Casual contesting and then some

This weekend was a "casual contesters" dream.  I operated mostly CW during the ARRL 10 meter contest.  I made more 10 meter contacts in 2 hours than in the last 4 years, propagation and motivation all accounted for.  It was fun meeting local 10 meter "neighbors" here in Connecticut the first night of the contest.  This includes Sean, KX9X, ARRL Contest Branch Manager.  Next was the SKCC Weekend Sprint, a 24 hour straight key event.  I managed to make my usual meager showing of around 10 contacts.    I did use the event, and lots of CW stations calling, to try out my future hiking setup of a Yaesu 817 and Par End Fedz 20/40 wire antenna.   It took about 10 minutes to deploy the antenna using a 31' jackite pole, and my garbage can made for a handy operating position...   The 817 tuned wonderfully on the CW portions of 20 meters and 40 meters without a hitch.  No tuner required.  Thanks to  W9DLN, WW30, K2PAY, and W9HLY for answering my QRP call.