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I strode out ahead again on the way up to Cyrn-y-Brain GW/NW-043 while Richard and Lewis were unlocking and reloading their bikes, but they were soon whizzing past me on the lower track. I managed to keep Lewis in my sights all the way up, but Richard was well gone, and was already set up and activating by the time I got there. On summit, we met Richard G4ERP who I had worked earlier on while he was en route, and as he packed up, I set up in the shelter.
We had made very good time through the day, and with only an activation and an easy descent to follow it was still not yet midday. I decided there was sufficient slack to enjoy the luxury of setting up properly with the FT-817 and SOTA Beam, have a few cups of hot soup and allow myself half-an-hour or so of operating. Richard and Lewis departed on their 5 minute bike descent to the Ponderosa, but since I knew they were having lunch there, I could afford a little time activating. I had my lunch with me with those three tins of Lobster Bisque making up my 1 litre flask! This time I made 27 contacts including several S2S QSOs, on what was a very busy day for SOTA in the North-West. All the usual suspects were out on their local hills, impatient for the new round of points that the new year would bring them. I set off on the short descent to Ponderosa, which I reached at 1pm, met Richard and Lewis and got back in Macc at 2.45pm. I watched Countdown, fielding painful questions from Jimmy about my own wretched appearance on that progranmme. In the adverts, I checked the text to see the latest from Wycombe Wanderers. Macclesfield were 3-0 up after 13 minutes. Good stuff. I then decided to watch Marianne & Jimmy's new favourite programme "Deal Or No Deal", to see if I could sense any logic in the game and understand what all the fuss was about. I could not. More adverts revealed 1-3, 2-3, 3-3 and then Wycombe take a 4-3 lead courtesy of an own goal. Joy turned to despair. Despair then turned to joy as two further Macclesfield goals were indicated in even more rapid succession than the Wycombe comeback. What a great day. I celebrated with a very hot bath, a hot gammon steak and a room temperature bottle of Old Speckled Hen (who said I wasn't coordinated?). Many thanks to Richard and Lewis for the invite, the lift and the company. Thanks to the following stations worked on 2m FM with 2.5 watts:
My second (and therefore "pointless") activation of 2006 came on Sunday 5th November 2006. However, it was Jimmy's first of the year, so at least there was two points in it for him. Following our walk up Moel y Gamelin GW/NW-042 and breakfast baps at the Ponderosa, the weather was still beautiful as we climbed up Cyrn-y-Brain, a cold, crisp but sunny morning with stunning views all around. By now we were accompanied by the buzzing of the scrambler bikes in the quarry at the foot of Moel y Gamelin behind us, and two gliders immediately above us which grabbed Liam's attention for most of the ascent.
After Jimmy had got his four and started his descent, I made a few contacts
myself. Following this, I checked on SPOTSlite on my phone to see that,
surprisingly, GW7AAV and G4JZF couldn't hear me. I soon found Steve in
another QSO and interrupted it to make the exchange, but I never did find
Graham which was very unusual, as the contact earlier from NW-042 was easy,
and I have worked him from NW-043 on a We were back down at the Ponderosa by 1.30pm and Marianne was surprised to see us home before 4pm, most unusual. Many thanks to the following stations, all worked on 2m FM with 2.5 watts:
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