POTA US-2909 Paris Mountain State Park is located in Greenville, SC. This park has nicely paved roads that lead to the picnic area. There is a nice spot where one can set up and operate their radio. The weather during this trip was cool and pleasant.
While staying in Greenville, SC, on the drive back south towards Beaufort, SC, from visiting my sister in Kentucky, my father and I stayed in a favorite camping spot of my wife and me. It is tucked into the unassuming Travelers Rest KOA. My wife and I have visited this KOA several times, and the small, fully furnished cabins on the quiet creek are incredibly relaxing.
I used the Xeigu G90 and my EFHW antenna to activate the park. I made a quick 10 contacts on the 40-meter band. I was extremely grateful to the spotters who took the time to spot me. I activated this park on 10/30/24.
Straying away from ham radio for a moment to discuss how hurricane Helene affected this area in the fall of 2024…
I did not have long to spend in the park on this visit as we needed to travel up to Hendersonville, NC, to check on our family cabin. Hurricane Helene had come through several weeks prior and really devastated the area with damage. We traveled Northeast of Greenville, SC, to Edneysville, NC, to check on the family’s cabin.
We arrived to find the family cabin, up on top of Sugar Loaf Mountain, in generally good shape with only minor shingle damage to the roof. Not everyone fared so well, though. As we traveled down in the McMillain Hidden Valley, not far from our cabin, we were saddened to see the copious amounts of damage that people had sustained from the storm.
Nearly a month after the storm had come through, utility companies were still hard at work resetting poles. Repair crews were working to restore roads, and folks were emptying out their cabins of storm-damaged debris. The images were somewhat difficult to reckon with. How had a hurricane made it to Hendersonville, NC, and caused so much damage?
Deciding to spend one more day at the KOA and explore the area before continuing south. I was extremely pleased to have a good friend travel from Anderson, SC, to Greenville, SC, to enjoy a small cookout on the back porch of the KOA. This was one of the highlights of this trip. We could not explore the area much more as roads were blocked leading into the Chimney Rock area due to devastation. Here is the Red Cross link if you are interesteds assisting with restoration.
If you are still reading this, thanks for indulging me as I strayed a bit from the topic of ham radio at the park. Looking back on this trip, as much as I enjoyed my quick POTA activation, there were some overshadowing issues happening at the time that I wanted to capture in this post. I plan to return to the park for another visit, a longer activation, and better pictures.
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