G4YSS: Five NP SOTA`s: NP13, NP19, NP18, NP6 & NP24 on 05-03-14
Draft-4 (some callsign errors corrected)
GX0OOO/P (G4YSS) on:
G/NP-013/ 4 The Calf.
G/NP-019/ 4 Yarlside.
G/NP-018/ 4 Nine Standards Rigg.
G/NP-006/ 6 Gt.Shunner Fell.
G/NP-024/ 2 Hoove.
2m-FM QRO on first four summits.
40m CW & 160m CW/ SSB QRO on NP24.
All times UTC. G4YSS - unaccompanied.
Equipment (first four summits):
Kenwood TM702-T; 25 Watt 2m/ 70cm Mobile.
Home-brew vertical J-Pole for 2m.
Two-section short aluminium mast.
Li-Po: One 6 Ah.
Equipment (NP24):
IC706-2G HF-VHF-UHF 100W multimode.
80-60-40-(30)-20m inv-vee link dipole on 5m mast for HF.
2 x Centre Loading via H/B coils with slug tuning for 160m.
Li-Po: One 8.8 Ah.
Reserve Rig (all summits):
IC-E90 Quad-band 5W H/H with integral 7.2V / 1.3Ah Li-Po battery. (Not used)
Pack: 8.5kg (18.7 pounds) inc. 750ml water. (First four summits).
INTRO:
This was just another in the continuing series of winter bonus grabs. To pack in as many summits as possible, it needed to be quick and easy so once again I chose 2m-FM though power was 25 Watts. To be certain of qualifying the final summit (NP24, Hoove) in a reasonable time, HF QRO kit was taken. Also for the first time ever I would not be visiting the summit proper of NP24 but rather exercising the 25m down rule. A cop out for sure which does not appeal to my purist instincts but it saves significant walking over some rather bad terrain. It was done in order to avoid dark walking also. I strongly dislike this excuse for a hill but the shortcut has a downside. Near the trig point there exists a large hole which can be used to get out of the wind. There was significant wind/ wind-chill today. I would have no shelter and in order to activate, would have to sit in one of the biggest bogs in the area.
The mountain forecast was for 20 to 30 mph (increasing) WSW winds with early and maybe late low-cloud and the possibility of light rain. Summit temps were predicted to be 1C rising to 3C.
EXECUTION:
I left Scarborough for the 100 mile drive at 03:51 arriving via the A684 at the Cross Keys Temperance Inn on the Sedburgh/ Kirby Stephen road in daylight at 06:20. Once again, falling asleep was the first thing I did but by 06:48 I was walking in decent weather conditions, though low-cloud could be seen on the climb ahead.
NP13 ROUTE:
Its simply a matter of heading for Cautley Spout waterfall on a path up the valley which passes through SD 6833 9751, crossing the beck at SD 6798 9752. The path goes up the right bank of a second beck to aT` junction with a major path at SD 6688 9677. Here you turn right for the summit. Cloud base was down to just below 500m on this slope.
G/NP-013 THE CALF, 676m, 4 pts, 07:58 to 08:42, 3 Deg.C, 25 mph WSW wind, low-cloud. No lying snow. (IO84RI, WAB SD69). Orange (EE) Mobile phone & DAB radio coverage.
145.400 FM - 9 QSO`s:
Settling into a shallow ditch a few metres from the trig point and with the umbrella as a wind shield, I called CQ with 10 Watts to the vertical. Three mobiles; GM4WHA/M; GM6LJE/M and M0PWD/M answered in quick order but then the frequency dried up until Dave G6CRV took pity on me for the qualifying QSO - always a relief.
After that I worked just five more chasers with one or two returns to S20 for 25 Watt CQ`s: G4UXH; 2E0MNO/M; G0VOF; G1CWQ and 2E0MIX. With no further takers there was no need to hang around in the strong wind any longer and QRT was at 08:36.
Walk to NP19:
The walk between The Calf and Yarlside was completed in under 50 minutes today. I dropped out of cloud to cross the low point at SD 6809 9818 (430m ASL and no DAB radio) but regained both prior to reaching the NP19 summit. The direct but pathless route up the steep grass of Yarlside`s western flank is demanding for a short distance but it was wind assisted today.
