In pursuit of my 60 new-to-me park activations, I headed back to Florida for six days the first week of April. The weather forecast looked promising – high temps in the upper 70s falling to the upper 60s by the end of the week. Rain might dampen my spirits on Wednesday but otherwise, the sun was likely to shine during my journey.
Day 1 of my April 2024 Florida Trip
Daisy and I packed up the car and headed out early Sunday, May 31st. It was an easy journey – three and a half hours south down I-95 and then southwest across Florida. Of course, we stopped at the Florida welcome center and got our picture snapped, this time just the two of us.
Here we again in Florida!
We arrived in Branford which actually did look like a nice place to live. Lafayette Forest Wildlife & Environmental Area (US-6315) is just outside the town. Unlike the wildlife management areas in Georgia I’ve visited, this one looked more manicured. The road into the park could have been the entrance into some genteel Southern plantation.
Not far inside, we found a fenced-in parking area and kiosk. I figured this would be the easiest place to set up. Checking the kiosk, I confirmed we were out of hunting season though we would still wear our blaze orange items for our walk after the activation. (Before we arrived at the park, we actually saw a turkey crossing the road.)
Map of Lafayette WMA
I opted to use the Chelegance MC-750 on the tripod mount because I need more practice with it. That proved to be a good choice as I had to re-read the instructions to set it up – hi hi. This is what happens when you don’t use equipment on a regular basis. Continue reading The POTA Babe Goes Back to Florida – Day 1→
(Note: As many of you know, I cut my spring-break Florida POTA trip short for personal reasons. However, I did not change this article and opted to leave the original itinerary intact as that was the intent of the trip.)
Having two POTA trips under my belt, I thought I’d share how I plan my trips in hope it will inspire others to undertake the same endeavor. After I explain my process, I’ll walk through the process using my spring-break POTA trip as an example.
The first questions to answer are where do I want to explore and how am I going to get there?
So far, I’ve traveled to Nova Scotia and Florida. Air travel was a necessity for the Nova Scotia trip but not my preference for travel in general. I loved to fly as a child but as an adult, it has lost its appeal. We live in a gorgeous country and have at our disposal a wonderful interstate system such that my transportation preference for a POTA trip is to drive. For a short trip (five to six days), I try to stay within 250 miles of my home QTH. For a trip longer than a week, I’m willing to drive 500 miles or more.
Google Maps
The next step is to decide where I’ll stay. Now that I am single, I need to watch my expenses closely. Camping is a great accommodation option if one is willing to put up with some inconveniences. So far I’ve found the campgrounds in the state parks to which I’ve traveled more than adequate. One has to be willing to walk to the bathhouse, accept whatever conditions the weather provides, and be less connected than we typically are in our modern society. Camping also requires certain equipment which I addressed in my first article.
Once I’ve nailed down my accommodations, it is time to begin choosing which parks to activate. For the past two trips, I chose parks based on their proximity to the roads I drove between accommodations, whether I needed to pay for access to the park, and how easily I could ensure I’m within the parks boundaries. My priority was to fit in as many park activations as I could during the trip.
Going forward, my criteria is the same but my focus is not. I want to spend more time in the parks I activate, choosing parks based on the scenery and/or other activities they offer so I may learn about the ecology and/or history of the location. I also want to savor the parks I visit, taking time to slow down and enjoy the experience.
So let’s walk through this process as to how I planned my spring-break POTA trip in April.
Choose a destination and how to get there
As I mentioned earlier, I prefer to drive. I’ll be gone six days for my April POTA trip, so I need to find a destination within 250 miles from Bloomingdale, GA. I chose to visit the state of Florida as I enjoyed my trip this past December and think the weather during the first week of April will still be comfortable that time of year.
Choose accommodations
For the Florida winter-break trip, I stayed in a different campground nearly every night. The advantage of that arrangement is I could cover more ground and experience more places. However, taking down and setting up camp every day eats up time and, depending on the weather, can be a pain. For the spring-break trip, I thought I might stay at the same campground the entire trip.
