When preparing for an activation, for me it is not so easy to decide, what summit to activate the next day. Usually it depends on the weather conditions, trail conditions, and many other things. Like every weekend, on Saturday I read the weather forecast for Sunday. It was okay. They announced sunny weather, but with a small risk of rain and thunderstorm in the late afternoon. But what summit should be the next one?
To answer this question the SMP is a very helpful tool, especially the range functionality. This is great. You can see all summits that are in your region. I had a look at the map, and once again I got stuck at Karwendel. My mouse stopped at summit Gamsjoch. I have been there two times before - always in August. One of the features of this summit is, that you can see Edelweiss. And if you are lucky you can also see some capricorns. So the decision was made: The next one is OE/TI-616.
Considering the weather forecast I planned my trip, that I could leave the summit at 2 pm. So in case of any bad weather, I would be already on my way back. I packed my bag, and made an alert at SOTAwatch. So far so good.
On Sunday morning my tour started in a small valley called Großer Ahronboden. You can see many old maple trees there, standing at meadows with cows. But this valley is also very crowded. My way to Gamsjoch led me through that valley. You walk without gain of heigth. At the end of it, you enter a light forrest, and the trail becomes more narrow and steeper. Very fast you leave this forrest, to stand on a big meadow again. At the end of the forrest there was a small gate at the trail but without any fence. This looked quite funny.
The highest point of this meadow is a col. Its name is Hohljoch. From there you can see the central chain of Karwendel. It is a very nice view, and a good place for a break. The weather was sunny, with clouds in the sky. But nothing to worry about. Great!
From Hohljoch you make a right turn. Before ascending Gamsjoch, you need to traverse the slopes of two other summits. Hence for the next two kilometers the trail does not gain any height, but the view is quite impressive. Your altitude is now 1750m a.s.l. There are no trees or bushes that block the view. I could see the valley and the summits around it. On both sides of the trail flowers were blooming. A nice way to walk.
After that traverse you finally can ascend Gamsjoch. The trail becomes steep, and the summit is not far from here. On Sunday I was very lucky. There were still some Edelweiss blooming. So I could enjoy them, and take some pictures.
Near the summit cross there were also capricorns browsing. What a day! But the weather was not with me. While I was enjoying flowers and capricorns, the sky became overcast, and big dark clouds were approaching.
Now you need to know that the highest point of OE/TI-616 is not the place where the summit cross is located. From the summit cross you have to decend again for some meters before arriving the highest point, marked with a cairn. I hurried to make it to the summit. I was in time but weather was to early. 
Exactly at the moment when I arrived the cairn, it started to rain. Only a few drops, but very big.
I decided not to raise my HF antenna, but wanted to give VHF a chance. Maybe I could make at least one contact, just for not having carried all that equipment to the summit for nothing. Quickly I setup my equipment an listened at 145.500 MHz. There I heard Holger OE7HPI talking to another station, which I could not hear. So I called Holger, but he didn’t reply. Instead three other stations heard me and called. I made a QSY to 145.550 MHz, to work them. And also Holger had realized my call and the QSY. Isn’t it great? What a day. Finally there were five stations in my log. Holger told me that he and the other station were waiting for me. Thanks to Holger and Karl! In the meantime rain strengthen. There was a puddle on the plastic bag that covered my tranceiver. My logbook was completely wet. But I was happy. This were the missing ten points for the mountain goat. Now I carefully removed the puddle from the plastic bag, and pulled out my tranceiver. It was still dry! Haha. I was wet from tip to toe.
Quickly I packed my things together and left the summit. Now guess what happend: After leaving the summit, when I was back at 1700m a.s.l., sun came out again. That is mean! But the warmth of the sun dried my clothes, and when I arrived the valley, I was dry again. For the way back I decided to walk a quite steep, but short trail to the valley. The first part is a scree slope, where I could slide down very fast. Soon I was back in the valley.
Sun was still shining. I found a very nice maple tree on a meadow. There I made a second break, finally to have a snack, and to lay into the grass to enjoy the warmth of the sun.
Expect me to hear me again from OE/TI-616. Then hopefully also on HF!
I hope you enjoyed that report and I may hear you on the next summit,
73 Jana DG5WU
