Well I'm a bit reluctant to write a story, since we put on twice as many miles as the winner did. It was a great day for a T-hunt, the sky was overcast, but I knew that where the T was hid, the sky was clear and blue. We got a bearing that pointed up towards the Big Bear area on T2. On our way out, near Phillips Ranch road exit, on the 60, we heard a second T, T1. So, this is interesting, we can hear more than one T this far out. As we got closer to the decision making point, it wasn't quite clear whether to go up hwy 38 or go to Big Bear on the 330. The signal seemed to split between both options. N6AIN passed us on the 10 & 215 frwys. he got off at the 330 exit, so we knew we didn't want to go that way. We exited at Orange and picked up some gas before heading into the mountains. The signal was starting to disappear, this is always a good sign, because it means that you must be going in the right direction. I have never had a hidden T, that actually got stronger as you approached. So going for several miles without any useful signal, we finally crested the top at Angles Oaks. We took a signal bearing from there, and of course it pointed back out into the city. Well we knew that this also is a good way to tell that you are getting closer to the T, when the signal stars to come from behind you, then you keep going away from the signal. We passed Glass Rd. (the road down to Seven Oaks), for about two miles. Since the signal now has been coming from our left and behind for some time, we decided to do a U turn and head down to Seven Oaks. Now we where totally convinced that these signals where bounces from the ridge, he must be out by Onyx Pk. Well we got to the bottom and took the road up to Big Bear (sign said so), I think that this road (trail), is called Redford truck road. As we climbed, we noticed that the signal was coming from the south east, right off Gorgonio Mt. So! he was bouncing the signal from somewhere else. So over the top we went and found no signal on the Big Bear side of the ridge. Well now we where hungry and no way where we going to go back down that terrible road! So off to eat and a trip around hwy 38 back to the Jenks Lake area. I thought he might have a beam up there pointing towards the ridge that we got the bounce off of. No signal anywhere up by Jenks Lake (lots of interesting places for a T though). So back down Glass Rd. to the east/west road, we took the east. The signals didn't seem to have any real direction anywhere! So we went about 3 miles and now most of the time the signals where in back of us. Well we hadn't passed anything that was a "You Are There" signal, so what to do. I told Steve LAJ, that the signal seemed to be coming from above us, I think. Just then a road not on any map, came up on the left. I told Steve that this is the road, the T's would be found on it. Sometimes you have to try and convince oneself that there is reason to keep going. Just as we turned up the road Jippy came up beside us. He said he had been all over these roads at lease 3 times. He did tell us that he had found two T's. This was a lot better than we where doing. So we continued up the road and after checking out several dead ends, we found a road that seemed to go in the direction of the majority bearings. The signal was now getting stronger. I must say at the end stage of a T hunt, having the signal get stronger is definitely a good sign. We now found Steve's car, but T1 was coming from the left. We found a squawk box T, with a horizontal wire dipole, in some bushes. Yea! we finally found one. And we still had some daylight left. The other two T's where close by and found them within 30 mins. or so. T2, the T that was copy able at the start was a GQ 5mw. T! Holy cow! this T did an excellent job of running us ragged for most of the day.
=========================================================================
A Short Side story of a Rescue.

This happened on a dirt road, that the guy was teaching his daughter how to drive on dirt roads. When they pulled over to let a truck by, they went into a soft spot on the side of the road. He had to walk about .5 miles out, when he met us, and asked if we had a tow strap we did, gave him a lift to his truck. There his wife & daughter where waiting to get rescued. It only took about 2 mins to get him unstuck. As we came back on the same road, he had backed up for about the full .5miles, so he wouldn't get the truck stuck again.


End of story.

==========================================================================

Thank you Steve XFC, for putting on an  "A" class WWNIATT. 

Don KF6GQ