Itinerary for December 2023 POTA Trip Source: My Google Map
I searched for and found a map of all the Florida state parks with camping. There were several state parks within the 250-mile radius from my home; however, I also wanted a park that had lots of potential POTA sites nearby. After looking at my options, I chose Manatee Springs State Park at which I will stay three nights. Not far away is Suwannee River State Park which had availability for two nights. Bingo – accommodations done!
Now that I’ve chosen the parks at which I’ll stay, I need to figure out what POTA sites nearby are of interest. As I stated earlier, I want to choose activation sites based on what they can offer me in addition to the activation itself. Two prime activities at parks are wildlife viewing and hiking.
When I think of wildlife, I immediately think of national wildlife refuges. I Googled “best national wildlife refuges to visit in Florida” and found the following map. The refuge closest to the areas I plan to visit is St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge and, given what I read about that refuge, there is so much to see there that it may fill up an entire day.
As for hiking, I googled “best hiking trails in Florida” and found floridahikes.com. There were a fair amount of trails from which to choose though several were eliminated because dogs are not allowed due to the presence of alligators or ticks are a major problem. I took my time exploring the site finding trails close to or in the Manatee Springs and Suwanee River State Parks.
(Note: I cut my Florida POTA trip short as I needed to take care of some personal business. I apologize for the change of plans and the inability to communicate that to y’all. I appreciate everyone’s support of the trip and the QSOs of those who hunted me. Articles will be forthcoming for those activations in the near future.)
Those of you who have followed my journey on QRPer know that I wrote an article about my kit for the trip I took last summer to Nova Scotia. Since then, what ham radio equipment I take with me has changed, partially because I am not flying to a different country far from home and partially because of my experiences with what I generally do and don’t need. I thought I’d share what my kit currently looks like for the spring-break Florida trip.
Here is a photo of what ham radio-related gear I am taking on my Florida POTA trip. We’ll first look at what I have in each section of the Elecraft bag I take with me and then a few items that do not fit in this bag but are still along for the ride.
When I purchased my KX2, I also purchased the Elecraft bag. Though the bag is bulky in its profile, it was a worthy purchase due to the amount of stuff it can store in one place in a well-organized manner.
The bag has three compartments.
In the first compartment is my main man, Craig, my KX2. He is the rig I use for all my QRP adventures out and about. I do have a protective cover I purchased for him but haven’t installed yet. I have a fear of messing with electronics and, though installing the shield isn’t rocket science, the project seems overwhelming enough that I haven’t tackled it yet.
Also in this first compartment are my throw bag containing an arbor line and throw weight, some S-carabiners, my homemade radials for the AX1, the tripod mount for the AX1, and a pencil and earbuds. I find I copy CW much better when I have a headset of some sort.
In this compartment, I used to have a back-up key. However, in its place is a new single-lever paddle from CW Morse [QRPer affiliate link]. I am using this key because it is wired to be a cootie or a paddle via an internal switch. I discovered my KX2 doesn’t balk at using this key like a cootie unlike when I use the CW Morse SP4. I desire to use QRP for more than POTA, specifically for SKCC and calling CQ for ragchews. SKCC requires a mechanical key and, as the cootie is my favorite key, this new key should fill the needI discovered the last time I visited Skidaway Island.
In the second compartment, I have the AX1 and the Tufteln EFRW antenna. Those of you who have read my articles know I generally deploy the Tufteln EFRW antenna. On this April Florida trip, I plan to use the AX1 and the Chelegance MC-750 more often in preparation for my summer POTA trip. I anticipate I’ll be limited by terrain and park rules from deploying an antenna in a tree so more experience with verticals will be helpful.
In the third and final compartment are some odds and ends: neon pink flagging tape, an allen wrench for adjusting my CW morse keys, some twine, a short length of wire with an alligator clip on the end, two shock bungee cords, the cord for my CW Morse single-lever key, and a splitter for the headphone jack. I’ve used all these items (except the cord for the new key) at one time or another so I don’t want to leave the house without them.
