by William Eric McFadden
From the Strouds Run State Park website:
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Strouds Run State Park is located in the scenic forested hills of Athens County, in the midst of the unglaciated Appalachian Plateau. Although untouched by the vast ice sheets that moved across portions of the state over 12,000 years ago, Strouds Run displays the effects of the glaciers — in the deep ravines and high hills — where the valleys served as outlets for torrents of glacial meltwaters. The erosive power of these waters carved the valleys and hillsides, creating the familiar topography Ohioans know today. Large deposits of glacial outwash, primarily sand and gravel, were deposited along these streams and strongly affected the type of biological communities present today.
Sandstone, the principal bedrock outcropping in the region, is very resistant to erosion and forms the uplands and steep sides of the valleys. Twisting roads and forest trails pass through these deep ravines and lead to dense stands of beech, hickory, oak, maple and tuliptree. Seasonal displays are offered by flowering dogwood, redbud and spring wildflowers — with fall presenting a pageant of colorful foliage. These woods are home to white-tailed deer, fox, raccoon, opossum, squirrel, wild turkey and a variety of songbirds. Woodthrush, white-breasted nuthatch, scarlet tanager, pileated woodpecker and the rufous-sided towhee inhabit the forest canopy. These rugged hills and woodlands are truly reminiscent of the wilderness that characterized the Ohio country in the days of early settlers.
Pictures
Description
On Sunday, December 21, 2025, one member of the Southeast Ohio Radio Adventure Team performed an activation of Strouds Run State Park (US-1994) as part of the Parks on the Air (POTA; link) program.
Taking advantage of a late morning opportunity for some very much-needed radio therapy, Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, visited Bulldog Shelter within Strouds Run State Park to play radio. He was accompanied by the little dogs Theo and Lily. This was to be Lily's first experience being a "POTA pup".
Eric arrived at Bulldog Shelter at about 1530 UTC, finding the shelter to be unoccupied. Although the day was warming, the temperature was still a cool 35°, so Eric chose to operate inside his car. After taking the two small dogs for a short walk, he deployed his Tufteln (link) EFRW as a 29' vertical supported on a drive-on base, placing two 17' counterpoise wires directly on the ground. Mounting his Elecraft KX2 on his car's passenger-side dashboard, Eric was on the air at 1546 UTC.
Wide-angle distortion: Eric's
Elecraft KX2 station inside the car.
Eric's mast and antenna.
As he has come to expect at this location, Eric had cell-signal at Bulldog Shelter, and he would be able to access POTA Spots to spot himself and to find Park-to-Park (P2P) QSO opportunities.
Eric began his operation on 20m. Finding himself a clear frequency to run, he began calling "CQ POTA" and was autospotted on POTA Spots. His first QSO came at 1547 UTC with KD2TWJ in New York. QSOs came steadily, with Eric's thirteenth QSO coming at 1606 UTC with KB3FW in South Carolina. This run included a QSO with DL1EJG in Germany and QSOs with operators located in California (2), Connecticut, Florida (3), Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
After a brief pause to unsuccesfully hunt on 15m, Eric switched to 40m. While trying to find himself a clear frequency, at 1609 UTC Eric heard and was able to work AD9FW at Fort Harrison State Park (US-2256) in Indiana.
Finding himself a clear frequency on 40m to run, Eric began calling "CQ POTA" and was auto-spotted on POTA Spots. His first QSO in this run came at 1619 UTC with KA8YRV in Ohio. QSOs on 40m came steadily, with Eric's fifth QSO in this run coming at 1625 UTC with NM3A in Maryland. This run included QSOs with operators located in Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
In all, Eric made nineteen QSOs, including one P2P QSO, in about forty minutes of on-air time. All of Eric's QSOs were CW and were made at five watts of output.
Dow Lake, frozen but melting.
Is he a dog or a mountain goat? Theo.
Eric also submitted his log to the World Wide Flora and Fauna in Amateur Radio (WWFF; link) program for an operation at Strouds Run State Park, KFF-1994.
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