W3/PH-001 Berks County HP

On the tail end of my trip to eastern PA, I took on 3 more SOTA peaks. This first one is one of just 5 in the W3/PH Philadelphia region of the state, along the Appalachian Trail. Most of my excursions on the AT are during off-seasons, early spring/fall, when serious through-hikers are well beyond the Mid-Atlantic portion of their journey. Being mid-May, I had my first encounter with through-hikers, with their huge packs and tree-trunk thighs built up over months on the trail.

I parked at a lot for State Game Lands 110 a quarter mile south on PA-183 from where the AT crosses the road. There is a small parking area in front of a gate at the trail crossing, but this is posted no parking. There is a lot of space in the SGL lot (at least 50 cars), and very little use on the day I was there.

After about a half mile, I made it to the road crossing. The crossing felt treacherous, but you just have to wait patiently for a good window. After that was a ~1.8mi hike along a straightforward segment of the AT, following the white blazes. The activation zone of the county high point extends to the AT, but I wanted to go to the summit itself. A side trail called the “Caleb Frantz Memorial Trail” leads to the high point, marked with yellow blazes. This short jaunt ends at a very rocky pile in the middle of the forest with a signpost, US flag, and mailbox complete with summit register, declaring you have arrived at the high point.

The last entry in the register was from over a week before, so this must not be a popular side hike for most AT hikers. I enjoyed the solitude, working HK3W in Colombia, VO1AW in NL, DL9NCI in Germany, and F4WBN in France, all on 20m.

Trailhead: 41.41221, -78.33270 : SGL 110 parking area
Maps: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: 5.3 mi RT hike, 300 feet elevation to the high point itself, though the AZ extends quite a bit.
POTA: US-8779, PA 080 State Game Land

On the hike back, I ran into a tall through hiker from Houston who went by the trail name “Big Bird.” He had been on the trail for nearly 90 days with his wife (I did not get her trail name). He was a bit ahead of her so we chatted for a bit to slow the pace down. Big Bird was impressed by all the historical markers around PA, and hung out until we got back to the PA-183 crossing. I also saw a turkey hunter in camo face paint silently stalking down the road as I walked along the gravel road back to the parking area. Guy was in the zone — he didn’t even wave.

W3/PD-006 Flat Ridge

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!

Trailhead: 39.97456, -77.46599 : Dug Hill Trail
Maps: [AA3TZ SOTA] [Michaux State Forest Map]
Route: Drive-on. I hiked along Dug Hill Trail for just over 100m to get within 100 feet of the Appalachian Trail.
POTA: US-4556 Appalachian Trail National Scenic Trail; US-5471 Michaux State Forest

W3/PD-007 Snowy Mountain

I went in Gettysburg, PA for a personal mini-retreat after the semester’s first week wrapped. A winter storm was coming through, so I tried to get an early start to tackle a group of SOTA/POTA sites. This my first time trying out the AX1 portable vertical antenna for quicker set up and pack up process than putzing around with my arborist’s throw line and end fed wire. Snowy Mountain in Michaux State Forest was first on the list.

I did not want to drive up snowy forest roads, so I decided to hike in along the Appalachian Trail. I parked at the trailhead on PA 233, which has room for a couple cars. Shortly into the hike, the AT briefly continues along Swamp Rd, then winds on through the forest.

A runner mysteriously materialized, and somehow passed me twice during the 1.6 mile hike. I also saw a hawk carry a squirrel away for a meal. Other than those wildlife sightings, it was a serene and quiet winter hike.

The last half of the hike came with 500 feet of climb. At the end, a powerline cut crosses over with the AT, and a short segment of the Caramba Trail continues due south to the peak, where a couple radio towers stand. The trail appears to be just inside in the activation zone, but I opted to set up about 50 feet up the path to the summit where I found a rock to sit on. At this point, the snow was really coming down in large, wet flakes, so I was eager to get started.

The AX1 worked well! I was spotted quickly on 20m and made 11 contacts in about 20 minutes. By then, everything was starting to get wet and full of snow. Packing up was where the AX1 really shined, with the whole kit stowed away in just a couple minutes.

Trailhead: 39.84973, -77.50879 : Appalachian Trailhead Parking: PA 233 Rocky Mountain Rd
Maps: [AA3TZ SOTA] [Michaux State Forest Map]
Route: 3.2 mi out-and-back, following the Appalachian Trail
POTA: Appalachian National Scenic Trail (US-4556); Michaux State Forest (US-5471)

Mont Alto State Park (US-1386) is just over 3 miles down PA 233, so I added this POTA activation to the trip. Mont Alto is the oldest PA state park, and started (as many PA parks in this area) as an iron furnace. The main feature here was a large picnic pavilion (formerly a carousel house) that was an ideal place to set up. I worked this one a little longer due to the shelter keeping things dry, and logged 40 QSOs on 20m CW before calling it quits.

It was on to the next peak: Big Mountain.