I got out for an early morning activation of Cornell Lookout near Lancaster, PA before my day-long workshop in Elizabethtown started. The drive into the site was uneventful, following Horseshoe Trail, which is a paved road(/riding trail?) with many patched potholes dotting the asphalt. While driving up, the right side of the road is posted private property, and everything to the left is part of State Game Land 156. I parked at a pullover inside the activation zone that is within the tiny 10 acre Cornwall Tract of William Penn State Forest. This tract was purchased from the Cornwall family in 1935 for $1.00.
I parked and operated at this spot on the left. The road is in good shape up to this point, but gets rough a few hundred feet past this point.
I got on the Lancaster Radio Transmitting Society’s repeater on 145.390 (PL 118.8 Hz) to try to drum up some locals for 2m. I connected with John W3RC who was driving in the Poconos. I don’t get out to eastern PA too often, but I know that the Poconos are very far away, so I confirmed with John that the repeater is part of a linked network. After chatting a bit, I set up my EFHW for HF activation by the side of the road, just after 6:30 am local time.
I was happy to get 17 QSOs before the anticipated rain started to roll in. I packed up and continued driving west along the road to see the Lancaster radio club’s shack and the other antennas on the peak. The road was in very bad shape, with large potholes, the further I went, but careful driving got me there. I recommend staying on the paved part of the road as it’s in better condition.
Lancaster Radio Transmitting Society’s site is next to a SGL 156 parking lot.
This is an easy 1-pointer drive-on to add to a trip to Hershey, PA. This was also my 40th SOTA complete, as I chased KE8OKM on his activation back in 2024. I’m surprised that it hasn’t been activated since late 2024. It would have been good to reach out to the LRTS with a bit more lead time as they seem like a good group to know, and their club is on the peak as well.
Trailhead: 40.24119, -76.37037 : Pullover south of Horseshoe Trail
I stopped by Michaux State Forest on my way to Elizabethtown, PA to activate this SOTA peak. My last trip to Michaux SF had been a winter hike on the Appalachian Trail to activate W3/PD-007 Snowy Mountain at 2090 feet. This companion peak at 2110 feet is just a bit taller, part of the north half of the forest. These two are the most-activated peaks in the Pennsylvania Dutch region, and I had chased this one one three occasions! Activating it would add another complete to my “collection”.
This is a drive-on and the Appalachian Trail goes through the activation zone. I drove along Ridge Road, turned onto Middle Ridge Road and parked where AC3B recommends, on a small grass patch large enough for one car. Here, a trail called Dug Hill Trail starts. As far as I can tell, it’s a short connector/mountain bike trail that gets little use. Critically, it passes right through the AT. I walked down this trail, admiring the little mountain laurel buds starting to bloom, until I got within 100 feet of the AT so I could activate it for POTA as well.
The turn on Middle Ridge Road is marked with this sign and the parking spot is just past it and off to the right.Dug Hill Trail starts just past the parking spot.The first mountain laurels are starting to flower!Peeking at the Appalachian Trail for good measure.
I set up my wire along the trail and got calling. Conditions were more settled after yesterday’s minor geomagnetic storm. I managed to get a couple S2S, WW7D on W7W/SNM-163 and AC7MA on W7W/CW-061. The Pittsburgh area SOTA afficionados tried to connect on 40m, but had trouble hearing me. I tuned my KX2 to 60m and managed to work Dan NM3A with a very strong signal, both of us using ~9W. He was using a 160m Carolina Windom antenna while my KX2 tuner got my end-fed 40m inverted vee to 2:1 SWR. I also was able to hear N2GBR, but he could not hear me. This has got me thinking about how to better weave 60m into my standard operating procedure now that the best days of Cycle 25 are behind us and it’s a long decline ahead.
This makes 39 completes! I have my eyes on Cornell Lookout near Lancaster for my 40th complete tomorrow, but it’s looking like a wet morning. I think I’ll stick it out — it’s not often that I find myself in eastern PA!
On the way back from my yearly trip to Ohio for Xenia Hamvention and Cincinnati to visit my folks, I detoured through Chillicothe to try some new-to-me SOTA peaks documented by Chris N8PEM: W8O/SE-012 1225 and W8O/SE-016 1190B. Both of these nameless peaks sit in Tar Hollow State Forest northeast of Chillicothe. I did not see any logging activity/traffic on my trip, but this was the last week of turkey hunting season in OH, which led to an interesting encounter!
W8O/SE-012 1225
As suggested in N8PEM’s and KC8JPZ’s reports, I approached this site along Bunn Road. Once it enters the state forest, the road is unpaved, just like in PA. The gravel road had weeds growing in the crown, and should probably be tackled with a high clearance vehicle. I turned onto Park Road 12 to the trailhead, which has plenty of space to park off the road.
The overgrown path starts right from the parking area. Convenient!The path is easy to follow, if a bit green.
The path is an overgrown ATV trail that is fairly easy to follow, despite the growth. It crosses a creek/ditch, and then gradually climbs up into the activation zone. There are a few downed trees that have to be crossed near the beginning of the trail, and closer to the top, thorny briars cross the path. The trail got so overgrown that I thought the only way up would be to bushwhack (reader: the trail is there. Stick with it!) All in all, this is much better and faster than pure bushwhacking! About a half mile into the hike, the path ends in a large clearing and it’s an easy spot to get a wire up.
Turn around near the top for some views of the rolling hills.There is a clearing in the AZ that is a good spot to operate from, but there are ticks!
I noodled around a bit on 40m, enjoying a relaxed pace, getting 27 in the log in the end. I did try 15m to round things outd, but I don’t think band conditions were too great, with a K index of 5. I managed to work F4WBN and DL9NCI on 15m for DX.
I didn’t bring my permethrin-treated clothes on this trip, so I had to flick off a couple ticks when I made it back to the car. I’m starting to know what a tick crawling across my leg/hand feels like! Their little legs are sharp, and they start charging fast when they realize you found them!!
Trailhead: 39.39943, -82.81673 : Pullover in front of ATV trail by Park Road 12, in the Ruffed Grouse Management Area
This one is a drive-on, with the high point on South Ridge Road. I drove on to park on a side gravel road. This would have been a convenient place to set up, but another car was parked there. Instead, I took a short walk down the road to the Bridle Trail until I found a log to sit on. The trail was marked with green blazes.
As I had finished setting up, a father and his two teenage children walked by, all decked out in ghillie suits. The kids, a brother and sister, were each holding a camouflaged shotgun, confirming that they were looking for turkey before the season ends on Sunday. They passed by me and the log, continuing north on the trail, no doubt going to where the turkeys were. Despite growing up in Ohio, this was the first time I had seen hunters in the state. Tells you something about where I usually hung out!
The parking spot.Bridle Trail is blazed green.The log for sitting. I used PoLo for logging.
Since it was 11 am local, I started on 20m, working Gary W0MNA and Martha W0ERI, the SOTA duo that I had just met at Dayton! This was now the 53rd time I had worked both of them on an activation. That’s over a third of all my summits! I worked the same DX as on the last summit, F4WBN and DL9CNI, just this time on 20m. They sounded stronger on 15m, but still good copy. After some time on 40m for the locals, including KF9D who is one of the 11 activators who has done this peak before, I packed it up with 23 in the log.
I didn’t hear any firearm discharge the whole time, so perhaps no turkeys were harmed today.
Trailhead: 39.34548, -82.79135 : Gravel road that meets South Ridge Road
Route: Drive-on. I walked just about 0.1 mi into Bridle Trail (green blazes) to find a log to sit on in the AZ. The zone is large, so there are many potential operating locations.
Tom Zajdel 