This tract of Elk State Forest is not far from the hike I did a few days earlier at W3/PW-076 2655, and I stopped by on my way back to Pittsburgh. It was the start of an oppressive heat wave that would be accompanied by wildfire smoke from the north, and the temperature was already above 90 F here. I parked at the gate for Whittimore Tower Road and followed the trail.
It was a well shaded climb with a large number of fungi of different shapes growing throughout.
Closer to the radio transmitter site and bright red-painted firewatch tower, the trail opens up into a field with tall grass. This looked like it would have been a fun tower to climb, but like most of these towers in the state, it was gated off.
Trailhead: 41.47832, -78.26548 : Gate of Whittimore Tower Road
After tackling Mt Tom in the morning, I headed over to this second, 1-mile round trip activation, also in Tioga State Forest. I parked at the side of Mill Run Road, by a gated access road that runs due south to a radio transmitter site. Now that it was mid-afternoon, I noticed that I was not doing great on 40m, so most of this activation was on 20m. I worked an S2S with KT0A on W0D/BB-006 and W7UM on W0C/FR-019, both on 20m.
Trailhead: 41.66459, -77.50264 : Gated access road off of Mill Run Rd
Route: 1.0 mi RT hike, ~200 feet elevation along access road
POTA: US-5478, Tioga State Forest
After this one, I went on a POTA rove, activating several of the PA Wilds state parks: Lyman Run SP, Denton Hill SP, and Patterson SP. I just went for 10-12 QSOs at each, picking up quickly to move on to the next one. I think Patterson is a great alternative to Cherry Springs for dark skies access, and the campsite seems much less crowded.
I parked at the Darling Run access of the Pine Creek Rail Trail, and there was a signpost for the hike towards the northeast end of the parking lot. There are also some toilets at the parking lot, just in case! A few steps into the trail, I crossed PA-362 and started on the bulk of the hike. Yellow blazes mark the trail well, and it seems relatively highly used. Not too overgrown like many lesser-traveled footpaths at this time of year.
About 0.4 mi into the hike is a choice to go the steep and shorter way or the not-so-steep but longer way. I decided to take the steep path up and that resulted in a climb of 750 feet over those 0.6 miles, over a 20% grade on average. That was…pretty tough. I saw some mushrooms and a road on the way. Evidently the mushrooms I caught bioluminescent in darkness.
At the top is a vista point that is just on the edge of the AZ. The hike becomes a pleasant walk east along the ridge, though here the grass had gotten tall. I hiked towards the summit and operated near the terminus of the return trail.
The hike down was less relentlessly steep, but it still would be quite the climb. It follows an old road that isn’t really blazed, so the trail is wider but it’s a bit less scenic.
Trailhead: 41.73633, -77.42913 : Pine Creek Rail Trail – Darling Run Access
I was on the way to the PA Wilds to check out the night sky during the new moon, and stopped to try this never-before activated, unnamed peak in State Game Lands 014. This one has been on my list for a while. It appears that one could approach either from the north, bushwhacking the entire way from a parking area in SGL 014, or from the south, starting the hike along a dirt logging road in Elk State Forest. Both hikes climb ~800 feet in elevation, but the latter spreads that out over two miles instead of one. I opted to spread out the climb to make it a bit easier.
It’s all gravel and dirt roads leading to the gate. Don’t bring your horse (even though there is a Thunder Mountain equestrian trail, this isn’t part of it)!
I started the hike in the mid-afternoon, parking beside the gate of Thunder Mountain Road, after driving north on West Hick Run Road for some time. This road appears to provide logging access to this part of the forest. The road weaves up the mountain and gains roughly 400 feet. After about a mile on the path, I came across a drainage that I had intended to bushwhack along to the summit, but the logging road continued higher so I followed that. This was a mistake, since the eventual bushwhack to the summit included some dense mountain laurel brush. It would be better to go off trail earlier, following the much shorter fern vegetation that grows along the drainage. Along the way, I saw some elk droppings in various places.
