The original plan for Bank Holiday Tuesday 5th June 2012 was to activate Black Combe G/LD-030. However, reality set in and with wanting to be home in time to go out and do the 2m UK activity contest, it didn't seem feasible. So instead we thought we would nip up the local Watch Hill G/LD-054, and maybe Lambrigg Fell G/LD-046, then head south.

           

But when the Macmillan Cancer Relief cyclists repeatedly set the hostel gas alarm off between 5.30 and 6am, we were up and awake. Sensing the opportunity of a two hours earlier than expected start, I reverted to Plan A - Black Combe.  After stripping our beds and checking out of the hostel, Jimmy directed me onto the A5086 and A595 roads south. After a few false starts, we managed to locate the church car park at SD134827. Kitted up, we passed through the narrow ginnel and onto the road up to Kirkbank. The climbing soon kicked in and was consistent yet never too steep for the next two hours.

       

As we reached the swerve in the path at SD133845, the rain started. It was only light rain, fading between damp mist and minor drizzle, but the annoying thing was that it was here two hours before forecast to be so. Jimmy and Liam were not amused.  On the final approach to the summit, Jimmy strode ahead and disappeared into the mist. Now without a map or a guide, Liam and I had to follow our noses to attain the summit. We veered right off the path and ended up climbing the south top of Black Combe. After crossing the shallow col, we headed uphill again, and got Jimmy to talk us into the summit, firstly via radio, and then via audible shouting! The visibility was only a few feet, and this would prove troublesome later.

   

Jimmy 2Q0EYP was in no mood to set up the SOTA Beam in the rain, but did brave the elements to make several contacts on his 2m FM handheld. He then hunkered down inside my bothy bag with Liam, and even made some more QSOs from that sitting down position, taking his tally to 12. I passed the boys a large cup each of lentil & bacon soup into the bothy bag, and poured myself one before setting up the 40m dipole.  I made 20 contacts on 40m CW, then set about packing up. Jimmy and Liam set off fractionally ahead of me, after we had worked out the direction to head off the summit in order to pick up the main track. A few seconds later, when I set off, Jimmy and Liam were already lost to the clag.

   

I found the path (or so I thought) and followed it down. And down. And down. "Surely I should have hit the main track by now?" I asked myself, but for some reason, persisted with my heading. "Surely I should have caught up with the boys by now?" was another increasingly nagging question. I tried to get Jimmy on the hand-portable, but without any joy.

We did, eventually, and not without difficulty, manage to get mobile phone contact with each other, but nothing was happening on 2m, even when we agreed a working frequency over the phone. That's when it dawned on me that there might be a big lump of hill in between us, and that I had managed to leave the summit on the wrong path! At least the phone contact confirmed that Jimmy and Liam were on the correct path and progressing well back to the car. I had also given Jimmy the car keys, so they would be able to unkit and wait indoors!

I turned around, and ascended back to the summit. After 20 minutes I was back at the summit shelter, and now a good 40 minutes behind the lads. The weird thing was that I arrived at the summit from exactly the opposite direction from that I had originally set off in for my descent. In the mist, I must have bent right around and become disorientated.

This time I took more care to maintain my heading away from the summit, and ths time I found the correct path down to the main track. And this path was all of two minutes walk to the track, so I could have kicked myself, very hard, for pig-headedly persisting with the wrong descent for 20 minutes!  The day remained grey and damp, but many groups of walkers were now ascending Black Combe. All confirmed they had seen "two teenage lads about 3/4 of an hour ago". I tried to quicken my pace in order that they wouldn't be waiting too long for me at the car, but it was hard with the exertions of the previous three days taking their toll.

I was now in reliable 2m radio contact with Jimmy, and all was well. I reached the car at around 2.30pm and set off along the South Lakes roads across to the M6. We then made good time and were back home in Macclesfield by 5.15pm, so in time for a hot meal before heading back out for the contest.  Many thanks to all chasers who worked Jimmy or myself on this trip. Just four G summits now remained to be activated in order to complete the association.