To the east limit of Izu Peninsula, and to the west limit of Daisen Mountain
At 5:10 of 29th of July, I started out for the top of Mt. Hinodegatake on the well maintained hiking trail. My backpack of 42L could not accommodate all of the equipment, although this time I was not planning to do a separate operation by using an amateur radio. But it was good for me that I did not need to carry a fishing rod all the way to the top of the mountain.

When I started the parking lot, it was cloudy but bright enough to make me anticipate it would be clearing up. However, the top of the mountain was entirely covered with dense fogs. The fog contained small dew of raindrops. Wind was strong from north-west. Although the temperature was 17 degrees Celsius, it was cold enough to make me shiver sometimes. My body would have been already changed to the mode of summer.
After packing the rucksack with a plastic bag, I started to be on the air with ICB-770 at 6:10, knowing the rig would go wet with the dews. Very soon after the first CQ, following the QSO with Shizuoka AD964, I could be connected with Hiroshima HC733/4, operating on the top of Mt. Daisen, Tottori Prefecture. The distance would be well more than 260Km, but his signal was coming in very clearly. As for his side, he said he was bothered by QRMs from local illegal stations even from the early morning.

After that, I was picked up by Shizuoka CV22, from Nishina Pass in the Izu Peninsula, Shizuoka Prefecture. He should be also more than 270Km far from here, but his signal was RS54, although it was much stronger at hearing strength. It was the second time for me to have a QSO with the station located at Nishina Pass. Was the signal from Nishina Pass so strong? He told me he was very careful about choosing the best spot for QRV, as he was moving around to pick up the place. I noticed his excellent modulation from his rig, so I lastly asked about the rig he was using. His answer was ICB-880T: before asking, I thought it would be 880T and it was correct. 880T was an excellent rig to be capable of transmitting fine, bright modulation to be a rare CB radio that could send the details of the voices.
As I somehow completed the objective of “to the east limit of Izu Peninsula, and to the west limit of Daisen Mountain” that I aimed for the operation, I was grateful for those stations that moved so far for the event operation, because nobody could make any QSOs without its counterpart operating somewhere in distance.

I was feeling It was unusual this year that many stations were operating from early morning for the biggest event. Usually, I would be happy to make QSOs with two or three stations by seven o’clock in the morning, but I already completed eight QSOs this year. And what is more for this year, from the early morning, Sapporo YS450/8 in Hokkaido was excellently coming in through Es.
When I listened to the repeater of “Specified small” output radio temporarily set up by Aichi JH316 on the top of Ontake Mountain (3,063m) in Nagano, there going was a morning QSO between Aichi JH316 and Nagoya CE79. To my envy, it was fine in the mountainside of Nagano.


Curry Highlands?
I could not open the package of Personal Radio for rather long time because of the fogs containing small raindrops. It was almost at 11:00 when the fogs were clearing up that I could set up and start operation of Personal. It was regretted that I could not make a QSO with Aichi AE126 by Personal before he left Ibuki Mountain.
A QSO by Nagano NP152 was coming in, who was the frequent operator in high mountains in these events. Huh? “Isn’t he QRT today to participate in some volunteer activities?” I listened to his QSO and he was reporting he was operating at Karei Highlands. I heard about the place from him before and I had once looked into the map to check where it was. I was almost sure when I heard his QSO, it should make a DX QSO if I made a contact with him. I broke into his QSO and made ours at 51.5/53.