Around here is where one should plan to go off trail, even though the road continues further into some large clearings. There is a lot of mountain laurel growing up ahead.It is called Elk State Forest, after all.
Eventually, I made it to the more open area leading up to the activation zone. As soon as I stopped, a bee that had been following me for a while stung me right on the top of my head, ow! Tree cover was everywhere, but I found a place to set up near the actual summit. This time, I brought with me a new 40m K6ARK EFHW for its inaugural activation (after my last wire antenna snapped) along with the MTR3Bv4. I really enjoy this little radio, especially after the version 2.4 firmware upgrade which makes the user experience very smooth. Earlier versions were very easy to accidentally activate CW enunciation of the frequency, which I did far too often.
A bit of a clearing near the hilltop. The Currahee coming out to debut its new firmware!
The most notable QSO this time was YT2AAA in Serbia on 20m. I also managed to score the first two S2S QSOs from this summit, from two true SOTA regulars: K6EL on W6/NC-298 Vollmer Peak, and Darryl WW7D on W7O/CN-106.
By the time I got 21 in the log, it was 5 pm, and the elk were starting their evening activity. A 5-7 point buck sprinted across the hilltop, about 100 yards away from me, evidently spooked about something. I took this as a sign that I should pack up and get back to the trail as quickly as I could. On my return, I chose my line through the brush carefully, following the more western ridge south to get to the drainage, and I completely avoided any dense growth the entire way back. I highly recommend following my suggested route on this map for the bushwhack, along with some common sense!
The boundary with the state game lands has some cleared trail that I found on the way back, along the more western ridge, going south.
On returning to the road portion of the hike, I heard a couple unusual animal calls that sounded like otherworldly screams, which I later learned is the “elk bugle.” It’s an almost ethereal, fantasy creature sort of sound, and it makes me want to come back in the fall for the elk-watching during mating season. On the way out, I saw an elk doe bounding across the valley, tail up and alert. Elk are quite large!
Suggested route, based on my GPS track on the return hike. Avoid taking the logging road further north of the drainage, as that will lead you to some dense mountain laurel brush!
Trailhead: 41.41221, -78.33270 : Gate of Thunder Mountain Road
Route: 4.6 mi RT hike, 900 feet elevation. First mile follows Thunder Mountain Road, the rest is a bushwhack.
POTA: US-8724, PA 014 State Game Land
At my campsite in Cherry Springs, I did a short POTA activation before the sunset, then hung out in the observation field to see the night sky. There was not a single cloud, was a perfect night for stargazing! The Milky Way really stood out as a highlight, and the number of satellites whizzing by was not something I had really appreciated before seeing them all over the place like this!
Stargazers assembling on the former airstrip, waiting for nighttime.
I haven’t been participating in the SOTA 2m weak signal mode challenge so far this year, since I seldom even get any 2m FM contacts in western PA. On the way back from Charlotte, we stopped for a couple days in Shenandoah National Park and some of my experiences there got me thinking that I should be putting a bit more of an effort into VHF ops. I brought a NR7Y-modded K1 Quansheng, a 3-element arrow Yagi-Uda, and my classic FT-60R with a long-ranger half wave whip. I had good results taking on some of the peaks off of Skyline Drive in SNP and engaging with the VHF SOTA chasing community out there.
Roy WN3F recommended a list of W4V Skyline Drive summits that he did in one day in early March: Hawksbill (SH-001), Stony Man (SH-002), The Pinnacle (SH-005), Hogback Mountain (SH-007), and North Marshall (SH-009). I have chased three of these, so this trip put some more completes in my SOTA annals.
June 25: Hawksbill and Stony Man
On the first afternoon, I opted for Hawksbill and Stony Man, since these are two of the more popular hikes in SNP. Just a mile of hiking along the Hawksbill trail and I was at the summit area. Many people were climbing around the rocks, so I tried to find a place a bit away from the observation deck to keep my end fed wire out of the way. The view was terrific, but my operating spot may not have been ideal for VHF, since I had forest blocking my way to the east where the most active chasers are.
