I go by MIKE.

If we met on the air it was probably a SOTA contact.

I first got my license in October 2007 for my work with Search & Rescue. As a personal challenge I upgraded to Extra and switched to the Vanity call KX6A.

I did little with my license until the summer of 2015 when I stumbled across SOTA – Summits on the Air, a program aimed at those who enjoy hiking, peak bagging and radio. That did it for me, I was hooked. SOTA fits perfectly with my enthusiasm for outdoor adventures. I quickly attended a few presentations, met some extremely helpful and friendly fellow hams and then went about acquiring the equipment and knowledge to get going.

I’m excited about the hobby and am anxious to share it with my 3 young sons Nick N6NGG, Will N6WMG and Jack (who is still a bit young for his license at 9 years old.) 

As a diehard lightweight backpacker I am learning CW so I can adopt light weight radio gear to take along on some of our longer trips. It kills me to see all the summits I’ve been to which have yet to be activated for SOTA.

I post about my radio adventures on my personal site: KX6A.com

...73 Michael/KX6A

LOTW POLICY:  I upload all contacts the same day or very soon after unless traveling. For SOTA activations I create a new "station location" for the summit so that so that grid square, state, county, park etc are correct for the contact.

Nick N6NGG (15) and Will N6WMG (12) on Mt. Whitney 2016.

My activating partners Will N6WMG and Nick N6NGG

With Nick N6NGG just after his 12th Birthday on Mt. Whitney.

Cactus to Clouds completed 11/03/12. 10,400 feet of elevation gain in 17.5 miles. Now to hike down.

Lamarck Col (and Alpine Col) with Nick N6NGG at 11 years old.

9 Peaks Challenge. Nine 10,000 foot peaks, 26.4 miles in 33 hours.