G/NP-019, YARLSIDE, 639m, 4 pts, 09:31 to 10:03, 3 Deg.C, 35 mph WSW wind. Low-cloud. No lying snow. (IO84SJ, WAB SD69). Orange (EE) Mobile phone & DAB radio coverage.
145.450/ 145.475 FM - 7 QSOs: Here the wind was stronger than on The Calf. It was blowing directly from the side of the mountain which is steep and rounded, grassy and quite smooth. With that scenario, there could have been some local acceleration. I wasnt too impressed by this as the only shelter for a VHF equipped op (unless you have a very long coax) is behind a narrow 50cm-high cairn. Two rocks had to be temporarily borrowed; one to keep the log on the mountain and one to weigh down the sit mat/ map case.
Again another simple and quick activation was awaited apparently by one or two chasers who had picked up my intentions on-air from the NP13 activation. I didnt expect many QSOs from here as I have struggled with 2m-FM (albeit QRP) in the past. Even with the 25 Watts used today and a return to S20, I only logged 7 stations: G4WHA; G0TDM; G1OHH; G4UXH/M; G4BLH; 2E0WET and G6CMQ/M. I wasn`t about to hang around in the wind-chill any longer, leaving for the tussocky and mostly pathless 30 minute descent via Ben End to Cross Keys without delay.
Drive to start NP18:
The drive via Kirby Stephen took from 10:35 to 10:55. With no batteries or rigs to swap, I was away from the car again at precisely 11:00 after downing another litre of water.
ROUTE to NP18:
From the B6270 at NY 8084 0429, a path goes all the way via NY 8096 0499, a guidepost at NY 8138 0529, a beck at NY 8157 0564 to NY 8233 0618 where you choose the trig point or the Nine Standards as your final destination. I usual do HF from the ruin at NY 8251 0651 but that is useless for VHF so I set up on the lee side (such as it was) of the new memorial pillar (NY 8242 0632.) This was the only summit of the day with any other people on it.
NINE STANDARDS RIGG, G/NP-018, 662m, 4pts, 11:42 to 12:37. 3 deg.C, 25 mph plus, WSW wind. No low-cloud. No lying snow. Glimpses of Sunshine. (IO84UK, WAB NY80). Orange (EE) mobile phone & DAB radio coverage from start point to summit.
145.400 FM - 8 QSOs: Subsequent to a CQ call on S20 and with the Kenwood mobile rig set to full power (25W), I logged the following stations: G4WHA; G0TDM/A (both Penrith) and G4OBK Pickering who reported nil copy from the earlier NPs; 13 and 19. G0EVV/P was in transit between WOTA`s on Shap Fell and Mike G4BLH told me that he only normally works NP18 when the activator is using a beam. Aided by a bit of power my J-fed vertical, which is home-brew and used /P since well before the start of SOTA, apparently continues to get out quite well. M0COX was in Tyneside. G0VOF/M was motorcycle mobile with a 7/8 vertical. M6UXH Heather was S2S at the top of Seat Sandal (LD22) with very loud wind noise on her audio.
The walk down, with minor detours to avoid boggy ground, took until 13:00. During the return I started to think that time was running slower than on previous expeditions. The idea of inserting an unplanned summit into the schedule became at first attractive then gradually irresistible.
The itinerary should have taken me to Hoove next but between Nine Standards and Hoove was Rogans Seat. I dont do that one often as its a long way unless you have a bike so the chances of shoe-horning it into this afternoon were slim. Remembering that I hadnt been on Great Shunner Fell this year, I opted for that instead. Though Shunner (NP6) was a longer drive, compared with Rogan`s (NP14) there is less ascent and a shorter distance to walk despite bogs versus a track all the way up. Other alternatives were considered but would have involved a still longer drive and/ or doubling back.
Setting off on the drive to Buttertubs Pass at 13:14, I parked at SD 8688 9570. It was 13:38 and a quick start was achieved at 13:40. By now BBC R5-Live-SX (on DAB - a strong signal the whole way up) had cricket from the West Indies. Great I thought, I wont even notice thegloop` of the notorious Grimy Gutter Haggs.
