A trip to Wales and Pen-y-fan

I had been a bit quiet on the radio front, and my one attempt at a SOTA activation in September didn't quite go to plan. I had organised a camping trip for a few of us up to Ullapool and the idea was to grab Stac Pollaidh while we were up there. I had guessed that I wouldn't be able to rely on VHF so had got everything together for another HF attempt. Everything was looking good, batteries were charged and we timed the walk perfectly between all the heavy showers. Got to the top for, quite frankly, stunning views but quickly realised that I had forgotten the top to the portable HF antenna. Doh! Managed to get 3 VHF contacts though, and two were S2S, so happy with that.

So for October we were heading to Dumfries and Wales over a few days for holiday. For the Dumfries leg I had toyed with the idea of doing Woodhead Hill for the 1 point but a combination of beer and some very big downpours got in the way of that. On to Wales and it looked like the Wednesday would be the perfect day for a trip up Pen-y-fan. 

Dropped off the XYL in Brecon and I headed south until I got to the car park. Even for a mid-week in October it was maybe a quarter full and there was even a greasy spoon van that was still open for snacks. The path starts at the south side of the car park and you can't miss it. It is well made and rather wide, so I guess on weekends it must be absolutely rammed. 

The walk itself was straightforward, and was just a stroll up a constant incline on the well made path. It is only at the top that you get the views. You get a good view over the Brecon Beacons as well as the town itself. All green rolling hills off into the distance. I never really had the top to myself as there was a constant drip of people coming up.

But on to the radio! Fired up the VX-6 and scanned about on 2m. I could just about make out a far off repeater but there was no-one else on the bands. Hopefully a mid-week in Wales wasn't going to be too much to ask. Put out the CQ and quickly got my first contact, 2W0RHI, from Brecon and we had a chat about radio in the area. Soon got a break station and it was a S2S from G/WB-013, GW6OVD who mentioned there might be another S2S in about 20 minutes. Finished off with another contact from Brecon, MW6HEA, and a 31 contact from Hereford, M0JLA, to get my 4. Waited around a bit to see if the other S2S was about but didn't hear anything. 

Good to get into Wales and was happy getting a Wales to England S2S. Now just need to get over to NI next year to get a hill over there! Next bit for this year though is "idiot points" season. Looking forward to it :)

Beinn Narnain

I had a big think about which hill to do on Sunday. I wanted a longer walk but one that was reasonably close. The two pointer hills could wait til winter for the "idiot bonus", so the Arrochar alps were in scope. I think I have been avoiding them as every time I go, it seems that low clouds come out of nowhere. But the forecast was good so Beinn Narnain it was to be! And a full frontal assault as well to get a bit of light scrambling in.

We had been out the night before so wasn't ready for a super early start. So I left the house just after 10 which on a nice Sunday in August meant I was going to get caught up in a whole pile of traffic going up Loch Lomond - which duly happened. Must get more organised in the mornings. The car park nearest the start of Beinn Narnain was absolutely mobbed and every bit of grass had been taken over. So back a few hundred yards to the other car park slightly closer to Arrochar. Note to self that the charges for parking are now £1 but the bacon butty to get change was welcome. So with all the mucking about it was closer to mid-day before I got started. 

I was soon on the trail. The first part is shared with the path to the Cobbler and as it was a good day it was fairly busy. When I got up to the T-junction where the seat is, I strode off to the right. I could hear someone shuffling about behind me and when I turned round and it was one of the flip-flop brigade. He sheepishly asked me which way to go for the Cobbler and I pointed in the opposite direction. 

After a little bit of hunting, I found the path upwards and headed up through the woods. Having been up the route to the Cobbler I can say that I preferred this one. The views were better, I had the trail to myself and it was a bit more challenging. At one point I just barged on where I though the trail was going through some crags. It is about the bit where second trail from the main path joins up. I ended up scrambling up some rock and at one point I thought I had run out of footholds. Big deep breath. I looked around again and found one that looked OK but was a bit of a reach. Made it over and sat down for a bit to drink. Looked at the map and yes I should have taken a bit of a detour round those particular crags. Still, all experience! 

Carried on upwards and finally got to the start of the Spearhead. The picture doesn't do it justice as it looked a lot more impressive on the way up. The path is fairly obvious through the crags and is a bit of fun. Lots more hands and feet needed on this and the views down appeared to be more close to the vertical. I was soon near the top and met my first people on the path as they were coming down. The top itself is fairly flat and rocky with some great views. The Cobbler was in plain sight and looked absolutely mobbed. Glad I wasn't there as I only had to share Narnain with one other person. 

Set up quickly with the usual VX-6 and GM7GAX was straight on. I am guessing Bobby had followed me on Endomondo. I got informed that Robin and Jack were about as well so I should go after the S2Ss. Had a quick chat with Roddy IOB followed swiftly by GM3YTS which was a new station for the log. A quick scan around and I found Robin and Jack on 400 deep in conversation on camera optics. I put the break in which was quickly acknowledged. Robin PKT was up on Ben Nevis so a good 10 point S2S. He quickly disappeared to scan round some more bands, so I wrapped up my own activation with Jack COX. Another 5 and go for me, but I have plans for something a bit longer coming up soon.

