I took advantage of another nice Fall day and did some hiking along White Clay Creek. Since White Clay Creek is a National Wild and Scenic River (WR39), I did a short NPOTA activation along the way. I previously activated this unit but I figured I would make a small contribution towards getting the NPOTA program to the 1 million QSO mark by the end of the year.
I hiked a section of the Mason-Dixon Trail that runs between Pennsylvania and Delaware and closely follows the creek. As I traveled down the trail, I searched for a decent place to put up an antenna. Not finding one, I eventually came to the Delaware state line. About a quarter of a mile into Delaware, I got lucky.
I came across a clearing that was well within the 25-foot requirement for activating a wild and scenic river. There was a tree branch that was just begging for me to hang my antenna there. Using a water bottle for a weight, I got my line over a 35-foot branch on the first toss. Believe me, that doesn’t happen very often. I strung up a 29.5-foot wire with a 9:1 unun and 18-feet of coax. I quickly set up my KX3 and was on the air a few minutes earlier than planned.
I started out on 40 meters. Despite all the Sweepstakes contest stations, that turned out to be the best band for me today. I quickly got the required 10 contacts and then some. I eventually moved up to 30 meters and worked a couple there. I next moved up to 20 meters but the band was going crazy with the contest. I tuned up to 14.102 MHz and eventually worked a California station. With no other takers, I headed back to 30 meters and picked up one more there. I ended my brief session with 21 contacts in my log. I packed up and enjoyed a leisurely hike back to my truck.
It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. I need to get back down to this area to explore some of the other trails.
72, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 