Moel-y-Gest, GW/NW-067 - 262m ASL - SH 549 389 - OS Explorer 254 - 1 SOTA point            

I was home at the unusually early hour of 4pm after work on Friday 20th June 2008. It must have been something special for me to miss the weekly staff five-a-side football, and it was - a Snowdonia pass for Jimmy and I!

I started a thread on the SOTAwatch reflector by asking for ideas for a suitable Friday evening expedition to kick things off. Robert G0PEB suggested Moel-y-Gest GW/NW-067, which I agreed was the perfect selection. Jimmy directed me along the A55 to Bangor, and then through Caernarfon and heading down to Porthmadog. We had made reasonably good time, and were parking in the lay-by SH562389 by 7pm. It was a beautiful warm and sunny evening, and we set off in shirt sleeves with a spring in our stride.

   

The initial haul was steep but short, and we emerged from the wood on the east end of the ridge, 1km away from the summit, which is right on the western end. We followed the direct distinct path towards the summit, which scrambles up and over a few lumps before curling around to the final approach.

   

The summit was bathed in bright evening sunshine, and the views over Porthmadog, Tremadog Bay, the Lleyn Peninsular and back towards the main mountains of Snowdonia were stunning. We had carried 80m CW/SSB capability with us, knowing that the potential audience for a VHF-only activation would be small. However, several stations in the Porthmadog area were active on the band, so we opted for the easy option, thus increasing our chances of reaching the Youth Hostel before reception closed!

   

For the descent, we followed a faint line through the grass nearer to the cliff edges along the north of the ridge, and this gave easier walking without the ups and downs of the ridge line. Well for three-quarters of it anyway! The last bit necessitated some awkward ankle positioning on steeply sloping spongy ground, but we were safely back at the car by 9pm. So far, so good, with our first activation, first point and another of Jimmy's "Uniques catch-up" summits in the bag.

   

We arrived at Snowdon Ranger Youth Hostel around half-an-hour later. There weren't any tins of food or Pot Noodles on sale at reception with which I could self-cater for my tea, so I settled on a bottle of ale instead. Jimmy had been given an early meal on arriving home from school, so it was not a major problem.

I had to shift the wardrobe in our two-bedded room, so I could pile blankets on it to block out the skylight, which was immediately above our beds and cutainless. I needn't have bothered. The night was pitch black anyway, and Jimmy had his customary terrible first night's sleep for a trip away nonetheless.  Not that you'd have noticed the following day!  Many thanks to the following stations, all worked on 2m FM with 5 watts: