McKee-Breshers Wildlife Management Area (US-7730)

One of the rare parks in Montgomery County that I've never visited, McKee-Breshers Wildlife Management Area lies adjacent to the Potomac River and made for an easy activation this afternoon. I set up at Sycamore Landing, which has a parking lot and nearby clearing. It was tantalizingly close to the C&O Canal towpath (part of the Potomac Heritage Trail National Scenic Trail, US-4564), and I debated a dual activation. But to follow POTA rules and stay within 100 feet of the trail, I would have had to operate from dense vegetation which I wasn’t in the mood for or block the trail connecting the park. I have other plans for my first 2fer anyway. 

As primarily a wildlife/hunting area, I didn’t expect benches or picnic tables, so I brought a small camping table and a backpacking chair. In truth, this wasn’t even necessary; I could have operated from my car. But it was a nice day, and I was ready for some sun.

I activated the park on 20m rather quickly (~20 minutes), then played around on other bands, picking up additional QSOs on 10m (4), 15m (3), and one on 17m. 

Approximate activation point: 39.075010, -77.420238

Gear: Xiegu G90 + DE-19 + 20M quarter wave whip antenna + Talentcell 12V 6Ah LiFePO4 battery + portable table + backpacking chair

Note: On review I realized I screwed up the log upload for this park along with the second park I activated today, Monocacy River Natural Resources Management Area State Natural Area (US-6392). Basically the 20m QSOs were swapped. Oops 🤷‍♂️ Let's see if POTA support will delete them for me. Otherwise, lesson learned and I need to be more careful with the exported logs from FT8CN.