I wanted to try out the pair of SOTA peaks east of Altoona on Brush Mountain, and had a free Saturday to try it out. N2GBR reports climbing south from Kettle Road, which looks like a steep-grade bushwhack. The easier route that NK8Q involves driving to a parking area in Brush Mountain Woodlands Preserve, which is now owned by the State Game Commission.
The road here is in extremely rough shape, with large rocks jutting out at points. I went very slowly in a vehicle with decent clearance (Subaru Crosstrek, 8.7 inch clearance), and still had to take a careful line to avoid bottoming on some large rocks. You do not want to take a sedan on this road! I could have driven all the way to the northernmost parking area, but opted to cut it short to give myself some extra hiking and avoid driving on Fire Tower road any longer. The bumpiest part ends just about where I bailed to park (40.48438, -78.36553), so if you make it this far, you may as well drive to the end (40.48664, -78.36318).
The hike follows Fire Tower Road towards a transmitter site (gated and posted) until arriving at the AZ. You have to leave the road at some point to get to the AZ while avoiding the gated/posted area. You actually cannot get into the AZ without crossing through about 100 feet of private property (unposted parcel) to get back to land controlled by the State Game Commission, which I confirmed by looking at the Blair County GIS page. I carefully crossed the narrow parcel of private land just above Fire Tower Road to get back to the road.
After rejoining Fire Tower Road, I hiked along until I saw no trespassing signs marking the start of the road to the radio tower. I went off-trail here and set up since it’s just inside the activation zone. The brush was strong immediately by the side of the road, but otherwise this was a reasonable bushwhack.
Conditions weren’t great, but F4WBN and VA2EO obliged with some DX, and I got two S2S contacts: N1ZF on W1/GM-007 (my fifth 007 chase, earning me the “Craig” chasing badge) and N2PX on W2/GC-077. 13 QSOs when all was said and done.
- Trailhead: I parked in a grass patch at 40.48438, -78.36553, but you can go all the way to 40.48664, -78.36318 in Brush Mountain Woodlands Preserve
- Map: [AA3TZ SOTA] [Brush Mountain Woodlands Preserve Map] [Blair County GIS Department (Parcel Viewer)]
- Route: 2.0 mile RT hike along Fire Tower Road, with a short bushwhack to stay out of private property; 450 feet of ascent. Starting at the final parking area in Brush Mountain Woodlands Preserve, it would have been closer to 1.2 mi RT.
- POTA: None
Tom Zajdel 