With Stiperstones G/WB-003 activated on Saturday 10th March 2012, it was now into Wales, and Corndon Hill GW/MW-013. We progressed beyond the standard steep direct route up by the fence, and instead continued along the track until we reached the further footpath up to the summit, over more graded terrain. Nonetheless, it was still quite a pull at this end of a long day for three tired lads. But as ever, I couldn't fail to be impressed by Jimmy's drive and focus, and Liam's strength and stamina.

   

Corndon Hill still feels "weird" without the forested area that cloaked half of the hill. And it still feels draughty, without the forested area that cloaked half of the hill! When I reached the summit, Jimmy and Liam had snagged the bench for their activities. So I set up so I could sit on the ground in front of them - using the bench itself and my two teenage sons as an impenetrable wind shelter!

       

I made 26 contacts during a 17 minute spell on 40m CW. A contest was now in full swing, and there was an absence of available frequencies. I simply chose one between two quiet DX stations, figuring that my 5 watts wouldn't trouble them, and self-spotted. But all this was merely a sideshow to the main event - Jimmy's Mountain Goat. This was achieved with 10 QSOs in a surprisingly quiet 29 minutes of operating, with Viki MW6BWA/P providing the all-important 4th with a S2S from Gwaunceste Hill GW/MW-010.

It was time to pack away, and unleash the bottles of Wainwright Ale. Liam took over as the team photographer as Jimmy and I celebrated with this superb ale, but soon Liam was itching to commence his customary, but now unnecessary early descent. Jimmy and I descended with walking pole in one hand and bottle of ale in the other for what proved to be an incredibly enjoyable experience.

Considering that Shropshire borders Cheshire, the Shropshire Hills are a hell of a long way from Macclesfield, and the journey home was tiring, even though on analysis, we made very good time. We arrived home at 2130z, armed with two bags of take-away from the Weston Balti Raj for our family celebration of Jimmy's achievement. Marianne was particularly pleased that Jimmy has achieved this long term ambition.

   

So, a big day out to get there. The pedometer on Liam's 3DS reported over 13,000 steps during the day. We were out of the house for over 15 and a half hours. We activated five 2(+3) point SOTA summits and collected 25 points each. The day brought a total of 45 QSOs on 2m FM for Jimmy, and 104 on 40m CW for me.

I think back to that day in September 2002 when, as a newcomer to AR, I worked Shirley MW3GTE/P (later MW0YLS, Mountain Goat and immensely popular character in SOTA) on 2m FM. She was activating Gyrn Moelfre GW/NW-049, and coaxed me into hiking up Shining Tor G/SP-004, which I was parked beneath at the time. Jimmy (9) and Liam (5) accompanied me on that first ascent, as they did on all five today.

After around two years of SOTA participation, with Jimmy almost ever-present, he told me he wanted his own licence so he could fully participate. He gained the Foundation licence in October 2005, and debuted on a double day out on Tal y Fan GW/NW-040 and Great Orme GW/NW-070. My dad even rode out to the Great Orme on his motorbike that day just so he could watch his grandson Jimmy activating on amateur radio. He was already very ill and passed away around three weeks later. It was his last ride.

The following year, Jimmy and I walked the full-length Pennine Way, activating 8 SOTA summits along its route and 3 more in the borders region after completion. Jimmy raised over £1400 for a local children's charity through doing so. I always thought that the opportunities afforded by AR in general, and SOTA in particular, including the social element, were very powerful for Jimmy, and in my mind definitely contributed to the dramatic progress he made at school between the ages of 12 and 18 and delivering outstanding SATs, GCSE and A level results.

And now with an A* and an A safely secured at A level, Jimmy's attention has returned to AR study, and the Intermediate licence which hopefully shouldn't be too far in the future now. In the meantime, he had his Mountain Goat status, and over 270 Activator uniques to his name, giving him a standing of 6th nationally in terms of uniques at the time.

So there you go. I have unashamedly concluded this activation report with a tribute to my son Jimmy. He has this "interesting" habit of achieving whatever he sets out to achieve, and is quite an inspiration! Mountain Goat today, but that is far from being the end of the story. He is driven to collect the last ten activator uniques he needs to complete England (G), and also has a completist's eye on GW, GD and even GI. And whenever he does become a 2E0, he is not planning on settling for that licence level for very long!  Thanks for all the support and enthusiasm, and thanks for reading.