I approached the start from my usual place (SJ063210). The road was passable for the Honda CR-V, and I didn’t do any damage to the road with the tow-hitch. From the start of the walk it was apparent that the Forestry people were busy and a detour was suggested. I didn’t use it, as it indicated that it rejoined the path beyond the summit area, and to be honest, I have never seen any indication of the path going NW from the gate out of the woodland. The first section of path was strewn with smashed brash, and most of the track to the gate was in the same state. From the gate to the summit area hadn’t been touched.
The activation started with a CW S2S with OK2QA/P on OK/OL-056 on 30M. A self-spot for 40M was followed by a run of 16 QSOs. A QSY to 20M brought in a further 16 QSOs, including WG8Y, N4EX, W4MPS, AE4FZ and N7UN. The battery was sagging and my feet were very cold, so I called it a day, pleased with the QSOs obtained.
On the descent I met with the Forestry people, who said they were thinning the forest and would widening the path and the brash (used to protect the ground from the machinery being used) would be removed at the end of the work. I explained what I had been doing, and why I didn’t used the suggested detour. They said that the detour was from the map, and they couldn’t see it on the ground, either. They added that the works should be over in about 3 weeks, and would be happier if people didn’t use the path from a safety point of view (A formal temporary closure would have cost £550, they claimed). I offered to put this on the reflector, they will contact me when the work has been completed.
An apology - looking for a quiet spot in 20M I found, and spotted 14.235. After 2 QSOs, I had to QSY to 14.260 to avoid heavy QRM. As advised by SP9AMH (Didn’t see your spot until I went QRT) this is the hallowed ground of the TV enthusiasts. My only excuse is that I havn’t committed the bandplan to memory, and I don’t carry a copy in my pack.
Regards, Dave, G(W)6DTN