Here are items I am also taking that don’t fit in the Elecraft bag.
The Tufteln kneeboard, POTA flag, and a notebook. I really like using pencil and paper for my POTA logs. I hold my key in the left hand and send with the right. For some reason, juggling that with paper is more manageable to me than logging in my phone or a laptop. The one thing I miss out on by doing that, though, is not knowing people’s names except those I’ve encountered many times. (And even then I forget names in the busyness of an activation so if I do, please forgive me.) I like to thank people by name at the end of the QSO rather than just their call sign if I know their name. I learned to do this in SKCC exchanges and I think it is a respectful and genteel practice. The one advantage I see to using a logging program is that I could do that with every QSO.
In a Tom Bihn bag, I have my RG-316 coax in three lengths (10’, 20’, and 50’), a short bungee cord, a stereo connector, and a newer version of the SP4 (aka The Minion).
Also coming along for the ride is the Chelegance MC-750. [QRPer affiliate link]
The last pieces of equipment I am bringing are for the first park I will visit – Lafayette Wildlife Management Area. In areas that allow hunting, Daisy and I wear blaze orange, even in the off season. Though as hams we try to be law abiding, we need to remember there are others out there who are not. When it comes to areas in which hunting is allowed, it is wise to wear blaze orange year-round because hunting violations due happen.
There you have it – the POTA Babe’s current QRP kit. I have one last question to address in this series – how I plan my trips. To find out, stay tuned…
Many of you QRPer readers know I am headed to Florida the first week of April for POTA. This will be my first POTA trip on my own. Of course, I’ll have my trusty POTA pup Daisy with me as there is no way she’d want to miss such an adventure. My previous trip to Florida with my brother in December 2023 gave me a better idea of what I need and how to streamline my routines for such a trip.
I am a divorced, single mom so I will not be staying at a hotel or Airbnb but tent camping because that is less expensive. I found staying in state parks during my last trip a pleasant experience. Most people camping at a park are friendly but mind their own business. Traveling as a single woman could be a fearful endeavor but being with a dog and in a campground full of people makes that endeavor doable.
I thought I’d share what I am taking in case there are other aspiring POTA Babes (or POTA Dudes for that matter) who are up for the same kind of adventure. So, let’s dive into my equipment.
An overview of what I am taking
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Shelter
I have a Sierra Designs two-person tent I purchased nearly 30 years ago. That tent was used for a summer cross-country road trip my brother Joseph and I took. Though Joseph and I used a four-person Ozark tent of my parents’ for our December Florida trip, I like the features of the Sierra Designs tent better – the grommets for holding the tent poles, three instead of two tent poles which makes for a more stable design, and tent poles that don’t pull apart easily as you move them through the sleeves on top of the tent. My Sierra Designs tent does not have a dedicated slot for inserting an extension cord into the tent but I’ll make do running it in through the corner of the door.
Tent without rainfly
Sleep is of paramount importance so I use a LuxuryMap Thermarest and it is well worth it. How do I know? This sleeping pad has been my bed for the past six months so I have lots of experience with it. Being in the townhouse now, I could certainly purchase a bed but I’ve become so used to sleeping on the floor, I actually prefer doing so now. My other sleep items are a Northface sleeping bag and a Sea-to-Summit inflatable pillow. Daisy has a sleeping padand bag of her own from Ruffwear.
The last items rounding out my shelter set up are a brush/dust pan, a mat to minimize sand/dirt getting into the tent, and a head lamp.
Sustenance
A confession – I dislike spending time in the kitchen so I keep my meals as simple as possible. To save money, I make my own meals. I learned last December it is easier to pre-package the meals before the trip than to take larger food containers from which to make the meals during the trip.
Breakfast is simple – oatmeal, cranberries, nuts, and protein powder with hot tea to drink out of a large thermos for the morning. Dinner is also simple – noodles, canned chicken, a canned vegetable, and shredded cheese with hot tea to drink once again. For lunch, I snack on fruit or protein bars.
