Tag Archives: North Country Trail National Scenic Trail (K-4239)

Field Reports, News, POTA, QRP, Travel

POTA Brings Us Together: Eyeball QSOs and POTA Adventures on the Road

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Unexpected Family Reunions on the Road

by Brian (K3ES)I don’t know how others feel, but one of the things that really appeals to me about the Parks on the Air (POTA) program is the sense of community that it encourages among participating amateur radio operators.  This is as true no matter how we participate.  I have operators that I consider friends, even though I have never personally met them, because I have hunted them across so many of their activations.  I have other operator friends who are familiar because they have hunted me across so many of my activations.  Best of all, I have operator friends who I have also had the chance to meet in the field.

During my cross-country road trip (Six Weeks and 7300 Miles:  Activating on the Road) I got to meet three kindred spirits through eyeball QSOs, because we crossed paths in parks along the way.  In this article, I want to share the story of three unexpected meetings on the road.

Activating Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site

Wow, 2-fer!  We came to the Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site, US-5748, to activate a park in North Dakota.  When we arrived, we found this sign, and I instantly recognized the North Country Trail medallion at the top, because it passes near my home in Pennsylvania.  The North Country Trail National Scenic Trail, US-4239, crosses through Fort Abercrombie SHS, allowing simultaneous activation of both entities.

I will confess that the goal to activate all of the states along our route sometimes meant that we would take an intentional zig in our travels to stop at a park in a “nearby“ state for a quick activation before zagging back to our primary route.  Our visit to Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site (US-5748) in North Dakota resulted from just such a zig.  After spending a nice couple of days visiting with my niece and her husband at their new home in Apple Valley, MN (just south of Minneapolis), we planned our next travel day to make a mid-day stop at Fort Abercrombie (along the MN-ND border, just south of Fargo), before turning south to spend the night in Sioux Falls, SD.

We knew the park buildings at Fort Abercrombie would be closed, because of the season, and were not surprised to find only one other vehicle in parking area.  With that said, two surprises did catch our attention.  First, a familiar sign shared billing with the State Historic Site, the medallion for the North Country Trail (US-4239), which I have activated multiple times in Pennsylvania.  That presented an interesting opportunity for a 2-fer activation.  Second, looking across at the other vehicle, I quickly saw antennas and radio equipment!

When we arrived at Fort Abercrombie SHS, Todd – NO0X was operating FT8 from the station in the back of his SUV.  His vertical antenna is just off-screen to the right.
This late in the season, the visitor center at Fort Abercrombie was only open by appointment.  We had not made prior arrangements.

I walked over to the gentleman sitting next to the open lift-gate of his SUV, and asked the universal radio amateur question:  “How are the bands today?”  Introductions quickly ensued.  Todd – NO0X wondered if I were one of the frequent activators at the site, which was definitely not the case.  He was ranked third for number of activations at the site, and was looking to improve his tally.  He was running an FT8 activation that day using a vertical antenna, but he is also a CW operator.  I got a quick tour of his station.  Then we talked about the route of the North Country Trail through the site, and it turned out the trail ran within 100 ft of the site’s picnic pavilion.

A bit of the history of Fort Abercrombie…
Here I am operating from Fort Abercrombie using my KX2 connected to a Tufteln EFRW antenna hanging outside the pavilion behind me.  I was running CW mode at 5 watts.

So, I moved over to the pavilion to set up my Elecraft KX2, with a Tufteln EFRW antenna supported in a nearby tree, but not before inviting Todd to stop over to see my station.

On the air, I worked 26 contacts in just under an hour to complete the 2-fer activation of US-5748 and US-4239.  When he stopped over, Todd brought along his favorite straight key for field use.  Being a paddle guy, I did not try it out, but I certainly appreciated its small size and efficient design.

Todd – NO0X stopped to visit my station.  It is always great to share experiences and equipment with other POTA activators.
The QSO Map shows 26 contacts from US-5748 and US-4239.  Most contacts were made on the 20m band, with two on 30m, and one each on 17m and 15m.

