POTA on the Trail of Tears: Activating Brown’s Ferry Federal Road

Hey folks,

For my second POTA activation I wanted to combine a little history with radio, so I headed to Brown’s Ferry Federal Road on the banks of the Tennessee River. This spot is part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and marks one of the places where Cherokee families crossed the river during the Trail of Tears. It’s a meaningful two-fer: US-0716 for the National Military Park and US-3791 for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

I packed the IC-705 and Chameleon F-Loop with the 1-inch aluminum radiator and hiked the short 0.6-mile trail out to the riverbank clearing. The path goes through woodland and some old ruins, with interpretive signs along the way that explain the history — including how LIDAR was used to trace the exact route of the Trail of Tears through this area. Parts of the trail can be muddy, but a simple boardwalk helps keep your boots dry.

Once I reached the clearing right on the river, there were some uniquely built benches that made a perfect operating table. I set up the rig and loop and got on 20 meters. Propagation was good with the 10-watt setup, and in about 90 minutes I logged 24 stations.

States worked: AR, CT (2), FL (4), IL, KS (2), LA (2), MI, MN, NJ, NM, NY (3), ON (Canada), PA (2), TX (2)

It felt special making contacts from a place with such deep history. Sitting there by the river where so many passed through long ago added something meaningful to the activation.

For more information about the Brown’s Ferry Federal Road Trail and its history, check out the official National Park Service page: https://www.nps.gov/places/brownsferrytrail.htm

Later that same day I drove up into the mountains and activated another spot — I’ll share that adventure in the next post.

Another solid day with the simple portable setup. Low power and a loop antenna continue to impress me.

73, Rick / W4IO