W3/ER-001 Mercer County HP

I had been eyeing this SOTA peak for a long time, because it’s the only one in the W3/ER region. Activating it means finishing an entire SOTA region in one fell swoop. This would also be a complete since I have chased Nick WN2G on his activation last year.

Harry W3YJ, who manages University of Pittsburgh’s famous repeater and grew up in Mercer County, came along for a SOTA/POTA day. We drove up to the spot that Jody K3JZD recommends just to the south of Hendersonville Road. This gravel area is home to a gas tank and a couple roads go to trails around the area. This spot is already in the activation zone, so this peak is a drive-on. I got my wire up and started calling CQ.

Moments after scoring my 4th QSO, a small bulldozer pulled in. The guy driving it pulled by and asked what I was doing, and I gave the usual explanation and asked if he was the landowner. He said he owns some land nearby, but not land the high point is on. He added that “nobody really cares” if you hike around the trails there.

He was there to pick up an antique crude oil tank on his property and give it to a cousin of his who wanted it for her house. This region of PA, especially around Oil Creek, was the site of an oil rush in the 19th century. These tanks are common given the region’s oil boom history. There was a small family gathering getting this tank transferred to a pickup truck bed, and they did a good job – no fingers were crushed! Chatting with them, we learned that there are at least two plaques claiming to be the county high point in different spots.

W3YJ is a photographer for the Pitt marching band and football team and took some rare shots of me in CW-mode. He didn’t bring his fancy cameras, but he definitely knows how to get a good shot from a phone camera. I’m still learning how to use the Ham2K PoLo logger, but I’m liking how easy it makes uploading the log at the end of the day.

This was unusually eventful for a SOTA drive-on. Afterwards, we went to nearby Maurice K. Goddard State Park (US-1381) for a laid-back POTA activation at a picnic pavilion. Here you can see Harry and his portable dipole.

Trailhead/Parking: 41.31208, -80.05429 : South side of Hendersonville Road
Route: This is a drive on, but the actual high point is a short hike away.
POTA: None, though US-1381 Maurice K. Goddard State Park is not far away.

W3/SV-003 Schaefer Head

Schaefer Head is a distinct peak visible from Blue Knob State Park, nearly 3000 feet in elevation, making it one of the highest peaks in the state, though it pokes out from the shadow of Blue Knob. It is often done in conjunction with W3/SV-001 Blue Knob, but I had not yet attempted it due to confusion over which route to take up. The folks on Peakbagger describe an approach from the west side of the peak, while Jim AC3B had plotted a route along the trails from the south. This network of ATV trails can be confusing. Dale N3HXZ recently posted some waypoints that Jim had shared with him, and these were an essential guide for this trip. I went here directly after tackling W3/SV-010 Evitts Mtn.

I parked at Mount Hope Church near Pavia and walked across the state highway to a gravel road passing along the right side of a farm field. The road itself appears to be access to this network of trails, and was not posted or gated, so it looked okay to hike on to me. The ATV trails were overgrown with summer vegetation, up to 4 feet in places! It felt like a fool’s errand, trudging through a tick’s paradise, but I kept going, hoping for some relief.

Within the activation zone, the growth dropped substantially and there was now a pleasant, shaded area to look for a spot to activate. The trail seemed to curve around the high point itself, so I decided to take advantage of the open space to put up my wire and get to work. There was no need to add any off-trail bushwhacking to this hike.

I got two S2S contacts: WB2FUV in the Catskills for the second time today, and K2CPT also in NY, but in the Adirondacks. Walking back, the humid sky had some enormous clouds hanging in it. This was a good trip, though if I return, it will be in the cooler months when the trails would have less stuff growing on them.

Trailhead: 40.31680, -78.5724 : Across the road from Mount Hope Church
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: 2.1 mile RT hike on ATV trails, about 600 feet of ascent.
POTA: None

W3/SV-010 Evitts Mtn

This summit is on private property, so you have to be sure to get permission. The landowner, Steve, who manages access to the top is friendly and curious about amateur radio after letting a number of hams go up over the years. I got Steve’s contact info from Dale N3HXZ. He’s generally fine with people coming up, as long as it’s not during hunting season (there’s a hunting club somewhere up the mountain) and access to the gate at the end of Black Bear Lane is not blocked.