Having completed our activations, we packed our gear and parted company.  I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet a local activator, who knew the park, and had a distinctly different method of operation from my own.  One of the best things about POTA activation is that there are almost as many different operating styles as there are activators, and not one of them is wrong!

Walking Around Devils Tower National Monument

With the iconic rock in the background, the sign might not be necessary, but there it is…

Unlike Fort Abercrombie, Devils Tower National Monument was the centerpiece of our day’s travels.  We sought out that spectacular landmark for my first activation in Wyoming.  Even so, our time at Devils Tower was limited, because we did not plan to spend the night nearby. Continue reading POTA Brings Us Together: Eyeball QSOs and POTA Adventures on the Road →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP

K3ES Field Report: Hiking with Molly and discovering a new two-fer activation site!

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Many thanks to Brian (K3ES) who shares the following field report:

Molly is on the trail of a POTA activation.  Temperatures are in the 40s, but there is still snow on the ground.

A Hike and a 2-fer

by Brian (K3ES)

When you live in northwestern Pennsylvania, and a February day shows up with the sun shining, moderate temperatures, and nothing pressing on the calendar, it is time to go and enjoy the outdoors.

One of the best ways to do that is to take a hike with your dog.  Hopefully  your dog is like Molly, who doesn’t mind taking a break mid-hike for a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation.  So on Wednesday, February 21 we scheduled an activation and jumped in the truck for a drive to the trail head.  The hike to and from the activation site would be a nice change from the short walks we had been taking to the pond behind our house in the colder weather, and from activating while sitting in the truck.  And, to better share the joy with our POTA hunters, we would make this activation a 2-fer, giving them credit for both the North Country Trail National Scenic Trail (K-4239) and Pennsylvania State Game Land 024 (K-8725).

Molly is ready to go.  She is not at all amused by waiting for me to take pictures.

Since I had hiked the planned route before, both solo, with friends, and with Molly, I expected that the route would be familiar.  Some of it was, and some of it was brand new to us.  You see, the North Country Trail volunteers had been busy since we last hiked as far up the trail as we planned to go.  They had cleared and marked an entirely new route for one section  of the trail, bypassing an old favorite activation site!  So, we got to do some exploring, and we found a new favorite activation site.  Bonus!

Finding a New 2-fer Site

One of the things that I enjoy about POTA is planning my activation.

Since days long ago as a Boy Scout, I have enjoyed outdoor navigation.  Map and compass always fascinated me.  Things have gotten much easier with Global Positioning System (GPS), online maps, and online satellite imagery.  Still, I do most of my activation planning while sitting comfortably at home with a tablet or a computer.  For this trip, finding the newly marked trail (that had not yet been transferred to the online map) presented a bit of a challenge.  While I could follow the marked trail easily, I needed to be sure that I had entered Game Land property so that the 2-fer activation would be valid.

Thankfully, I had access to an app on my smart phone to help me solve this problem as we walked along the trail through the woods.  The On X Hunt app combines GPS, topographic maps, satellite imagery, and tax office databases to identify land ownership (even when the owner happens to be the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania).  Full functionality of this app is not free, but as the owner of a parcel of land, it is something I had elected to pay for.  Once it became clear that the newly marked trail would not quickly rejoin the prior route, I set up the app to record our track on the map.  After confirming that Molly and I had definitely crossed PA Game Land property line (there were no marking signs along the new trail), we went just a bit further, then found a promising spot to set up for the activation.

With a change to the K-4239 North Country Scenic Trail route, we found a new 2-fer site within K-8725, along the partially snow-covered Game Land road that carries this section of the Trail.

Setting Up to Activate

I chose to locate our station in the woods beside a Game Land road that provided the path for the North Country Trail in that particular area.  We set up on the inside of a bend flanked by trees with long overhanging branches.  I placed my chair in the woods on the inside of the bend, and tossed a throw line over a branch on the outside of the bend, then deployed my Packtenna EFRW with 71 ft wire as an inverted V across the road.  I used the throw line to hoist the middle of the radiating wire up about 30 ft, and secured both the feedpoint and the far end of the antenna to nearby trees, about 6 ft off the ground.

