Not really an activation report as for the first time in 8 years I managed not one fail but two fails… “To lose points from one hill one hill Mr Hodgkinson, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” . A bit can be learned from this, if I had read the reports on the database I could have known about the first problem and as for the second problem - well that was just stupidity (I’m hoping it isn’t age related).
Rather late yesterday looking at the forecast, and the hills I have yet to activate I decided that Ward’s Stone would be possible - if a bit cold. There was a lot of faffing about yesterday, packing the van, doing dad’s taxi duties and packing the bag and researching the route - all of which was done probably without as much thought as usual.
Along with my daughter and the dogs we set off and got to the car park by Jubilee Tower for Ward;s Stone. Katie got ready and I popped my boots on outside, barely glancing at the access sign. I was much more concerned about the weather -1C and a strong 20-30 MPH wind and I was in two minds about continuing… and then I stopped and looked at the very large obvious sign about 4ft from the back of the van…
As it turned out this was no bad thing and it is always a bonus not to get Hypothermia, so we went to plan B - a wander with the dogs around a National Trust Property… and then when Katie remembered her membership card once again was back at home we though about plan C - Arnside Knott…
Arnside was wonderful, as was Arnside Knott which was a lovely walk with beautiful views, and unlike Kirkby Stephen the cafes we tried were both brilliant. In fact everything was wonderful as we got to the top, I promised a quick activation and took out the antennas and it was such quicker than even Katie had hoped for. …There was no carefully packed bag with the radio in. I carry 2 radios - a 2m set and a KX2, but they are both in the same bag which despite checking the rucksack several times was still not there… So a radio fail, but a lovely hill that I’m definitely going back to. (Spoiler the radio was sat safely at home… ready packed but obviously not in the rucksack)
On the bright side I would have been much more annoyed to have gone up Ward’s Stone in a freezing gale to find that the radio was missing, and I’ve found another excellent small summit with Arnside Knott. I’m not sure about rushing back to Wards Stone - having now read the reports it might be the last SP hill I activate not the first.
So once again PPPPPP (This was a rescue team acronym that seems to have been borrowed from the military) … and it was today… 73. Paul
Hi Paul, Arnside Knott is less than ten-minutes’ drive from home and I walk the dogs there [usually not with radio] 2 or 3 times a week and my wife and I visit those cafes for good coffee frequently.
I know you said, the G/LD-058 activation was a last-minute decision which explains the missing radio(s). The moral of the story is probably not to unpack anything if another activation is imminent.
As I sometimes get a short-notice opportunity to leave the house to do a SOTA or WOTA I stow my radio kit ready-to-go in a number of different size dry bags organized by type of activation, e.g. 2m FM HT, RH-770 antenna, backup whip, note pad, spare battery, pencils in a 2L bag, KX2, battery, paddles, headphones, etc in another, Cha MPAS vertical in a 5L bag, EFHW / coax / 5m pole in another bundle – all in the bottom of my wardrobe ready to chuck into a rucksack and be out the door in no time.
It works every time because 1) I check the contents of each bag when repacking on summit [to avoid losing anything], 2) check and dry out any damp/wet items overnight, and 3) check the contents again when rebagging for storage.
Thanks … My list of No Dog summits … G/SP-003 (Ward’s Stone), G/NP-002 (Mickle Fell) and G/NP-032 (Cracoe Fell although it seemed to be ignored by the locals on that summit)… PPS Lots of mud on G/NP-003 but that does not seem to be a deterrent for our spaniels… If anything they seem to prefer returning with a thick layer of mud…
Andy - I pack everything neatly into bags , 2 x radios, microphone, logbook, pencils earphones … and having carefully double checked the bag to make sure the radios were chargesd I left it behind, The probably failure reason is using the same colour bags, I probably need to have the radios in a different colour dry bag so it is really really really obvious that it isn’t in the bag… 73. Paul
Yes, absolutely. I know the red one is the 2m gear, the orange one the MPAS vertical, etc. I do have a second red 2L-bag for my coffee flask but never mix the two up (the coffee is made 10 minutes before departure) and a third red 2L-bag for my 6m flowerpot [but since 6m is rarely open long enough to get to any summit in time] is gathering dust in a cupboard.
It’s bound to happen eventually. Once, about to shove loads of coins into a pay-and-display parking-ticket machine before walking up Helvellyn G/LD-003, I suddenly realised I had left my fully-packed rucksack in the conservatory. Fortunately, since then that failed activation has created a mental alarm bell as I leave the house to check that crucial step.
I’ve already racked up three qualification fails in 2025 where at least one QSO was made, but less than the four contacts needed for the points.
Fortunately they are all summits I expect to revisit during the year - Gun G/SP-013, The Cloud G/SP-015 and Wendover Woods G/CE-005. Though Jimmy @M0HGY did point out that I said this about CE-005 in 2020 - then the pandemic happened!
Arnside is a lovely summit. I’ve done Arnside a couple of times using the train. The train service from Bentham is nothing to write home about but the train station is about 3 minutes walk from home and I can get to Arnside, changing at Carnforth. It’s not a bad walk from Arnside station up to the summit.
The cafe I used in Arnside has changed hands since, so I don’t have any recommendations.
If driving, there is a mail order business nearby which I’ve used a few times and they’re now doing limited opening in an actual shop (I’ve not made it there yet) that sells walking boots and equipment. Rock + Run | Climbing and Mountaineering Shop
One thing I would say about Arnside Knott is that it seems to be a tick hot spot during the summer, if taking a dog it’s probably worth a thorough check afterwards that no unwanted passengers are taken home.
Update… Successful activation on G/LD-058, but it nearly failed as there was rather a lot of RF in the audio and on this occasion it was RF not a barking dog! ( I was using a 42ft random wire). The solution was resting the counterpoise and adding a bit more distance between me and the antenna.
I have also managed one of my targets for 2025!
So thanks to the chasers and in particular to G7KSE/P who was portable on the top of a Wainright near Seatallan for that important 4th contact. 40m was hard work but 20m produced a good crop of European contacts with good reports, and no dodgy audio.
