As always there are lots of links within the article. Click one! Click them all! Learn all the things!
Dear readers, admittedly the title is clickbait, but I assure you that there is truth behind it. As you already know, I occasionally travel for work and lately I’ve been working inside a correctional institution for my primary employer.
And, as you’ve seen before, while traveling usually I make a detour to go activate a site in the area or along the route, and to get a break from the drive. Usually that detour is only 10 or 20 kilometres. I enjoy the driving and the travel, and I’m always on the hunt for parks I’ve not yet activated and especially the elusive ATNO -All Time New One- or phrased another way, not yet activated at all or with one of the common modes of Phone, Digital or CW.
For this series of trips over the month of November, they were the first real road trips with my new-to-me 2023 F-150 PowerBoost hybrid. In the month leading up to this trip I was a busy beaver getting the radios installed in the truck to help pass the many hours on the road. Frankly I was excited to set up a new mobile installation and correct some major shortcomings with my last; experience is an excellent teacher if you are willing to listen. The video link below summarizes my mobile installation and is complete with chapters so you can jump to the section that interests you the most.
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park encompasses both the Waterton National Park in Alberta, Canada and Glacier National Park in Montana, USA. It’s the first international designation of a park anywhere, ever. You’ve seen me write about Glacier National Park here on QRPer last year, and now I’d get a chance to complete that entity activating within the Canadian side. Needless to say I was pretty excited about the detour and hopeful that weather would be on my side for some spectacular photos.
Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following guest post:
This map provides an overview of our cross-country road trip. We traveled zig-zag paths from our home in Tionesta, PA to my parents’ home in Martinez, CA, and back again.
Six Weeks and 7300 Miles: Activating on the Road
by Brian (K3ES)
This article gives an overview of a driving trip across the United States and back that included activation of Parks on the Air (POTA) entities in 21 states along the way. We left our home in northwest Pennsylvania on September 18, 2024, and returned on Halloween. During our time away, we spent about 3 weeks driving and 3 weeks visiting with my parents at their home near San Francisco, CA. With such an epic scope, I plan to write several articles about various POTA activations completed during our trip. In fact, I completed one article early, and it has already been published on QRPer.com: K3ES’ Unplanned activation of Yellowstone National Park. This report provides the background and a broad overview of our trip.
The Players
My mom and dad have made the Bay Area of California their home for 40 years. They left Pennsylvania on their own great adventure in the mid-1980s, while I was attending graduate school in Pittsburgh. Dad accepted a transfer, so they packed up the house, committed their belongings to a moving company, and drove their car across the country in 4-1/2 days to meet the movers. I was able to go along on that driving trip (I returned to Pittsburgh by airline), but I have always wanted to do it again, spending a bit more time to see the sights.
My dad is a hero to me. I have never been able to match his work ethic or his ability to plan and execute projects. From home repairs to electronics projects, Dad was always working on something, and generally had several projects going at once. His workshop was well equipped, and he spent a lot of time there. Now, approaching his 90th birthday, Dad has been slowing down. He is no longer able to make use of the shop, but he remembers how important it has been to him. So, we planned this trip to help Mom clean out the shop, and to let Dad see his trustworthy tools moving to a new home where they can be used and appreciated.
Having retired in 2021, my calendar is more open than it was during 31 years of employment. I am grateful for this. My wife, Becky, and I were able to arrange other commitments to give ourselves time for an adventure. So the two of us packed the back seat of my 2015 Toyota Tundra pickup truck for six weeks of travel, being careful to leave seat space for POTA dog Molly. We kept the truck bed empty, so that space would be available to bring home tools and shop supplies from California. This would be our opportunity to travel across the American west. Forty years after my original cross-country driving trip, I would finally get to stop and see sights along the way.
Once we arrived at my parents’ home in California’s Bay Area, Molly had free run of their fenced yard. This squirrel was Molly’s nemesis for the duration. It spent hours across the fence eating fruit in the neighbor’s pomegranate tree. Many chases ensued, none successful.
The Plan
In another article published on QRPer.com earlier this year: K3ES Travels: Ten Days of QRP with Compromised Antennas, I explained Becky’s great idea: that I should activate all 50 of our United States. At that point, I had activated parks in only 6 states. By the time we left on this trip, my total had inched up to 11 activated states. So our goal would be to activate as many of the western states as possible. Ohio, Indiana, Washington, Oregon, and California were already in the done column, courtesy of some previous travel, but that left a lot of territory to cover.
Since we were leaving in September, we were confident that the weather would be favorable for driving across the northern tier states. Leaving California to return home in late October, we knew that snow was possible in the mountain passes, so we planned to take a more southerly route. What remained was to adjust the route to cover all of the states along or near our intended travel path. In total, including a side-trip to activate a new California park during the Autumn Support Your Parks event, we traveled 7300 miles: 3800 miles traveling westward, 200 miles for the California side-trip, and 3300 miles traveling eastward on the return home.
