W3/PD-002 Clarks Knob

This SOTA activation was part of a one-night camping trip to Colonel Denning State Park in Cumberland County, near Tuscarora State Forest. This was an easy drive-on on my drive east, a quick stop in the Bear Valley division of Buchanan State Forest. I drove along Bear Valley and Broad Mountain Road which were in good condition. I parked around the trailhead for the Lehman Trail, a singletrack MTB trail a bit down the road southwest from the towers, and strung my wire up alongside the road and worked the contacts.

While this was just a quick one, it became a “Northeast SOTA Buddies” activation, and I worked S2S with three of my most frequent chasers: JB KC1MXB on W1/AM-109, Eric VA2EO on VE2/QC-106, and Roy WN3F on W4V/SH-024, all on 40m! One of the advantages of activating on a Saturday: S2S abounds!

This site overlooks the Letterkenny Army Depot which is in the valley to the east. I’m not sure what happens there, but it is blotted out over every map. A cursory search tells me that missile systems are repaired and modernized there. It probably would be best to stay away!

There is a broad activation zone. I operated near the bottom of this map, at the small red squiggle. Clarks Knob Overlook is part of the drive up and marked with a camera.

Trailhead: 40.04289, -77.75591 : Pulled over from Broad Mountain Road, though there is lots of parking on the ridge. 40.04161, -77.75766 is parking for access to Lehman Trail and would be another good spot.
Maps: [AA3TZ SOTA] [Buchanan State Forest Map (Bear Valley Division)]
Route: Drive-on.
POTA: US-5463 Buchanan State Forest

On the drive back down, I stopped at the Clarks Knob overlook, which has a bench to rest at after a short rock scramble. Worth a stop!

W3/SV-006 Martin Hill

After my evening in Bedford, I returned to this spot in Buchanan State Forest where I failed to activate last winter. I had run out of time after taking a long W3/SV-005 Wills Mtn and operated at a spot called “Martin Hill” on my map that was about a half mile from the AZ. It was time for redemption!

After driving through Sweet Root Natural Area and seeing its alluring vistas, I parked at the end of Tower Road by the radio tower. The gate leading to Evitts Mountain Road was open, so I could have kept driving all the way into the activation zone along the well-maintained gravel road, which is characterized as a “Drivable Trail” on the forest map. I opted to hike in instead, following the same path I did last time.

I passed by the Mid-State Trail which briefly follows this gravel road before diverting away shortly after the start of this hike. The last time I was here was my first encounter with this trail. Now I’ve hiked several sections of it on several SOTA outings, and know how rough/rocky it can get! This might be the smoothest section of the MST that I’ve been on so far. This section also happens to be the high point of the MST.

It was a windy day, and I could hear the trees creaking under the strain of the persistent gusts. Some light hail briefly appeared too. I pulled over at a parking area inside the AZ and set up my antenna, maybe a half mile before the actual summit. As I was getting started, Dan KC3TVC was driving by in his truck, on his way to activate as well! He said he normally does the hike, but the road is just so good, so he drove this time. We chatted a bit more, and then he drove along to the other side of the AZ for his activation.

I only operated on 40m for this activation. I kept it to 20 minutes on that band to work the locals, then move on to the next hikes of the day. The wind had died down a bit, and some blue was visible in the sky on the hike back. It would not last too long, as a winter storm was forecast to come in this afternoon.

Trailhead: At the end of Tower Road, by the radio tower, where Evitts Mountain Road begins: 39.79122, -78.43923. If the gate is open, you can just drive up to one of a few parking areas in the activation zone. I operated at 39.84894, -78.55262.
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA] [Martin Hill Wild Area Map]
Route: 3.2 mi RT hike along Evitts Mountain Road.
POTA: US-5463 Buchanan State Forest. Close to US-0626 Sweet Root State Conservation Area, but this is not within the AZ.

W3/SV-065 Big Mountain

To round off my foggy day of winter activations, I drove to Buchanan State Forest. This peak had only been activated by Jody K3JZD, so it was time to give it love from another activator. This is an easy drive-on with two options for parking points off the side of the road. There is rocky soil that was easy to get a ground stake into to hold up my mast. There are also many trees.

At this point in the afternoon, the fog had let up a bit. Nobody drove by the entire time I was on the summit. I stuck around for a while, walking along the bands: 40m, 60m, 30m, 17m, 15m, and 12m for just over an hour.

This time, 17m was the S2S band, to catch a few west coast activator duos:
W6TED and N1CLC on W6/SC-460
WU7H and WW7DF on W7W/SK-163

On 12m, I got N6AN on his home peak of W6/CT-225, as well.

Trailhead: Two parking areas within the activation zone: 39.79122, -78.43923 and 39.79464, -78.43801 . I parked at the former.
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: Drive-on along Big Mountain Road
POTA: US-5463 Buchanan State Forest

Satisfied with my progress for the day, I spent the night in the lovely town of Bedford.

W3/SV-023 Harbor Mtn

This drive on was the last activation during my weekend trip to Trough Creek State Park in Huntingdon County. Harbor Mountain is a scenic launching spot for hang-gliders. The drive up was along gravel forest roads in Buchanan State Park. I parked just off the side of the short walkway to the overlook point. The cliffside falls away dramatically into a stunning view of a valley. The sky was misty, adding a bit of mystery to the surroundings.

Fall propagation was in full swing during this activation. I worked a bunch of DX on the high bands: F4WBN, G3VXJ, and VE6AGR (S2S on VE6/RA-014) on 17; IZ8FAV, EA7GV, and S52AU on 12m; F4WBN, EA1AER, OK2VWB, M0TTQ, SQ0JYK, and DJ5AV on 10m. I also managed to work Mark KD7DTS from the youtube SOTA+ channel on 17m.

Trailhead: 40.08926, -78.21619 : Parked in grass alongside Fisher Rd directly across from overlook
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA]
Route: Drive-on
POTA: US-5463 Buchanan State Forest