Lynn and I have been blessed with the opportunity to go to Maui a second time. This time around I am getting to work in some portable ham radio work. Our company belongs to an association that was having their annual conference, so we got to go. The entire week was great. We had been in 2014 to Maui with the same group and had chocked every single minute with getting to see and do everything you can think of, so this trip was a lot more laid back to relax. We had been to Haleakala before, but had not gotten on the radio there. It is a drive up, but is above 10,000′. There are a ton of trails if you had time to make a longer hike. I had read from several hams that had activated this summit that they had no issues with the park service. I guess it depends on who’s on staff that day. In order to activate on HF and make long distance contact you really need to put up an antenna and it draws attention to you. I hiked up the hill and tried to get off the beaten path. I was able to tie off my fiberglass mast to a sign post and only partially extend it. I suspended my inverted V from the mast and was able to get on 40 meters. At the time of day I was activating, at best I could only reach folks on the surrounding islands. I only got three contacts and you need 4. I switched to 20 meters and was hearing foreign stations and west coast stations, but before I could get another contact in a ranger came by and ask me to wrap things up. I did then had to rely on getting my 4th contact on VHF/UHF with my small handheld radio. I had to call out on a local repeater and get a guy to meet me on a simplex frequency for the last contact. This took some time and perseverance, but it was worth it. My wife is very patient with me and is also really supportive. I now officially had a Hawaiian 10 point summit in the bag and the highest elevation for me so far. The views from Haleakala are sublime. You are above the clouds and it looks like you are on the surface of Mars, hence the name “Red Hill”
Our stay was at the Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria hotel. Top notch and nicest on the island. Most expensive too I might add. We get travel credits through the association, otherwise this might be out of reach. There were many more receptions and dinners this time due to one of our chapter members being sworn in as the national president of the association. There were quite a few educational events to attend, so our free time was limited a bit. Still a great trip. I am posting several pics in the link. During this week we also went to the Big Island. I will post those details separate from this post.
Enjoy the pics by clicking here
KC4WZB 