Another smash-and-grab.  Either that or only four people wanted to answer the CQ.

Monday 11th February 2019 - Kinder Scout G/SP-001

Gig: no gig, but Late Night Liam would be on Canalside Radio 102.8FM / streaming online, that night around 10.15pm.

Soup: Baxters Lentil & Bacon

The alarm was set for 0500, but I was wide awake at 0445 anyway.  I wanted to be home before 1130 in order to walk into town for lunch with my XYL Marianne, and calculated that all to be viable.  Walking from Rushup Edge, the first hour was in darkness, the way ahead illuminated by headtorch.  Dawn broke as I passed the trig point at Brown Knoll.  Some of the walking had been slow and tricky due to a thin but treacherous film of black ice over some of the flagstones. 

The upside of the temperature was the the black peat to the side of the slippery bits would support a boot, rather than swallow it, so reasonable progress was still made.  First job at Kinder Low trig point was my breakfast - soup of course, which was very welcome and enjoyed.  There was plenty of activity on 2m FM, but not a great deal of interest in my CQ calls.  You can sometimes get your four in less than two minutes on these hills, even with a handheld.  On this occasion it was more like twenty. 

The descent was much easier with the beautiful sunshine having eliminated most of the ice.  I was back down in just over an hour.  I made it home for 1115z, easily my earliest ever return from a Kinder Scout activation.  More walking - 2 miles each way into Macclesfield town centre and back home, and a nice lunch with Maz.  Domestic bliss extends yet further.