When we left our driveway, we had the broad outline of the route. We also had an idea of some of the parks that I might activate on the trip. We did not have a detailed itinerary. In fact, though we knew the basic route, and we had reserved rooms for only the first two nights. I encouraged Becky to leave things a bit open-ended, despite her penchant for careful planning. This was kind of important, because I would be doing all the driving. Don’t get me wrong. Becky is an excellent driver, it is just that she is intimidated by my truck. We needed its cargo capacity, but I became the sole driver. So we needed to have the flexibility to stop sooner, or press on longer, depending on my ability to continue driving safely.
After stopping for the night, we usually set our travel goals for the next day or two. If we were tired, we would cut the next day’s travel shorter. If not, we might decide to go further. We also settled on the parks we would visit during the next day’s travels. Even then, we allowed ourselves to make changes if an opportunity presented itself, and more than once, it did.
Keeping our travel plans a bit loose worked really well for us, particularly after we discovered that almost all hotels welcomed Molly as a guest (for a nominal pet fee, of course). We had expected more difficulty, and were very pleasantly surprised that nearly every hotel along the way was “pet friendly”. The additional freedom let us alter our plans at times, like adding Yellowstone National Park to the travel route, when we had originally expected to miss it.
On our return trip, we realized that stopping for a park activation worked really well as a break during long days of driving. We could stretch, eat lunch, take Molly for a walk, and CW would help me to clear my head before the remainder of the day’s drive. In fact, we scheduled additional activations in IL, IN, and OH for just that reason, even though I had previously activated parks in those states.
On our final travel day, we stopped at Lake Norman State Park in Ohio. Bands were great, and I took time to complete 30 contacts. The greatest difficulty was ambient noise from the wind blowing across the lake. This flag tells the tale…
The Parks
In the end, I completed 34 activations of 32 distinct POTA entities during the trip. I activated in 18 new states during our travels, and finished with 29 of 50 states activated. When I completed my activation of Mesa Verde National Park, I was within the activation zone of the Park Point SOTA summit (W0C/SJ-019), yielding a simultaneous SOTA/POTA activation. The following Table lists the activations completed during our trip. Before leaving, I had already activated OH, IN, and CA, so they do not count among the 18 new states.
A bench at Pikes Peak State Park in Iowa provided an awesome view of the Mississippi River valley while I was making contacts for the activation.Molly kept watch while I activated Washoe Lake State Park in Nevada.At Fort Union National Monument in New Mexico, I could look over the ruins of the large adobe hospital building while I was operating. Fort Union guarded the Santa Fe Trail (now a National Historic Trail and a POTA entity). I was able to make this a 2-fer activation.
Table: Parks Activated During the Trip
Date
State
Park ID
Park Name
QSOs
09/19/24
IL
US-4099
Moraine View SP
12
09/19/24
IA
US-2311
Pikes Peak SP
27
09/20/24
WI
US-1471
Perrot SP
11
09/20/24
MN
US-2466
Afton SP
14
09/23/24
ND
US-5748
Fort Abercrombie SHS
27
09/23/24
ND
US-4239
North Country Trail NST (2-fer with US-5748)
27
09/24/24
SD
US-0850
Minuteman Missile NHS
23
09/25/24
SD
US-0005
Badlands NP
11
09/25/24
SD
US-7487
Buffalo Gap NGL
34
09/26/24
SD
US-0786
Mount Rushmore NM
11
09/26/24
SD
US-4524
Black Hills NF
22
09/27/24
SD
US-0786
Mount Rushmore NM
49
09/27/24
NE
US-7478
Oglala NGL
18
09/27/24
WY
US-0920
Devils Tower NM
15
09/28/24
MT
US-4502
Custer Gallatin NF
16
09/29/24
WY
US-0070
Yellowstone NP
11
09/29/24
ID
US-4475
Caribou Targhee NF
13
09/30/24
UT
US-3075
Great Salt Lake SP
11
10/01/24
NV
US-2640
Washoe Lake SP
12
10/19/24
CA
US-0651
Point Reyes NS
11
10/24/24
AZ
US-0030
Grand Canyon NP
33
10/25/24
AZ
US-0057
Petrified Forest NP
18
10/26/24
CO
US-0051
Mesa Verde NP
23
10/26/24
CO
W0C/SJ-019
Park Point SOTA Summit (joint with US-0051)
23
10/27/24
NM
US-0933
Fort Union NM
17
10/27/24
NM
US-4579
Santa Fe Trail NHT (2-fer with US-0933)
17
10/27/24
OK
US-7481
Rita Blanca NGL
14
10/28/24
KS
US-9191
Pawnee Rock SHS
19
10/28/24
KS
US-4579
Santa Fe Trail NHT (2-fer with US-9191)
19
10/29/24
MO
US-3345
Confederate Memorial SHS
14
10/29/24
MO
US-3356
Mark Twain Birthplace SHS
14
10/30/24
IL
US-4097
Kickapoo SRA
17
10/30/24
IN
US-10247
Lawrence Creek SNR
23
10/30/24
IN
US-2256
Fort Harrison SP (2-fer with US-10247)
23
10/31/24
OH
US-3515
Lake Milton SP
30
Shading denotes my first activation in the indicated state.
