FAILED Activation (POTA K-6092), not Skunked, but not Good

This is my first failed activation for POTA--Joshua Tree National Land Historic Area. It was pretty disappointing. There were three things I'll be changing for next time I give it a try. My position, the orientation of the dipole, and the coax cable.

New POTA of K-6083 Rim Rock Trail (w/ K-6084 Santa Clara Reserve) Good Conditions

 

Next on the list of never-before-activated POTA places was Rim Rock Trail. It lies within the Santa Clara Reserve which I have activated before. The trail is very close to my house, maybe an 8-minute drive to the trail head. From there it's just a mile and a half hike to the highpoint of the trail.

POTA K-6078 Fort Pearce 1st Activation CW Back to QRP

 

The Fort as the sun peeks through

This was next on my list of first activations to be completed in the area I live. It's out in the desert, but I passed by it a few times doing SOTA summits, so knew exactly where the turn off was and what it would be like. It was cloudy with a small chance of rain, so cooler than normal thankfully. I had one whole activation going a full 100 watts--it was one of the tougher, longer activations, so I went back to what I like and know--4-5 watts QRP.

Old Hwy 91 Rec. Area within Beaver Dam Conservation Area--POTA 2fer/WWFF 1

 

Operating from the pickup

I went out to get an all-time-new-one (ATNO) activated, Old Hwy 91 (K-6094), which is in Beaver Dam Conservation Area, which I activated a while ago (K-6096) which is also KFF-4966. Since the highway itself was the area, I decided to operate from the pickup (and have A/C) and use 100 watts from my go-kit with a Yaesu FT-857.

Santa Clara River Reserve (POTA K-6084) and Lower Graveyard Trail (POTA K-6082) w/ New Wolf River Coil

 

My setup for the morning

This was a before-work, before school starts double activation really to test out the new antenna I got. Normally I make my own antennas, but I've been looking for a vertical I can use. I decided on this Wolf River Coil antenna (SOTA Special). These are the closest POTA places to my house and had never been done before.