I pointed my 2m beam east and with horizontal orientation, thankful for the memory keyer feature on the NR7Y firmware. Moments later, I got both KK4UZK and W4GO calling me. Matt W4GO runs an RBN from his home QTH under his wife’s call KK4HHP which picked me up immediately and made it very easy to rustle up 2m contacts throughout this trip. Jordan KK4UZK later shared that he worked me on a 5-element tape measure Yagi. I also got W4VIG and K4ET on 2m FM. I then wrapped the activation on HF and worked a couple S2S on 20m: WB7BWZ on W7M/FN-184 and K6EL on W6/NC-423.
Reunited with Luna, I hurried on towards Stony Man. Stefanie hung out at the Skyland lodge and kept the FT60 to be one of my QSOs. I was running out of time because partway into the hike I found out that the Stony Man trail is one of the few in SNP that prohibits pets! After taking Luna back to the trailhead, I hustled up to the summit with 40 minutes left in the UTC day to do a 2m-only activation. The pressure was on! The sun was setting against the rocks and the light was perfect, and many hikers made it out to watch the remains of the day’s light. After taking in this sight, I doubled back to a trail junction with a horse hitching post and went down a side trail with nobody on it.
On 2m FM, I called Stefanie first, then worked a number of chasers, including N4QD and KE8YWV who were actually working Chris KI6CR on Mount Davis in PA! I couldn’t hear Chris, but it was cool to overhear the other side of these QSOs. I wrapped up with W4GO on 2m CW, and thus finished my first 2m-only SOTA activation in years with 7 QSOs in the log and 20 minutes to spare. I jogged down the half-mile return trail, past some deer coming out to graze so Stefanie, Luna, and I could make our way back to our room for the evening.
June 26: The Pinnacle and Hogback Mountain
I took Luna out for an early morning drive to get to the trailhead for The Pinnacle, a hike along the Appalachian Trail just off Skyline Drive. I parked at the Jewell Hollow Overlook and we set off along a grassy spur trail until linking up with the AT.
Our path to the AT for the hike to The Pinnacle.
After following the AT for just over a half mile, we reached a group of rocks within the AT. Here, I called on 2m FM for a while, gathering a number of contacts before switching to 2m CW. Unfortunately, I left my key at the room, so the CW had to be sent with the side keys of the K1. It was tricky to do this well while holding the Yagi, but I was able to work W4VIG and W4GO with CW.
To round off the day, Luna and I parked at the trailhead parking for Overall Run, then hiked east along the AT to Skyline Drive, which we crossed to follow Hogback Tower Road into the activation zone. Here, I spent some time doing HF, using the PTT button of my mic to key the KX2! Here is where I worked Roy WN3F for the first and only time on this trip, having used his helpful hints the entire way. I also got W4VIG and W4GO in the log on 2m CW, and Matt W4GO managed to chase me on all four peaks! As a final bonus, Hogsback was my 7th 007 reference, wrapping up the Moore SOTA activator badge.
Across these four activations, I logged seven 2m CW QSOs, which put me on the board for the 2026 SOTA challenge. Also notable is that our QSO on Hawksbill induced KK4UZK into the Brass Knuckle Gang, an eclectic group of 2m CW enthusiasts. I too am a BKG Member, #49, and enjoyed getting my first “wild” 2m CW QSOs on these SOTA activations!
Since these peaks are all well-documented by the W4V SOTA community, I won’t rehash any additional details on parking/trails/etc. There are many easy hikes in the park to check out! Stony Man seems to be the most popular, and for good reason! I highly recommend checking that one out if you’ve only got time for one.
I had an evening to slip away from Charlotte to return and complete the second SOTA peak in Crowders Mountain State Park. Luna and I parked at the Linwood Road Access area and started up the Backside Trail, which is blazed with orange hexagons. The trail was still busy for a Tuesday evening, and we saw at least two dozen other hikers along the hike.
View of Crowders Mountain from Veronét Vineyards.
This one is a steep but short climb, about 0.8 miles to get to the rocky scrambles at the top. The last bit of the ascent takes you up a wooden staircase.
