Santa Net completed last night, and we had eight children over the two days. It was a lot of fun to listen to the kids talking to Santa. We had one as young as 3, and up to 8 years old. Thanks to George Long, KK7AHR, and Randy Thomas, K7RHT, for setting up Santa Net and running the KITTCOM station. North Pole Net Control was handled by Bob Smith, AI7CS. Most importantly, the North Pole station was run by Santa Claus himself, Josh Nelson, KF7QNM. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays to all.

KCARCS held its October meeting at the Buzz Inn in Ellensburg. A number of topics were discussed, including the new repeater. Another topic of discussion is taking the opportunity to schedule meetings on a regular basis in the Upper County as well as Ellensburg. If you have any suggestions where to hold a meeting in the Upper County, please send your suggestions to any one of the club officers.

A new repeater will be installed at the Stampede Pass KITTCOM location soon. The new 2 meter repeater will have the same frequency as the current repeater at Sky Meadows, but will have a different access tone. Repeater coverage is expected to be strongest from the Snoqualmie Pass area, down into the upper county, and over towards the Teanaway race area, Salmon La Sac. More details will be provided once the new repeater installation is complete.

The following pictures are of the new repeater to be installed.

I had a chance to talk to Don Claypool, KI7JLK, this afternoon (Sept 23, 2021) as he was walking Dakota and Montana past our house. Montana, Dakota and Billy had a chance to hang out, and Don and I had some time to talk about the Teanaway Country 100 race.

Don had one of the more interesting deployments, being stationed at Gallagher Head Lake, and also at Van Epps Pass. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, Gallagher Head Lake is in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and is accessible by the Fortune Creek Jeep Trail #4W301. From what I hear, it's a challenging four wheel drive trip and requires some experience with driving off road. This time, it made for an interesting weekend.

Ben Thompson, KG7BTU, did arrive at Gallagher Head Lake in his modified Ford Expedition without difficulty. When I came in to the NCS located at the Start/Finish Line at Salmon La Sac Sno Park, Don had already driven up to Gallagher Head Lake with a group of helpers and hams, and was already on site. As Carl North, KE7DEC, and I were getting set up for the 7pm to 2am shift, we heard about the problems driving up there. According to information we had at the briefing, one of the crews went up in a truck, and the reports that we got were that the driver shredded a couple of tires on rocks in the road. From Don, "Ben, Josh, Colby, Cosmin, myself, and a young man named Wyatt who assisted with the blown tires by donating his spare, as well as hauling gear, are all part of several off road groups on Facebook, notably WORN (Washington Off-road Recovery Network), from which they were recruited for this activity."

In the meantime, Josh, KJ7VHD, and Ruth, KI7JXP, manned Van Epps while Colby, KK7AGW, and Don, KI7JLK, went to cover the second shift at Gallagher Head Lake. As Don pointed out, "Commendable work for the aforementioned parties as Josh and Colby were only recently licensed and unfamiliar with regular radio use outside their military experience."

Later that night, Matt, AE7MK, and Colin Kozma, radioed in to NCS that they were headed up to take the 2 am shift at Gallagher Head Lake. They were well ahead of schedule, and had a four wheel drive, so Carl and I just noted that they were on their way.

Did you ever notice that things never go right on the night shift? A little while later Matt radioed in that he had high centered his 4 wheel drive, and was going to have to return to NCS at the Start/Finish line. Luckily, Matt and Colin were able to make it back down before the 2 am shift change, and worked with Randy for another assignment. Fortunately, Don and his group were able to handle the rest of the time up there.

We weren't quite done with adventure, though. Gary Lahaie, W7DVB, was taking the 2 am shift at NCS, and when he was making his coffee, managed to ignite his stove on fire. Randy woke up, rushed out of his trailer and got it out with his fire extinguisher. We won't comment further on Randy's attire at the time. It was a good thing it was a warm evening. By the way, Gary did enjoy his coffee.

And to wrap it up, I decided to carry my stuff back to my truck, but didn't turn my flashlight on, and then managed to dump myself in a fire pit. No injuries, other than to my dignity.

I can't wait until next year! 😉

-Bob Smith, AI7CS. My thanks to Don, KI7JLK, for the conversation and his contributions to this article.

Thanks to Don Claypool - KI7JLK, Mike Schantz - KJ7ISM, and Colby Mercer - KK7AGW for their images from the race.

Here are a couple of photos from the Cascades Crest 100 Race, showing the multiple uses afforded by the Hambulance.

Thanks to all of the hams and related participants who volunteered for this event. Your hard work is appreciated!