For the second half of fall break, I took a drive to State College to peep at leaves and do some more SOTA. I stopped by Sandy Ridge in State Game Lands 33 in Centre County, driving south along Sandy Ridge Trail road from US-322. After 4 miles of easy gravel road driving, I was in the activation zone.
Entrance to Sandy Ridge Trail from US-322.Hunters wear orange — so should you! Many trails go deeper into the game lands from Sandy Ridge Trail.The road was straight and easy to drive on, though a bit narrow for when I had to pass a few trucks.
I had never worked from a game land before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Since it was early October, it wasn’t yet rifle hunting season. I still wore blaze orange and did my best to not appear grouse-like (honestly, good policy most of the year). I used a throw line to get my end fed up into a nearby tree in the parking area.
Operating location in the parking area.
The sunspots pulled me into a fugue-like state and I operated for one hour, notching 53 QSOs. Ten meters was crazy. I got a bunch of DX: G4OOE/P on Bishop Wilton Wold (G/TW-004), DL2DXA, DL1HBT, IK4IDF, SQ9IDE, DL1FU, DL1AX, SM0GJN, SP9FMP, OK1KT, EA2BD, CT1HIX, MW0IDX, EA4R, and SV2OXS. Incredible!
Trailhead: 40.841634, -78.132874 : Sandy Ridge Trail and US-322
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA] – Driving track along Sandy Ridge Trail
Route: Drive-on via 4-mile gravel road, good condition
We were staying in Davis, WV to see the leaves during our fall break in mid-October. It was colder than anticipated, and the area got its first snow of the season while we were there! Driving up to Backbone Mountain was simple. We followed US-48 west out of Davis until we reached a parking lot for Fred Long Centennial Park, with large wind turbines nearby. Here we pulled into the gravel road across from this parking spot and followed it the quarter-mile to the summit.
It was very foggy, so there was not much to look at while getting my end fed as high up as I could. After 15 QSOs on 40m and 20m, I had a look at the spotter and I noticed many European stations were on 10m, so I decided to give it a try. To my shock and delight, stations from Europe were booming in, and I was able to work 15 more stations in just over 10 minutes before the mini-pileup had dried up.
10 meters really is the magic band! I did not use it often when I was more active in SOTA in the Bay Area, as sunspots were on the downswing during those years (2015-2018). I was lucky to get back into the hobby during the peak of Cycle 25!
Trailhead: 39.14683, -79.57417 : Gravel road across US-48 from Fred Long Centennial Park
POTA: No, but close to Blackwater Falls State Park (US-1802)
Backbone Mountain is just 10 miles from Blackwater Falls State Park, so I added a POTA activation later that afternoon after the afternoon rain had cleared. I found a bench at the Pendleton Point Overlook to operate from and took in the glorious sights!
Other good spots in the park were Lindy Point Overlook and Gentle Trail to Blackwater Falls. Rhododendrons are everywhere, and it must be really amazing to be there when they’re blooming.
On a drive to Cincinnati for a family visit in July, I picked out a detour around Chillicothe to take on a couple SOTA summits: W8O/SE-009 Bunker Hill and W8O/SE-005 Rocky Knob. I had just worked Chris N8PEM on his activation of Bunker Hill a few days before this trip, and his reports for the area were invaluable for planning.
Bunker Hill is within the Great Seal (of Ohio) State Park and Rocky Knob is just outside its bounds. I thought this was an odd name for a park, but it turns out that Chillicothe is the city depicted in the Great Seal of Ohio, as it was the state’s first capital city.
I parked at the mountain biking trailhead off of Lick Run Road. The Mt. Ives trail starts from this point, which fans out into a network of trails throughout the park. First up was Bunker Hill.
W8O/SE-009 Bunker Hill
I followed the Mt. Ives Trail, then the Shawnee Ridge Trail, to the Bunker Hill Trail which snakes its way up the hill. The trails and junctions are well-marked. I did pass by a few mountain bikers on the way up. All told, it was 1.5 miles one way with nearly 500 feet of elevation gain. The majority of the hike was flat as the Bunker Hill trail mostly follows one contour around the hill until the last push to the top.
The activation zone at the top is large, so I hiked a bit further past the true summit where there was more room to set up. I used my trusty throw line to get the end fed up. Since this was a POTA site, I quickly got the required contacts, putting 17 in the log in about 25 minutes. Since the next hike was a bushwhack, I wanted to give myself plenty of time, so I decided that was good enough.
