PoLo creator Sebastián KI2D and co-activator Jay NK2Y accomplished what few before them have, activating 25 parks in a single UTC day and achieving the POTA Leopard Rover award. With Jay’s truck loaded up with an IC-7300, tuner, and an AH-2B antenna, there was no time for CW, even though Jay is an LICW instructor. Instead, the duo pulled out a mic and trekked down and then back up the Hudson River.

At 23:56Z on April 27th, 2025, Sebastián posted on Bluesky that he and Jay had completed their 25th park with just minutes to spare. The rove started at US-7683 Fort Montgomery State Historic Site (NY) at 7am. Thirteen hours later, US-2036 Fahnestock State Park was in the log and the Leopard caged.

There were only a pair of two-fers on this rove, and it might have made sense to do three or four parks on the previous evening, after 00Z, to get a head start. There were twenty three stops made, some just minutes long and others a bit more of a struggle, especially earlier in the day when there are simply fewer hunters.

The two activators are already thinking about what it would take to get to 30, or even 50 parks on a rove, which, as best we know, is the current record. It might be that a coordinated effort is needed, with a team of hunters holding frequencies for the activators while they drive, so that there’s already an activation’s worth of hunters waiting for you. A maritime mobile op to five parks on the Hudson River using Jay’s sailboat is also on the burner.

You can follow Sebastián KI2D on Bluesky, and of course be sure to take a look at the Portable Logger, PoLo, if you haven’t already.