A place to put my stuff
Marsh Hill is a very different kind of SOTA site than the ones I’ve been working recently in the Shenandoah Valley — it’s a ski resort. It is at the extreme western edge of my range, working from my house just north of Washington, DC, and it took about three hours to drive out there. When I got out there, I was amazed to see, in the third week of April with outside temperatures in the low 70s F (about 24 C) that there was still a little snow clinging to the slopes.
The first half of the day was W4V/SH-013, Pass Mountain, which was followed by a short drive to the south for this peak. I parked at Jewell Hollow Overlook.
I activated Pass Mountain (W4V/SH-013) and The Pinnacle (W4V/SH-005, not to be confused with just plain Pinnacle, W4V/SH-019, a never-visited peak) in the same day, and I have one pointer: don’t park in the obvious spot, neither Pass Overlook nor Pinnacle Overlook are near the paths to their respective peaks.
Continue reading “SOTA W4V/SH-013: Pass Mountain”I found myself up in New York on the occasion of QRP TTF day and asked Tom, N2YTF for some suggestions about peaks in the area that would be relatively quick activations and/or provide some cover for expected rainy weather. He gave me a great list, which I’ll be working through on subsequent visits to the area.
The most proximal was Hook Mountain, which is accessible right off route 9W just across the Hudson River from where I was staying. Tom did warn of ticks on that hike, but it looked like an easy walk. However, Bear Mountain was also tempting: a bit further to the north but essentially a drive-up peak topped by a large parking lot surrounded by trees. I decided to put Bear Mountain in the log first and figured that I’d then have more time for Hook Mountain.
As W2SE mentioned in his review of Bear Mountain, activators should check ahead of time that the road to the top, Perkins Memorial Drive, is open. I did call the park to check, but it being Saturday morning, no one was there and I went right to a voice navigation system that failed to mention status of that road — which of course I found chained off when I got there. So, this is the story of activating the peak by way of the Appalachian Trail.
Continue reading “SOTA W2/GC-077: Bear Mountain”We saved the easiest peak for last during this visit to Shenandoah National Park, and tackled Hogback after Compton Peak and North Marshall. Park at Hogback overlook (38.762N, 78.2742W) and walk back northward along Skyline Drive about 500m to a chained-off gravel service road that ascends towards a commercial antenna installation. From the road to the top, it’s about a 40m rise, easy-peasy.
North Marshall was the second peak of the day, wedged between Compton Peak and Hogback Mountain. The Appalachian Trail rises right from the parking area (38.775104N, 78.210851W) and it’s about a 900m walk in from there with 80m rise — a pleasant walk up a nicely maintained trail.
Back to Shenandoah National Park for this 6 point peak that lies alongside the Appalachian Trail. I entered the park from the Front Royal entrance to the north and drove down to the Compton Gap parking lot at 38.823907N, 78.170463W. On the same day, I activated W4V/SH-009 North Marshall and W4V/SH-007, Hogback Mountain, and the three made a nice day-long package, with decreasing effort from first to last.
Continue reading “SOTA W4V/SH-016: Compton Peak”
As you might intuit from the picture above, SOTA activators are not at all welcome on High Knob, which is locked down like a state penitentiary.
Continue reading “SOTA W4V/SH-028: High Knob”This was the first of a series of summits I am hoping to activate within Shenandoah National Park, and proved to be very straightforward. The only twist was avoiding operating next to the government installation at the end of a road leading to the summit. Instead, I operated just a little to the side, but still on the summit.
Continue reading “SOTA W4V/SH-027: Dickey Hill”Rocky Mountain,
Virginia
I visited one of the tallest mountains in Virginia yesterday with Mike, KA4CDN. Our goal was to scope out potential sites to activate as an expedition during the upcoming Virginia QSO Party, and while up there, to work some SOTA contacts. The ridge line near the peak runs between Rockbridge and Amherst counties, and a dirt road continues northward to the three way county intersection that also involves Nelson County. Weather was clear when we left Northern Virginia, but halfway down we hit frozen rain and as we climbed in altitude, it just got colder and colder.
Continue reading “Sota: W4V/BR-001”