After agreeing to show Steve my radio when I was finished, I parked to the side of the yellow gate and started walking up. Mountain laurel was in full bloom. The trail was shaded, and being above 1800 feet of elevation, I was on the lookout for timber rattlesnakes. I didn’t see any today, but Steve did mention I should be careful. The jeep trail goes to a black gate, and continues onward from there.

The ground gets more sandy as you climb, opening up into a wide sand pit. There would be lots of space to put an antenna up here, but it was just under the activation zone. I kept climbing to the actual peak and there was a strong breeze along the more open ridge with plenty of space to put up an antenna mast. I believe I stopped just short of the peak, since I did not come across the hunting club.

I got four S2S contacts: N1CLC in AZ, KE5AKL in NE, N0QLR in VA, and WB2FUV NY. I hiked down and chatted with Steve for a while. Radios reminded him of the how characters in the apocalypse film Reign of Fire (2002, top billing shared by Mathew McConaughey and Christian Bale) coordinated their assault on Earth-conquering dragons. Sounds like a wild time – it’s going on the movie night list!

Trailhead: 40.14132, -78.49662 : At the yellow gate at the end of Black Bear Lane, a gravel road.
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: 2.2 mile RT hike on a Jeep trail, about 550 feet of steady ascent.
POTA: None

W3/SV-060 White Mountain

White Mountain has only been activated twice before, by two prolific W3 activators NK8Q and W3QP. It’s probably because of how strenuous the climb is, though I found the activation itself to be more pleasant than the one I just finished, W3/PW-029 Thick Mtn. Driving to this last hike of the day required me to drive past Poe Valley State Park and Poe Paddy State Park in succession along the scenic Penns Creek, which is evidently prime for trout fishing. These looked like nice parks to overnight in, so I’ll definitely be back to the area.

I parked at Havice Valley Road about 1.2 miles down the road from Poe Paddy State Park, as reported by W3QP. Here off the side of the road there was room for 2-3 cars to park, across from the driveway for a cabin. A short walk down this driveway is a bouncy suspension bridge over Swift Run, which continues as Long Path trail along the edge of Peens Creek Wild Area, marked with yellow blazes.

Before long, the hike became a relentless uphill trudge. The first 3/4 of a mile was not too bad, with an average grade of 15-20%. Then, things got ridiculous for the last 1/3 of a mile, with 400 feet of scrambling up a steep boulder field, over 50% grade at times. This was a slog, especially after having done 9 tough, rocky miles throughout the day so far, but coming at it fresh would have been all right.

Once I made it to the junction with the red-blazed White Mountain Ridge Trail, which continues northeast to the summit, I stopped to set up. I did this rather than continue up to the summit because I was now in the activation zone, I was tired, and the trail that way looked overgrown. It was also getting just a couple hours to sunset, so I was eager to get the QSOs rolling.

I had accidentally left my notepad in the car (doh!), so this was my first time using logging software in the field, Ham2K PoLo. I actually enjoyed the experience, and liked how it brought up each chaser’s name. I don’t like entering callsigns on a phone keyboard, but that’s more of a me problem. VA2EO was my only DX, yet again.

I packed things up, then descended slowly. Bring poles! I didn’t, and I fell, accidentally dropping my phone without noticing. I had to come back for it, which was a heartbreaking climb scanning through the boulder fields. Luckily, I did find it after about 10 minutes of searching.

