Many thanks to Scott (VO1DR) who shares the following guest post:

---

Portable/Kite QRP Operation in Central Newfoundland Wilderness by Float Plane: Part 1 – Gearing Up and Getting There

by Scott Schillereff, VO1DR

Introduction

I love getting out in the woods and wilds in Newfoundland for portable QRP operation.  Lately, I have been trying kite-borne antennas.  This is a two-part story of a portable QRP adventure with a kite antenna at Mount Sylvester in the Bay du Nord Wilderness Area in central Newfoundland by float plane.  Part 1 describes the setting, history, geology, access, and outdoor/survival gear.  Part 2 describes radio stuff and some dramas with getting a kite antenna aloft.

It is useful to describe the island of Newfoundland setting, since it is unique in North America.  You can think of Newfoundland as a wild cousin of Nova Scotia – many similarities, but worlds apart.  If you want to play radio in a well-developed, refined setting (where giant manicured lawns are a thing), then Nova Scotia is for you; if you want a wilder adventure with some risk and less people, come to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Central Newfoundland Setting

I live in St. John’s, the capital of the eastern-most Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), situated about equidistant between Boston and Ireland (Figure 1).  This means QRP contacts to western Europe are as easy as those to eastern North America.

The island of Newfoundland is about the size of England but, with an island-portion population of only 479,105, we have less than 1/100th of the people in England.  There is a lot of empty space here!  Most of the people live in small towns and communities scattered along the coasts, originally to pursue various fisheries.

The principal highway (Trans-Canada Highway; Highway 1 on Figure 2) traverses an arc around the northern and western part of the island.  The central area of Newfoundland is a vast sparsely-populated area, historically used by indigenous groups for hunting, fishing and gathering, and, since European contact and later occupation, mostly for logging, mining, recreation, and hydro power projects.

The Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve and Mount Sylvester

The Bay du Nord Wilderness Reserve in southern Central Newfoundland (large green patch in Figure 2) was established by the Province in 1986, primarily to protect the Middle Ridge woodland caribou herd – the largest herd in the island of NL.  This 2,895 km2 reserve includes ponds, rivers, bogs and fens, and forests, and is the last major unspoiled area on the island.  There are no facilities, amenities, trail markers, or public buildings – just wilderness.  This inland area has a cultural history of use by the Mi’kmaq indigenous peoples since the 18th century.  The area was first described by European explorer (William Cormack) after his trans-island trek of 1822.  Geologist James Howley was the first known person to travel the full length of the Bay du Nord River in 1887.  A cairn he built atop Mount Sylvester as a surveying marker still stands today (see below).

Mount Sylvester (Figures 3 and 4) is an inselberg (German: island mountain) created by weathering and glaciation with top elevation of 365 m (1,198 ft) above sea level, and rising 154 m (505 ft) above the adjacent flat glaciated terrain (for more stats search: peakvisor.com).  It was named after Sylvester Joe, a Mi’kmaq hunter and guide hired by Cormack for his travels.  The yellow arrows on Figure 4 point to Howley’s cairn (about 2.5 m high) at the top, and huge fluted glacial scours along the sides and flanks.

Getting There

Mount Sylvester lies immediately adjacent to Diamond Lake, with a gentle glaciated bedrock slope to the summit.  A perfect spot to land a float plane and walk to the top for a QRP adventure!

My companion Kerry, a distant relation in Gander, NL, owns a float plane and for years has been interested to land on Diamond Lake and walk to the top – but never had a second person to go (for safety).  We were a match made in heaven!  My wife and I and our two Havanese doggies drove our motor home to Gander (about 4 hr drive) and Kerry and I geared up for the flight and hike on June 24, 2023.

As luck would have it, hundreds of forest fires were (and are) burning in eastern Canada.  Smoke from those fires has drifted over eastern Canada and most of NL producing a tan haze that can block out the full sun (Figure 5) and reduce visibility for flying.  Since Kerry is only certified for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flying, it was touch-and-go whether we could fly at all.

On the morning of June 24, bright and early, we tried anyway.  The smoke had shifted to form a layer above 1,500 ft altitude, but we could safely fly under it at 500-750 ft altitude.  We were good to go!  Kerry’s plane (C-FAVG) was the venerable Cessna 172 Skyhawk (Figure 6), among the most common small aircraft on earth.  The C-FAVG airframe was produced in the 1970s and has been upgraded and certified ever since.

We drove to his float plane dock at Deadman’s Pond adjacent to Gander airport (this airport was the site of the massive commercial aircraft landings during 9/11/2001; the basis for the Come From Away musical).  Kerry assured me not to worry about the name of the pond…

We took off just before 9 am and headed south for about an hour’s flight to Diamond Lake.  Kerry checked in with Gander Tower and within half an hour, we were out of direct VHF contact.  Our communications were by VHF with other planes, or our cell phones (they worked great all day, even on top of Mount Sylvester).

Geology

As a geologist, I am fascinated on why Mount Sylvester exists and its interesting geological features.  First of all, the ENTIRE mountain was covered with glacial ice during last ice age (Wisconsinan-Age glaciation ending about 11,000 years ago).  A small continental ice sheet covered the island of Newfoundland, and radiated out toward lower sea levels.  Figures 3 and 4 show the smooth, fluted flanks of the inselberg created by the grinding passage of ice laden with rock blocks and fragments (Nature’s ultimate sandpaper).

Mount Sylvester consists mainly of medium-grained granite, part of the large Ackley Batholith (tens of sq. km).  Locally, this granite must have been harder and more resilient to glacial erosion to have remained as an inselberg while the rest of the Ackley granite was ground flat.

