move at all that evening. Although conditions remained good, the QSO's came in spurts and fits as various members of the South Shore team showed up at Brockway. When all was said and done, I managed QSO's with 10 of the 13 possible operators who had been on the South Shore team earlier in the day.

Now, at least, I have a weak excuse for not taking any pictures. It was starting to get pretty dark, and flash photos would not have done justice to the site.

Although this batch of QSO's was drawn out over a long period of time as the South Shore team re-assembled at Brockway, we were not bored with the wait. We attracted a lot of attention from the bystanders in Grand Marais. The gawker QRM:QSO ratio was higher here than anywhere else on the whole trip. Over and over again, strangers would walk up to us and inquire what the heck was going on. We told our story patiently and repeatedly. Maybe next year we will have to bring along a large poster and set it up near our line of vehicles, and tell the gawkers to go read about it!

The North Shore operators unanimously agreed that we were exhausted at this point. We had made a lot of stops, unpacked gear at each stop, set up, adjusted, made our QSO's, recorded them in our logs, tore down the gear, packed it back into our vehicles, and moved on to the next stop over and over again. We decided that it was a good time to get some sleep, and start fresh the next morning. We agreed to all meet at Grand Portage at 06:45 AM Sunday morning. Most team members headed off to the Outpost Motel, but my wife and I had found accomodations very close by in Grand Marais, so we were probably the first to bed, after connecting up all the gel cell batteries to the 30 amp switching DC supply that I had brought along for the trip, to give them a good overnight charge.

Grand Marais (EN47UR) to Mount Brockway (EN67AL), 178 Km, 10 QSO's.
First QSO at 19:21, last QSO at 20:34.

The XYL and I were out of bed by 5 AM, packed up quickly, and hit the road for Grand Portage. We had never been there before, but we had our trusty GPS, a set of coordinates provided by the NLRS planning sessions, and a liason radio to talk with the more experienced members of the North Shore team (assuming we could raise them on the radio). Since we weren't sure how long it would take to get there, or where exactly we were going, and since we initially couldn't find any of the other team members on the liason radio, we decided to start driving without trying to find a spot for breakfast first.

About 10 minutes after we passed the Outpost Motel in Hovland, we managed to raise a few of the other North Shore team members on the liason radio. (There is little to no cell phone coverage out in this wilderness!) They assured us they would be right behind us, so we pressed on ahead bravely. Shortly before 6 AM, we found the spot, with a little "talk in" help from some of the team who had been to the site before. My wife and I were the first to arrive, and I set up my system, which is visible at the left of the picture here. In a short time, we were joined by NØUK, who can be seen in the picture here, set up to my right.

At this point, it is cold, foggy, windy, overcast, and no signals can be heard from across the lake. The South Shore team is supposed to be at Sunset Bay Campground at this point in time, and we start beaconing on alternate minutes, as planned in advance.

Still looking for the South Shore team. By now, we have been joined by WBØLJC, who has set up to the right of NØUK.

Now we have been joined by KCØIYT and WØZQ, who have set up their stations behind me and to my left.

KCØIYT (further from the camera) compares logs with WØZQ (closer to the camera).

The white pickup truck belongs to NØKP, who has a unique setup. He has an aluminum extension ladder attached to the bed of his truck, and the portion that slides out has two microwave rigs attached. Depending on circumstances, these could be two complete 10 GHz systems, or a 10 GHz and a 24 GHz system. He just slides out the ladder section, un-latches a hold-down, and swings the dish into the proper orientation, and starts working. No carrying of his system back and forth!

WØZQ checks his compass bearing. At this point, we still have not heard the other team, and we're starting to worry if we are going to succeed. This is a bit depressing, as this is the closest point of approach to the other team, and we should be able to hear them loudly at this point.

Still waiting to hear from the other team. NØUK is in the background, behind the vehicles. My XYL is in the blue jacket standing in front of our SUV.

Due to the lack of radio activity, I spent a bit of time fooling around with the camera to stay busy.

This weather is for the birds.

But the ducks don't seem to mind it.

