Status this morning before setting off in the car:
Before even putting a finger to a keyboard, I’d half considered sending the SOTA MT a quick note to say that this wasn’t a hoax, I was actually going to make an activation attempt, my last teetering on 2 years ago, some time in 2024.
I play in the hills reasonably often enough, but usually am up there for other things so an activation attempt isn’t really something I can factor in to a training run. Hence I spend a lot my time either chasing SOTA if possible, or out and about doing POTA (and also now LLOTA) but also trying to chase SOTA if I can when out /P.
Today was a little different as I was out in the hills for the first time in 2026 on a 90 minute trail run. It was the first time back at Kilmashogue Forest (the base entry point for me to get up to Two Rock (Fairy Castle).
I’ve been up this route about 962 jillion times before, usually I do the full Fairy Castle/Two Rock, Ticknock and Forest loop (about 13km) but I cut it short today to around 11km and avoided the full loop and drop down to the forest and back round. One because it was my first run back in the hills and two the conditions changed fairly quickly making it tough to see past the low mist if I was to drop down the other side of Two Rock to the forest entry. The smell of forest and greenery in there is unreal, highly recommended on early Summer mornings by the way. Better to play it safe than fall, twist/break something and end up in trouble and end my season before it even starts.
On the way up I spotted a hole that was dug out (either that or a tree had been cut and stumped). It reminded me of the snow shelter @MM0EFI and @GM5ALX dug out on a recent activation (minus the white, icy stuff). I paused briefly to take a quick snap of it as I think SOTA UK’s resident Bert and Ernie would’ve appreciated it! 
The summit was exceptionally busy today. I’ve never seen anything like it. Packed to the rafters with wave after wave of cub scouts, scouts, girl guides and all the rest of it. Imagine the film World War Z but with scouts and guides clamouring to a massive pile up at the summit!
There were also lots and lots of HUNDS! So I had to stop and pet as many as I could on the way up. Most important! Some of them even came for a run with me when the trail flattened out after the mountain bike trail platform (keen MTB’ers will love this area as it has dedicated MTB trails for you to enjoy, very popular).
What started as a mix of sun and cloudy skies quickly became overcast, and as I approached the summit the mists and slight drizzle descended.
I gave it a wide berth initially and went to the other false summit across the way, just before the drop down to the forest entry point below (anyone who wants to run Run The Line in November would do well to practice on this trail).
Here’s a couple of scenery snaps on the way up. No snaps of the summit (though I did the mandatory hand slap on top of the trig) as it was packed with kids, so to take photos would be inappropriate.
After a quick rest on the ‘other summit’ which was baren and which I had all to myself, I sat for a bit and supped on my drink mix, made peace with the world for a couple of minutes and then trotted off to double back on myself towards the activation point. I then sent out a pre-configured spot, fired up PoLo (which I also pre-configured in case of signal loss at the car park, good job I did too) and got to work.
I really wasn’t expecting much for some reason. It was a Sunday, and around lunch. The smell of a dozen carveries and draught beer wafting across Ireland to lead people to dinner tables in their droves and away from radios was what went through my mind. I raised the trusty Diamond RH-770 and fired up the Yaesu FT-65 (my favourite HT donkey, it just never lets you down - one of Yaesu’s finest hours in my opinion, a wonderful HT).
What a wonderful surprise it was to get so many lovely responses to my calling CQ SOTA on 145.500!
I had 4 in the log within a couple of minutes, and 12 QSO’s in the log, all 2m FM, within 23 minutes. That included a couple of QSY’s and a switch over to 70cm then back to 2m to finish.
With 4 in the log that confirmed the activation but also confirmed the complete as I had chased this summit in 2024. Double result today so!
Here is a little map of all the QSO’s I made today:
And the summit reference (I’ll upload my log in a bit)
I had great success on 2m, highlights being a lovely S2S with @GW7HEM and some QSO’s over in Northern Ireland too! There were also people looking for me from NI and Wales that other chases told me about but I couldn’t hear them alas. I did keep trying though just in case they broke through.
I think I heard a GW station on 70cm but it didn’t break through enough to get a QSO confirmed. I did keep trying though.
Between switching bands I had a quick scan to 145.525 and forgot that the IRTS weekly news report was being broadcast by @EI0IRTS so I stopped by there and waited for stations to be called and checked my name in the log.
I always try to check in to the news on a Sunday or Tuesday night if I can, it’s important (in my opinion) and people give up their free time to provide the news for everyone so the least you can do is check in. It was a good job I did as after the news finished a few of the listeners to the news came and chased me when I went back on 2 meters again. Lovely stuff!
Who said 2 meters and 70cm are dead? Switch a radio on and GET YAPPIN’ and stop saying it’s all quiet and nobody cares any more. I scanned the band after going QRT and there was a good few folks yappin away across both 2 and 70. So quit moaning and switch your radios on! 
I was starting to shiver as the core temperature was dropping due to my standing still so I had to get moving again. After going QRT and having a quick scan for activity (shout out to Jeffrey @EI0TOG (club call) / @EI7IRB who was doing a POTA activation - don’t worry Jeffrey I’ll add you to my hunter log, great work activating Bull Island today sir!), it was time to get running again and back down to the car park.
World War Z was still ongoing as swarms of cubs/scouts/guides were all over the trails in both directions. I got a bit of a break though and after petting some more HUNDS! I managed to pick up some speed and get down to the car park again for a few hill repeats and then back to the car.
Time to call it a day and get back home. So after a quick wipe down, clean pants, a dab of Brut and a flask of tea, I switched on Tidal, queued up the greatest hits of the KLF and the new Lamb of God album and made my way back home.
Oh, and one other thing. I conducted an experiment while prancing around on the trails. As a keen fountain pen user, I wondered why Kaweco Sport fountains pens are called ‘Sport’ and if you could actually use them while doing sports?
Here’s the result:
Thanks to all of the chasers today that made this simple little FM activation attempt so much fun and so special to me, even the stations that were trying but I couldn’t heard.
Imagine what an hour glass antenna and some 270 SSB, CW and SSTV might do up here on Two Rock?
See you again for another activation report in 2028! 