My first activation of the trip was at Moraine View State Recreation Area in Illinois.
Activation Experience
One of the amazing things about our beautiful country is that each state has a seemingly different character than all of the others. While there can be similarity, topography, geography, climate, and vegetation combine to make something unique. From a POTA activator’s perspective, this uniqueness means that you must be ready to deploy antennas using a variety of different techniques. Living in Pennsylvania (Penn’s Woods) means that I am able to find a tree at almost any location where I choose to activate. This is definitely not the case in many other states. Continue reading Six Weeks and 7300 Miles: Activating on the Road→
In my last article, I activated Hanging Rock Battleground State Historic Site and then Glenn and I spent the evening at an Airbnb in Camden, South Carolina. Monday, October 14th was the last day of our trip. There was no way this POTA Babe was missing out on an activation on the trip home.
Sunday evening, after the Hanging Rock activation, I searched for a nearby park on the POTA website and settled on Wateree River Heritage Preserve Wildlife Management Area (WMA) (US-10414) as it looked interesting and was on the drive home. However, I didn’t pay attention to the fact a lottery deer hunt would be held on Monday and the park closed to anyone not involved in the hunt. I discovered this fact that morning upon arriving at the site. It was time for a Plan B ASAP.
entrance to Wateree Heritage Preserve WMA
Looking on the POTA website, both Congaree National Park (US-0017) and Congaree Bluffs Heritage Preserve WMA (US-3916) were nearby. I recall reading that some of the boardwalks/trails in the national park were impacted from Hurricane Helene. So I opted to visit Congaree Bluffs instead.
Congaree Bluffs Heritage Preserve is owned by the State of South Carolina. The property was purchased in 2001 with the express purpose of protecting the bluffs and flood plain on the south side of the Congaree River. The high bluffs in this area are not common because central South Carolina is mostly flat. The 201 acres of the park contain significant stands of American beech, oak-hickory, and bottomland hardwood forest. There were also stands of loblolly pines at the time of purchase that management planned to convert to longleaf pine stands over time.
The road into Congaree Bluffs is dirt but appears well maintained. There is a kiosk and signage just as you enter the park.
dirt access road – Turkey Track Lane (what a great name!)
We drove to the parking lot just down the road from the education center. I didn’t have much familiarity with this park since it was a last minute choice. A hasty glance at hiking sites showed the Bluff-River Walk that left from this parking lot down to the Congaree River. How difficult could that be?
entrance for Bluff-River Walk
Glenn and I walked around the trail gate and began our descent. The first thing we noticed was how many trees were down across the trail as well as vines and other foliage making passage difficult. As we continued our descent, we began to notice the mosquitos. I was wearing long sleeves and pants and had brought bug spray but these mosquitos were not easily deterred. By the time we reached the river, it was obvious we’d be nothing but blood donors there and an activation needed to happen elsewhere.
a tree downed across the trailon the hike to the riverneat lichens on one of the downed treesour quick view of the Congaree River
Arriving back at the car, I opted to activate in the parking lot. A stand of pines nearby provided shade (though I augmented that with my Mountain Laurel Designs tarp) and a fairly steady breeze kept the bugs at bay.
a pine stand near the car providing shadethe tarp lazily draped to provide extra shade
As both Glenn and I had CW Innovations classes to coach later that evening, I didn’t have much time for an activation. I opted for the Chelegance MC-750 and, once it was set up, hopped onto 20 meters figuring that band would give me the best chance at a successful activation in a short time-frame. It did! I had 23 QSOs with two park-to-park QSOs in 30 minutes. (Note: One park-to-park didn’t count after the fact as I entered it incorrectly in my log.)
The only fly in the ointment for my time on 20 meters was the QSB and noise which increased later in the activation. Usually I encounter noise on 40 meters, not 20, but the KX2 filters were a huge help in countering that issue. (I love that little rig!) As for the QSB, well, the best counter for that is plenty of time on the air to gain experience in dealing with it.
If you’d like to see footage of the park as well as get Glenn’s and my take as to whether or not we’d return to Congaree Bluffs Heritage Preserve, check out the video on my Youtube channel.
This activation places me at 44 activations toward my goal of 60 new, valid park activations for 2024. I’m not sure I’ll be able to complete this goal; however, I will see how far I can get. Where will I show up for park #45? Stay tuned…
Equipment Used
[Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.]
Many thanks to Micah (N4MJL) who shares the following guest post:
Elecraft KH1 Anytime and Anywhere Adventures
by Micah (N4MJL)
Anywhere and anytime—that’s how I like to describe my Elecraft KH1. This radio goes everywhere I go. As an airline pilot, I bounce from coast to coast and everywhere in between almost daily. Since I’m constantly on the move, my radio gear has to be small and compact.
