As the day progressed, and I was getting more and more tired, I was falling behind my alert times, despite being 60 minutes ahead of them at the start of the day. I drove off Stiperstones via Shelve and across the A488 towards Priest Walton. I parked by the reservoir at the start of the track for Corndon Hill. It was 1645 UTC, and so a G1INK or a M0HGY could still have probably made the 1700 alerted time - but not me!

I briefly consider driving up the track to a higher starting point and a slightly less steep approach, but soon gave up on that idea, not wanting to incur any sucker punch of a damaged tyre - or indeed an angry farmer! It was time to tackle the fifth and final summit of Saturday 13th February 2016.  I walked up the track to the style, and was pleased to see that I didn't have to climb it, with a gate now installed beside it! I then conspired to transform the short steep ascent into a long steep slog as I dragged my aching frame upwards - with plenty of water and breath stops!

I reached the summit with dusk well underway, and I turned on my headtorch to assist with setting up. This summit is completely and utterly exposed to the elements with its almost hemispherical shape and the wooded area that reached up to the summit itself, now completely felled. The only shelter available was the lee side of the trig point itself - although this proved to be quite adequate.

I opened up on 10m CW and straight in was Adrain G4AZS, now back at home after his own SOTA outing. Thereafter, it was a constant stream of US stations, which was really good fun, and a rewarding end to a long day.

Despite usually avoiding it and going the other way, I decided to descend back down the direct steep hillside. I actually found it quite easy and entirely unproblematic. Perhaps the reason was that it was completely dark, and all I could see was the 10 yards or so directly in front of me as illuminated by my headtorch, and therefore there wasn't anything to trigger my vertigo!

I reached the car bang on 7pm, absolutely shattered, very hungry, but really satisfied with an excellent day out. The phone app took me up the A488 towards Shrewsbury, and thence onto the A49 to Whitchurch, from where it was a familiar drive across Cheshire to Macclesfield. The hunger was serviced at a Co-op run petrol station in Minsterley, where all the stuff in the hot cabinet was being sold off at 39p per item (instead of £1.50). Not one to miss a bargain, I availed myself of a cheese and bacon turnover, a fish finger barm cake and the best sausage roll I have ever tasted - recommended! All washed down by the essential can of Red Bull of course!

I arrived home at 9pm and sat down to a roast dinner. The earlier snacks had not filled me, but merely stimulated my appetite, so this was polished off with relish also. I was buzzing, and to my surprise and pleasure, I didn't even nearly fall asleep during Match of the Day.  An awesome day!