Trailhead: 39.36710, -82.93829 : Mountain Bike Trailhead on Lick Run Rd
Back at the car, it was time for hike number two. Rocky Knob, as of this writing (Feb 2025 – this report has been on the back burner for a while 😬) has only been activated 9 times to Bunker Hill’s 41. This is because Rocky Knob is a bushwhack. While a tract of Great Seal State Park connects nearly the entire way to the hilltop, the least strenuous way does pass momentarily across a well-trimmed lawn (private property) that is not within the park.
I started on the Lick Run Trail and after a tenth of a mile, followed a Connector trail to Lower Cellar Trail, working my way to the east end of the park. Once I had crossed the Cellar Trail proper, it was time to start the bushwhack.
Lick Run TrailAround here is where I went off-trail.
I tried to follow this dried creek up the hill. It was somewhat rough going and the ground was softer. I kept consulting my GPS to try to stay in the park boundaries, which includes a narrow (tenth of a mile wide) panhandle to the east. The clearing just north of the park is an open, flat field that seems to be part of somebody’s property, so I did not linger.
Following the ridge got me back into the park for the final approach to Rocky Knob. There is a small wooded area surrounding some rocky protrusions at the top. There were signs of a recent campfire, with a small rock pit and firewood around. There were many trees to choose from to get a wire up into and a handful of rocks to sit on.
Even though the edge of the park boundary might overlap with the activation zone, I decided to operate closer to the peak south of the park boundary to be safe. I did a bit of S2S chasing here, logging a few prolific SOTA and high-profile activators. George KX0R on Radial Mountain (W0C/PR-091), Al N1SMB on Lily Mountain (W0C/FR-050), and Ara N6ARA on Kratka Ridge (W6/CT-014). 14 QSOs when I wrapped up. It was an uneventful hike back, but I did find a tick in my pants when I made it to Cincinnati a couple hours later. Thankfully, it hadn’t bitten.
Trailhead: 39.36710, -82.93829 : Mountain Bike Trailhead on Lick Run Rd
I had some time to drive up to Mt Davis on July 3 to see Pennsylvania’s high point at 3213 feet. This is the most activated SOTA peak in the W3 area, with my activation making it 125 to date. The summit is surrounded by the Mt Davis State Conservation Area (US-0625) which is also part of the Forbes State Forest (US-5468), making this a double-POTA activation.
While it’s possible to drive to within 300 feet of the peak, I opted to park at the High Point Picnic Area for a mile-long hike to the observation tower along the High Point Trail. This mostly-flat trail is part of a greater ~5 mile loop that tours this chunk of Forbes State Forest. I might try that loop next time.
I took the stairs up the observation tower and had a look around. Despite being the high point, Mt Davis is not particularly prominent, so the observation platform lets you see other ridges around the area. Once I was satisfied, set up near the paved loop by a stone pillar that was once a signpost. A disused trail spur entered the forest for about 40 feet or so, which was a perfect place to string up the end-fed. An easy way to earn 10 SOTA points!
Trailhead: 39.79417, -79.16653 : Northwest end of the Mt Davis Picnic Area.
Route: 2.0 mi round trip, following the High Point Trail
POTA: Mt Davis State Conservation Area (US-0625); Forbes State Forest (US-5468)
Update18 July 2025: This is a broad activation zone, as is typical for PA. The westernmost couple of benches in the Mt Davis Picnic Area are within the AZ! You can do this one POTA-style. I added this activation after completing Boardman Ridge, using the easy location as an opportunity to try my FT891 in the field; QRO for the first time!
The QSOs came in fast, but the rain came faster. I had to pause in the middle to wait for a break in the rain, then racked up a few more before the rain picked up again and forced me to pack up. 32 QSOs total, pieced together from two short runs punctuated by precipitation.
Update14 Feb 2026: The Mt Davis picnic area makes for a great spot to do a winter activation. Deep snow engulfing the tables, but little wind. A couple of snowshoers visiting from Maryland passed by to ask about my setup. This time, I was using the Sotabeams 20-30-40 linked dipole and FT891 for QRO fun, logging 120 QSOs! Fun DX included Finland OH1MM and Iceland TF3DC, both on 20m!
Tom Zajdel 