I’m a third-generation ham radio CW operator. Anyone who’s heard me on the air knows I’m still quite new to CW. I only started running CW activations with POTA/SOTA in the spring of 2024. Here’s the gear that’s been working well for me, along with a few photos from the locations I’ve had the pleasure of activating.
I’ve found that the Pelican M50 micro case is the perfect “shack in a box” for my KH1. This setup goes everywhere with me. Here’s what fits perfectly in the M50:
Packtenna 9:1 random wire
20 ft BNC coax
Panasonic ErgoFit earbuds
SP4 paddles from CW Morse
KH1 (fully loaded with internal battery and tuner)
30 ft throw line
Write-in-the-Rain notebook
High Visibility Orange Cap-O-Matic Fisher Space Pen (with lanyard)
Desiccant silica gel pack
In pedestrian mobile configuration, the KH1 is a solid system. I’ve done several activations this way. That said, after 45 minutes of holding the KH1 in this setup, I’m ready to wrap up! Having a portable shack that lets me deploy a random wire that tunes 40-15m and a more ergonomically designed key drastically improves my capabilities.
In many urban environments where I activate POTA, pedestrian mobile is essential. Unfortunately, the security in urban parks can be unpredictable, and the KH1 allows me to operate on the go and quickly move if needed.
Some of you may be wondering what I did to the inside of my M50 case. Well, in my defense, it’s my wife’s fault. She left me unsupervised with a glue gun and a bit of alcohol. When my KH1 arrived this spring, solar conditions were poor, so I had a few days to think and decided to turn the case into a makeshift Faraday box. I used Polyken aluminum tape, cardboard, and a glue gun to line it. Now, I know what you’re thinking: there’s no electrical bonding between the lid and lower box due to the rubber seal, so will this really work as a Faraday cage? Maybe, maybe not—but it sure looks cool! What do you think?
In addition to the M50 case, I carry a support pouch (Magpul DAKA, size small). This heavy-duty, water-resistant pouch contains:
31 ft counterpoise wire
AXE1 40m antenna extender
Bioenno battery 12V 3Ah (backup battery—“1 is none, and 2 is 1” if you know, you know!)
KH1 power cable
KH1 right-angle antenna mount
These items aren’t essential but are nice to have for longer activations.
When I’m done flying and ready to play radio, I pack all this gear into my Flash 22 day pack. This compact, minimalist pack takes up almost no room in my flight bag and even has a built-in whistle on the chest strap, which is perfect for California!
When conditions allow, I enjoy using the full five watts of power. My go-to antenna is the SOTAbeams Band Hopper III, which is a versatile half-wave linked dipole:
Rated 125 watts
Center-fed with 33 ft RG174 coax
Guying system included
Resonant on 20m, 30m, and 40m (no tuner needed, though the KH1 tuner will also tune up 17m and 15m)
Built-in balun
Weighs only 14 oz
The wire/guying winders are excellent, and I’ve used this system in all kinds of environments, from sandy beaches to mountain tops above the treeline. I replaced the aluminum tent pegs with plastic ones to keep TSA happier.
The SOTAbeams Tactical Mini Mast fits diagonally in my 22″ roller board. I wrap heavy rubber-coated wire around it to secure it to posts or shrubs when needed.
Along with this radio gear, I also manage to pack a change of clothes—usually enough for a five-day trip. I typically fly three trips a month, each lasting four to five days. My roller board carries me and my radio gear from plane to plane all week long.
On a short backpacking trip along the Appalachian Trail (June 3, 2024), I activated SOTA summit W4V/BR-007 Three Ridges and the Three Ridges Wilderness area (POTA US-9959). The mountain in the distance is The Priest (W4V/BR-002), which I activated earlier this year with my LNR Precision MTR4B.
The summit of Three Ridges is a densely wooded area, so I stopped below the summit to enjoy the view, grab a quick snack, and play some radio. I snagged two POTA-only QSOs with W8WZ in Louisiana and KU8T in Indiana using the KH1’s whip antenna. Once I reached the summit, I used the Packtenna 9:1 random wire for my activation. Continue reading Flying High and Keying Low: A Pilot’s QRP Adventures Across the USA→
In my last article, I activated Uwharrie National Forest in North Carolina at the Buck Mountain Fire Tower. After that activation, Glenn W4YES and I drove to Charlotte to visit college friends – Jennifer and Mike. So far, the day had been wonderful. However, it was far from over.
Our final night of our getaway trip would be spent at an Airbnb in Camden, South Carolina. I chose to activate Hanging Rock Battleground State Historical Park (US-10470), several miles south of Heath Springs, South Carolina. The park is remote and not well marked. All there was to signify its existance from the road we traveled was space large enough to accommodate two cars and a row of pilings. On one of the pilings was a white sign and, behind it, what looked like a trail.
the trail into the park
The park has historical signifance. An outpost was established at Hanging Rock by the British in the 1700s because of its strategic location on the road from Camden to Charlotte. According to the American Battlefield Trust, a three-hour battle was fought on August 6, 1780 on the site as a “part of a Patriot drive to reclaim the southern colonies after the siege of Charleston, South Carolina”. Fifty-three Americans and two hundred British soldiers lost their lives in this encounter.