Looking down at the staircase.There is a warning sign here, and you should heed the warning. Some of the rocks drop down sheer cliffs suitable for rope climbing.Checking out the radio tower. I encountered a large amount of QRM on 2m.This rock is the edge ofa cliff. Very nice views with late evening sun lengthening the summit’s shadow.
I found a side trail that I could string my EFHW along and hunkered down with Luna for some operating. There was a strong breeze keeping things cool. I had good luck on 40m and 20m, working 28 QSOs in quick succession. The new UTC day was approaching quickly, so I decided to pack up HF after only 20 minutes, and called on 2m. I got W4MW again on FM from his QTH in Boone (I worked him on my activation of W4C/WP-010 The Pinnacle a couple days ago), but had trouble hearing anybody else as I was still close to the tower. I walked a bit further from the tower and was able to hear KO4AXL, who was mobile. That was it for 2m FM. I’m going to have to get one of those 2m BPF filters that N6ARA is about to release!
Trailhead: 35.24099, -81.26946 : Crowders Mountain State Park – Linwood Road Access
What good fortune to be in Charlotte, NC the day before a conference! My wife Stefanie KK6STE is attending too, along with our dog Luna, and it was crucially important to tire her out so we could leave her in our hotel room while we went out to dinner this evening. After getting her to sprint around a dog park in the morning, I took her on this hike in Crowders Mountain State Park, about 25 miles west of Charlotte.
This hike is a local gem, taking you up The/King’s Pinnacle, a monadnock of 800 feet rising far above anything else in the vicinity, with some light scrambling near the end. At the top, I was able to see the skyline of downtown Charlotte and the southern rim of the Blue Ridge Mountains, as it was a hot but clear day. This was a very busy trail on father’s day, with many families, children, and dogs all hiking up the Pinnacle.
The trailhead has a signpost with camping information. Just see where other visitors are walking if you go on a weekend, as they’re probably headed here.Crowders Mountain is SOTA peak W4C/WP-011, but there is a shorter hike from the Linwood Road access area. I elected to go with the Pinnacle today. I might be able to slip back for Crowders Mountain later in the week.
The hike starts at the Crowders Mountain Visitor Center, Sparrow Springs Access. Just off the parking lot is a trail towards the park’s campsites. Before long, there are helpful signs guiding you along the Pinnacle Trail, which is also blazed with orange circular reflectors. The paths are wide and well-used. Even with the heat and the just after noontime start, I probably passed by over 200 other hikers today on the just over 4-mile round trip.
Wide, well-worn dirt paths switchback up the mountain.
Close to the summit ridge, there is a staircase hewn into the rock, and then there is a junction. There are some scary signs to the right warning you about the pitfalls of rock scrambling, but there is an easier path up that requires less steep scrambling to the left. I took this way, and Luna had no problem bounding up and down the narrow, rocky paths.
Rock staircase means you’re getting close!If the climb up this rock face looks intimidating, just move to the left and you’ll find an easier way up.At the summit marker.Appalachian mountain’s southern rim was also visible. This wide, flat part is a popular place for group pictures.
It was a bit crowded here, but I took my time getting my EFHW at the edge of the trail with a less popular vista so I would interfere with as few hikers as possible. Luna huddled down in the shade with me, clearly pooped from all the activity. I brought my half-wave collapsible whip for my HT and managed four QSOs on 2m FM, which was amazing! Thanks to KM5E, KM4DWY, W4MW, and KD4RAM for the local contacts. I also managed three S2S, all on 20m: El K6EL on W6/NC-423 (Mt Davidson, where else?), W0XC on W0C/SP-058, and N4DD on W4V/GC-013.
It was FB getting some 2m FM QSOs in the log!You can just barely see downtown Charlotte from here.Luna was very tired!
Luna and I got up, dusted ourselves off, then rejoined Stefanie at the nearby Veronét Vineyards, where she was working on some writing for her dissertation work. Some helpful folks pointed out Crowders Mountain, which dominates the horizon.
