POTA at White Clay Creek Preserve

The last time I was in the White Clay Creek Preserve (PA) was in 2016 during the National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) event. I used this park as the starting point for a hike into Delaware along White Clay Creek. This time I was back to activate the Preserve as a Parks on the Air (POTA) entity (K-6433).

Although the preserve is in my home county, I had to drive an hour to get there. I pulled into the parking lot near the park office, and I was on the air in less than five minutes. I used my typical setup: KX3 (5 watts, CW) and my 19-foot homebrew vertical on the back of my truck. 

Despite the spotty cell service, I spotted myself on the 40M band. During my third contact, N4EX asked me to confirm my park designator. When I sent what I had written in my notebook the night before, Rich informed me that the designator I sent was for a park in Florida. I asked him to stand by while I checked the POTA website. Yep, he was right. I had transposed two numbers. Thanks for catching that, Rich. I corrected my faux pas and proceeded with my activation.

Things slowed down on 40M after 22 contacts, so I moved up the 20M. I only had three contacts there, but one was a park-to-park with a Texas station. The last 20M contact was with K4NYM in Florida. Bill was activating a “two-fer,” so his contact was good for two park-to-park contacts.

Finishing up on 30M, I made another 11 contacts before shutting down. I walked around a bit to take some pictures before leaving. 

In the end, I had logged 36 contacts with four park-to-park QSOs. Among those was my local friend, Frank N3FLL, who worked me on two bands. 

Although I thought about driving across the state line to activate White Clay Creek State Park in Delaware, I had some other things to do today. I’ll save that one for another time.

73, Craig WB3GCK