Nothing about the site today brings to mind a battle. It is a short hike into the property before one finds giant boulders, some of which appear to be hanging (hence the name, right?).
See how big the boulders are?
We hiked a little further into this property which looked like a little slice of North Carolina in South Carolina. Spots of pincushion moss dotted the ground and leaves crunched under our feet. Sunlight filtered through the foliage. A small creek ran and burbled below the giant boulders above not far from a monument marking the battle.
I think this is pincushion mosswalking beneath the forest canopy
We decided to set up atop the highest and largest of the boulders. On its top, the tree canopy parted, giving my antenna just what it needed. I figured the Chelegance MC-750 would work best here and, given I had a tripod to mount it, it would work fine despite a rocky base.
Glenn atop the boulder on which we setupcloseup of lichens on the bouldersthe view from the top down into the forest below
It was still early enough that 20 meters was an option so I secured 14.048. It wasn’t long after I spotted myself that calls began arriving. Over the next 30 minutes, the calls were steady – 24 to be exact. At 6:00 PM, I called QRT because we had yet to check into our Airbnb and needed to be out of the park by dark.
setting up Chelegance tripodgetting ready to run coaxon the air!QSO Map Hanging Rock Battleground State Historical Park (US-10470) USA 10-13-2024 source: http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/QSO Map Hanging Rock Battleground State Historical Park (US-10470) 10-13-2024 source: http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/
I was especially pleased to have one DX at this activation – Ignacio EA2BD. (Thank you, Ignacio!) I rarely get DX as I don’t chase it. This exchange was a nice surprise.
Tomorrow, Monday, October 14, it was time to head home back to Savannah, Georgia. However, this POTA Babe was not finished! Of course, I would find a park to activate on the drive home. Which park would I choose and would it be successful? Stay tuned…
If you’d like to see the park up close and personal as well as watch Glenn “interview” me afterwards, check out the video on my YouTube channel:
Equipment Used
[Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.]
Many thanks to Bob K4RLC who shares this report on mixing vacation with ham radio with us. If you have an article in your head and want to have it posted here, let’s keep this community going while our friend Thomas continues to help his neighbours in the wake of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. Draft up your story in an email with reference points to the pictures you want embedded and their captions, attach photos to the note and send it my way to vincedeon at gmail dot com and note QRPer in the subject line to get my attention.
By Bob Conder K4RLC and V4/K4RLC
Our interest in a trip to Saint Kitts began pre COVID, after my buddy Dale W4AUV and I saw an ad in the back of QST magazine by W5JON, John, for his rental villa with a complete ham radio station on this Caribbean island. What could be wrong with this scenario? Being on a beautiful Caribbean island with a complete ham radio station?
Fast forward almost five years later, when Dale and I, along with our spouses, leave Raleigh for St. Kitts. The timing was really bad for me, as at the same time Western North Carolina was devastated from Hurricane Helene. In the past, I worked with the American Red Cross Disaster Services after hurricanes and tornadoes in my home state, as well as being deployed to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Louisiana immediately after Hurricane Katrina. We have friends and family who live in upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina Including my best friend from high school and his family. All we could do was reach out to them with support, and donate money through reputable organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief and the American Red Cross.
St. Kitts only has three POTA sites and no SOTA sites. I had hoped to activate at least two of the POTA sites. CW is my preferred modality. These POTA sites had only been activated by phone and dubious digital.
Saint Kitts is an unquestionably beautiful tropical island, but it is still a third world nation. The driving is British style, further complicated by having only three stoplights on the island and roundabouts every few miles. We rented a Honda CRV from Bullseye Rentals, recommended by John W5JON, the owner of the villa. Given the ancient small roads where everybody drives like your drunken old aunt with dementia, this was a good vehicle choice. Since my first and primary activation was to be Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, a UNESCO site built starting in 1690 with guarded entryways made to fit horse drawn wagons in the 1700’s, we were relieved to have passed up the large Ford Explorer rental in favor of our little Honda SUV that barely made the entryway.
Brimstone Hill Fortress“Stairway to Heaven” at Brimstone Fortress
Brimstone Hill Fortress, also known as the Gibraltar of the Caribbean, is an expansive stone fort originally built by the British in 1690 with African slaves. It has been through many modifications over the years, and different owners, but is essentially British. In fact, its construction reminded me of Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. (I was later told that Brimstone was designed and built by the Royal Engineers from the UK). Now, it is a National Park, a POTA site (KN-0003), and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Many thanks to Rod VA3MZD who shares this five park POTA bicycle rove report with us. If you have an article in your head and want to have it posted here, let’s keep this community going while our friend Thomas continues to help his neighbours in the wake of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. Draft up your story in an email with reference points to the pictures you want embedded and their captions, attach photos to the note and send it my way to vincedeon at gmail dot com and note QRPer in the subject line to get my attention.