The sun is trying to show itself.

But a low fog rolls in and out. . . Meanwhile, still no QSO's.

Here, we get gawked at by the birds instead of crowds of humans.

Fresh microwaved poultry, anyone?

WBØLJC keeps working the beacon, trying to hook up with the South Shore team.

The WØJT station, still waiting to pick up any RF from the Michigan Upper Peninsula.

The fog rolls in, the fog rolls out. Not much else going on yet.

Still no contacts. The XYL decides to take our SUV and go looking for breakfast. I stay behind to see if we can make any contacts.

Awhile after this photo was shot, one of our operators reaches W9FZ on the other side of the lake. The South Shore team is taking shelter from a line of thunderstorms that is passing through their area, which is why our beacons have gone unheard and un-answered until now.

I make my QSO with W9FZ at 07:37, under horrible propagation conditions. The next South Shore team member to emerge from the shelter is WB8TGY, and the QSO is made at 07:53 with a great deal of difficulty. Most of the North Shore team decides that we have spent way too much time at this stop, and they pack up to head for the next stop, with the hopes that conditions will improve. Unfortunately, at this point, my XYL has not come back with our SUV, so I can't pack up and leave with the rest. I have no way to call her (no cell phone coverage out here, and she has no amateur radio license, so the liason radio in the SUV is turned off). Mercifully, NØNAS and KBØOZN stay behind to keep me company, since they know their way around the North Shore and I don't.

Time passes and my wife is nowhere to be found. My two companions are polite about the wait, but I am feeling uneasy about holding us all up. I decide to try to make myself useful, and start beaconing towards the South Shore operators again. At 08:25, I make QSO's with KCØP and NØHZO. At 08:29, I connect with WBØVHF. Two minutes later, at 08:31, I connect with WA8VPD. We three stragglers have each been rewarded with four additional QSO's, but no other South Shore operators are expected to come on the air in the immediate future, so it is getting pretty pointless to stay here any longer, but there is still no sign of my wife or my vehicle.

I pack up my gear into NØNAS's van, and we start down the road, hoping to find my SUV parked in front of a restaurant somewhere. Before we get more than a couple hundred yards down the road, my wife is seen driving back towards us. We pause to move my gear back into my vehicle, and the last three straggler North Shore team members head to the next stop.

I guess I should not complain too loudly about my wife's disappearance. By getting stuck at Grand Portage for an extra half-hour, I earned 4 more QSO's, and she brought me a hot breakfast to go besides. She drove us to the next stop while I ate my nice hot breakfast! Who says Amateur Radio is not a family hobby?

Grand Portage (EN57DW) to Sunset Bay Campground (EN57TJ), 117 Km, 6 QSO's.
First QSO at 07:37, last QSO at 08:31.

Heading south from Grand Portage, we found "Beachhead 133" with a little difficulty, but the rest of the North Shore team is not there. This is basically a very small beachfront pulloff from the main road, un-named, un-developed, and close to mile marker 133. We didn't know what else to call it. We presume that the rest of the North Shore team probably skipped past it, and so we continue on south. We reach the other North Shore team members on the liason radio, and they confirm that they have also bypassed Hovland and set up at "Beachhead 123", where they are working the South Shore team. So that's where we head.

This, too, is an un-named, un-developed location, with a small stretch of shoreline just off the main highway, close to mile marker 123. We pull in just as the lead half of the North Shore team are packing up and pulling out.

The scenery is too beautiful for me to ignore. I take a few minutes to walk around the beach and snap a few photos. NØNAS can be seen crouching down near his rig to examine the pebbles on the beach.

The beauty of the North Shore is striking. Far down the beach you can barely see a couple of other folks who are taking in the sights this early morning.

NØNAS (foreground) is still hunting for the perfect pebble to bring back as a souvenier of the North Shore expedition. KBØOZN (background) is setting up his rig and getting it pointed.

My XYL is in the driver's seat reading the morning paper. My 10 GHz system is all packed up for travel in the rear of my SUV, waiting for me to pull it out and set it up on the beach.

