Riansares Mountain in Bald Eagle State Forest was my second drive-on peak of the day as I worked my way back west towards Pittsburgh from the Sate College area. I exited I-80 W to PA-477 south, then took a sharp right turn up Pepper Run Road towards Low Place Road and eventually Riansares Road, the gravel road that takes you to the top. There is a great vista point on the north side of the mountain on the way up, definitely worth a stop.
There are a number of radio towers and a mysterious cabin (uninhabited? but in great shape!) at the top. I walked along the Winter Trail into the woods behind the tower for a tenth of the mile to find a tree to toss my wire over. I just operated on 10m and got pretty much only DX: F6CEL, SQ9IDE, IK6BAK/P S2S on I/MC-124, OE6GND, EA1AER, EI3HA, OK4SU, F8DSN, EA3GNU, EC5CSW, EA2DT, G4TGJ/P S2S on G/NP-028, all on CW. Any activation with two Trans-Atlantic S2S contacts is a very good activation! I even worked DF5LMD and G4OBK on 10m SSB.
As I walked back to my car, I saw about 15 horses tied to the fence around the radio tower with well-crafted saddles. As I went back down the road, I drove by a party of Amish men that had stopped at the vista point.
Here is the map of the area. I’ve added a hike up the Boiler Trail suggested by N3TWM, which would leave you on the west side of Riansares Road.
- POTA: Bald Eagle State Forest (US-5462)
- Trailhead: 41.05148, -77.37982 : Parked near the cabin off of Mount Riansares Road
- Maps: [AA3TZ SOTA]
- Route: About 2 miles driving on forest roads, then a tenth of a mile walk onto Winter Trail. For more fun, walk up the Boiler Trail from Low Place Road (2.4 miles one-way), as suggested by N3TWM.
Tom Zajdel 