I purchased a new stove – the SOTO Windmaster – for the December trip after reading reviews of backpacking/camping stoves on Gearlab’s website.It was easy to use and quick to bring water to a boil in which I cooked our food. I do not like using gas appliances; however, lightning the stove provided simple and I never felt like I was going to fry off my eyebrows from the flame.
I also have a spork, can opener, dish soap, towel, fuel canister, and lighter to ignite the fuel for the stove.
I debated about bringing a cooler. If one is going to use canned food and does not anticipate using the entire can, obviously the food has to be safely stored overnight. I visited Gearlab again for cooler reviews. The RITC Ultralight 52 quart cooler is a Best Buy and received a 70 rating, only 8 points down from their top rated cooler – the Yeti Roadie 60. But what a price difference – $450 for the Yeti and $210 for the RITC. I realized I didn’t need a 52 quart cooler and looked for something smaller. There is a 32 quart size which is only $140. Sold! In tests, the RITC 52 quart cooler kept items cool for 6 days, long enough to last on my trip.
Power
We live in a world of gadgets and those need to be powered. I purchased a Jackery 300 Plus portable power station for my last trip even though I had access to the RV power outlets. This little unit is sweet! It charges items quickly, is quiet, and has a solar panel option for recharging if you do not have access to an outlet.
For my upcoming summer trip, most of the places at which I’ll stay will not have power available so the Jackery will come in handy. I will purchase a car charger to assist in recharging the unit while driving on that trip.
extension cord in campsite power connection in Florida Dec 2023
Niceties
While lounging around camp, it is nice to be able to sit. I possess a Helinox chair I use during activations when the weather is warm outside. But I don’t want to use that in the tent due to the flooring and low ceiling height. I found on the December Florida trip not having something to support your back while operating or reading or typing up a report, to be taxing. Therefore on this trip, I will use the Thermarest chair made to use with my Thermarest sleeping pad.
from Thermarest website
If you are going to spend time outside, you will share the space with insects. Several of the trails I want to walk with Daisy warned about mosquitoes and ticks. To protect me, I will spray my clothing and tent entrance in advance with Sawyer Premium Insect repellent. I’ve used this stuff before and it works well. I also have Ben’s 30% DEET Tick and Insect Repellent wipes, top rated by Consumer Reports. As for Daisy, she is already on an oral flea and tick preventative. However, neither of those cover mosquitoes which of course can carry diseases and are irritating. Before the trip, I’ll apply an Advantix II treatment for her protection.
Other additional items will be clothing, toiletries, a quick-drying towel, a leash, a lead & tarp on which Daisy can lie down, my laptop for writing up reports and checking email, AirPods, my journal, and a few books to read. I tend to travel on the light side.
Well, now you have it – what the POTA Babe uses on her trips. I’d love to hear from y’all what you think would be a great addition to my set-up or a piece of equipment you prefer. For part 2, I’ll share what is currently in my POTA QRP kit. Stay tuned…
Sunday, March 10th, my son had another Dungeons & Dragons session. I figured why not play QRP radio again on the north end of Skidaway Island at the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. The weather appeared more conducive for radio than my previous visit. My friend Glenn W4YES accompanied me.
Skidaway Island’s Location in Savannah, GA area from Google MapsUGA Institute of Oceanography at north end of island as per Google Maps
I chose as my location the bluff behind the aquarium which contains picnic tables and looks out over the intracoastal waterway. There was a stiff breeze but what a pretty place to play radio!
My QTH on the bluff
The Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) was holding the Weekend Sprintathon (WES), a monthly event for members. As I mentioned in my previous Skidaway article, SKCC is an organization with 28,000 plus members that use mechanical keys (straight, cootie, and bug) for their QSOs. Participating in their sprints is a simple way (like POTA) for new ops to gain experience and build confidence.
I figured I’d accomplish several things at once today: get more QRP experience with something other than POTA, garner a few more QSOs on my march toward Senator for SKCC, and use the AX1.
In researching my upcoming summer POTA trip, I read a post by Bob Condor (K4RLC) on the W4SOTA groups.io about modifications to the AX1. I plan to attempt my first SOTA activations during the trip and want light, nimble antenna options.
