Rolley Lake Park

I have been operating my radio in a park quite a lot lately but mostly at Campbell Valley Park.  One tends to get comfortable with a familiar setting and situation so I just keep going back looking to achieve higher level awards. However, getting out to a new park is fun and rewarding as well. This week Ralph and I planned on activating a new park and I had suggested Rolley Lake. It is a bit out of the way and would provide a scenic drive as we make our way there. In planning the week, the weather kept warming up as it progressed and Friday looked to be the nicest day. So, we decided Friday would be the day of our adventure.

Friday morning arrived along with Ralph at 11am. We quickly loaded up my car and set out for … not the park but a Starbucks! We used to regularly visit the coffee stop on the way to a summit or park but as of late we generally skipped it. Today we loaded up on caffeine and continued the drive to the park. Ralph had been there once before many years back but I had never visited. So, it would be a surprise to both of us. The one concern I had was whether there would be cell reception, its availability makes announcing our activity easier. Arriving at the park entrance showed decent reception and so that issue was quickly resolved.

The park has a good-sized camping area and a separate day use location. We drove to the day-use area and found 3 large parking areas, selecting the middle one I drove to the end nearest the lake and parked. The lot was almost empty. We then went for a short walk around the day area. There was a nice grassy area butting up on the sandy short of the small lake. It really isn’t very big, historically it was used for logging and was the starting point for a 5km long wooden flume that moved logs to a mill down the slope. The beach area is quite small but it is there and a number of young families were visiting with the kids playing in the sand. I suspect the lake was still a bit cool for swimming though there was a couple out Kayaking.

Next to the grassy area is a second smaller area where dogs are welcome to go swimming. There were a number of picnic tables scattered around the area and Ralph selected one in the dog zone, I picked the one furthest away in the main area. We then returned to the car and loaded up our gear. Once at my table I studied a compass and planned the orientation for my antenna. I then set about to erect the mast. Part way up it collapsed into itself. I guess I hadn’t secured one of the sections well enough. I think some grit had gotten into it and was breaking the seal. I restarted and made sure each section was tight as I slowly worked each three-foot piece higher into the air.

Mast and antenna up, I went about setting up my radio on the picnic table. With the mast in the sky I was now an interesting sight for those enjoying the lake, and sure enough a few came by to ask about my activity. I spent several minutes chatting with one chap before I got on the air.

This trip Ralph and I decided to do something new. We decided to call each other across several radio bands. We could have done this before but as it was against the rules for Summits on the Air, we never thought about it for parks. In Parks on the Air it is an allowed activation. So, we started off on our 2m handhelds and organized a contact on 10m, 12m, 15m, 17m, 20m, and 40m. Our signals were very strong as would be expected when so close. When done we each had 7 park-to-park contacts on 7 bands a quick start to the day.

Once done with Ralph I was about to start calling outside the park when a park ranger came by. She was quite interested in my activity and thought it was really ‘cool’. She was interested in what one could do with radio. She had seen one other person doing something she thought was similar but that person had brought a dog into the no dogs area and they got off to a very bad start, she was not impressed. I guess some hams can be less than good ambassadors for the hobby. Done with her I started calling on the 12m band. I skipped 10m as Ralph was going there and it is better to be on different bands when so close.

I soon had callers responding to my hails. Signals were quite light today and I know I missed a few that I couldn’t hear well enough to pick out their callsigns. After around 20 minutes of calling, I had added 12 more contacts to my log ranging from South Carolina and Connecticut across to Arizona.  It was slow going and eventually things seemed to stop so I moved to the 15m band. I found another park activator, in Wisconsin, and worked him.  I asked how the band was, he said it was quiet and variable, signals were low – just as I was seeing. I moved on and posted myself on the list. I soon had a new stream of contacts. This time they were wider spread including California and Maine and even a station in the Azores Islands in the eastern part of the north Atlantic! The Azores station was one of the stronger signals I had this time! It was a nice spread on 15m.

By about 50 minutes of active calling and after eating my lunch, I closed down my station. Ralph had made enough contacts as well and we felt we had achieved our goal of activating the park. The sun was out and the day had gotten quite pleasant. Kids were busy in the sand while the mom’s were chatting and a few dogs were enjoying the water.  We carried our gear back to the car and set off for home, but not before  another coffee of course. We pulled into what was has become our most visited Starbucks location outside of the White Rock area. It is the store located at the corner of 240th and Dewdney Trunk Road. Coffee in hand we started the final drive home. The navcom said 55 minutes arriving at 3:37. We both wondered at how accurate it would be considering it was the Friday at the start of Spring break! Well, I pulled into my driveway just as the clock ticked over to 3:39! Not a bad estimate for an hours long drive through traffic!

It had been a lovely day in the fresh air at the side of a small lake surrounded by thick forested countryside. We both felt the adventure was well worth the effort and we hope to take our next outing to the North Vancouver area. There being a good number of listed parks in that region which are new to us.