DL/PA3FYG/P – Holiday in The Black Forrest ( activating DM/BW-501 to-507)
Our holiday 14-19 Sept 2008 was booked before I got the SOTA fever, but I had the luck that our hotel near Baiersbronn was in the middle of some never worked summits in BW. Before the trip I persuaded my XYL Jose to agree that I try to activate one or two summits during our walking trips. It ended with seven new ones ! During the short setup, 30 min activation and breakdown she did some reading and did not mind ( as long as I carried my stuff myself hi hi ). So guys have a try.
We found out that the most important thing is planning the route, especially try to find the closest and highest legal parking place. The hills over there are full of forest roads, walking paths and tracks of forest machines and signs, but the mountain is often not mentioned and the summit is never a target for any normal hiker. Map 1:25.000, GPS and info from locals is needed very much, especially because the summits are flat and in thick forest. No crosses, stones ,signs, restaurants or other proof that you reached it. Most summits are like swamps ( peat moor ). Be careful there are some mountains with same name in neighbourhood !!
Equipment: Backpack with FT897D, auto tuner SG-239, 7AH dry battery (max. abt. 50 QSO’s ), and 2 radials of abt. 12mtr. Fishing rod 12 mtr for vertical. Set-up worked very well, nearly all worked stations were strong. XYL carried food and drinks, her book and she read the map.
All of my 152 QSO’s on seven summits where in SSB, most on 40m. All but one activations (BW-502) resulted in a pile-up. We reached BW-502 “The Rinkenkopf “with “Rinkenturm” ( stone tower ) on top already on Sunday 14 Sept., but not much heard and battery fast dead after activation of BW-505 and -506 earlier that day. Friday at 12:15 UTC I tried again for 70 min. and also this time no response of SOTA-fans on 7.085. I placed the vertical on the top of the stone tower and the radials on the floor, surrounded by lot of anti lightning wires. The tower was surrounded by two very high telecom masts. Bad set-up? Heard JA and USA on 20m. At the bottom the rest of the summit was very near those masts of abt. 60m? high. Worked 8 random stations on 20/40m to get the points. This summit is the only one with other visitors, because it is close to Baiersbronn.
Last part to the summits sometimes only “path” made by heavy equipment, but never off the road ( in my opinion ).
Top scores: 5 summits: G0TRB and GW0DSP.( also worked from PA-005 ! ), 4 summits: 2E0PXW, 9A7W and G0ELJ, 3 summits 9A4MF, G0NES, G0RQL and SM6CMU. One S2S with MW0COP/P at GW/NW-055.
All summits are accessible for inexperienced hikers. I am 50-er, non sport type, coming from flat below sea level part of The Netherlands and only walk on holydays.
We both enjoyed this holyday, so I suppose you can here me an other time during a next holiday if summits are available.
Thanks to all stations worked.
Hope to hear you from a summit.
73 de Hans and XYL Jose.
PS: I place some pictures on Flickr