G/NP-006: GT.SHUNNER FELL, 716m, 6 pts, 14:25 to 15:00. 3 deg.C. Wind: 40 mph. Overcast. Tiny patches of lying snow and initially a little low-cloud. IO84VI, WAB SD89. (The Orange (EE) phone signal was weak at times.)
Trapping the 145-FM mast in the top of the shelter wall added some useful height. I must say that in the increasing wind I was very glad of the shelter which compares with the very best.
145.400 FM - 14 QSO`s:
Before setting up I gave Roy G4SSH a call to inform him of the extra summit. Roy is not able to work NP6 on 2m but he spotted me and announced that NP24 was still on for later.
Once again first in the log was Geoff G4WHA/A followed by: G4OBK; G0TDM; G6XBF; G0WUY; G4BLH; G1NFT/M; G6ODU; M0SSD; G4UXH; G0VOF/M; M0HYE (Sunderland); M3NHA and M6NHA. The power output remained at 25 Watts to the omni-vertical for all QSO`s. Hardest to work were G6ODU and M0SSD. M3 & M6NHA Tony & Sara (Near Manchester Airport) were suffering a carrier on the frequency which was inaudible to me. For the remainder, incoming reports ranged from 55 to 59.
Roys plea for quick QSOs in the notes on the spot was heeded and the session took only 16 minutes. In fact I was back to the car by 15:37 which was within two hours of leaving it. Thanks to the chasers for saving time and enabling a fifth activation after this one.
A third short drive to The Stang (NZ 01860 0678) on the Durham / North Yorkshire border, was completed from 15:40 and 16:10 but now a delay was unavoidable. I had decided to abandon the Kenwood 2m mobile in favour of the IC706-2G and a bigger battery. That way I would have the option of VHF at 50 Watts or HF at 100W but it all needed packing into the rucksack along with a dipole and mast. This was done inside the car because of the strong wind outside but I set off walking for the final SOTA at 16:25. I couldn`t inform Roy of my plan due to a lack of phone coverage.
NP24 Discussion:
Hoove is my number one detestable SOTA, by far. A wasteland of rising bog with deep ditches and unseen holes, characterizes Hoove. Ascent is less than 50m but it takes a mile of walking. Its mostly boggy ankle-bending tussock, with at least 8 deep ditches. A black peaty, 4m-deep ravine at Hurrgill Head, must be crossed before making the final climb to a trig point with encirclingmini-moaton a flat, soggy top. A large and marginally drier hole in the ground provides adequate wind breaking when its not full of snow or alternatively Richard G3CWI made good use some years ago, of a shooting butt at NZ 0186 0678.
Of the 4 times of visiting Hooves trig point in the past, it was dark twice but I hadnt been there since 2008. In 2005 the ditches were all hidden by non-supportive snow bridges which propelled me violently to waist level without warning, leaving me utterly exhausted. It looks like a steal on the map but the only assistance available; an indistinct, boggy track goes the wrong way and must be left behind at NZ 0131 0702. Its best done after days of hard frost or in a drought but theres no wonder I have a problem with it; I`m usually weary when I set out. Steve, G1INK still holds the record with a total of 8 visits!
My trouble is mainly that I leave Hoove as a kind of afterthought until the end of a hard days SOTAing and have never allowed myself to activate short of the actual trig point. A purist approach doubles or even triples the total work load required to get it in the log. The VHF takeoff leaves a lot to be desired so the temptation is to carry heavier HF equipment.
Not any more! If I never see that trig point again it will be too soon. Looking at the map it is obvious that the 25m zone starts half way to the summit. That avoids twice crossing the ugly scar of a natural ditch that is Hurrgill Head along with about an extra mile (total) of bad ground. It would not be so bad if it were not so downright boring. You barely know you are walking uphill and it doesn`t even look like one! Please excuse this but I really do have a downer on this one!
So for my 2014 activation of Hoove, I made a GPS waypoint nicely inside the zone and aimed for it. I still got two boots full of bog water, having so far avoided this scenario all winter but instead of more than half an hour of hell, I was there easily in 15 minutes.
HOOVE, G/NP-024, 554m, 2 pts, 16:40 to 17:56, 5 deg C, wind 35 mph, overcast but no low-cloud. No lying snow but very wet & boggy. (IO-94-AL, WAB NZ00). Nil Orange mobile phone coverage but good DAB radio signals throughout.