Even though I did not expect traffic on this road (shaded areas were still snow covered, and the snow showed tracks only from woodland creatures), I try to deploy my wire antennas high enough that they are not a hazard to others who may travel through.

Temperatures were rising, but with the high only expected to hit 50F, I brought a blanket to give Molly some additional insulation (though she is a rough, tough POTA dog, as a Boston Terrier, her coat is not particularly thick).  I laid out the blanket beside my operating position,  so that it could provide both top cover and insulation from the ground.

Molly is settled in for the activation.

I connected my RG316 coaxial cable to the antenna feedpoint, set up my camp chair next to Molly, set up the radio, and prepared my log book. In very short order, I was on the air, spotted by the Reverse Beacon Network, and logging contacts. Continue reading K3ES Field Report: Hiking with Molly and discovering a new two-fer activation site! →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRPers

K3ES’ Hike with Molly: The POTA Dog In-Training!

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Many thanks to Brain (K3ES) who shares the following guest post:

“Hey!  I can be a POTA Dog.  Let’s go on a hike!”

A Hike (and Activation) with a POTA Dog In-Training

by Brian (K3ES)

PA State Route 66 Trail-head on K-4239

A plan for a Hike and an Activation

A couple of Wednesdays ago, I decided to take a hike along the North Country Trail.  It would not only provide some needed exercise on a beautiful day, but it would also take me into Pennsylvania Game Land #024, enabling a 2-fer activation of K-4239 and K-8725.  I had hiked this stretch of the trail several times before, so I figured it would be safe taking one of our dogs along for the trip.

Jojo (front) and Molly (back) are not happy about this staged picture.

Molly and Jojo are two rescued Boston Terriers, who have made our home their own since October of last year.  Each has her own character.  Molly is exuberant, very friendly, and frankly, a bit of a bulldozer.  Jojo is pure sun bunny, preferring to find a bright patch of lawn, then lay there soaking up the heat.  Once installed in a sunny spot, Jojo doesn’t like to move.  So, it seemed natural to invite Molly along for the afternoon hike.  The only potential issue was the planned stop for a park activation.  I was almost certain that Molly would enjoy the walk, but how would she handle the period of inactivity?  There was only one way to find out.

Jojo in her natural habitat:  sunbathing in the back yard.
Molly on the run.

Since solar conditions had been keeping the radio bands rough and unpredictable, I decided to start my QRP CW activation in the middle of the afternoon.  Beginning the activation at 3pm EDT meant that my first hour would overlap with the popular CWT sprint, so I planned to start on the 30m band to avoid trying to compete with my 5 watt signal.  More importantly, the timing would let me finish on the 40m band later in the afternoon, when I have always found it to be productive.

Molly supervises CW operations during the 2-fer Activation.

The plan was set and an activation was scheduled in POTA.app to begin at 3pm EDT, so detection by the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) would assure automatic spotting.  We left home just after 1pm, drove to the trail head, and started our hike to the activation point.  Our travel and the station setup went quicker than expected.  Even after securing Molly on her leash, with space to move around and drinking water in reach, all was ready to begin by 2:30pm.  Fortunately, there was sufficient cell coverage to let me directly enter an early spot.  Despite the early start, I stayed with my original plan to begin on the 30m band.

Activation

Contacts on 30m came slowly, but I was able to confirm the activation with 11 contacts in just over an hour.  Since the CWT sprint was continuing, I moved over to 17m to see if I could pick up some more distant contacts, but it was not to be.  I heard one strong signal on 17m – calling CQ over me.  I am confident that the operator did not hear me on the frequency, particularly since he did not pick up my call when I responded to his CQ.  Not only that, but my 5 watt signal did not even manage to attract the notice of the RBN.  I took that episode as a sign that it was time to QSY.

Logs from the activation filled up the last 2 pages of one notebook, and the first page of a second notebook.

Since it was past 4pm EDT, and the CWT sprint was finished, I moved over to 20m. Continue reading K3ES’ Hike with Molly: The POTA Dog In-Training! →