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)

W3/PW-013 Riansares Mtn

Riansares Mountain in Bald Eagle State Forest was my second drive-on peak of the day as I worked my way back west towards Pittsburgh from the Sate College area. I exited I-80 W to PA-477 south, then took a sharp right turn up Pepper Run Road towards Low Place Road and eventually Riansares Road, the gravel road that takes you to the top. There is a great vista point on the north side of the mountain on the way up, definitely worth a stop.

There are a number of radio towers and a mysterious cabin (uninhabited? but in great shape!) at the top. I walked along the Winter Trail into the woods behind the tower for a tenth of the mile to find a tree to toss my wire over. I just operated on 10m and got pretty much only DX: F6CEL, SQ9IDE, IK6BAK/P S2S on I/MC-124, OE6GND, EA1AER, EI3HA, OK4SU, F8DSN, EA3GNU, EC5CSW, EA2DT, G4TGJ/P S2S on G/NP-028, all on CW. Any activation with two Trans-Atlantic S2S contacts is a very good activation! I even worked DF5LMD and G4OBK on 10m SSB.

As I walked back to my car, I saw about 15 horses tied to the fence around the radio tower with well-crafted saddles. As I went back down the road, I drove by a party of Amish men that had stopped at the vista point.

Here is the map of the area. I’ve added a hike up the Boiler Trail suggested by N3TWM, which would leave you on the west side of Riansares Road.

Red track marks my “hike” away from the cabin on Winter Trail. The orange is the 2.4 mile hike up Boiler Trail and Mount Riansares Road proposed by N3TWM.

POTA: Bald Eagle State Forest (US-5462)
Trailhead: 41.05148, -77.37982 : Parked near the cabin off of Mount Riansares Road
Maps: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: About 2 miles driving on forest roads, then a tenth of a mile walk onto Winter Trail. For more fun, walk up the Boiler Trail from Low Place Road (2.4 miles one-way), as suggested by N3TWM.