Outdoor Adventure USA

Summer Fest / Field Day was enjoyed by all. The Los Padres National Forest offered a very scenic location, the weather was nearly perfect, Amateur radio testing went well, we had a successful Field Day operation and the trail run was a success. AND, the pot luck/Dutch Oven cook-off and wine tasting were both a hit.

Here are some pictures of the weekend:

Camp
Field Day

Sorry folks!!! This thread was locked, due to my error. Very sorry!!!!

No worries, Dave !!!

2014 OAUSA Summerfest and Field Day was another great time IMO - we had fantastic weather (well, maybe a little windy at times - unless you judged it by the turbine on Dave's H2 ), and, as is an OAUSA tradition, awesome food and drink !

Tom led a great run up the Miller Jeep Trail - initiating a new group of off-roaders on a trail that provides both serious challenges and amazing views.

Of course, OAUSA was participating in the annual ARRL Field Day amateur radio contest, too. We had challenges of our own on various bands, as the propagation did not seem to cooperate as well as last year (I've also heard this comment from several other So Cal groups, so we weren't alone), but we had a fun time working 15m, 20m, and 40m (with an occasional 10m and 80m attempt). We even managed to get some new blood out on the airwaves, which is one of the main reasons for holding Field Day events. It also was nice to finally drag Hector away from his overwhelming work schedule to hang with him in camp and on the radio, too.

The amateur radio license test session netted one new Tech licensee, and one General upgrade - congrats to both fellows on their new privileges !!!

In summary, 2014 has been a tough year for many of us to actually get out of town and enjoy the outdoors - whether due to work or personal issues, many of us have seen this year fly by without much time to relax. So, at least for me, this year's Summerfest was particularly enjoyable - finally, a weekend away from the daily grind, to hang with friends, and enjoy nature (and ham radio)

Here are a few pics from the event:

We had 10 rigs on the miller jeep trail run. The LR3 was almost to the top of Alamo mountain when he cut a tire and lost his air bag lift system. But with the spare on he was able to drive out and into town for a tow truck ride home. We made the round trip in about 7 hours with an hour for lunch - Back in time for wine tasting and the pot luck! As always the Miller Jeep Trail is hard on the cooling system. Many of the vehicles ran their engine and fan for 5 -10 minutes once the hill was crested.

Pot Luck & Dutch Oven Cook off
As usual we had too much food and not enough eaters! I lost count of the number of Dutch ovens. Hopefully everyone got their own pot and lid back. The judges couldn't decide on a winner although Larry keep eating on the chance he would come to a conclusion.