FR 0x00a: Gardner Memorial Wayside Ste Park

Ref: US-2654, US-4905
Rig: Elecraft KX2
Ant: CHA LEFS 4010
Power: 5W
Key: BaMaKeY TP-III
HT: BTECH UV-PRO + SignalStick
Tab: Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+
Ruck: 5.11 RUSH 12 2.0 24L
Logging Gear:
    Battle Board Aviation Kneeboard
    Rite in the Rain Notebook #935
    Rite in the Rain Metal Pen #97 
Other Gear:
    Weaver Arborist 12oz throw weight and line
WX: ~23C no wind, partly cloudy

I was lucky enough to get a free weekend in New Hampshire, so I decided to place a New Hampshire pin on my POTA map. Gardner Memorial State Park is located near Wilmot, NH in the Gile State Forest (which is also a POTA park). The location is beautiful and although parking is somewhat limited, I had no issues finding a spot. Car activation is possible, but there are also a few picnic tables right by the trail head. There are plenty of trees to deploy an antenna. The water in the nearby brook is boggy and slow moving, so don’t forget to bring the bug spray!

Cell reception is completely dead in the area. I ended up hiking the Butterfield Pond trail until I found a single bar to spot myself. Don’t rely on it though, I just got lucky. APRS coverage is also very weak - I was able to get a few of my beacons out to N3LLO-2 gate, however I could not reliably access APRS services. Consider scheduling the activation ahead of the time and/or spotting over HF.

The conditions were alright, but the activation went very smoothly and I was getting decent signal reports. Lovely park and a great option for a quick 2fer if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

Thanks to the P2P calls:

• Derek KC3YYP at the US-1355 French Creek State Park

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