View of the saddle of The Pinnacle from Veronét Vineyards.I took the Pinnacle Trail both ways. There is an option to extend the loop very slightly through the Fallback trail, so goes the track by KI4SVM.
Trailhead: 35.21350, -81.29362 : Crowders Mountain State Park Visitor Center
I got out for an early morning activation of Cornell Lookout near Lancaster, PA before my day-long workshop in Elizabethtown started. The drive into the site was uneventful, following Horseshoe Trail, which is a paved road(/riding trail?) with many patched potholes dotting the asphalt. While driving up, the right side of the road is posted private property, and everything to the left is part of State Game Land 156. I parked at a pullover inside the activation zone that is within the tiny 10 acre Cornwall Tract of William Penn State Forest. This tract was purchased from the Cornwall family in 1935 for $1.00.
I parked and operated at this spot on the left. The road is in good shape up to this point, but gets rough a few hundred feet past this point.
I got on the Lancaster Radio Transmitting Society’s repeater on 145.390 (PL 118.8 Hz) to try to drum up some locals for 2m. I connected with John W3RC who was driving in the Poconos. I don’t get out to eastern PA too often, but I know that the Poconos are very far away, so I confirmed with John that the repeater is part of a linked network. After chatting a bit, I set up my EFHW for HF activation by the side of the road, just after 6:30 am local time.
I was happy to get 17 QSOs before the anticipated rain started to roll in. I packed up and continued driving west along the road to see the Lancaster radio club’s shack and the other antennas on the peak. The road was in very bad shape, with large potholes, the further I went, but careful driving got me there. I recommend staying on the paved part of the road as it’s in better condition.
Lancaster Radio Transmitting Society’s site is next to a SGL 156 parking lot.
This is an easy 1-pointer drive-on to add to a trip to Hershey, PA. This was also my 40th SOTA complete, as I chased KE8OKM on his activation back in 2024. I’m surprised that it hasn’t been activated since late 2024. It would have been good to reach out to the LRTS with a bit more lead time as they seem like a good group to know, and their club is on the peak as well.
Trailhead: 40.24119, -76.37037 : Pullover south of Horseshoe Trail
I stopped by Michaux State Forest on my way to Elizabethtown, PA to activate this SOTA peak. My last trip to Michaux SF had been a winter hike on the Appalachian Trail to activate W3/PD-007 Snowy Mountain at 2090 feet. This companion peak at 2110 feet is just a bit taller, part of the north half of the forest. These two are the most-activated peaks in the Pennsylvania Dutch region, and I had chased this one one three occasions! Activating it would add another complete to my “collection”.
This is a drive-on and the Appalachian Trail goes through the activation zone. I drove along Ridge Road, turned onto Middle Ridge Road and parked where AC3B recommends, on a small grass patch large enough for one car. Here, a trail called Dug Hill Trail starts. As far as I can tell, it’s a short connector/mountain bike trail that gets little use. Critically, it passes right through the AT. I walked down this trail, admiring the little mountain laurel buds starting to bloom, until I got within 100 feet of the AT so I could activate it for POTA as well.
The turn on Middle Ridge Road is marked with this sign and the parking spot is just past it and off to the right.Dug Hill Trail starts just past the parking spot.The first mountain laurels are starting to flower!Peeking at the Appalachian Trail for good measure.
I set up my wire along the trail and got calling. Conditions were more settled after yesterday’s minor geomagnetic storm. I managed to get a couple S2S, WW7D on W7W/SNM-163 and AC7MA on W7W/CW-061. The Pittsburgh area SOTA afficionados tried to connect on 40m, but had trouble hearing me. I tuned my KX2 to 60m and managed to work Dan NM3A with a very strong signal, both of us using ~9W. He was using a 160m Carolina Windom antenna while my KX2 tuner got my end-fed 40m inverted vee to 2:1 SWR. I also was able to hear N2GBR, but he could not hear me. This has got me thinking about how to better weave 60m into my standard operating procedure now that the best days of Cycle 25 are behind us and it’s a long decline ahead.