With a 7-Area station by "Specified Small" Radio
After a short while past noon, I got a sudden call from Iwate B73/3 when I was sending CQs. The call was to kindly advise me, “If you try now, you could easily access to the repeater on Mt. Fuji. You don’t have enough time, because the repeater is removed by 13:00.” I knew Musashino WO960/7 was operating from the Yamizo Mountain in Fukushima Prefecture far away from the opposite side of Mt. Fuji. Until that time, I had periodically been up to the observation deck to see if the repeater on the Mt. Fuji, temporarily installed for the event, was accessible, but I could not access to the repeater nor hear any signal coming down from it. I had already half given up, as it seemed no good for that day for some reason. Without losing time, I went to the deck to try an access to the repeater. I sent out CQs after some words that I was going to use the repeater, and after my CQ, I could hear Tokyo EH101, who was the owner of the repeater on the top of the mountain, was announcing through the repeater that I had accessed to it. Then, from the bottom of silence, I could hear the call sign of Musashino WO960 rising up through my DJ-R20D! Because, this day I did not carry a speaker-mic with me, I put the rig to a fixed point in the air, and moved my face close to it to send back “Merit 5, QSL!”. I felt some people of sight-seeing were whispering some words in the back, but I was completing the QSO in success by exchanging RS report. (distance: 495Km) Thanks, all stations, for support! After that, I could also contact with Fukuoka 8774/1 and Kawasaki TR375, located near Tokyo, without any problem and left the observatory.
“Is the 10mW radio wave of Specified Small affected by fogs or raindrops like micro waves?”, it crossed my mind.


A YL Station Emerging!
After 13:00, although 8 Area stations could be heard much through Es up to the point, less and less newly QRV stations could be heard, probably because many of the local started operations from early morning. Around 14:00, as I was watching the radio, I seemed to have received a charming voice of girl calling CQs which suddenly emerged in the background sounds from the speaker! Mmh? I couldn’t believe my ears, but surely I was hearing a YL station. Further, the call sign she was sending sounded quite normal. I decided to call her to find me confirmed the station was Nagoya FT202, a genuine YL station operating from Hazu, Aichi Prefecture. In some way she seemed inexperienced, but her way of radio communication was well founded. It was very impressive for me until I sent 77 in closing the QSO. At the instance after the 77, however, I noticed it should not be 77 but 88! I immediately correct it and sent again 88. It was my first experience to send 88 in CB communications!
I completed the operation of the day with some warm and fuzzy feelings after the last QSO with FT202.

This was the seventh time that I came for operation to Odaigahara. In this area, I had been operating at the north face of the summit of Sanzuno-kouchi Mountain (about 1,630m) until the operation in October 2006, but I changed the place to the summit of Hinodegatake Mountain from the operation of “Golden Week” this year.
For SV2007, I also moved here for operation.

Translunar moonlit night
In the night of 27th I was checking in to the Isewan Roll Call (2Area Roll Call) that was concurrently held for the opening day of SV2007. At 22:45, I was driving the Drive Way in the mountains in Kami-kitayama Village on the way to Odaigahara and pulled over my car along the road edge to make a check-in contact with the key station operating on the top of Mt. Ibuki, Shiga Prefecture. The location seemed no good for operation, but I could hear Yamaguchi AN77 was playing the role of key station, who came all the way to Mt. Ibuki from Yamaguchi Prefecture for the event day operation. Transmitting propagation was not so good from my side, but I completed checking in: propagation from this side should not be excellent from my side, because the location was just as high as 1100m in elevation and should be entirely out of the scope of direct visibility from the top of Mt. Ibuki. As was often observed with diffracted waves, the signal strength varied much when the receiving point moved 2 to 3 meters.

After checking-in QSO, I drove further for the higher place on the drive way. It was already past 23:00. There was no car passing on the mountain driveway along the ridge, and a deep fog was rising. Nevertheless, though I could not understand it, the moon was fantastically visible in a white vague silhouette . There is no light except the moonlight, but most of the things could be seen only with the moonlight through the fogs. Comfortable cold breeze was coming up from the bottom of the valley. There I made QSOs with Ishikawa AS36/9, Mt. Hakusan, Kyoto MA12, Mt. Rokko, and Gifu AC114/9, Mt. Heko. From Odaigahara I had made QSOs several times with Ishikawa AS36 before: the distance should be well more than 220Km. My elevation was still lower than 1,400m, but it seemed the propagation was enough for reaching the station.

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