Tag: MOC

The Boschveldt QRP Club convened for our Winter trip to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in northern New Jersey. We all enjoyed a fun weekend of ham radio in a scenic setting.

As in past years, we rented a cabin at the Mohican Outdoor Center (MOC) near Blairstown, New Jersey. This year’s crew included Ed K3YTR, Glen NK1N, Ed K3BVQ, John NU3E, Ed WA3WSJ, Walt KB3SBC, and me.

On Friday, some of the early arrivals headed out to Crater Lake to do some operating. The road down to the lake was closed, so they operated from the nearby Blue Mountain Lakes Trailhead instead. I arrived mid-afternoon as NK1N and NU3E were putting up an inverted L antenna outside the cabin. Glen had already set up a station inside the cabin. After settling in and catching up with old friends, we all drove into Blairstown for dinner at Buck Hill Brewery and Restaurant.

I volunteered to provide breakfast on Saturday, so I made breakfast sandwiches for everyone. (I refer to them as Craig McMuffins—with apologies to a certain fast-food restaurant chain.)

After breakfast, everyone took off in different directions. NK1N and NU3E hiked up to Raccoon Ridge on the Appalachian Trail. WA3WSJ went over to the Pennsylvania side to operate from some scenic overlooks. K3YTR did some experimenting with antennas back at the cabin.

I operated stationary-mobile at the Blue Mountain Lakes Trailhead to make some contacts in the SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (WES). I did a National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) activation from this spot back in 2016. K3BVQ and KB3SBC were parked about a half-mile down the road from me doing a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation of Delaware Water Gap.

I made about a dozen SKCC contacts, including K3BVQ down the road. (Ed was a solid 599, of course.) Later, while tuning around on 20M, I heard WA3WSJ calling CQ with the club’s callsign, W3BQC. Ed was across the river in Pennsylvania at a site overlooking Delaware Water Gap. We had some heavy QRM during our short contact, but we managed to complete the QSO.

Later that night, we went back into town for our customary Saturday night dinner at the Blairstown Inn. We had a few beers, great food, lots of tall stories, and plenty of laughter. That was a great way to end the day.

NU3E made his incredible Belgian waffles for breakfast on Sunday. John’s amazing waffles have become a Sunday morning tradition on these trips. After breakfast, it was time to pack up and clean up the cabin.

I always look forward to these Winter trips with my old QRP buddies. I think it’s fair to say everyone had a great time again this year.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Each January, the Boschveldt QRP Club makes its pilgrimage to the Delaware Water Gap. Each year has presented unique challenges. Over the years we’ve had to contend with rain, snow, fog, bitter cold, and power outages. This year, it was snow and ice.

For the 16th year, our small band of QRPers has rented a cabin at the Mohican Outdoor Center (MOC) in northern New Jersey. (This was my 5th year making the trip.) We always look forward to doing some socializing and doing some QRP operating. We had the following QRPers on hand: WA3WSJ, KB3SBC, NK1N, WA8YIH, WB3GCK, K3YTR, K3BVQ, W3CJW, and NU3E.

The forecast for the weekend looked dire. Initial predictions called for up to a foot of snow with a layer of ice. Regardless, the weather forecast didn’t deter the Boschveldt crew.

By the time I arrived at the cabin on Friday, some of our crew had already installed three antennas and stations. After settling in, our activities included socializing, dinner, and operating. We had folks operating CW, SSB, and FT8, some going late into the night.

On Saturday, several members operated from the cabin. WA3WSJ and NK1N headed up to High Point State Park to do some pedestrian-mobile operating.

My plan was to operate from the Blue Mountain Lakes trailhead. But, I found the road to the trailhead snow-covered and closed to traffic. I returned to the cabin to make some contacts from there.

On Saturday night, we headed into town for dinner at a local inn. We were happy to learn that we would be getting less snow than initially predicted. After dinner, some of our stalwart operators again took to the airwaves.

On Sunday morning, NU3E made his amazing waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. John’s waffles are a traditional Sunday breakfast at our MOC gatherings.

Outside, we had 3-4 inches of snow overnight with a thin layer of ice on top. After packing up and cleaning off our vehicles, we all headed out and went our separate ways.

It was another fun weekend with the Boschveldt crew. The radio stuff is fun but it’s especially nice spending time with some old friends. This annual gathering always goes by too fast.

72, Craig WB3GCK