W8V/PH-024 Gaudineer Knob

On my way home from the first-ever W8V SOTA campout in Watoga State Park, I stopped by Gaudineer Knob in Monongahela National Forest. This place has a lot of hype, and for good reason. Evidently another CCC picnic area, this is perhaps the most scenic picnic area I’ve ever seen! The parking lot itself is within the AZ, but I hiked the short loop through the picnic area.

This morning was foggy and misty, and the moss-carpeted spruce forest was surreally beautiful. I sat at one of the picnic benches and settled in for a nice activation. A hiker from Colorado who was touring WV and western PA stopped by to chat for a bit, and we both gushed about our surroundings. This is definitely one you’ve got to check out if you’re in the area!

I managed to work N8JEP S2S on W8V/PH-068 Thorny Creek Mountain with 2m FM at the tail end of this activation, and he was on his way home from the campout as well.

• Trailhead: 38.61560, -79.84381 : Gaudineer Picnic Area
• Maps: [AA3TZ SOTA]
• Route: Parking lot is in the AZ, though the 0.3 mi Gaudineer Knob loop hike is worth your time.
• POTA: US-0632 Monongohela National Forest

KI6CR has created a wonderful “Activator Toolkit” plugin for WordPress that I’m going to try using in some of my blog posts, rendering both a contact map and GPS map. Check it out!