US-2417 Ashland State Park
I'm usually ready for anything in the woods, the teepee was something new...
In early November 2024 New England was blessed with a short stretch of 80ºF, sunny weather in what had already been a mild fall. I took the opportunity to visit a few new state parks in my area, a double treat since the parks here in Massachusetts close in October, meaning that I more or less had these spaces to myself. A downside is that, since the park is closed, parkING is usually closed, too, and often any access road that takes you to parking is as well. It just means that you might need to walk a bit to get to your spot versus driving in a little closer.
In the case of Ashland State Park, the walk in is about half a mile. Ashland is a popular park and is well-marked from the road. If the gate is closed, as it will be in the fall and winter, park to your right at the recreational area / playground. There's plenty of room, this is a spot that parents bring kids and dog-walkers bring their dogs.
The walk in is uneventful, though it's a little eerie to see all of the spaces and facilities with no one around on a sunny, warm day. It's around half a mile to the beach, which is where I started, but there are also plenty of paths that branch out from the entry road, some go to picnic areas with grills, and some go to trailheads. The park itself is about 500 acres, but half of that is taken up by the Ashland Reservoir.
The beach is small but does have facilities. I think that boating is the larger attraction at the park and there are plenty of boat ramps and places to stow your trailer. From the beach you get a nice view of the dam – the reservoir stretches to the north around a small peninsula.
Since it was such a lovely day, I wanted to operate near the water and decided to set up at the tip of the peninsula that juts out into the lake. The head of the path is just to the right of the beach as you are facing the water. It isn't very well marked but it's the only trail in this spot.
The trail to the point is short, maybe a quarter of a mile, and there are a few offshoots that will take you into the woods along the lake. Stay to the left, hugging the shoreline. The lake has a large beaver population and you'll see a lot of evidence of their activities. There are a lot of tall young trees in this spot, and boy do beavers love them...
They of course are using the saplings to build lodges, and there's a really nice example of a working lodge right on the path, just as you step foot onto the peninsula itself.
Not to be outdone, humans also harvest these poles and set up shelters...
For once I was surprised – I wasn't expecting to see an actual teepee out in the woods. I would think some scouts put it there, and there's a rough-hewn kayak rack nearby. Not shown in the teepee photo is that it is dug out, so there's a circular depression one to two feet deep, and the poles rest inside the depression along the rim. I thought hard about operating from inside, but it was such a nice day that I didn't want to be in a chilly, dark teepee doing an activation.
Those are words you don't ever think you'll write...
With all of these poles, though, you have a really wide selection of accessories for your antenna. Just look at this Mast Mart!
Some of the poles on that tree are over 15 feet tall and straight as a whistle, just perfect for supporting a hamstick dipole or as a feedpoint elevator. I'd brought along my 20m hamstick dipole in addition to the EFHW I've been using lately, and decided to string the wire. The space was nice and open, and I wanted to use bands other than 20m, especially 6m which has been waking up lately.
I set up the station on the shore with a view of the dam. This was one of those activations where everything went right, and the weather was perfect, so I spent a little extra time on the air playing around, mainly on 20m, 15m, and 10m, and primarily CW. About 25% of the 40-ish QSOs were DX, mostly on 10m. I have to say that Ham2K's Portable Logger (PoLo) is really a delight to use and it makes the operation so much smoother.
I liked this park a lot and will certainly come back in the spring. I know I'm in for a shock to see actual crowds here! My guess is that I'll have to set up on the shore rather than the peninsula, but we'll see. Nearby Hopkinton State Park is nearly identical in its layout, though it doesn't have a peninsula or (as far as I know) teepees.
I'll leave you with a bit of driftwood that I got all arty on. I think it's a deer, what do you think?