Admittedly, the AX1 and I haven’t been on the best terms. Bob modified his by adding three 14’ radials instead of the counterpoises with which the antenna comes. He used this configuration during a trip to Greece and had good results. I figured, why not give it a try? It was easy to make the radials with a lug connector on each end to add them to the AX1 mount on my Joby Gorillapod (the only tripod I currently have).
While Glenn took a leisurely walk on the nature trail at the bluff, I began on 20 meters.
I engaged the ATU which dropped the SWR from 2.2 down to 1. There were a lot of stations on 20 meters but I finally found a place to settle. After 8 minutes calling CQ, Randy K8ZAA answered me and gave me a 579 in MI, a good signal report for the AX1.
Given the paucity of stations answering my CQ, I decided to move to 17 meters but realized the WARC bands are not allowed in the SKCC WES so I opted for 15 meters instead. After a few minutes calling CQ, Bob AF5Z answered me. He gave me a 449 in Texas.
It became quiet again after that QSO so I jumped to 40 meters, had no callers, and moved back to 20 meters. After 10 minutes calling CQ, Jerry WA4JK answered me and gave me a 559 in Alabama. By this point, the wind had increased and Glenn and I had enough of being buffeted by what felt like gale-force winds. However, I still had an hour and a half before my son’s Dungeons & Dragons session ended so this POTA Babe wasn’t ready to call it quits. Continue reading The POTA Babe and AX1 Make Up→
I had planned to take the week off from POTA when I received an email from Dave N1CGP asking if I was participating in the March 8th Young Ladies Relay League event. The event is an all-day celebration of International Women’s Day with POTA activations. Well, there was no way the POTA Babe could sit that out!
Young Ladies Radio League logo
My day was already packed with appointments but I had four hours in the afternoon I could squeeze in an activation. I chose to activate Canoochee Sandhills Wildlife Management Area (WMA), a 35 minute drive from my home QTH. The park would not count toward my 2024 goal as I had already activated it last year. However, it would work for this event.
Signage photo from a previous trip
Daisy and I headed out around 2:30 PM under partly cloudy skies and 73 degrees. Apple Maps took me a slightly different route than my prior trips. As I was driving along, suddenly the paved road became dirt but what a fun ride! We fishtailed a little and that put a smile on this POTA Babe’s face.
Carolina Jasmine, a vine with yellow trumpet-like flowers, bloomed along the roadside. It is the state flower of South Carolina and adaptable, growing in a variety of conditions. What I didn’t know about it before writing this article is that all of the plant is poisonous. Even deer and rabbits will not eat it and that is saying something.
At the WMA, there was only one pickup truck parked off the road so it looked like Daisy and I would have the place pretty much to ourselves. I decided to use the Chelegance MC-750 vertical since time was limited. Daisy and I donned our blaze orange gear, set up, and got down to business. I had one hour to get a valid activation. As I hadn’t used the 40 meter coil yet on this antenna, I opted to start with 20 meters. I called and called CQ but had only two takers in 20 minutes.
It was time to see if 17 meters would come to my rescue. It did! I had 22 contacts on that band in 40 minutes including Peder SM2SUM (a regular) in Sweden.
QSO Map including Sweden http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/QSO Map with just US stations
The weather, while operating on 17 meters, turned cold and windy, gusty enough to blow over the antenna during one of my QSOs. I put on the hoodie I had taken off earlier and wished I was sitting INSIDE instead of outside the car.
ominous weather
At this point, I hoped to hunt a few activators, most of whom were on 20 meters. I reset the vertical for that band and began hunting but came up empty handed. The last one I tried, Melvin W3PYF, barely heard me and sent “Sri try later”. Unfortunately, I didn’t have later as I had a code buddy QSO with my best friend Caryn at 6:30 PM. Besides, I was sufficiently chilled from the weather that rolled in and was ready to head home.
