FL/VO-020 High Hopes or perhaps Fool on the Hill???
This was my first attempt at taking the camper abroad, and it seems that it was a good time to have a family holiday on the other side of the channel. It is different from the North Pennines this year in that the biggest challenge has been the heat, the van was packed with the normal supply of warm weather clothes - on the plus side they do absorb some of the rattles!
As it is a family holiday I managed just the one hill, all be it 10 points taking me to that 3/4 goat level.
We walked from the campsite, and it should have been 8 km, however due to some sub-optimal navigation it was nearer to 10km. I navigated with a paper IGN map and the IGN app which frustratingly showed very similar but not identical views, well that is my excuse for getting the first path wrong!
For anyone else new to walking in this area access seems OK and many of the paths and trails are clearly marked. On La Croix Hanzo you are unlikely to be bothered by inquisitive walkers - we only saw three walkers all day.
After the first deliberate detour it was just a walk up in the woods, although we used a slightly different route approaching from the South.
A throwing line would have been better for the wooded summit but I used the mast under some of the tree canopy.
The equipment was a KX2 6m mast, linked dipole for 40/20/10 and FT 270 connected to a ladder line J pole for 2.
The entire walk and the summit were woodland with lots of marked trails, with a few unmarked ones too! Not a great view.
Two hours after setting off man, dogs and daughters were at the summit. The heat, humidity and the steep slope for the last 500m were quite tough. I managed a quick run on 40m, a contact across the Rhine on 2 and quite a lot on 20m. I also missed a S2S with an Italian station, I just couldn’t quite get the last bit of the call. As at times in the UK it was a bit frustrating by being called by operators that couldn’t hear me talking over the stations I was working…
Was it easier than 10 points in England, Wales or Scotland? Well possibly but Burnhope Seat, my local hill is an easy 6 points. Woody was also in fine voice from the summit too…but no D2D contacts…
Finally thanks to all the chasers, we really didn’t have the time to stay longer on the summit so sorry if I missed you.
Lessons learned
Less warm clothes
Start walking earlier in the day before it gets hot
Play with the mapping software at home before trying to use it to navigate… ( I had a paper map too)
On the future we would add Kennel Cough vaccine to the list of jobs for the vet as Jet managed to catch it - and the only place he was in contact with other dogs was at the Eurotunnel pet check in.
- Paul
(High Hopes from one of the later Pink Floyd albums, but I was wondering if “Fool on the Hill” might be more appropriate….)