By Rod Murray VA3MZD
Last year I reported, in a guest post here on QRPer, on the five POTA parks near my QTH that are linked by the Elora-Cataract Trailway, a rail trail that runs east from the quaint tourist village of Elora, Ontario, through the town of Fergus, where I live, through Belwood Lake Conservation Area and continues for approximately 45 km to the village of Cataract, on the Niagara Escarpment, well to the east. The trail passes through or near four POTA parks in my immediate vicinity, made easily accessible by foot, bicycle or vehicle, as one chooses. The Trailway is also part of the Great Trail of Canada CA-5082. In one of these nearby parks, Belwood Lake, it’s a 2-fer, making 5 parks in total.
POTA Map showing the location of the four nearby POTA parks near my QTHThe All Trails Map of the Elora-Cataract Trail/Great Trail of Canada from Elora to Belwood Lake
In my original report I had also set a goal of one day activating the one nearby park I had yet to visit, and also to activate all five local parks in one day. With the summer quickly coming to a close here in South Western Ontario, and the fact that the one park I had yet to visit would close for the season in just a few days, it was time to attack my two goals with a rove! So I made plans to rise early, hope for cooperative weather and complete my 5 park cycle trip. Could I do it?
Many thanks to Brian K3ES who submits this awesome report.
As I write this report, we are currently visiting with my parents at their home near San Francisco, CA. Getting here from our Pennsylvania home and back again is a continuing great adventure for my wife Becky, POTA Pup Molly, and me. You see, this is a grand road trip, complete with sight seeing, activating POTA parks in new-to-me states, and lots of driving. While much of the trip has been planned, there have been frequent changes to the route and schedule, as better opportunities presented themselves. One such opportunity was to deviate from interstate highway travel between Montana and Idaho, and divert to lesser-traveled highways. This detour enabled us to fit in a drive through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Sadly, we were only able to take the time to see a small fraction of the natural splendor. We did see enough to create the resolve to return for a proper exploration of the wonders that we had to miss.
The Welcoming Committee: I had to stop again just after the entrance plaza leading into the park. These elk, along with a number of their friends, were standing beside the road to greet us.Mammoth Hot Springs. To get this picture, Becky hiked along planked walkways and climbed a great number of steps. Sadly we could only stop and look for a few minutes during our drive.
We made a handful of stops on our drive through Yellowstone, including a couple of hours at the Old Faithful geyser. One challenge of traveling with Molly, is that dogs are not always welcome in interesting areas. Another challenge is that, having been rescued from an abusive situation, she can respond unpredictably to other dogs. So, Becky and I have often taken turns with one of us exploring the sights, while the other remained in the truck with Molly. At this stop, Becky was the designated sight-seer for an impending eruption of Old Faithful (she takes better pictures), and I stayed in the truck with Molly.
*No explanation needed*Becky got some great action shots Old Faithful!
Cabot Trail Activations on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia – August 2024
By Bob K4RLC & Alanna K4AAC
In August 2024, K4AAC, my YL Alanna and I took a trip to magical Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It was Alanna’s suggestion to celebrate my 74th birthday in July. She knew my “Bucket List” had a goal to visit and hopefully activate the two Marconi sites east of Sydney, the Parks Canada Marconi Memorial Site and the original 1905 Marconi House National Historic Site, both POTA sites. Thomas K4SWL kindly published the write up of this adventure a few weeks ago.
After initially activating the Marconi Park station at Glace Bay, we decided to drive the beautiful 300 kilometer Cabot Trail, which circles Cape Breton Island and parallels the rugged Sea coast on both the East and West sides, allowing you to have the steep mountains on your left and the Sea coast on your right – if you make the decision to drive the trail counter-clockwise.
As this was a last minute trip and we had complications with Air Canada delaying our trip by a day, we decided to follow the major points of a clock, and visit sites at the 3:00, 12:00, 9:00, and 6:00 PM positions. The major problem is that there are so many wonderful sites, it’s hard to decide where to visit.
The first day after we left Sydney (see Marconi write-up), we drove to Ingonish Beach Campground on the East, an easy drive from Sydney. You take the the Trans Canada Highway to pick up the northward Cabot Trail in South Haven. The Ingonish area has many places to visit. Alanna had done much Internet research and really wanted to visit Ingonish Beach at the campground. This is a very pleasant white sandy beach, bordered by smooth, rounded glaciated stones and views to the south of Cape Smokey Provincial Park.
As someone who lives part time in North Myrtle Beach SC, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lifeguard but even more surprised to see lots of people enjoying the very cold waters of the north Atlantic, with water temperature almost 20 degrees cooler than SC. It’s not even that cold when we do the Polar Bear Plunge on New Year’s at North Myrtle!
Less than a mile north of the beach, you enter the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, an almost 1000 sq KM park that spans from the east side to the west side of the island and has some of the most pleasant hiking and camping possible, including 27 different hiking trails.