With nowhere to hide, the strong wind would have to be endured but at least it was two degrees C warmer than I had been used to all day. I set up the dipole beside a water-filled ditch which had man-made turf dams in it at intervals. It seemed that the intention was to retain most of the water possibly to create habitat? The only wild life I saw were a couple of game birds; in this case Red Grouse, mostly close to several feeders that were marked by white plastic tubes stuck into the peat.
Selecting the 80m band link I put out a 100 Watt CQ on 3.557 CW on the slim chance that someone might be listening. Though there were plenty of signals on the band, none were SOTA chasers.
The choices now were to try to bludgeon QSOs on 2m-FM with 50 watts to a vertical with scant chance of logging any Lancashire based chasers, or (bearing in mind the day was almost at an end) torisk` an extended session on 7.032 CW?
7.032 CW - 18 QSOs: It was getting late and the band was very noisy. In fact there wereCQ Test stations all over the CW end. I was chased off several times but eventually managed to reach OK1KT with 599 both ways. After that I worked: OE7PHI; OM1AX (thanks for the spot); ON6ZQ; 2E1RAF; PB2T; G0TDM; SM6RYR; G4SSH; EI2CL; DL3HXX; G4OBK; F5SQA; G4OOE; EA2DT; OH9XX; G4FGJ and our friend Jack - GM4COX. 100 Watts was used throughout.
Somewhere around half way through I sent a QSY to Top Band message to Roy G4SSH but then more stations started calling. I worried that Roy had posted this and I should be somewhere else but as usual he sussed out what was needed and delayed his spot. Instead of the expected wind increase it had eased off slightly but the temp was dropping and the damp rising. Abandoning the plan to be off asap, I started thinking that the longer I could stick it out the better the chance of good Top Band signals. After another CW message to Roy, at 17:19, I was able to slip away to the quiet backwater of 1.832 CW.
1.832 CW - 5 QSOs: Afterkicking aroundunused for quite a while, the 160m band coil plungers had moved. Luckily, I guessed right first time but in order to check VSWR I sent just one dot.G4OBKcame straight out of the speaker. After preparing the log and donning the phones (which would be needed for the weaker signals in the presence of a flapping coat hood) I logged Phil at 599; getting 589 back. Next came Mark G0VOF; OH9XX; G3RMD Frank; G4SSH Roy right in the back of the box (as they say) and finally EI2CL calling. I sent Mikes report in three or four repeated long sessions but he failed to come back. Curse that Dublin noise again! I QSY`d to SSB planning to return to CW to complete a QSO with Mike in darker conditions.
1.843 SSB - 6 QSOs: Into the log went: G4OBK; G6TUH; G0RQL; OH9XX; G6WRW and G3RMD. Carolyn reported a noisy frequency but it seemed to me that they were all quite noisy - something I am not used to that often on a summit. That said, night conditions were half established but that was the salient point;half established` was not quite good enough for Mike EI2CL.
I tried hard for a final time on 1.832 but EI2CL Mike didnt hear me. I even took the phones out and turned the AF gain to full while I walked the antenna down in case he should call. That and my soggy socks were the only downers of the entire day which had been filled with five SOTAs.
It was no good, I really had to go! I knew that a road closure near Richmond would force me into a northern detour via the A66/ A1. I walked off as the light faded, shipping further impurities into my boots as I went but reaching the car at 18:11.
Drive home:
The 89 mile drive home via A66-A1-A170 was completed between 18:17 and 20:02 but in order to dry out the bog water from my socks, I was forced to drive without shoes.
QSO`s:
2m-FM: 38 comprising:
NP13: 9
NP19: 7
NP18: 8
NP06: 14
Subtotal: 38
NP24:
40m-CW: 18
160m-CW: 5
160m-SSB: 6
Subtotal: 29
TOTAL: 67.
Ascent & Distance:
NP13: See below.
NP19: Combined with NP13 - Total of 715m ascent, 9.5 km.
NP18:172m ascent, 6.8 km
NP6: 195m ascent, 7.1 km.
NP24: 30m ascent, 2.4 km
TOTAL for five SOTA`s: 1,112m (3,648ft) ascent, 25.8 km (16.1 miles) walked.