This wasn’t one of my favorite activations, partially because I was pressed for time and the weather turned unpleasant. However, I did support my fellow YLs with the activation.
Sometimes, as a POTA Babe, you have to take one for the team.
Equipment Used
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As I had no appointments scheduled for Monday, February 26 during the day, I planned a POTA outing in the Augusta, Georgia area which is a two-hour drive from my home QTH. The destination: Spirit Creek Educational State Forest (K-4654).
Source: Google Maps
Apple Maps routed me west on I-16 and then northwest through Statesboro, home of Georgia Southern University (the Eagle Nation). On the drive, I passed acres and acres of farmland, some of it for cotton. I noticed a few of the fields had a reddish tinge and were full of a plant I had not seen before. I did some detective work once back home and think the plant is red sorrel, a member of the buckwheat family that is native to Europe. I am guessing the red sorrel is a cover for the field between crops.
Apple Maps also routed me through Waynesboro which is the “Bird Dog Capital of the World.” The city hosts the largest field trials in the world. Field trials are a competition to evaluate a dog’s ability to find and point coveys of quail. Waynesboro is bird dog crazy; even the town’s water tower is decorated with a bird dog. Wow – the interesting stuff I learn about my home state!
However, we aren’t here to discuss bird dogs but POTA. After sitting longer than I usually drive to a POTA destination, I arrived at my destination. The 570-acre property is surrounded by private land with the entrance tucked between two residences. The road through the forest appears decently maintained and is easier on which to drive than my previous forays into such properties.
Not far into the forest was an open area for parking and a kiosk with hunting information. Upon checking the kiosk, I read the only thing in season right now is small game and knew I’d be unlikely to come across anyone on a Monday morning hunting. However, to be on the safer side of things, I set up in the parking area rather than somewhere else in the forest.
Speaking of hunting, Bob WK2Y who lives in Atlanta, reached out to me after my Hiltonia WMA article. He emphasized the need for ops to wear blaze orange in such places whether in hunting season or not because of hunting violations which are more frequent than I realized. (I plan on addressing that topic in a future WMA article.) Because of this, I now always keep a blaze orange vest in my kit for Daisy and me. I’ve ordered a blaze orange hat as well as purchased hot pink magnetic decals for my car. (The website said “hot pink” though I think “bright pink” is more like it but close enough.)
Parks on the Air offers a diversity of properties. In addition to those that commonly come to mind like state parks, forests, and national wildlife refuges, there are wildlife management areas (WMA) about which I’ve written and fishing lakes. This past week the POTA Babe visited Evans County Fishing Lake (K-7464) here in Georgia.
Source: Google Maps
The drive to the property was pleasant and relatively quick. On the way, I drove through the town of Pembroke. According to Wikipedia, this small community was a railroad town and turpentine shipping center and named after an early resident, Pembroke Whitfield Williams.
I took to heart Thomas’ advice in his recent post “Building Positive Park Relations” and contacted the office managing the property before my visit. I spoke with an employee who confirmed they had no problem with me putting a temporary antenna in a tree at any of the properties that district office manages. I also made a point to introduce myself to the DNR employee on site when I arrived. As soon as I said the words “ham radio operator”, he responded that they love having ham radio folks on the property! (Kudos to all those who have activated there before and were good ambassadors for our hobby.)
park office
Fisherman enjoying the gorgeous day
As I did for the Hiltonia WMA activation, I checked the satellite view of the property on Google Maps beforehand. There are three lakes with Bidd Sands Lake being the largest. (Bidd Sands is named after a beloved member of the local community who gave his life in Vietnam in support of the men he was leading.) At the east end of the lake is a dyke. That seemed a great place to set up, partially because of the openness but also I was likely to not be in anyone’s way.
