US-10411 Willapa Hills Trail

Created Monday 16 September 2024

12 CW QSOs 2024-09-16

My CW was more acceptable today. I was pleased that I could pull in some weak signals, through repetitive confirmation of callsigns. The activation location along highway 6 in Raymond was not a real park like environment, but a parking area and a picnic table were available. On this trip I've started to think about putting together a low power (QRP) rig, antenna, battery, etc that will fit in a backpack. With that, activations can get into the heart of the parks.

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The activation site along Highway 6 in Raymond

Willapa Hills is a special place for me, since it traverses my hometown of Raymond, Washington. The trail is the old 50+ mile Northern Pacific spur line from Chehalis to South Bend, Washington. As I got ready for this visit to Washington, activating this park was at the top of my list.

In 2017, I bicycled the eastern half of the trail with my daughter Erin, from Chehalis to Rainbow Falls State Park. That was a joy. It was also good to check it off the bucket list. It would be quite a challenge seven years later.

Last year, with my son, Ryan and daughter, Erin we walked about 4 miles of the trail on the western end from Raymond to Willapa.

The photo for the QSL card was taken on my bike ride with Erin in 2017. This photo from an old railroad bridge crossing the Chehalis River east of Pe Ell, Washington.