In a few days the weather improved enough that the temperatures up in Caldera raised and snow dissappeared everywhere but on Pico del Teide. We decided to climb Montaña del Cedro (EA8/TF-005) for 10 points. I hoped for another ten pointer (nearby EA8/TF-006) on that day. It could be possible, but we stayed in bed way too long for that. We were on vacation after all!
Climbing Montaña del Cedro is more difficult than the summits I activated previously. We made the hike even longer by visiting some of the nearby geocaches. We left our car on the nearest Mirador at the main road, to the north from the summit. It is also the trailhead of some of the official hiking trails. The approach to the mountain is part of one of the trails and at the certain point you have to leave the trail and start to climb. From this side there are two main trails that lead up the mountain: you can start climbing the northern slope as soon you reach the mountain and then follow the ridge, or you can walk another 200-300m until you reach the end of the barrier on the right side, and take the trail along the eastern slope. Both trails eventually merge on the ridge before the final ascent to the summit. We took the first option as there are some geocaches hidden along the way. Judging by the tracks on the ground the trail seems quite well visited. It is marked by blue dots. I read somewhere that these marks are unofficial, made by volunteers, and park rangers apparenty strongly disapprove them. Terrain is not that difficult but you have to watch your step because of many stones and rocks on the trail. As everywhere on the island, the climbs are quite steep. The summit is rocky. There is plenty of space for the wires and a large pile of stones to hold the antenna support (yes, I know that using the cairn may be unacceptable in some locations, but we were alone up there and I moved only a few stones and put them back as they were before). One disadvantage may be that the short path to Europe from this summit leads directly over Pico del Teide, which is about 1500m higher, with its peak only 7km away.
I deployed my dipole for 14MHz and made eight QSOs. Seven of them were to Europe, but one to US was absolute highlight of the whole trip. When the guy gave me “57 here in California” I disregarded it, thinking that I don’t hear it correctly. Only later, back in hotel when i checked his QRZ page, I realized that this was really 9400 km QSO. With only 5W! It may be trivial for you guys with amplifiers, beams and antenna farms and stuff, but for me and my equipment it’s absolutely amazing! After activation we descended from the summit, hiked around the mountain past the fire watchtower and on the marked trails back to the car, collecting a few geocaches along the way. We got back to the parking just before the sunset. There were a few busses full of tourists, who paid pretty money for a trip to Caldera to watch the sun setting into the low clouds, holding glasses of champagne in their hands.
Getting ready.
Calling CQ. Left Pico del Teide (EA8/TF-001) and Pico Viejo (both in the clouds), right on the Caldera rim El Sombrero (EA8/TF-004), Guajara (EA8/TF-002) and Roque de la Grieta (EA8/TF-003)
Montaña del Cedro (EA8/TF-005), as seen on our way back.
We couldn’t resist, neither can I now…