Source: https://georgiawildlife.com/evans-county-pfaSource: Google MapsClose-up view of the dyke. Source: Google Maps
It was still rather chilly despite the sunny sky overhead so I chose to operate from the car rather than set up my Helinox chair and be out in the open. At the end of the dyke was a large oak tree just begging for the Tufteln EFRW antenna. I had the new Chelegance MC-750 with me but I’ve grown partial to putting antennas in trees. I love the flexibility of effortlessly changing from one band to the other without adjusting a whip and/or counterpoise as you have to do with a vertical. Continue reading The POTA Babe Goes Fishing (Sort of)→
For those regular readers of QRPer.com, you know that this POTA Babe has a goal of 60 new-to-me park activations for 2024. I am planning a POTA trip this summer to North Carolina and/or Virginia. I will be on the road for eleven to twelve days with nine to ten of those days potentially available for activations. I’d like to hear from y’all what one park you think I should visit and why.
You can either leave your suggested park in the comments below or email me via the address on my QRZ page. As summer will be here before we know it, I’d like to nail down my plans soon. Please share your suggestions by Wednesday, March 6th.
For safety reasons, I will not share my itinerary before the trip; however, I will give credit in the articles I write from the trip to the op (or ops if the park is suggested by more than one person) who suggested that park.
Thank you in advance for your assistance! Keep having fun with your QRP adventures!
After my last activation at Oliver Bridge Wildlife Management Area (K-3764), I considered heading to South Carolina for park #16 toward my 2024 goal of 60 new-to-me parks. However, after looking at the weather forecast, I reconsidered. I’d need to activate earlier in the day due to my schedule and, given the chilly weather, I’d prefer to sit in the car for the activation. That would not be a good option for the park I considered.
So, I began looking at more wildlife management (WMA) areas in Georgia not far from home. I chose Hiltonia WMA (K-8794) which is an hour’s drive for me. This WMA is 500 acres mostly of hardwood and long-leaf pines and is owned by the State of Georgia. The property offers hunting of deer, turkey, dove, and small game.
I did not know before my visit that longleaf pines existed on the property but figured it out when I discovered their needles while walking with Daisy after the activation. You know longleaf pine needles when you see them because they are much longer than other pine needles. In fact, they have the longest needles of the eastern pine species and can grow up to 18”. The needles I found were 14” in length!
Longleaf pine forests are special because they are rich in bio-diversity and provide habitat for the threatened gopher tortoise, a keystone species because it provides burrows in which other species, like the threatened Indigo snake, live or shelter. The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker is another species that benefits from longleaf pine forests because it lives in the cavities of mature longleaf pine trees. The species dwindled when many of the old-growth longleaf pine forests were felled and/or replaced with commercial forests of loblolly or slash pine in the southeastern US.
You access the Hiltonia WMA via a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. The property has an information kiosk right near the entrance with a map giving you the lay of the land. I usually look at whatever maps are available online from the state of Georgia or Google beforehand. For Google maps, I usually use the topographic layer as this is the default and shows me roads to access the property. But before this trip, I played with the layers setting and discovered the imagery layer will give me a better idea of what is forested and not. Hence I could easily locate an open area to set up my antenna.
The dirt road to the parkhttps://gadnrwrd.maps.arcgis.com/Google Maps – imagery view
Just past the information kiosk is a dove field and it was there my Subaru Crosstrek Kai and I set up shop. What a gorgeous day! Crisp air under clear, blue skies. Daisy explored and sniffed to her heart’s content while I installed the Tufteln EFRW antenna in the perfect pine with one toss!
The perfect pine tree!
It was not long before Daisy and I were installed in Kai and ready to get the party started. And what a party it turned out to be! Not long after I called CQ on 20 meters, Joseph KB1WCK responded. After we finished our QSO, I was buried under a massive pile-up. However, pile-ups do not intimidate this POTA Babe! I did the best I could to pick up bits and pieces and work through it. Did I make mistakes? Sure I did, but there are no CW police and this is how we learn, through challenges. Continue reading The Georgia Wildlife Management Areas Continue to Deliver→
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Not far inside, we found a fenced-in parking area and kiosk. I figured this would be the easiest place to set up. Checking the kiosk, I confirmed we were out of hunting season though we would still wear our blaze orange items for our walk after the activation. (Before we arrived at the park, we actually saw a turkey crossing the road.)
