Solo Activation of Big Bald W4C/WM-046

I did Bald Knob, as a solo activation, on Tuesday March 5.   It is a nice gentle hike with 200m (660 feet) elevation gain over 3.2 km (2 miles) or roughly 6% grade.   The trail is a gated forest road on Explorer Road just off NC215 and a couple of miles south of the Blue Ridge Parkway.   The upper portion is grassy while the lower portion has heavy equipment tracks all over.  I averaged just over 30m/mi on the way up and about 27m/mi on the way down.  It was cold but not bitterly so – low thirties with about 10 mph winds.  The summit had a clearing that was large.   I decided to use my trekking staff as a mast holder and it worked perfectly using just 3 guy ropes.  I swept the bands as usual and made 29 contacts.   I was able to make contact with three other summits – George KX0R who was on W0C/FR-107 in Colorado, Keith KR7RK who was on W7A/PE-068 in Arizona, and John K1JD who was on W5N/SI-017 in New Mexico plus a DX call from chaser EA2LU from Spain.  It was a very productive activation.