We decided to hike the Middle Head Trail starting near the historic Keltic Inn. The trail is on a mile plus long narrow finger of land that juts into Ingonish Bay, separating its North and South parts. Middle Head is a rocky, up and down trail, very similar to parts of the Appalachian Trail back home in North Carolina. (While the Scots settled in Cape Breton, many also settled in Western North Carolina, as both areas reminded them of their Scottish Highlands home).
The trail ended in a high rock outcropping. We spent time there enjoying the beautiful ocean view and seeing one lone seal, but it is very popular so we went off to the side and set up the radio on a flat-top boulder. The radio was again Rhett KB4HG’s KX2 (as mine was in the shop), with the modified MP1 base loaded coil Vertical on a camera tripod. Unfortunately, our timing was bad as there was another major solar flare. We only had a few contacts on 20 CW. Nevertheless, the beautiful view and hike was well worth it. We spent the night at a country inn there, overlooking the Bay, and enjoying fresh local lobster tacos.
Figure 1 Middle Head Trail Cape Breton Highlands National ParkFigure 2 K4AAC at Middle Head TrailFigure 3 Middle Head Trail End Ingonish Bay
The next morning, we resumed driving north toward Bay St. Lawrence with a few possible activation sites in mind. The first was in the very small fishing village of Neils’ Harbor, where the 1899 Lighthouse is both a POTA site (Neil’s Harbour Lighthouse National Heritage Site) and a Canadian Heritage Lighthouse. There is a small fenced in area around the Lighthouse, keeping you from falling over the cliff to the ocean below, and two picnic tables.
While picturesque, this area had the worst electrical noise I’ve ever heard, ranging from S 6-8. Consequently, I only made two 20CW contacts with Ontario, using the stock KH1. Some may consider this as “failed” activation but, to me, it’s a success to operate in a beautiful, historic site by the ocean. On the positive, inside the Lighthouse is an ice cream shop, selling local flavors, but Cash only.
Figure 4 K4RLC & KH1 Neils’ Lighthouse
Driving 10 KM north off the Trail, we stopped at another POTA site (CA-0454), Cabot’s Landing Provincial Park, on the shore of Aspy Bay. The park has a white sandy beach coastline, and a monument to John Cabot, who allegedly landed there in 1497. The location also marks the 1856 western terminus of the proposed Transatlantic Telegraph cable from Cape Breton to Newfoundland. It was another Kodachrome day by the ocean, with a scenic vista of the steep face of the Pollets Cove-Aspy Fault Wilderness Area to the north of the coastline.
Having gotten there before lunch, I was really happy to see few beach-goers and several high posts around where I hoped to erect an EFHW for 20 meters. Unfortunately, just as we began setting up, the park became filled with sunbathers, of course walking through the planned antenna area. Thankfully, the trusty KX2 and Modified MP1 on the camera tripod by the picnic table did fine. Propagation was decent for a change, and I soon was working a pile-up of other Canadian stations and into the US on 20 CW. But the most amazing aspect was that there was absolutely no electrical noise to interfere with this activation. It was a wonderful experience to operate in a really quiet and picturesque area, so far off the electrical grid. Continue reading Bob and Alanna’s POTA Adventures Along the Cabot Trail!→
Many thanks to Rod (VA3MZD) for sharing the following guest post:
Operating POTA from the interior of Quetico Provincial Park CA-0359 with a (tr)uSDX
By Rod Murray (VA3MZD)
In a previous guest post here on QRPer I gave a brief history of my introduction to Ham radio and specifically POTA and my experiences activating local parks by bicycle. My initial excitement about POTA was inspired by the YouTube channels of some noteworthy field operators, Tracy VE3TWM,Julian OH8STN, Adam K6ARK, Stuart VE9CF, and Thomas K4SWL of course, just to name a few.
Tracy VE3TWM’s experiences on a canoe trip to Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, a place he and I know well (although we’ve never met) were particularly inspirational. In this video from 2021 Tracey activated Algonquin Provincial Park CA-0138 from a lake that I’d previously paddled to on a canoe trip. I wanted to do that too! But it would take quite a while. Let me tell you.
In 2022, with my regular paddling buddy Tom, we planned to take our wives to one of the premier canoe tripping parks in North America that we’d never visited. We’ve been paddling together since we were teenagers at an Ontario summer camp and had been taking our partners along on canoe trips for over 30 years.
Quetico Provincial Park in North Western Ontario, Canada, one of the province’s crown jewels, stands as a legendary wilderness area that can only be accessed by canoe or kayak in summer and ski or snowshoe in winter, with one exception. There is one road accessible campground and visitor centre in the park’s northeast corner. The Park, which is over 4700 square kilometres, is also surrounded by thousands more square kilometres of wilderness public land, known in Canada as “Crown land.” Numerous First Nation communities are also adjacent to the Park.
To the south is the equally famous Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota, USA. Indeed, one can start a canoe trip in one country and finish in another, or paddle a route along the International Boundary (hence the name!), crossing the border numerous times as you go, with the required documentation of course.
