Tag: dubois quintet

W3/PW-006 Clearfield County HP

On March 13, 2026, I activated the four of the five DuBois Quintet SOTAs, and this was the third one of the day. The highpoint of Clearfield County is the highest SOTA site of the DBQ standing at 2411 feet ASL. You wouldn’t know it as it’s there are many short hikes that will get you to the broad activation zone. Since I ultimately did 4 SOTA peaks in one day to maximize the winter bonus, I decided to set up soon after making it into the AZ, another broad plateau with many choices for operating location.

I parked at just south of US-322, at the Rockton Mountain Trails section of Moshannon State Forest. There is a lot of space for parking here and a network of paths for mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and hiking. A painted wooden signpost provides a trail map for the area.

If you’d rather just drive into the AZ, another option is to continue south past the Rockton Trails area and park around 41.06656, -78.57335 to follow Bloom Road to what is labeled Clearfield County Highpoint #2 on my map. Folks on peakbagger will visit this place along with Chestnut Ridge, about 13 miles northeast of this spot, to be sure they’ve stood on the correct high point. Only one of these is in the SOTA DBQ!

Horn Shanty Loop trailhead.

I hiked on along the Horn Shanty Loop, which was marked by red/blue blazes along my entire route. Just a few steps onto the loop, I was in the activation zone, but I kept going along the trail to find a good spot to set up my EFHW wire, about a half mile in. All the snow from earlier was gone now, so it was becoming more pleasant to sit and operate a bit longer. For S2S, I got AE1MS and AE1JS on W4G/NG-025 on 20m, and K6EL on W6/NC-423 (classic El at Mt Davidson) on 15m.

Operating trailside. Nobody was around!

My last stop after this was to revisit DBQ #3, W3/PW-020 2266, an easy drive-on. The one DBQ I did not tackle this day was #5, W3/PW-050 2027 on State Game Land 31. This one requires a roughly 3.0 mi round trip and I didn’t leave quite early enough to have enough March daylight to do this last one.

You can drive down Bloom Road to get closer to the co-county high point. I didn’t bother because short hike-ons are more fun than drive-ons! Just know that the drive-on is definitely an option if you’re trying to squeeze every last minute out of an attempt at a single-day DBQ sweep.

W3/PW-007 Boone Mtn

On March 13, 2026, I activated the four of the five DuBois Quintet SOTAs, and this was the second one of the day, after Jefferson County HP. It’s a drive-on site by a communications tower just outside of Moshannon State Forest, and the 2nd most elevated of the DBQ at 2369 feet ASL.

I had already activated this spot March 2025 when I was first visiting this area to learn more about the DuBois Quintet. I looked up some information about the mountain, and found out that there are some caves in Boone Mountain that some folks believe may contain a trove of gold bars. There is a legend that a Union wagon train carrying 52 gold bars from Wheeling, WV towards Harrisburg in 1863 was lost near Dents Run, PA, about 25 miles east of Boone Mtn. Since then, everybody from the Pinkerton Detective Agency to generations of treasure hunters to the FBI have searched for the missing precious bars. Some treasure hunters claim the FBI took the gold and claimed to have found nothing when they conducted their excavation in 2018. I didn’t look for any material treasure, but settled for the warm glow that comes from getting those SOTA QSOs!

When activating Boone Mtn, I prefer to walk away from the tower into the state forest along an ATV/hiking trail, as there is a pleasant trailside spot not far from the site, making this drive-on marginally more interesting, I parked next to a gate just a bit southwest of the communications tower, which blocks a road going to water utility infrastructure. From here, I crossed Boone Mountain Road (also known as Fire Tower Road) and and walked just under a fifth of a mile to a trail junction that has plenty of space to set up.

The vehicle trail was flooded by the road today, but was otherwise dry.

This time, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. A large growth of mountain laurel is at this location, with new growth for the year starting to show. This would be a great spot to check out in early June when the laurels bloom!

Operating location. See all the new mountain laurel growth!

On this particular activation in March 2026, I worked S2S with K2CPT on W2/GA-077 and JB KC1MXB on W1/GM-037, both on 40m, and WS0TA on W5N/SI-010 on 20m. I had worked JB already on the last activation (W3/PW-038 Jefferson County HP) as well!

