Tom Read - click to email meBDXC ISWL WAB SOTA RSGB IOTA - see my radio page for more detailsLiam & Jimmy

Owenreagh Hill SM-011

 

Owenreagh Hill, GI/SM-011 - 407m ASL - H 420 959 - OSNI Discoverer 12 - 2 SOTA points         Map & summit information from SOTAwatch    Click to return to summit index

 

GI SOTA Trip - Activation #16 - Owenreagh Hill GI/SM-011 - Friday 3rd June 2016

From Dooish Mountain EI/IN-081, we drove back into GI, through Strabane and into the minor roads to the East of that border town. In accordance with advice gleaned from the excellent and informative http://mountainviews.ie Irish hillwalking website, we parked in the wide entrance to the wind farm road at H423972.

To the right hand side of the large metal gate was an access point for walkers, and we began to walk up the wide track towards the turbines. As we did, we were passed by a service vehicle. We stood to the side of the road and received a cheerful wave and smile from the staff member at the wheel.  Upon reaching the highest point of the service road, I decided to set up and activate right there. This was just 7m vertically lower than the true summit. Jimmy, as per usual, went to the actual top to set up his MFD for 2m.

It was hot in the bothy bag, but it was essential to keep the midges off!        Tom M1EYP

In each of our respective positions, we were attacked by swarms of midges. A breath of wind would have been nice, but there was not even that. The midges beat Jimmy all ends up. For the first time on this tour he didn't make even a single VHF contact. He packed up under continuing attack and came to join me in my operating spot.

Fortunately - for Jimmy - I had easily qualified with 14 QSOs on 40m. I managed to do this while retaining sanity by using my bothy bag shelter. I have used it to shelter from midges before. It is hard to deploy it without getting any midges on the inside, and under this swarm it was impossible, but a couple of hundred of the blighters is very much preferable to a couple of thousand. Also, on the inside, they got dopey and were easy to kill. And, interestingly, most of them took themselves off to the end of the bag near my boots and well away from my head and radio.

Jimmy in the shelter, operating on 40m SSB        Jimmy ready to descend

The best news for Jimmy was that my 14 contacts on 7MHz were all on SSB on the WAB net frequency 7.160MHz. They were expecting him too, so he just took over from me, pulling the bothy bag around him. I was now on the outside and resuming my shouting, swearing and dancing with the midges. I should be embarrassed, but I've witnessed first-hand the mental breakdown of SOTA greats such as Barry GM4TOE under such attack. So I know it happens to the best of us.

Another service vehicle passed, Another cheery wave and a smile. Jimmy quickly got eleven 40m SSB QSOs into his logbook anyway, so we were good to go. First we took an early lunch and emptied our flask of mulligatawny soup into our tummies once we reached the car. In-car listening was still mainly BBC Radio Ulster as we followed news of the continuing moorland fire near Strabane. It was time to drive to our penultimate summit - Balix Hill GI/SM-012.

Time

Call

Band

Mode

Op

09:18z

2E0KVJ

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P, MI0HGY/P

09:19z

G0FEX

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P, MI0HGY/P

09:20z

G4CQR

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P

09:21z

M6NTM/M

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P, MI0HGY/P

09:21z

G0OFD

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P

09:26z

G8TMV

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P

09:27z

G8MIA

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P

09:28z

G0RQL

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P, MI0HGY/P

09:29z

G3RDQ

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P

09:30z

EI2KD

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P, MI0HGY/P

09:31z

G4WSB

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P

09:34z

MK0BKV

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P, MI0HGY/P

09:38z

MM3PDM/M

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P

09:38z

SM6CNX

7MHz

SSB

MI1EYP/P

09:46z

G7AFM

7MHz

SSB

MI0HGY/P

09:46z

G4OBK

7MHz

SSB

MI0HGY/P

09:47z

PE1OAD/MM

7MHz

SSB

MI0HGY/P

09:48z

M3FEH

7MHz

SSB

MI0HGY/P

09:50z

GM0VWP/P

7MHz

SSB

MI0HGY/P