Trailhead: 40.82389, -77.40512 : A spot off the west side of Havice Valley road.
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA], some info on the area from Purple Lizard Maps
Route: 2.3 mile RT hike on Long Path, steep climb of 1100 ft into activation zone at junction of White Mountain Ridge Trail.
POTA: Bald Eagle State Forest (US-5462)

Then it was off to Reeds Gap State Park (US-1412) where I would camp for the night. I did a late-shift POTA activation, racking up 58 QSOs! By the morning, the coronal mass ejection finally arrived at earth, and the raging G8 geomagnetic storm scuttled my plans for a morning hike up Thick Mtn, W3/SV-022. I’ll be back!

W3/PW-029 Thick Mtn

This second summit of the day in Bald Eagle State Forest was a short drive from W3/PW-024 Buffalo Mtn 2224. I parked near what Google Maps calls the Bear Run Natural Area, just north of the intersection of Bear Run Rd and Woodward Gap Rd. I found parking off the side of the road, but there is some space closer to the trailhead itself, which is right at the bridge crossing Bear Run. It was taken by a large truck today, but there is enough space for a few cars otherwise.

I hiked west along the the Bear Run Trail, which passes by a hunting cabin before continuing along the woods. The path starts out looking like a jeep track until you pass the hunting cabins, then turns into a hiking trail. It’s blazed in yellow, and about 0.6 miles in is a junction with the Mid-State Trail.

A jeep road turns into the trail once you pass the hunting cabin.

Here I continued west on the orange-blazed MST. The whole hike was a gradual climb of 400 feet over about 1.5 mi. As in the last hike, there was a lot of mountain laurel starting to flower. The trail was overgrown in places, but still easy enough to hike through. I did pass by a woman walking a friendly white lab, but those were the only other two hikers I saw. The activation zone covers a lot of the trail, but the tree cover is dense the entire way. I eventually found a spot I could step off trail to set something up.

This activation was subdued with some light rain. I did manage to work VA2EO on 40m, and a S2S with WN4AT on W4A/PT-004 Augusta Mine Ridge in AL. Be careful with ticks around here. I found a couple of them crawling on my leg as I was packing up.

Trailhead: 40.88637, -77.32471 : You can park right next to the trailhead if there is space, otherwise I found a spot off Woodward Gap Road at 40.88710, -77.32410 where NK8Q reports parking as well.
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: 3.0 mile RT hike along Bear Run Trail and Mid-State Trail, 400 feet of gain
POTA: Bald Eagle State Forest (US-5462)

W3/PW-024 Buffalo Mtn 2224

I went for three SOTA activations in Bald Eagle State Forest on Saturday, hoping to beat the impending arrival of a recent coronal mass ejection (which would come to destroy propagation and ultimately spark a G4 geomagnetic storm – yikes!). This peak can be done with a half-mile hike up a section of the Mid-State Trail, but I extended the hike to experience more of “Pennsylvania’s Wildest Trail,” which bisects the state. It is notoriously rocky, and I got to experience that here.

I started at Hairy Johns picnic area, where the Hairy Johns Trail takes over the MST and climbs up Winkleblech Mountain. The trail is well-marked with orange blazes. Mountain laurel was everywhere along the trail, and the pink buds were getting ready to burst open. At one point, the trail became a large boulder scramble. The boulders were slick with the previous night’s rain.

On top of this first hill, the MST leaves Hairy Johns Trail and follows the Winkleblech ridgeline east. This was the most pleasant part of the hike, featuring more mountain laurel and a nice breeze. There were a few pretty vistas through the trees on the way up as well. There was also a good place to camp along the trail for overnight hikers.

The trail descended along the north ridge. Near the bottom, the streams had swollen with recent rain, completely submerging the MST in places. After splashing through some pooled water, I made it to Stony Run Road, a gravel road where most other SOTA activators seem to have started their hike. There were plenty of places to park off the side of this road, and it would cut off a good chunk of the trip, leaving just the last 0.5-mile, 400-foot ascent along the Kessler Trail.

Getting to the actual peak would have required going through a dense bushwhack, but a roughly 200-foot section of the MST is just within the activation zone. I carefully strung my EFHW down the length of the trail. I was off to the side in case any other hikers came by, but none did.

