Candlesitck Park US-7493 POTA Activation with TouCans and a Stick

I made it back out to Candlestick Park on Saturday morning, and this time, more than a year and a half later, pulled off an activation. I made four QSOs to British Columbia, three of them in rapid sucsession.

Park: Candlestick State Recreation Area, San Francisco, CA

This park is accessible via public transportation and a short hike via two different bus lines, the MUNI 54 and 29. I took the MUNI 54 to the North Shore of Yosemite Slough portion of the park. I wandered back home on the 29.

54	29

To me, the whole city is gorgeous. The bus ride down did not disappoint with the rising sun beaming through the windshield of the 54.

When I hopped off for my short walk down to the park, I found myself in one of the last remaining light industry portions of the city.

By the end of the block I was presented with the view of the park you see above. The tall brush you can see in most of the park photos is fennel. It smells like black licorice, which thankfully I like, because the smell isn't subtle.

Radio Details:

I used Project TouCans adapted for a vertical antenna. That is to say that half the dipole was run up a carbon fiber mast. The other half of the dipole is coiled and lays on the ground next to the rig as a counterpoise of sorts.

For this location, the mast was electrical taped to a sign post warning of the toxicity of the water and mud contained in the slough, and the EPAs intention to eventually clean things up.

QSO/RBN spot map:

Happenings of Interest

Try as I might, I occasionally have typos on callsigns. Recording my activation has been a huge help for that. This time, as I was making the clip for VE7JCD I noticed that I had completely typo'ed VE7JYD's callsign.

The landscape and wildlife at the park really were pretty and also a big contrast to the industrial park right behind which was also pretty in its own fascinating way. I caught a video of a black-necked stilt and I love the juxtaposition of the bird's chirps and the machinery just a few yards away.

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