YU1WC/P: YU/IS-113 Gorica

Gorica - YU/IS-113 - 282m 1 point

The plan for the holidays was to cross Danube by ferry after activating YU/VO-005, and go to Gorica YU/IS-113. Gorica is the first hill in the upstream part of Danube gorges (Iron gates), where Danube croses the Carpatho-Balkan mountains, leaving the Panonian plain.

Gorica YU/IS-113 seen from Stara Palanka, on left bank of Danube

Ferry crossing from Stara Palanka to Ram, village at the foot of Gorica

After the ferry crossing, we followed the road uphill and reached Gorica as night was falling. We found a suitable place to camp on the slopes facing Danube.

Looking downstream from Gorica

The next morning was bright, windy and chilly. I got up early, hoping for LP contacts with VK. Near the summit, but still away from commercial antenna towers there, I found a nice spot to set up my quarter wave vertical for 14 MHz. But at 06.00 UTC, when all was ready, there was nobody to answer my calls. Tuning down the band, I found a loud and lonely FK8DD calling cq and listening up. I adjusted my transmitting frequency and RIT and called... and got an answer from FK8DD. My first long range DX with MTR2 and from a SOTA summit! What a way to start the day! But after that, I heard nobody else, so returned to the camp to sleep a bit more.

Almost 2 hours later, I spotted myself and after that worked quickly a group of 10 EU chasers, including summit to summit qso with DL/ON6UU/P on DM/NW-258. A coffee break, a second try and few chasers more, and that was it - 17 contacts in total.

I am fond of this part of Serbia and visited it many times before, so I will surely visit again this nice and quiet hill. If the weather late in summer is not too dry and hot, there might be mushrooms to hunt also - one more reason to come here again.