Location of Quetico Park, Ontario,The Boundary Waters, MN, and Algonquin Park, Ontario in North America from ottertooth.com
We had a successful trip to Quetico in 2022 and I vowed to return when the opportunity arose. Meanwhile, I’d since become very active in POTA, and was more determined to complete a POTA activation from a wilderness park while on a canoe trip.
That determination was finally put in motion in early 2024 when another Quetico canoe trip was planned for August. But the challenge would be to put together a radio, an antenna and battery light enough and compact enough to pack in a canoe trip barrel.
Canoe Trip Barrels and Waterproof Eureka Pack ready to go!
Our plan was to enter the Park at one of the north east access points, travel south across immense Pickerel Lake, then paddle and portage our way as far as Fern or Olifaunt Lakes, depending on our progress and the weather, and return via the same route. Or, if we were feeling adventurous, to complete the circle route made possible by the historic Deux Rivière and Pine Portages. See Map below:
Canoe Route across Pickerel Lake into Bud and Fern Lakes with Start, Campsites and Portages marked and possible Circle Route
Either way would require 8 portages totalling more than 7 km. Everything has to be small and light because a portage is a rugged trail between lakes where you must carry everything on your back.
Because my wife and I have four packs in total for a 10 day trip, plus the canoe, each portage must be walked 3 or more times, back and forth, until all the gear is carried over. Incoming History lesson: From my university days as a researcher for the Kanawa Canoe Museum, now the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario, I learned that “portager” is a French verb that translates “to carry” and has its origins with the French Voyageurs who paddled the continent trading furs. Therefore “portage” should always be pronounced in French.
At 67 years young, I now own a Swift Kevlar canoe that weighs under 14 kg, about 30 pounds. The food and equipment barrels are about 20kg each. I wasn’t about to pack or portage much more in the form of radio equipment. It had to be light!
It so happened that a new member of my club, the Elmira Radio Club of Ontario, Hagen VE3QVY, had recently built a (tr)uSDX radio. The radio is a masterpiece of miniature hardware and brilliant software thanks to Manuel DL2MAN and Guido PE1NNZ.
Hagen is an electronics whiz, to say the least, and he knew of my interest in this radio (I was on the original list for the Canada group kit build). He lent me his (tr)uSDX back in April and after making an easy trans-Atlantic QSO with it on 5W, I immediately ordered a Classic band kit. I was already thinking about activating Quetico from the park’s interior when I started my build.
My (tr)uSDX build in progress
Hagen offered considerable help with my (tr)uSDX since the last time I built a kit was in 1970 when I worked on a Heathkit SW receiver I got for Christmas. Hagen installed some improved MOSFETS, precisely rewound all the toroids, tested and improved the radio’s performance and measured all the specifications, to the point where the radio was transmitting a minimum 5W on all bands with very high efficiency. And it only weighed 150 grams, perfect for my needs!
It was time to gather the necessary accessories to complete this rig keeping it lightweight and portable. I added a short length of thin RJ-316 BNC coax to my kit and included the high performance Tim Ortiz N9SAB Nano QRP 20m dipole that I’d been using for POTA with my FT-818. At only 100 grams and a reliable performer, it would fit the bill, but limit my operation to 20m.
I already had a small Bioenno 3Ah battery that could power the radio through more than a few activations, which added another 400 grams. With a few extra accessories and cables and a N6ARA mini paddle, just in case (I’ve never made a CW contact but might try if needed) my lightweight kit was well under 1 kg and complete. The rig and accessories easily fit inside the soft pouch with my fishing reels, so no extra space was required.
I started to think about how I could get spotted while in the wilderness far away from any cell towers. Perhaps, I thought, if I could add a few FT8 contacts while in the Park I could surely make 10 QSOs to confirm an activation without a spot on POTA.app. I solved the spotting quandary for an SSB activation after much deliberation.
I also tested a number of mobile phone apps that run FT8. I tried both iOS and Android apps and settled on FT8CN for Android. After updating the (tr)uSDX firmware to run CAT and audio through a single USB cable to an Android phone, I gathered a few of the USB micro to USB-C cables needed to connect the radio to a phone running the FT8CN App. Eventually, after considerable trial and error, it all worked! To be clear, the FT8CN software has a bit of a learning curve, but that is another story. It works well with some practice.
In early August, the barrels were packed and ready to go. After two full days of driving north and west 1500 km on the Trans-Canada Highway from our QTH in South Western Ontario, we arrived at Quetico Provincial Park. Yes, the province of Ontario is that big!
Map of Ontario showing the 1500 km driving route to Quetico from SW Ontario
We camped overnight at the Park’s Dawson Trail campground and set off on our canoe trip the following morning crossing the expanse of Pickerel Lake in breezy, warm, pleasant summer weather. A few open stretches of the lake required that we paddle behind islands to avoid the bigger waves. But all that would change, dramatically.
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