Mount Sylvester is not all granite.  There is a fault on the southwest flank that brings metamorphosed sandstones in contact with the granite.

Gearhead Classification

Before getting into gear for this trip, I want to compliment Thomas and other posters who describe in detail every little bit of their gear.  It is clear that many reading QRPer.com are serious gearheads.  With that in mind, I would like to propose this Classification System for Portable Ham Gearheads:

• Apprentice – an entry-level gearhead who transitions from need to want (e.g., from “I need a pack” to “I want that pack”).  An Apprentice seeks out a gearhead Elmer (or a Thomas) and begins to acquire multiple packs, containers, zipped pockets, and poke bags, etc. based on others’ recommendations.  Often frugal (this does not last).
• Journeyman – an advanced gearhead who intently peruses outdoor catalogs for “that next piece of gear I must have”.  A Journeyman’s pulse noticeably quickens when entering an Army Surplus store and sees a wall full of packs.  May drool over new gear, especially that owned by others.  Spends money on gear like a drunken sailor.
• Mechanic – a variant of advanced gearhead with homebrew tendencies.  Makes,  modifies or repurposes most of their gear.  Adept at field repairs and repurposing discarded things to make ham /P gear.  Appears frugal, but clearly spends far more time making and fixing things than most people would (who value their time at all!).
• Jedi – a gearhead master who is a connoisseur of gear, with the latest variations and space-age materials.  Often a well-known person, to the point where suppliers send them gear to review.  A Jedi’s gear is well-organized and each piece has a subtly different use or purpose.  Think: kid in a candy store with no known budgetary controls.  May eventually design gear and make a business of it.

You can judge yourself accordingly.  I put myself in the Mechanic class.  Thomas is clearly a Jedi ?.

Outdoor Gear for This Trip

We adopted a complementary gear system.  Between our day packs and survival bag, we had means to shelter in place if a medical problem occurred or to stay out overnight (e.g., if the plane wouldn’t restart). This seemed prudent given we were an hour’s flying from any help.

Day Pack

Years ago, I switched to a lumbar pack system for day hiking.  Lumbar packs ride low and snug; no more sweaty back or snagging your pack when ducking under fallen trees.

Details of day pack contents:

1. Nuts and nacho chips.  Nacho chips (or Fritos or potato chips) are crushable, and also ignite readily to start a fire (try it!)
2. Suunto Clipper button compass (tied to pack); beware cheapo Dollar store button compasses
3. Food container (cookies!)
4. Food for the day (granola bars, jerky sticks, can of mackerel, cheese, Kolbassa sausage)
5. Water bottle (1 L)
6. Second water bottle (1 L, stainless).  Can remove lid and boil water in it.
7. Sunscreen SPF70 (refilled small tube to keep weight down)
8. Aluminum match case.  Includes ferromagnesium rod epoxied to outside, with metal scraper on cord.
9. Elastic wrap bandage and several feet of 2.5 cm (1”) Gorilla duct tape (1,001 uses)
10. Titanium drinking cup with neoprene beer can insulation sleeve
11. Custom first aid kit (good functional FAKs could make a whole separate article!)
12. Thin cotton neckerchief 1 m x 1 m (40” x 40”; like a shemagh).  Boy Scouts 100 years ago had it right (1,001 uses)
13. Mosquito repellant (30% DEET Muskol; pump bottle with screw on cap)
14. Sheath knife (Bahco Mora; ~4” fixed blade; plastic sheath).  Bombproof, cheap and all the knife you need. Keep it razor-sharp.  I rigged a thin sling to wear it cross-chest.
15. Signalling mirror (StarFlash Ultra; about 2” x 3”).  Many uses.
16. Mosquito net (fits over hat onto shoulders)
17. Eye glasses neck strap
18. Mylar survival blanket (56”x84”); Dollar store; many uses.
19. Hi-vis nylon signalling/marking flag (0.45 m, 18” square, with tie straps)
20. Plastic shopping bag (to pick up garbage; sadly, it’s everywhere, from Pole to Pole).

On Me

You’ll see lots of redundancy in all this gear – I believe in “two is one, one is none”.

Survival Bag

Details of survival bag contents:

1. Shelter tarp 2.4 m x 3.1 m (8 ft x 10 ft)
2. “Trekker’s Friend” – 1.8 m x 2.4 m (6 ft x 9 ft) combination hammock-poncho-bivvy bag (I designed and made this)
3. Windbreaker jacket with hood (runner’s jacket)
4. “Poke bag” for gathering anything or signalling (repurposed from boating throw-line bag)
5. Sawyer Mini SP128 water filter kit (repackaged in ziplock freezer bag)
6. Tent stakes and guy lines for shelter (Dollar store)
7. Head lamp (many to choose; this one has white & red light, and multiple light settings)
8. Bahco Laplander folding saw
9. 550 Paracord (15 m, 50 ft)
10. Hatchet (0.6 kg,1.25 lb); keep razor sharp; never chop into the ground
11. #36 Bank line cordage (30 m, 100 ft) on custom spool
12. Emergency food (granola bars, honey, tea, sugar, jerky, peanut butter)
13. Hand warmer pack (for hands or to warm a hypothermic person inside a bivvy bag)
14. Leather gloves (for gathering firewood; bushcraft)
15. Compass (Suunto MC-2; could use Silva Ranger or similar).  Mirror has many uses.
16. Custom cook kit.  Stainless steel Bento box (Dollar store), can boil water over fire, or use small DIY soda can alcohol stove.  White pill bottle repurposed for fuel. Folding spork utensil. Instant espresso coffee (yum!).

Stay tuned for Part 2!