A very short hike which was completely within the activation zone from start to finish.
  • Trailhead: 41.24571, -78.64861 : Beside gated access to water utility besides Boone Mountain Road
  • Map:  [AA3TZ SOTA] [Moshannon State Forest Maps]
  • Route: Drive on; 0.2 mile hike along ATV trail into forest to get away from road.
  • POTA: US-5472 Moshannon State Forest (though the peak itself is just outside the park)

W3/PW-038 Jefferson County HP

On March 13, 2026, I activated the four of the five DuBois Quintet SOTAs, and this was the first one of the day. The highpoint of Jefferson County is the fourth highest of the DBQ at 2169 feet ASL, and the county is where Punxsutawney (and Phil) reside. The peak is in State Game Land 54, which was once the site of the Ross Leffler School of Conservation, where wildlife conservation officers were trained.

Since I ultimately did 4 SOTA peaks in one day to maximize the winter bonus, I cut this hike short, not going all the way to the intriguingly named John Lennon Point Vista, though all reports indicate that it’s worth a visit if you ever find yourself in SGL 54.

The intersection of Game School Road and Empire Ridge Road. The latter is not maintained in the winter, and can be covered in deep ice ruts during cold months.

I had activated this summit last year, but found a gate blocking Empire Ridge Road for construction/improvement projects. I had to park on the side Game School Road and hike nearly an additional mile each way. This time, the road was open and I could drive up to a large parking area at 41.29569, -78.87447 after which the road was gated once again. There are a number of parking areas to choose from in this vicinity, and the one at 41.29286, -78.87438 may shave off a few tenths of a mile from your hike. The gate here blocking Empire Ridge Road is open from late September through January for hunting season, so you may be able to drive much further down the trail if you come at the right time of year. Check out this map for more information on seasonal gates on PA SGLs.

Just over a mile into hiking along the road, you’ll need to make a turn onto the trail (41.30238, -78.85854). You might be able to park closer to this spot when the gate is open.

The hike follows the road until this point, where a dirt trail/road continues to the ast.
The hike does get more scenic after you follow the dirt path into some woods. A light snowfall came down while I operated.

I stopped about a mile from the trail junction to operate since I was well within the AZ and had many more activations to do. The day started strong with two S2S: JB KC1MXB on W1/GM-037 and Mike WB2FUV on W2/GC-020, both on 40m. I would go on to work JB a second time on the next peak, the nearby W3/PW-007 Boone Mtn. Next time, I think I’ll just continue the extra half mile to see John Lennon Point, which is labeled with a stone marker and appears to overlook Little Toby Creek.

John Lennon Point Vista is on the very edge of the activation zone (red marker) and would make for a more scenic operating location. As you can see, this hike can be cut down to ~1.25 mi if you just want to get into the AZ.
  • Trailhead: 41.29569, -78.87447 : State Game Land 054 Parking Area
  • Map:  [AA3TZ SOTA] [State Game Land 054 Map]
  • Route: 4.0 RT hike along Empire Ridge Road and an unnamed trail. Could drive further down the road during deer season to save time.
  • POTA: US-8753 PA 054 SGL

W3/PW-020 2266 – Introducing the DuBois Quintet

Over the course of several trips this year, I had activated 4 of 5 of a ring of SOTA peaks surrounding DuBois, PA in a 15 mile radius.

This was the last remaining of the DuBois Quintet (yep, I’m trying to make that a thing) I had yet to activate. For various reasons, I haven’t written up any of these post-hike trip reports. I suppose I’ll document my return to these peaks in 2026! Consider it a New Year’s Resolution.

On the way to State Game Land 87, I passed through Punxsutawney, PA, home of the famous season prognosticator-rodent Punxsutawney Phil. I couldn’t resist pulling over at Gobbler’s Knob, where there was a small visitor’s center. I was able to climb up onto the stage where the groundhog is presented to the public on a stone pedestal to hear his prediction on February 2. There’s even a SOTA badge awarded for activating/chasing a summit on Groundhog Day. Fun stuff! I didn’t have a chance to check out Phil in his glass enclosure in the town’s public library, but you’ve always got to leave something to see on the next visit!

The short hike I took into SGL 87 from the parking area was surprisingly scenic, and the views were nice. The AZ is large and encompasses many trails and roads (including where I parked), so there are plenty of options. My hike actually took me out of the AZ, then back into it again, just for fun.

This was my first SOTA activation in three weeks, so I just vibed out, working 56 QSOs while enjoying the fall propagation. I was lucky to grab a transatlantic 10m SSB S2S with EA8/DG0JMB/P on EA8/GC-001 in the Canary Islands! Fall propagation indeed! Going to keep bringing my mic to these activations from now on…

  • Trailhead: 40.95385, -78.76486 : SGL 87 parking area off of McGees Mills Road
  • Map:  [AA3TZ SOTA]
  • Route: 0.5 mile RT optional hike, since the parking area is in the AZ.
  • POTA: US-8786 PA 087 State Game Land