But first, I have to snap a few more pictures of this beach!

Okay, enough of the beauty of the North Shore wilderness. It's time for some RF. NØNAS (left) and KBØOZN (right) are set up and getting on the air with the South Shore team, and my gear is still packed in the back of my SUV. Time to get mine set up and working!

WB8TGY and WA8VPD had packed up and left the South Shore team to head back home, but N8KWX was back on the air by this time, joining W9FZ, WBØVHF, KCØP, and NØHZO.

Beachhead 133 (EN47XT) to Sunset Bay Campground (EN57TJ), 134 Km, 5 QSO's.
First QSO at 09:33, last QSO at 10:03.

Back in Grand Marais, signals were once again booming in full strength, which was quite a relief to yours truly, who was worried that conditions would only get worse as we travelled down the coastline further away from the South Shore folks.

Unfortunately, only the same 5 hardy souls from the South Shore team who we worked from Beachhead 123 were on the air.

Grand Marais (EN47UR) to Sunset Bay Campground (EN57TJ), 155 Km, 5 QSO's.
First QSO at 10:35, last QSO at 10:41.

Signals were still booming in, so the QSO's were quick and easy. KCØP and NØHZO were having some technical difficulties, so we missed them at this stop, but two other South Shore operators came online at this time, WØLMS and his daughter, KCØQHX (another unique!).

Taconite Harbor (EN47MM) to Sunset Bay Campground (EN57TJ), 195 Km, 5 QSO's.
First QSO at 12:04, last QSO at 12:09.

Conditions here were horrible once again. The only station with whom I could complete from here was WBØVHF. My spirits began to sink once again, but I remembered that the conditions had not always gotten worse as the distances increased, so I decided to "keep the faith" and press onwards and downwards (down the North Shore coastline).

Palisade Head (EN47JH) to Sunset Bay Campground (EN57TJ), 214 Km, 1 QSO.
First QSO at 13:39, last QSO at 13:39.

At this location, conditions were fair, which was quite a relief after the prior stop. NØNAS is setting up his system to work from here.

I didn't feel like parking in the mudhole, so I backed my SUV partway up the berm. Besides, that left me with a shorter distance to haul my gear and set it up. That's my rig to the left of my SUV in the photo, and KBØOZN setting up his station to the right side of the picture.

NØNAS tweaks his system in preparation for making his QSO's.

Gotta love that four-wheel drive for conditions like these!

NØNAS makes his QSO using CW.

As soon as NØNAS finishes this QSO, it will be my turn to set down the camera and pick up the microphone. On the South Shore, KCØP and NØHZO have fixed their technical problems, so there are 7 operators to work now.

East of Split Rock (EN47HF) to Sunset Bay Campground (EN57TJ), 228 Km, 7 QSO's.
First QSO at 14:41, last QSO at 14:53.

Conditions were still only fair. WBØVHF, who had the strongest South Shore signal on Sunday, has packed up and left for home, so only 6 operators were available on the South Shore team at this point. My first 5 QSO's went moderately fast, then I waited another 15 minutes for the sixth operator to return to her rig and complete the last QSO from this stop.

Flood Bay (EN47EA) to Sunset Bay Campground (EN57TJ), 250 Km, 5 QSO's.
First QSO at 15:45, last QSO at 16:01.

We arrived at Stony Point Drive, and were surprised to see a wedding party down below us on the stony beach, taking photos. Oddly enough, I failed to take a photo of that, even though it would have made an interesting shot.

In this photo, my rig is in the foreground. You can see my clipboard with log sheet sitting sideways behind the dish. Below that is the PVC pipe mounting assembly for most of the rest of the gear. The ICOM IC-706MkII is mounted vertically on the left side of the PVC pipe support structure. On the right side of the IF radio is an MFJ electronic keyer. This comes in handy for beaconing, and is also a handy tool for those of us who are better at typing on a keyboard than sending CW with a straight key or paddles. On the top of the PVC cross - pipe, just in front of the clipboard, is a battery voltage monitor. I picked this up years ago from a local discount department store (Target) in the automotive section. It is attached with Velcro for easy re-positioning.

