July 26: Rain or Shine at Couger Mountain Regional Park

K7LWH

• 3 min read

After Field Day in June, our next Rain or Shine for the 2025 season will take place on July 26, 2025 (Saturday): 9am-12:30pm at "Harvey Manning Trailhead" in Cougar Mountain Regional Park, Issaquah.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Different Maps Apps need different named locations to successfully navigate to this event.

Apple Maps: Use "Cougar Mountain" as your destination, "18201 SE Cougar Mountain Dr," or the following latitude & longitude: 47.54128° N, 122.09789° W

Google Maps: "Harvey Manning Trailhead" works well, as do the suggestions for Apple Maps, above.

Folks can also use the directions listed below.

Directions:  

  • From Seattle, head west on I-90. Take exit 13 and turn right onto Lakemont Boulevard SE.
  • Follow the road for about 2.3 miles, then turn left onto SE Cougar Mountain Way.
  • Continue for about a mile, during which the road will turn into 168th Place SE and then SE 60th Street.
  • At the Y junction bear right to take SE Cougar Mountain Drive and follow the road to the top.
  • The Harvey Manning Trailhead parking lot is at the end of the road.
  • The shelter is located as pictured above, in the yellow circle, west of the parking lots.
  • PARKING: There is limited parking in the small parking lot closest to the shelter. More ample parking is found in the main parking lot closer to the "Million Dollar View Pergola." Please save the closer parking spaces for those who need closer access.
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Safety First! Please bring a personal water bottle and appropriate sun protection gear to avoid overheating at this event. While there will be some shade in the shelter, there is no air-conditioning, and it will be a hot day.

Talk-in Frequencies: LWHC Rose Hill Repeaters, K7LWH. (See repeater tab above for all frequencies, offsets and tones). The 11AM Health and Wellness Net will be run live from the park on these linked repeaters.

Last Year's (2023) Rain or Shine at the Shelter @ Cougar Mountain, Harvey Manning Trailhead

Tips for HF stations:  We want to ensure that everyone who wants to play at the same time on HF can do so with a minimum of interference. Operating a multi-rig HF station takes a bit of extra equipment and skill to ensure that receiver's front ends aren't overloaded. It is recommended that any operator bringing their HF rig be prepared with the following:

  • Be able to operate on at least 2 bands that are not harmonics of one another.
  • Bring a suitable band-pass filter for any band you might wish to operate on. Cheap coax stub filters should work fine, but you'll need to make them up in advance.

Radios Not Required! Folks are not required to bring any radio gear in order to have a fun and engaging time at our Rain or Shine events. In fact, you'll find lots of friendly folks who come just for the social aspect, and who enjoy catching up with other hams. Please read below to discover more about our Rain or Shine events.

What Are Rain or Shine Events?

Rain or Shines are a great opportunity for local hams to get together in person and make "eyeball QSOs," sometimes for the very first time! Come out to the park with your radio(s), a project you've been working on, or just yourself. The key is to enjoy our hobby together in the beautiful outdoors, and to strengthen our ham community, one interaction at a time. Lots of helpful mentors attend these events, and for many new hams, this is their first opportunity to get hands-on experience with radio equipment. It's also a great way to introduce our hobby to the public, as passersby will often take a look at our antennas and setups and ask what we are up to!

We have a very friendly and welcoming community here, and there's usually an abundance of donuts and coffee - so don't be a stranger, come on by and say hello!

For any questions about our Rain or Shine events, feel free to contact Mark, N7YD at n7yd@mgg4.com.  For information about the Rain or Shine Net, or any of our Nets, contact John, W7JSM, Net Manager, at w7jsm@outlook.com.  You can also reach the club leadership at k7lwh@lakewashingtonhamclub.org with any questions or concerns.