My only DX was the legendary F4WBN on 20m. I didn’t linger too long, since I had a nearly 3-mile return hike, and there were other summits to activate today! On the way back, I avoided the swamp of the MST by walking west on Stony Run Road until I reached a jeep trail that passed by a cabin. I waved at the elderly man sitting on the cabin’s stoop. He agreed that the MST was totally drenched and understood why I was walking by his way. I managed to avoid getting my mostly-dried out feet wet once again, so that was a win!

Next up was W3/PW-029 Thick Mtn, the trailhead just about a 10 minute drive from Hairy Johns picnic area.

Trailhead: 40.91116, -77.28251 : A lot of parking in the Hairy Johns picnic area. There is plenty of parking along Stony Run Road, so you can just start at the Kessler Trail around 40.92515, -77.25533 for a shorter 1-mile RT hike.
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: 5.8 mile RT hike along Mid-State Trail (Hairy Johns and Kessler Trail), 1400 feet of cumulative gain
POTA: Bald Eagle State Forest (US-5462)

W3/PW-016 Nittanny Mtn 2302

For this year’s first camping trip, I went out to activate a set of summits in Bald Eagle State Forest. I kept my plans flexible, as a coronal mass ejection was reported while I was driving towards the campsite, and I wasn’t ready for VHF. On the drive in, I stopped to do this hike, about 30 minutes east of State College. The rugged, rocky trail set the tone for all the hiking this weekend.

My grandfather was a mechanic for the US airmail service, and he had many stories about the dangers of flying over the Allegheny Mountains. Evidently, a pilot facing a terrible storm, had to make a quick landing in the mountains around high tension power lines. It was a miracle that the landing was successful. The plane could not be flown out of the area and actually had to be disassembled for removal!

In May 1931, an airmail pilot James Cleveland tragically crashed into Mount Nittanny. A trail named after him climbs up to a memorial on the ridge. The memorial site is within the large activation zone of this peak, over two miles northeast of the actual high point.

This bridge is near the start of the trail.

The final climb is past a boulder field. This kind of thing was typical in all my hikes in Bald Eagle State Forest.

The trail started through some rhododendrons and then a bouncy suspension bridge across a stream. The trail was marked with yellow blazes, which in PA state forests indicates trails where hiking is the only allowable use. About 0.7 miles in, the ascent really started. The last bits of the climb were over some boulder fields, and the hike was generally rocky.

Around the top is the memorial: a stone pedestal with parts form the wreckage of the plane crash and a stone obelisk. I set up my antenna mast just east of the monument and strung the wire along the trail. Since it was starting to get dark and it was a bit soggy, I didn’t expect to see anybody else on the trial. There were a lot of trees, but there was enough open space over the trail to make this work.

The light rain was well-shielded by just the right amount of tree cover. I logged 18 QSOs, with just a bit of DX this time: VA2EO on 40m (the prolific SOTA activator Éric in QC), and HI8D on 17m. This was a nice hike, definitely worth a visit if you’re in State College. The James Cleveland Trail continues down the south face of the mountain for another 1.5 miles or so. I just turned around after the activation since it was starting to get dark.

The activation zone is highlighted in blue, and continues beyond what’s shown for over a mile southwest to the actual high point.

Trailhead: 40.88455, -77.68050 : Small parking spot with space for about 3 cars beside Green Valley Road.
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: Route: 2.4 mile RT hike along James Cleveland Trail, 560 feet of gain
POTA: Bald Eagle State Forest (US-5462)

W8O/NE-001 Noblet Benchmark

After working a church parking lot SOTA on the way to Dayton, it was time for an apple orchard SOTA on the way to Dayton. Noblet Benchmark is on the property of Apple Hill Orchards in Lexington, OH. The shop was open, so I bought some tasty apple cider donuts and asked the cashier for permission to operate. She called up the owner, who was used to hams asking to do this every now and then and she quickly approved.

