Trails Adventure Team Handbook

The following general rules apply to all Personal Radio Services, which include FRS (Family Radio Service) and GMRS:

• Keep transmissions brief.
• Do not use profane, indecent, or obscene language or meaning.
• Do not sing, whistle, play music, or send coded messages. ("10-codes" are permissible.)
• Do not interfere with the transmissions of other users.
• Do not send false or deceptive messages, such as false distress signals.

The full FCC regulations surrounding GMRS are too complex to summarize here; for further information, please see the team's GMRS/FRS regulations matrix and the text of the FCC Part 95 rules.

Before starting a mission, Team Leaders must train any unlicensed FRS users in proper use of FRS handsets and in basic FCC rules.

A Squad Leader can be an unlicensed FRS user provided that the trail system in question has been confirmed by the team beforehand as being suitable for the reduced power and bandwidth of FRS.

The following table gives our channel and transmission settings policy with regard to GMRS and FRS:

Situation	Channel	Power	Bandwidth
GMRS	4	5.0 watts	wide
GMRS (alternate)	5	5.0 watts	wide
GMRS + FRS	6	2.0 watts	narrow
GMRS + FRS (alternate)	7	2.0 watts	narrow

The following people are FCC-licensed Team Leaders.

Name	Unit number	GMRS Callsign
David O'Toole	1	WRWQ303
Mike Leonard	2	WRWR359

• Make sure to wait a few moments for GPS to sync before recording a data point. Turn on accuracy requirements and averaging in QField.
• When creating a new layer in a QFieldCloud project in QGIS, make sure to save the new GeoPackage in the QFieldCloud staging directory for the project (along with the other GeoPackages), otherwise it will not sync properly in QFieldCloud.

Rain date: 4/23/2023

Please visit the Mass.gov page on Upton State Forest for detailed information and a downloadable trail map. No grilling is allowed.

See also these links:

• DCR regulations
• overview/summary spreadsheet

Rain date: 5/7/2023

Let's climb Mount Pisgah! According to the official topographical map of Northborough, the peak of Mount Pisgah stands at 718 feet above sea level. However, the summit is only about 120 feet higher than the Smith Road parking lot we will be using, so the climb itself should not be terribly difficult. The total round-trip length of the planned route is 1.5 miles. Our view to the East from the summit should be dramatic; reportedly one can see the Hancock Tower in Boston on a clear day. We should be able to see the center of Northborough as well, since we'll be about 400 feet higher.

Things to remember:

• Wear orange or other bright colors, as hunting is allowed on parts of the Mt. Pisgah area. (This should not occur within 500 feet of any trail, but be aware.)
• Wear boots as there may be muddy and rocky areas.
• DEET will be made available; if you want to use a different repellent, please bring some along. There will also be some bottled water to share in David's truck.
• Parking is limited so we should attempt to carpool. I can provide transportation for 3 additional people.

Squad leaders will be David (Squad 1) and Mike (Squad 2)

Team gear:

• We will bring two GMRS radios with handheld microphones and belt holsters, one radio for each squad; a third radio will be at home base with CDO for testing longer range transmissions from the peak of Mount Pisgah.
• The team's GPS navigation tablet will be assigned to David on Squad 1.
• A tactical compass and a digital weather / wind speed meter will be provided for Squad 2, to be assigned to individuals as Mike sees fit.

Mission plan:

• Arrive at the parking lot at 23 Smith Road in Northborough. (Find on Google Maps)
• Both squads should follow Mentzer Trail eastward to the intersection with Sparrow Trail.
• Squad 1, led by David: Continue straight on Mentzer Trail until the intersection with Berlin Road Trail. Perform a radio range test, then turn right onto Berlin Road Trail and go south until reaching Summit Trail. Turn left onto Summit Trail and head eastward to the peak of Mount Pisgah. This path is about 0.6 miles.
• Squad 2, led by Mike: From the intersection, turn right on Sparrow Trail and follow to Berlin Road Trail, then turn left and head north on Berlin Road Trail until reaching Summit Trail. Turn right onto Summit Trail and follow it eastward to the peak of Mount Pisgah. This path is about 0.9 miles.
• Conduct longer-range radio test transmissions from peak to approximate center of Northborough (about 2.6 miles as the crow flies.)
• Take a wind speed / direction measurement at the peak.
• Have a snack and rehydrate.
• All squads return to Smith Road along their respective routes. The two squads can swap routes on the return trip, so that everyone gets to see both paths.

Mission map:

The routes described above are shown on the map below. Click the image to zoom in. David will also provide printed copies, or you can view it on your mobile phone.

Mission plan:

We will visit a forest on 80 acres of private property (with the owner's permission, of course) in Royalston, Massachusetts. The land is bordered on the east and north by approximately 4,000 feet of old stone walls; on the west side is a small lake. I would like us to map the entirety of the wall with GPS, starting with the angled section to the northwest of the house and then proceeding to the northeast corner of the property. Then we can continue south along the wall until it ends, and continue walking the perimeter of the property until we are heading back north along the edge of the lake.

We will also have the opportunity to investigate and identify a raised, round feature in the LIDAR which might very well turn out to be a Relict Charcoal Hearth from the late 19th century.

Once we have returned to the house area, we can take a snack break and then venture south into the forest to look for points of interest.

WARNING: It is bear season and Royalston is on the border of Vermont. We should take all necessary precautions and be on the lookout for animal activity. Do not split up the group.

Supplies:

• bear spray
• DEET
• First aid kit
• bottled waters
• protein bars
• spade for light digging to identify RCH

Mission plan:

• Don't split up, no need for radios
• Test precision of new GPS unit
• Use GPS to record intersection points of new trail
• Walk along new trail to gather GPS track data
• Check GPS points against parcel lines
• Sync with QGIS Desktop and annotate

Mission report:

A good hike all around! We traveled up by the summit and down Summit Trail to the Northborough Senior Center, then returned along Goldfinch and Proctor trails. The total distance was about 1.7 miles. The large stone wall (see map below) was very intriguing, and needs further investigation. Here are our points of interest:

Mission plan:

• Check QGIS and capture data points at trail intersections.
• Arrive at Rice Avenue parking lot.
• Hike to the summit (approx. 0.5 miles long and approx. 140 ft. climb)
• Return to the intersection of Edmund Hill Trail and Summit Trail.
• Split up along the two branches of Edmund Hill Trail moving southward.
• Conduct radio tests, including when one member reaches the intersection with Goldfinch Trail (approx 0.125 miles from halfway through the other leg of Edmund Hill Trail).
• Rendezvous at the trail head and return home.

Post-mission report:

The DCR map is very out of date, a new trail is missing and Edmund Hill Trail has since been rerouted to the West around properties at the summit of Edmund Hill. We split up at Proctor Trail on our return trip in order to test the radios. Took several data points too, but had problems with positions being wrong when synced to QGIS Desktop. Will follow up with tech support.

Mission plan:

• Units 1 and 2: Arrive at Boundary Street parking lot.
• Unit 1 drives Unit 2 to Hudson Street Parking lot.
• All units hike together along Coyote Trail, Birdsong Trail, and Old Farm Trail until we reach the Boundary Street Parking Lot again. This is approximately 2 miles.
• Unit 2 drives Unit 1 back to Hudson Street parking lot.