The rig ahead of mine and to the left in the picture belongs to NØNAS.

My SUV parked on the side of the road at Stony Point Drive. Those are Diet Coke cans in the door pocket, not beer cans! We are responsible operators, and we pack out our trash. The minivan in front of my SUV, and the 10 GHz righ alongside it, belong to NØNAS.

Looking behind my position, you can see KCØIYT to the left (blue shirt) and WBØLJC to the right (white shirt). They were just finishing up when we arrived, so we set up, tuned up, peaked up our dishes, and waited our turns.

One more beautiful North Shore spot to hang out on an August weekend, enjoying the scenery, the time away from work, the company of my XYL, the company of my NLRS friends, and a good dose of RF. What more could you ask for?

Stony Point Drive (EN46CW) to Sunset Bay Campground (EN57TJ), 264 Km, 6 QSO's.
First QSO at 16:51, last QSO at 16:54.

By this stop, conditions were only fair, and it was getting late, so we didn't spend a lot of time for non-QSO activities (like taking photos).

Kitchigammi Park (EN46AU) to Sunset Bay Campground (EN57TJ), 278 Km, 7 QSO's.
First QSO at 17:34, last QSO at 17:38.

We got back to our original starting point, the Thompson Hill Rest Stop, quite late in the day. By this time, most of the South Shore team had packed up, and so we only made four QSO's under fair conditions with South Shore team members W9FZ, N8KWX, WØLMS, and KCØQHX. After the second of those 4 QSO's, my gel cell battery finally pooped out. I had been trying to keep a trickle charge into it between uses by plugging it into a cigarette lighter style outlet in the back of my SUV, but at one point the battery had drained so low that when I plugged it into the outlet, it sucked too many amps and blew a fuse. I pulled out my box of ATO blade fuses, then opened up the fuse panel and discovered that my vehicle used mini-ATO fuses, and I had no spares! Thankfully, all my gear is connected via Anderson Power Poles, and NØNAS had an extra gel cell battery wired up with Power Poles already, so he loaned it to me for the rest of the day.

At this point in time, most of the rest of the North Shore crew headed back home to the Twin Cities. However, NØKP and WBØLJC decided to skip over to the Duluth High School parking lot and re-work the Sunset Bay Campground folks from there, and we then worked them for their uniques over an 11 Km path. Their signals were so strong that I could point almost anywhere and hear them with ease.

A few of the South Shore gang decided that since signals were still fair from Sunset Bay Campground to Thompson, they would trek over to Mount Brockway and see if we could eke out a few more QSO's over an even longer path. While they packed up and moved, NØKP and WBØLJC drove back to Brockway from Duluth High School and met up with NØNAS, KCØIYT, and me. My wife set off for the hotel where we had reservations for the night, and got us checked in, while I stayed at Thompson with my gear to try for the 333 Km contacts to Brockway.

Signals had deteriorated to very weak by the time W9FZ and partners set up at Brockway, and while I was able to barely hear him on SSB while he worked NØKP and WBØLJC, he had faded into the noise by the time it was my turn. We switched to CW mode, and with extreme difficulty, I barely made the QSO. It was my longest QSO of the contest. What a way to finish the weekend!

And yes, my XYL did come back from the hotel to Thompson to pick me up. The hotel was actually very close by, and it took her only a few minutes to make the trip back to get me. We had a very restful night, and a leisurely drive back to town the next day, since we had intentionally taken the next day off as a vacation day so we wouldn't have to rush back late Sunday night while we were tired.

Thompson Rest Stop (EN36VR) to Sunset Bay Campground (EN57TJ), 300 Km, 4 QSO's.
First QSO at 18:21, last QSO at 18:25.

Thompson Rest Stop (EN36VR) to Duluth High School (EN36WT), 11 Km, 2 QSO's.
First QSO at 18:43, last QSO at 18:45.

Thompson Rest Stop (EN36VR) to Mount Brockway (EN67AL), 333 Km, 1 QSO.
First QSO at 19:50, last QSO at 19:50.