Easter Sunday 20th April 2014 - Mynydd Uchaf GW/SW-031

There was a wide grassy area at the road junction at SN717095. I pulled onto this for parking, but making sure that I left my driver side wheels just on the edge of the tarmac - just in case! This spot is just 800m from the summit, and only 35m lower, although about 10m must be dropped in the first instance, before gradually ascending 45m back up to the highest point.

From the parking spot, it appeared that this would be a squelchy bogtrot, so we changed into walking boots and wellies accordingly. In fact Jimmy had been in his boots for each and every activation of this trip, but Liam and I had remained in our normal trainers and shoes respectively so far, with virtually everything being on stone/tarmac tracks or very firm and dry grassy paths.  In fact, we were pleasantly surprised, as what initially appeared to be an indistinct path soon turned into a well established route that was firm and dry underfoot. This led to a half tumbled-down brick and wood structure close to the summit. Liam and I earmarked that for where we would hunker down after we had been to the highest point for photographs. In between the ruin and the summit were several large depressions in the ground, and Jimmy used one for his own shelter, setting up the MFD adjacent to it for his 2m FM.

It was yet another instance of working hard to establish a single 12m contact for me, this time with Slava UX7FC on 24.899MHz CW. I then moved to 20m, where I could hear EA5NR/P activating EA5/AT-040, but I couldn't get through. At the end of the activation, I did get a S2S with Antonio EC2AG/1 on EA2/LR-047 however. That was 16th QSO of the activation, and 15th on 20m SSB. Uncharacteristically, I didn't feel like doing CW, and perhaps the instinct was correct with a super run of 15 SSB contacts in just 10 minutes.  At this point, Jimmy came down to my position to tell me he had only been able to raise two on 2m FM. He immediately tail-ended my QSO with Antonio to grab the S2S for himself, before also adding Pedro EA2CKX for the qualification. Jimmy then returned to his 2m gear and managed to eke out one more QSO making five for his activation.

While he was doing that and packing away, Liam and I were making a sharp exit. That meant that we could enjoy a grandstand view from the inside of the car when Jimmy finally made his own swift return. Our drive back to Barry was dominated by incredibly heavy rain. We had done well to keep an eye on things and generally be out in the dry, and in the car during any heavy rain! Sensible planning and vigilance had allowed us the opportunities to achieve this; there's no substitute for experience!

After driving back to Barry, neither of the lads had any appetite for yet more arcades, so we all grabbed showers at the B&B and then went out to an Indian restaurant. Curry and Kingfisher made for a most satisfying evening relaxation before going back to the hotel for Match of the Day 2 - and sleep.  Again we arranged to meet at 7am for breakfast, with Mynydd Drumau GW/SW-038 being first on the following day's agenda.