I gulped down some water and headed back via the bealach as I didn't fancy the scrambling in reverse. Really enjoyed Narnain and I gained a lot by coming up the way I did. Just need Ben Vane now to finish off the big hills in the Arrochar alps.

More Unfinished Business in Balmaha

When I was doing the West Highland Way earlier this year, the plan was that me and the crew would get to the top of Conic Hill on the first day about 5-ish so that I could get it activated. However, due to a few things we ended up being really quite late and an activation wasn't going to happen.

So this weekend after a long, but enjoyable, few days of seeing people, a wee short hill too get some fresh air and get another cheeky impromptu activation was on the cards.

Set off fairly late in the afternoon and got Endomondo started to track progress. Got to the top in fairly short order due to the nice new path that is now in place. First up was GM7GAX who had been tracking me on Endomondo, so he knew when to pounce and we a good wee chat. Next was MM1AWV shortly followed by GM4COX and we had a chat about different maps amongst other things.

All was going well and said 73 to Jack....and then nothing. Tried CQ a few times, grabbed my late lunch and tried CQ again on 2m and 70cm, but still no-one was biting. It was only going to be a short visit to Conic so tried one last time before packing up and heading back down.

Three stations doesn't make an activation, so for the second time this year on Conic Hill, there is still some unfinished business.

Benarty Hill

Was a busy weekend through on the east coast, but it looked like I could maybe fit in a cheeky activation on the Sunday morning. Benarty Hill was only 20 minutes away and it was a half hour walk at most to the top. So me and Gordon grabbed a coffee, breakfast could be missed as we were still full from the BBQ the night before, and headed out to the Ballingry side of Benarty. We got to the small car parking area about 09:50 and started heading up. First part was through woods and a steep-ish path had been constructed through them. Maybe it only felt steep-ish due to BBQ smoke inhalation and beer from the night before...

After 15 minutes or so we got through the woods and on to the moor at the top where the wind was a bit more noticeable. We soon got to the trig point and I got settled in behind the trig point trying to get some shelter from the wind. I heard the last few words on GB2RS and I had the thought that it might not be best timing to try and activate while everyone was having a chat afterwords. I couldn't hear half of the stations but I could hear bits of activity on that channel. So it was a bit slow at the start, but finally MM0TSS came through from Edinburgh followed by MM0KCD and MM0USU from Falkirk. Pretty much line of site to both places so good signals each time. During the chat with MM0TSS I found out that the Edinburgh net is on 144.725 and is used quite a lot. I had no idea and will check this out next time I am over. GM0AXY and GM4YMM had heard me call out before and so finished off my activation. I am always conscious when I have non-radio mates with me about time, so it was pretty much a "5 and go".

I packed up and we explored a bit along the ridge before retracing our steps and heading back. Good views from such a wee hill. Once we got back to the car the rain that MM0USU had mentioned in Falkirk appeared and it bucketed down. Good timing!

Meikle Bin

I haven't been out on the hills for a while, so I thought  Meikle Bin might fit the bill. Reasonably close to the home QTH and could easily be done in an afternoon. The last time I did this hill was two years ago in winter when there was knee deep snow at the top with a fairly strong wind, so I was hoping to get an easier time today as well as some better views.

There is a forest track almost all the way to the top and there are now some signposts which I don't remember from last time. So fairly easy going and not much need for a map. The last time I had to do a bit of investigating through the woods to get to the broad ridge up to the top, but now there is a signposted gravel path to get you through the trees. After 100m or so you are through the trees, the ugly gravel path finishes and you are on to grass all the way to the trig point at the top.

Got to the top after an hour, which I was quite happy with. The wind was up a wee bit, but the sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds so managed to get a bit of heat. Views were good and could see all the way over to Edinburgh and Dunfermline to the East. The views West were blocked off by the rest of the Campsies, but could see Ben Lomond et al over that direction. 

I rehydrated with some water and then got set up at about 1330 UTC with the Yaesu VX-6 and my Watson 2m/70cm antenna. Didn't manage to get anyone over to the West but was getting solid signals over to Edinburgh and Falkirk. GM0AXY and GM4YMM were first up. I noticed before I left the house that there were a few people going to be activating summits at about 1400 UTC. First summit-to-summit was Robin PKT who was on GM/CS-026 Meall Greigh which was his second summit for the day. Jack COX came on but quickly disappeared to fiddle with his rig. Paul GM0BKC was a new station for me and he was on GM/ES-046 Creag Bhalg. Jack came back to complete the contact and it sounded like he had a bit of time of it getting through the woods to the top of GM/SS-234 Dumglow. Sometimes the wee hills can be a total pain! 

Packed up and was back down at the car after about an hour. Good wee walk and looking forward to getting out again.