Veliki Šturac - YU/CS-016 - 1132 m 6 points
Veliki Šturac (also known as Cvijićev vrh) is the summit of Mt. Rudnik, in Šumadija region of Serbia. The summit got it's second name after Jovan Cvijić, a famous Serbian geographer and karstologist.
After activating Vis YU/CS-023, I drove back to village Rudnik at the foot of Mt. Rudnik. An unpaved road starts there leading all the way to the summit of Mt. Rudnik, which is covered with large communication and broadcasting towers.
The summit itself is relatively flat and not occupied completely by commercial antennas (yet!) so it was possible to find a secluded operating spot in the woods at the edge of the operation zone, 150 NW from the towers. There was not much time to loose, since when I arrived at the summit it was already late afternoon, and the skies were turning cloudy. It was getting cold so I had to put on all the warm clothes I carried in my backpack. I learned my lesson on the previous summit, so this time the 14 MHz vertical was set up much faster. In 20 minutes or more I worked 25 chasers on 20 meters, still with intermittent problems with the jack of my keyer.
When I made a break to swap the antenna for a doublet, I realized that behind me there is a field of wild garlic (Allium Ursinum). I was hoping to find and pick up some fresh wild garlic leaves in these mountains, to prepare some pesto, since it was late spring and the plants at lower altitudes have all started flowering, too old for picking. So for a moment ham radio was put aside and I spent some time picking a big bunch of fresh leaves to carry home (no need to say that the car smelled of garlic after that).
When the harvest was over, I jumped to 10 MHz and managed to work some 11 chasers more. In the meantime the clouds went away and it was bright again. I was eager to stay more on the top, but the sun was setting and I had to pack before dark. 36 qsos in total in less than an hour of operating time - not too bad - without S2S this time. This summit turned out better than expected - most hikers labeled it in their reports as uninteresting, packed with antenna towers, without scenic views. To me it was fine, I found a quiet place to operate, with soft ground for anchoring, without insect or human interference.
After activating Vis YU/CS-023, I drove back to village Rudnik at the foot of Mt. Rudnik. An unpaved road starts there leading all the way to the summit of Mt. Rudnik, which is covered with large communication and broadcasting towers.
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| YU/CS-016 seen from Srednji Šturac, a slightly lower side summit of Mt Rudnik. My operating position was in the woods left from the towers. |
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| My open air shack, with commercial towers in the background |
When I made a break to swap the antenna for a doublet, I realized that behind me there is a field of wild garlic (Allium Ursinum). I was hoping to find and pick up some fresh wild garlic leaves in these mountains, to prepare some pesto, since it was late spring and the plants at lower altitudes have all started flowering, too old for picking. So for a moment ham radio was put aside and I spent some time picking a big bunch of fresh leaves to carry home (no need to say that the car smelled of garlic after that).
When the harvest was over, I jumped to 10 MHz and managed to work some 11 chasers more. In the meantime the clouds went away and it was bright again. I was eager to stay more on the top, but the sun was setting and I had to pack before dark. 36 qsos in total in less than an hour of operating time - not too bad - without S2S this time. This summit turned out better than expected - most hikers labeled it in their reports as uninteresting, packed with antenna towers, without scenic views. To me it was fine, I found a quiet place to operate, with soft ground for anchoring, without insect or human interference.
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