This makes 39 completes! I have my eyes on Cornell Lookout near Lancaster for my 40th complete tomorrow, but it’s looking like a wet morning. I think I’ll stick it out — it’s not often that I find myself in eastern PA!
On the way back from my yearly trip to Ohio for Xenia Hamvention and Cincinnati to visit my folks, I detoured through Chillicothe to try some new-to-me SOTA peaks documented by Chris N8PEM: W8O/SE-012 1225 and W8O/SE-016 1190B. Both of these nameless peaks sit in Tar Hollow State Forest northeast of Chillicothe. I did not see any logging activity/traffic on my trip, but this was the last week of turkey hunting season in OH, which led to an interesting encounter!
W8O/SE-012 1225
As suggested in N8PEM’s and KC8JPZ’s reports, I approached this site along Bunn Road. Once it enters the state forest, the road is unpaved, just like in PA. The gravel road had weeds growing in the crown, and should probably be tackled with a high clearance vehicle. I turned onto Park Road 12 to the trailhead, which has plenty of space to park off the road.
The overgrown path starts right from the parking area. Convenient!The path is easy to follow, if a bit green.
The path is an overgrown ATV trail that is fairly easy to follow, despite the growth. It crosses a creek/ditch, and then gradually climbs up into the activation zone. There are a few downed trees that have to be crossed near the beginning of the trail, and closer to the top, thorny briars cross the path. The trail got so overgrown that I thought the only way up would be to bushwhack (reader: the trail is there. Stick with it!) All in all, this is much better and faster than pure bushwhacking! About a half mile into the hike, the path ends in a large clearing and it’s an easy spot to get a wire up.
Turn around near the top for some views of the rolling hills.There is a clearing in the AZ that is a good spot to operate from, but there are ticks!
I noodled around a bit on 40m, enjoying a relaxed pace, getting 27 in the log in the end. I did try 15m to round things outd, but I don’t think band conditions were too great, with a K index of 5. I managed to work F4WBN and DL9NCI on 15m for DX.
I didn’t bring my permethrin-treated clothes on this trip, so I had to flick off a couple ticks when I made it back to the car. I’m starting to know what a tick crawling across my leg/hand feels like! Their little legs are sharp, and they start charging fast when they realize you found them!!
Trailhead: 39.39943, -82.81673 : Pullover in front of ATV trail by Park Road 12, in the Ruffed Grouse Management Area
This one is a drive-on, with the high point on South Ridge Road. I drove on to park on a side gravel road. This would have been a convenient place to set up, but another car was parked there. Instead, I took a short walk down the road to the Bridle Trail until I found a log to sit on. The trail was marked with green blazes.
As I had finished setting up, a father and his two teenage children walked by, all decked out in ghillie suits. The kids, a brother and sister, were each holding a camouflaged shotgun, confirming that they were looking for turkey before the season ends on Sunday. They passed by me and the log, continuing north on the trail, no doubt going to where the turkeys were. Despite growing up in Ohio, this was the first time I had seen hunters in the state. Tells you something about where I usually hung out!
The parking spot.Bridle Trail is blazed green.The log for sitting. I used PoLo for logging.
Since it was 11 am local, I started on 20m, working Gary W0MNA and Martha W0ERI, the SOTA duo that I had just met at Dayton! This was now the 53rd time I had worked both of them on an activation. That’s over a third of all my summits! I worked the same DX as on the last summit, F4WBN and DL9CNI, just this time on 20m. They sounded stronger on 15m, but still good copy. After some time on 40m for the locals, including KF9D who is one of the 11 activators who has done this peak before, I packed it up with 23 in the log.
I didn’t hear any firearm discharge the whole time, so perhaps no turkeys were harmed today.
Trailhead: 39.34548, -82.79135 : Gravel road that meets South Ridge Road
Route: Drive-on. I walked just about 0.1 mi into Bridle Trail (green blazes) to find a log to sit on in the AZ. The zone is large, so there are many potential operating locations.
Tom Zajdel 