Another Four Park Rove...

Sunday was a great day to get out and play portable radio. The day didn't start off too warm, but by mid-afternoon was pretty hot out.

I had decided earlier in the week to finish off my rove of Northern Northumberland County, and the parks along County Road 9. The fall colours were fantastic, and I really enjoyed the great views along the roads.

Thankfully the west-bound traffic on Highway 401 was pretty light that morning, most people would have still been in bed when I was heading west. I used my KX3 with 10w and my usual collection of Hamsticks. Propagation wasn't too bad, it was SFI=158, SN=109, A Index=20, and the K Index=2. Those numbers didn't change all day.

I was prepared for bad propagation on this trip, I took along my small 40w HF amplifier. Thankfully I never needed it, as once the contacts started they kept coming.

The first park was a 1.5 hour drive east of my home QTH. This was CA-5648, Garden Hill Conservation Area. It's a small site, right off County Road 9. It didn't take me long to get set up, and I quickly decided to start on 40m as it looks fairly busy. First in the log from there was Reed, AB8AS. After putting 13 in the log, all on 40m, the band seemed to dry up...so it was off to the second park.

The next park was CA-5647, Rice Lake Conservation Area. This is truly a gorgeous site, very quiet, and lots of places to get an antenna up in the trees. First station in the log from here was Wayne, VE3UWA, a fellow Frontenac County ARC member. This activation was also completed all on 40m.

CA-5636, Hazel Bird Nature Reserve. Another very quiet location for radio work. The parking lot is pretty small here, probably good for 6 to 8 cars. I moved to 15m at this location and made 11 contacts on the band before moving back to 40m. First in the log here was Darin, KG5HBX, in De Leon, Texas.

After Hazel Bird Nature Reserve I drove for about 25 minutes to Warkworth Conservation Area. First though I stopped for a quick lunch at "K Okay Cafe", one of the many restaurants on the Main Street. I can definitely recommend the ham and brie sandwich there. 

Warkworth Conservation Area is tiny, and has about 3 parking spots which are across the street from the actual conservation area. I was lucky to get one, and hauled my equipment across the street and set up on the one and only picnic table there. The antenna for this site was a 25' Rybakov vertical, with a single 17' ground radial. It was on a SOTABeams tactical mini mast, and it worked well for me that day.

I decided to stick with 15m as it seemed busy, and I guessed that I might get some good DX....I was right. First up was Pedro, PR8ZX, in Brazil, and he was followed by EA1FIC, EA1BUL, F4ILH, EC7DZZ, DF7TR, and SM3NRY. Those contacts made the day!

It was another great day chasing POTA contacts, and I really enjoyed myself. Now it's off to plan the next 4 Park Rove, which should be in a few weeks.

Stay Safe Out There!