I walked to the benchmark itself, which was about 200 feet down the road next to the apple trees. The bands had appeared to calm down a bit, and I managed to work DX with S57S on 20m. It was an enjoyable activation next to the flowering apple trees, and I netted 20 QSOs this time.

With this activation in the books, I’ve completed all the 4-point SOTA peaks in Ohio (being perhaps the first SOTAer to do so?):

This activation, as is becoming tradition, was chased by a POTA coda. I headed to Mt. Gilead State Park US-1979 to work the afternoon CWops Test. A solitary rain cloud passed over the first 10 minutes of the contest, but then it was smooth sailing.

Trailhead: 40.72697, -82.61666 : Apple Hill Orchards parking lot
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: The survey mark itself is on orchard property a few hundred feet along the road
POTA: None, though US-1979 Mt. Gilead State Park is about 25 minutes away

W8O/NE-003 Ashland County HP

On the drive to Four Days in May and the Xenia Hamvention, I veered off through Northern Ohio for a couple SOTA stops. The first peak on the list was Ashland County’s high point, which is just off the side of state route 511 in Vermilion, OH. The nearby Vermilion Baptist Church’s parking lot is in the activation zone, as reported by Ward WC0Y, who sadly went SK this year after a battle with cancer. Ward was a regular activator of summits in the midwest and had shared a ton of useful beta on SOTA in the region.

Being a Wednesday morning, nobody was around. I was testing my newly tuned 20/30/40 trapped EFHW antenna paired with the red MTR4b, but the bands had other plans. An X-class solar flare, the strongest of this calendar year so far, had erupted about 6 hours before this activation. 20m was rough, but I managed to make 5 QSOs, including Josh WU7H in Washington, who made a heroic number of repeats as we rode some wild QSB. 30 and 40 rounded off the slow activation, ending with 12 contacts total.

Next up was W8O/NE-001 Noblet Benchmark on an apple orchard in Richland County, about a 30 minute drive away.

“Trailhead”: 40.73366, -82.31873 : Vermilion Baptist Church parking lot
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: Drive-on
POTA: None

VE3/SO-099 Winter SOTA in South Ontario

I was up in Toronto to visit a few friends and had some time in the early morning to activate a peak in the VE3 region before driving back to Pittsburgh. Just over an hour north of Toronto near the town of Barrie is this drive-on SOTA peak, which had been activated 7 times so far. The 412m elevation hilltop is unnamed and is the site of a few radio towers. The forest surrounding the summit is part of the Simcoe County Forest, so access is not an issue.

There was a lot of blowing snow on the drive north, and a couple of inches of fresh snow on the short unpaved road leading up to the forest site. I went in low gear and made it up without a problem. A snowplow came by at about 8:30 am local time to clear the access road, so it appears it is maintained in the winter.

I walked a bit away from the parking area into the woods up and was able to completely plant my support mast into the snow, which was between 2-3 feet deep. There are some low-hanging powerlines supporting the radio tower, so one should be mindful when setting up. This was the first activation that I used the automatic message function on the KX2, so I wouldn’t keep forgetting to send AA3TZ/VE3, and this was a really useful feature in the cold.

I find these early morning activations to be a bit slower, since most of my chasers on 20m are mostly on the west coast. F4WBN chased me on both 10m and 20m, and I worked EA4R on 10m. Gary W0MNA and Martha W0ERI came through on 20m as usual, so I’ve now worked them over 30 times each on my activations!

Access to the site as mapped by the County of Simcoe. The red line marks the drive up the access dirt road, approximately 200 meters to the transmitter site. The map shows the access road continuing further past the site, but the road does not appear to be maintained past the transmitter in the winter.

VE3 was a new association for me, so this makes 10 different associations so far!

Trailhead: 44.53303, -79.66129 : Entrance to unpaved road from Oro-Medonte Line 3 North, then it’s a drive up
Map: [Simcoe County Forest Tracts] – This tract is named “SOUTH BARR”
Route: Drive 200m along forest road to summit site. Activation zone is large and extends partly to the subdivision just north of the site. It’s flat around here!
POTA: None