by William Eric McFadden
From the Shawnee State Forest's website:
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Shawnee State Forest, also called "The Little Smokies of Ohio," has developed into the largest of Ohio's state forests with more than 60,000 acres. This working forest is managed to provide a variety of multiple uses on a sustained yield basis: Timber harvesting, tree planting, wildlife habitat, forestry research, watershed and soil protection, and production of tree seeds.
During the spring and fall forest fire danger periods, state forest crews detect and suppress wildfires that occur on state and private lands within the surrounding protection area.
Nearly 8,000 acres of the forest have been designated as wilderness. Timber is not managed and public motorized travel has been eliminated in the wilderness area.
From the American Rally Association website:
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The state of Ohio has hosted American national championship stage rally events on 19 separate occasions, beginning with the establishment of the SCCA Pro Rally Championship in 1973 and ending in 1996.
Many of the stages that made up previous Ohio events returned to action in 2017 as the Southern Ohio Forest Rally returned to national prominence. More of the historical roads were brought back in 2018 with the addition of Tar Hollow State Park. The SOFR crew and Ohio Forestry Department worked together to add Shawnee State Forest in 2019. That same year, with the collaboration of the City of Chillicothe, SOFR was able to bring back a teaser of the infamous City Park stage in downtown Chillicothe's Yoctangee Park.
Pictures
Description
On Friday, June 7, 2024, one member of the Southeast Ohio Radio Adventure Team performed a successful activation of Shawnee State Forest in Ohio as part of the Parks on the Air (POTA; link) program.
While providing communications support to the Southern Ohio Forest Rally (info) in Shawnee State Forest, Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, performed what he had expected would be a quick and easy activation of Shawnee State Forest.
Eric had been assigned the position of "Start Radio" at the start control of Special Stage 3 ("Top Gun Short South 1") and Special Stage 7 ("Top Gun Short South 2") at the tick-infested intersection of State Forest Service Road 6 and the Pigeon Roost and Snake Hollow bridle trails within Shawnee State Forest. With over two hours in the rally schedule between the departure of the last car onto Special Stage 3 at 12:24 and the scheduled arrival of the first car onto Special Stage 7 at 14:50, Eric should have had plenty of time to complete a POTA activation of Shawnee State Forest—plenty of time, that is, if the Sun hadn't been misbehaving.
Eric had marginal cell-signal at this location, just barely enough that he would be able to spot himself on POTA Spots (link) and to use POTA Spots to identify possible park-to-park (P2P) QSO opportunities.
Eric began his POTA operation on 20m using his Elecraft KH1 with the 4' whip and 13' counterpoise wire, and at 1656 UTC he made a P2P QSO as a hunter with WS4Y who was activating Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park (US-1873) in Florida.
Finding himself a clear frequency on 20m, Eric called "CQ POTA" for a considerable length of time but received no responses whatsoever.
At some point, Eric used his marginal cell-signal to discover that the solar A-Index and K-Index were both 6, an indication that HF conditions could be expected to be poor. Not wanting to have an unsuccessful POTA activation with just a single QSO, Eric swapped the KH1 and whip for his Elecraft KX2 and Tufteln (link) 35' end-fed wire antenna, deploying the antenna as a sloper up to the top of his Goture Red Fox Super Hard 720 mast bungied to a post, and laying a single counterpoise wire directly on the ground. (Eric would have preferred deploying three counterpoise wires but foot traffic at the start control prevented this.)
Eric's KX2 station (left) and 2m station (right).
Setting his KX2 to 40m, Eric's first QSO in this run came at 1809 UTC with N4TIZ in North Carolina. QSOs came steadily, with his seventh QSO in this run (and eighth QSO overall) coming at 1835 UTC with NM3A in Pennsylvania. This run included a P2P QSO with KN3A at PA 160 State Game Land (US-8858) in Pennsylvania, a P2P QSO with K3GG at Nockamixon State Park (US-1391) in Pennsylvania, and QSOs with operators located in North Carolina, Pennsylvania (4), Tennessee, and Ohio.
At this point, with nearly all the break between the two specials stages having passed and Eric having logged only eight QSOs, the course-vehicles had already begun arriving at the start control and Eric was forced to set aside his POTA operation in order to properly support his stage captain and to participate in the 2m radio net.
After each of the fifty-one competition vehicles had passed through the start control for their run on Special Stage 7, and after the Safety-Sweep and Green Light vehicles had passed through the start control to begin the process of closing the special stage, Eric was able to return to his POTA operation while leaving one ear on the continuing 2m radio net. Still concentrating on 40m, at 1955 UTC he completed a QSO with KB9VBN in Indiana and at 2001 UTC he completed a QSO with K2UPD in Kentucky. The QSO with K2UPD was Eric's tenth, and his activation was finally validated.
Never being satisfied with exactly ten QSOs in the log, Eric switched to 20m and began calling CQ. At 2016 UTC he completed a QSO with N5IM in Texas, and at 2017 UTC he completed a P2P QSO with N1BS at Noquochoke Wildlife Management Area (US-11679) in Massachusetts.
In all, Eric managed eventually to make twelve QSOs, four of which were P2P QSOs. All of Eric's QSOs were CW and were made with five watts output.
Photos from Special Stage 7 "Top Gun South Short 2" Start Control:
Reigning ARA champions Brandon Semenuk and Keaton
Williams rocket from the start line in a 2024 Subaru WRX.
Ryan Booth and Nick Dobbs in a 1976 Ford Escort Mk2.
Seamus Burke and Martin Brady sit at
the start line in a 1977 Ford Escort Mk2 V8.
Seamus Burke and Martin Brady
launch in a 1977 Ford Escort V8.
Scott James and Michelle Donovan approach the start
line in an absolutely gorgeous 1966 Porsche 912.
Scott James and Michelle Donovan enter
the stage in a 1966 Porsche 912.
Bonus: Although Eric's assignment on Saturday of the event was within Zaleski State Forest, US-5455, given the difficulty he had had validating his activation of Shawnee State Forest on Friday, he chose not to attempt to perform activation of Zaleski State Forest. He did, however, take photographs while participating in the event's 2m net.
Photos from Saturday's Special Stage 11 and 15, "Irish Ridge 1" and "Irish Ridge 2", Start Control:
Ryan Booth and Nick Dobbs approach
the start line in a 1976 Ford Escort Mk2.
(SS11 / Irish Ridge 1)
A five-second triptych: Ryan Booth and
Nick Dobbs launch and fly up Irish Ridge Road.
(SS15 / Irish Ridge 2)
Seamus Burke and Martin Brady approach
the start line in a 1977 Ford Escort V8.
(SS11 / Irish Ridge 1)
Seamus Burke and Martin Brady launch.
(SS15 / Irish Ridge 2)
Scott James and Michelle Donovan approach the start
line in the absolutely gorgeous 1966 Porsche 912.
(SS15 / Irish Ridge 2)
(Yes, Eric does seem to like the vintage rally cars...)
(return)