W3/PD-003 Rising Mtn

After my activation at Blue Mtn, I drove north through Tuscarora State Forest, past Fowlers Hollow SP, to Hemlocks Natural Area, an area that KC3TVC reports as “excellent wilderness.” I agree! This is one of the more scenic SOTA hikes I’ve done in a while. I walked north along the Hemlock Trail into the 120-acre old hemlock forest for a bit to take in the large trees, and then returned to the parking area to start the hike south on Bear Ponds Trail towards Rising Mountain, which lies on the Tuscarora Trail.

I followed the red-blazed Bear Pond Trail for a half mile through some mountain laurel and young forest until I joined the blue-blazed Tuscarora Trail.

From here, the path got a bit rockier, following the ridgeline of Rising Mountain. Along the way I passed a local who was excited to see somebody else on the trail, and we chatted for a bit. I suppose Tuscarora is not one of the more popular long-distance trails. It’s 250 miles, so I’m not sure that many folks attempt to through hike it.

After a little over 2 miles, I was in the activation zone and found a small clearing by the trail to set up and operate. I managed to work JB KC1MXB on 40m for a second S2S, this time on W1/AM-350. My other S2S was on 20m with K6EL on W6/NC-298 in Berkeley, CA, my third S2S with El on my beloved Vollmer Peak.

Trailhead: 40.23508, -77.64443 : Hemlocks Natural Area parking
Maps: [AA3TZ SOTA] [Tuscarora State Forest Map]
Route: 4.5 mi RT hike on Bear Pond and Tuscarora Trail, 500 feet gain.
POTA: US-5479 Tuscarora State Forest

After this hike I camped at Colonel Denning State Park, where I got in an evening POTA activation. The next day was a rainy morning, so I just found some picnic groves in nearby Fowlers Hollow SP and Big Spring SP for a couple more POTA activations on the way home. Big Spring was particularly pretty, and there is an abandoned railroad tunnel to check out on the next visit.

W3/PD-004 Blue Mtn

After activating Clarks Knob, I moved on to W3/PD-004, one of several SOTA peaks on Blue Mountain, which is one of the major mountains the PA turnpike tunnels through. Jill N3ICE and Jim AC3B, two legendary W3 activators who have been on a quasi-hiatus from SOTA during recent years, had activated this summit in January to break their radio silence. I managed to chase N3ICE during their activation, which put this peak on my to-do list. Today was the day to check it off!

I drove into Tuscarora State Forest along Three Square Hollow Road and parked at the gate on Blue Mountain Road (which was closed), then continued from there on foot. Many other activators report poor/icy conditions in the winter, no doubt attracted to the potential winter bonus. These forest roads are all gravel/unpaved and not maintained in the winter so I feel it would be tough going in the winter, but this was perfectly fine in the spring.

This gate may be open seasonally, but the hike is very short.

After just over a half mile of a relatively flat hike along the road, I was in a large clearing in the activation zone and set up there, near a primitive campsite with a fire ring in front of a second gate.

I worked 6 QSOs on 40m, and 5 QSOs on 20m, including two S2S: KG5AUU on W5O/OU-002 (a SOTA activation in Oklahoma, rare for me to see!) and K7GT on W7O/SC-044. Since I had one more hike to go before setting up my campsite, I packed up quickly and got on to the next one.

Trailhead: 40.20506, -77.57793 : Parking area by gate on Blue Mountain Road
Maps: [AA3TZ SOTA] [Tuscarora State Forest Map]
Route: 1.2 mi RT hike on Blue Mountain Road, <100 feet gain to get into AZ.
POTA: US-5479 Tuscarora State Forest

W3/SV-024 Shade Mtn

To wrap up our long day of SOTA in and around Tuscarora State Park, we continued northeast along Licking Creek Drive until turning onto Spectacle Gap Road. All of these forest roads were in good shape but were gravel. Spectacle Gap climbs up to the ridge of Shade Mountain, and the road eventually ends at Campsite 9, a primitive campsite that is within this SOTA activation zone at the very boundary of the state forest. Here there is a picnic bench, fire pit, and remnants of a fire tower removed in the mid-90s, but not many other amenities at this campsite. The primitive spot can be booked for just $10 a night. It might be a fun place to work a PA QSO party from in future years, but it does get windy and potentially quite cold in October.

The sun was setting and Luna was exhausted. We just checked out the campsite and then I set up and settled in for an enjoyable activation, working 42 QSOs, including a S2S with the dynamic duo of DJ WW7D and Josh WU7H on 15m (W7W/CW-065). I also notably worked (just barely) JH1MXV on 15m, all the way in Gunma Prefecture, Japan! The vibes here were just great!

Tuscarora State Forest campsite 9. The concrete pads are where the firetower once stood.

We were pretty pooped from the long day and stopped by Juniata Brewing Company back in Huntington for a celebratory dinner. Luna got a free (and large) dog biscuit!

Trailhead: 40.51361, -77.55951 : Tuscarora State Forest campsite 9
Map: [Tuscarora State Forest]
Route: Drive-on via Spectacle Gap Road
POTA: US-5479, Tuscarora State Forest

W3/SV-028 Blacklog Mtn

After wrapping our previous long hike and activation in Jacks Narrows, Luna and I headed into Tuscarora State Forest to do a few more new summits. I parked on Licking Creek Drive, where there is the option to hike either west to Blue Mountain W3/SV-030 or east to Blacklog Mtn W3/SV-028, two parallel ridges that the forest road runs between. We opted for the latter.

We followed the red-blazed Birch Run Trail, and shortly into the hike was a bridgeless creek crossing, about 10 feet across. The water level was just over a foot deep on this early spring day, so that’s something to be aware of when going for this hike.

Past the creek was a gentle climb to a small clearing and another trail sign, and here the trail gets much steeper and rockier, with a classic PA boulder field at some point. We continued up to the ridge and then left the trail for a final short, open bushwhack up along the ridge into the activation zone.

There are plenty of trees around and got my contacts. By this point, Luna understood the routine and sat calmly, letting me work for about 40 minutes to get 36 QSOs. On the way back, Luna had a big dog moment, sniffing out our own track and excitedly guiding us right back to the trail. Our path back followed exactly our route there, according to the GPS, so she did a great job!

Luna sniffing out our track for the return path.

At the end of this hike, I decided to check out the semi-famous “Campsite 009,” the site of W3/SV-024 Shade Mountain. I’ll have to come back here for Blue Mountain some time.

Trailhead: 40.39025, -77.75942 : by Licking Creek Road
Map: [AA3TZ SOTA] [Tuscarora State Forest]
Route: 2.5 mile RT hike along Birch Run Trail, with a short ridgeline bushwhack; ~1000 feet of total elevation
POTA: US-5479, Tuscarora State Forest