The state of Indiana, roughly the same size and aspect ratio as the Republic of Korea (as some of my students have pointed out to me), contains just 3 SOTA summits. Two are on public property that is easily accessed. On a drive to Indianapolis for a workshop, I stopped at Jackson-Washington State Forest for the shorter hike of the two, Jackson County High Point. This one requires no off-trail hiking, so it was ideal to squeeze in a SOTA activation before I had to be in Indianapolis in the mid-afternoon.
I parked off of Camp Road and hiked along Trail #1 to a CCC Shelter area built during the Depression. It looks like the Civilian Conservation Corps was very busy throughout the eastern states, as their work is all over PA, OH, and IN state parks. A short walk through the area brought me to a climb up to an old watchtower site. Only the foundation remains. While this spot would be a great place to operate radio, it’s not inside the AZ, so I continued along Trail #2 to the High Point, which is labeled on the state forest map with an elevation of 985 feet ASL.
I operated by the side of the trail for an hour, working a good 44 QSOs, though no S2S. I enjoyed the time, but found two ticks on my backpack when I was finished, arms outstretched in “questing” mode, ready to suck some blood.
Afterwards, I drove on to Bloomington, IN to meet Bryce KD9YEY for lunch and a BKG 2m QSO in the parking lot. I have gotten to know him as part of the Sofas on the Air Discord community. He’s a relatively new CW op but has improved rapidly due to his experience with snare drumming! We chatted for a while, and talked a bit about his journeys backpacking, hiking, and activating POTA in the Hoosier State and elsewhere, and he posts entertaining videos documenting these outings on youtube.
- Trailhead: 38.86637, -86.00003 : Parking for CCC Shelter, near Knob Lake
- Maps: [AA3TZ SOTA] [Jackson-Washington State Forest Map (North)]
- Route: 1.40 mi loop hike, Trail #1 past CCC Shelter to Old Tower Site, then along Trail #2 to AZ, and eventually back to the parking area.
- POTA: US-4209 Jackson-Washington State Forest
Tom Zajdel 