Walking Times:
NP13: 50 min up.
NP13 to NP19: 49 min.
NP19: 30 min down.
NP18: 42 min up - 33 min down.
NP06: 45 min up - 33 min down.
NP24: 15 min up - 15 min down.
Total: 5hr-12 min at 3.1 mph average.
Distance driven: 227 miles (Inc 100 to Cross Keys, 38 between SOTA`s and 86 home)
Activator points: 35.
Good DAB reception throughout all walking routes except in the NP13/ NP19 col.
Chronology:
03:51: Left Scarborough;
06:20: Arrived Cross Keys. (Odometer - 100 miles.)
06:48: Walked for NP13.
07:58: Arrived NP13.
08:42: Left NP13 for NP19.
09:31: Arrived NP19.
10:03: Left NP19.
10:33: Arrived Cross Keys.
10:35: Drove for NP18.
10:55: Arrived NP18 start point.
11:00: Walked for NP18:
11:42: Arrived NP18.
12:37: Left NP18.
13:10: Arrived car.
13:14: Drove for NP6 start point.
13:38: Arrived NP6 start point. (Buttertubs Pass - Odometer 123 miles.)
13:40: Walked for NP6.
14:25: Arrived NP6.
15:00: Left NP6.
15:37: Arrived car.
15:40: Drove for NP24.
16:10: Arrived NP24 start point. (The Stang - Odometer 138 miles.)
16:25: Walked for NP24.
16:40: Arrived NP24.
17:56: Left NP24.
18:11: Arrived car.
1817: Drove for Scarborough.
2002: Arrived Scarborough. (Odometer - 227 miles.)
OBSERVATIONS:
Again the one band, one mode activations on the first four summits allowed five to be activated in the day. None of these are particularly hard but they ranged from boggy to very boggy. Much effort was saved by activating short of the Hoove summit but well within the activation area. The purest in me prevented this on four occasions in the past but I won’t hesitate in future.
With a temperature at 600m ASL of 3 degrees C, the cooling effect of the strong wind favoured quick walking. This was not the case for activating however. Discounting NP6 - Great Shunner, none of the summits had any shelter which could be considered more than vaguely effective especially because a VHF antenna must be at the top of the hill for best effect.
Regrettably, the simple approach resulted in a very modest number of QSO`s.
The mileage walked when added up surprised me as apart from a little foot pain, there were no ill effects. Walking around the Scarborough area (including over the HuMP Olivers Mount) on a daily basis must have had a good effect along with 25 pounds shed following the mention of the wordcholesterol` during a checkup in December. I hope I can keep this up but it only takes a couple of weeks of inactivity for half your fitness to disappear.
What helped too were the barely noticeable pack weights and literally hours saved by not putting on multi-band, multi-mode high power HF. The one HF-QRO effort was minimised by the (newly found) short distance to NP24. The emphasis on walking is so refreshing. It was really nice to be on Top Band again though I regret that despite my best efforts Mike EI2CL failed to get a 160m QSO, though he does appear in the 40m log.
There were no other walkers on any summit apart from NP18 which is popular because of the stone stacks. I carried some rock samples back from there. The first two tops were in cloud which thankfully cleared not to return, apart from 10 minutes on NP6.
The Kenwood TM702-T, 25 Watt FM Mobile rig and 6Ah Li-Po Battery combined once again to easily cover the first four activations. At 1.4kg the rig is rather heavy. Nick G4OOE told me that Colin G4UXH has a more powerful mobile 2/70 rig; an FT90 which is not much more that a third of the weight. Interesting!
The X1M HF-QRP rig did not feature today. Though weight isn`t one of them, it has a few shortcomings but I think as a spare/ backup rig, these can be lived with.
Thanks to ALL STATIONS WORKED. Apologies for short QSOs. This was down to wind chill and the need to move on, to say nothing of fitting in all the activations. Thanks go to the spotters: G4WHA; G4OBK; G0VOF; G4SSH; OM1AX; G4UXH; EI2CL and for telephone liaison to Roy G4SSH. I hope to get out one final time before thesummer recess.`
73, John G4YSS.
(Using GX0OOO/P; Scarborough Special Events Group Club Call)
