The Boschveldt QRP Club got together for our annual Winter outing, from January 11-14, 2024. Our little group of QRPers has been getting together each January for many years. This year, we were in a cabin in French Creek State Park (POTA K-1355)
Some members stayed for four nights, while others stayed over for various portions of the weekend or just stopped in to visit. This year, the following folks attended: Ed K3YTR, Ed K3BVQ, Glen NK1N, Ed WA3WSJ, John NU3E, Walt KB3SBC, Rob KE3TI, Ron WA8YIH, W3CJW, and me WB3GCK.
Some of the group arrived on Thursday and, after settling in, got some radios and antennas set up. They followed that up by dinner at a local restaurant and a movie back at the cabin.
NU3E (left) and NK1N outside the cabin during a snow squall 
John NU3E operating FT8 as W3BQC from the cabin 
Glen NK1N operating CW as W3BQC from the cabin 
WB3GCK at Hopewell Furnace National Historical Site (K-0834, KFF-0834) 
(l-r) NK1N (on the radio), K3BVQ, and K3YTR in the cabin 
Sunday’s breakfast featured NU3E’s famous waffles
By the time I arrived on Friday afternoon, NU3E and NK1N were busy activating the park using the Boschveldt Club’s callsign, W3BQC. After a lot of socializing and reminiscing, we made dinner in the cabin and ended the evening with another movie.
After breakfast on Saturday morning, I headed over to Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (K-0834, KFF-0834) for the Parks on the Air activation. Using my TR-35 and 12-foot loaded whip, I logged 41 contacts in just under an hour. Among those, I had two park-to-park contacts with W3BQC back at the cabin.
Later that day, KB3SBC and WA3WSJ did a three-park rove, operating FT8 and FT4 using the club callsign. They activated French Creek State Park (K-1355), Hopewell Furnace NHS (K-0834), and William Penn State Forest (K-5481), which are all within minutes of each other.
On Saturday night, our group descended on a local Italian restaurant for a fantastic meal and some adult beverages. Once again we watched a movie back at the cabin before turning in for the night.
Breakfast on Sunday featured waffles and all the fixings courtesy of John NU3E. John’s waffles have been a Sunday morning tradition for us for many years. Not long after breakfast, we started receiving cell phone alerts for an impending snow squall. Sure enough, the snow came down heavily, greatly reducing visibility. Fortunately, it didn’t last too long.
After lunch, several members—me included—started packing up and heading home. A few members were staying over for one more night before vacating the cabin.
At the end of our winter gathering, W3BQC had 346 contacts in the log. Most of the contacts were from K-1355 (319) with the rest from K-0834 and K-5481. Hopefully, some of you managed to work W3BQC over the weekend.
After spending the last two winter gatherings in a freezing lodge at the Daniel Boone Homestead, the comfortable—and well-heated—cabin in French Creek was a definite step up. We unanimously decided to hold next year’s outing at French Creek.
It’s always great to spend some time catching up with my old QRP buddies. The weekend went by far too quickly, though.
72, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 