Great report @MM0EFI Fraser! It was a cracking day out, excellent company and a pleasure activating with you. Couldn’t of wished for a better trip, and to end with one of Mo’s amazing Currys 
thanks Mo! Will deffo be coming up the road again soon for another adventure!
73, GW4BML. Ben
Thanks Jon - it was a great hike!
73, GW4BML. Ben
Thanks @M0WIV John, it was very satisfying to complete the route, and what a day it was! Hope your keeping well.
73, GW4BML. Ben
Hi Ben,
Yes I did enjoy the activation. My plan was to go early, that is not unusual, but to complete prior to the rain forecast for late afternoon. Looking at your equipment you are very well equipped and your radio equipment matches your mountain craft.
Many years ago I walked from the Llyn of Dee to Aviemore via the Lairig Ghru. Having driven from Aviemore at silly o’clock, I had to change a flat tyre before my wife could drive back!
When I was approaching my 1000 activation points, I booked a trip with a friend of mine and we activated GM/ES-001 and the following day GM/ES-002.
Here are a couple of pictures from that trip in 2018:
On Cheviot I worked 28 stations on 40, 10 on 30m and 18 on 20m plus a good handful on 2m.
My equipment, FT857 running 50W to inverted vee link dipole at 5m and IC92D running 6W
to end fed dipole at 6m and 10Ah of Lipo.
I was not aware of the poor HF propagation.
Regards
David
G0EVV
David, Thanks for the QSO! I forgot to mention it in the report. We’d descended around 100m from the summit of Ben Macdui and heard your CQ come through on Bens handheld. He passed it to me so we could have the contact. So, it was just the HT plus whip at our end.
There is a great path from The Cheviot to the Cairngorms, as @MM0FMF said earlier in this thread and I’ve worked that summit on more than one occasion now just using a handheld plus whip.
73, Fraser
So many SOTA summits are LOS to Macdui
These are just a few of them.
As is Scafell Pike G/LD-001 at nearly 300km. Do-able with a handheld and whip.
I’m actually surprised that Ben didn’t pick up some LD summits on Saturday as there were a few Activators out on these hills.
It’s not true LOS but probably readily workable because on average radio paths end up 4/3*LOS distance.
Longest UK LOS is Merrick GM/SS-028 to Snowdon GW/NS-001 at 232km
heywhatsthat.com agrees with you, obviously!
Thank you very much Ron - it was certainly a great day out 
73, GW4BML. Ben
Check this site out Fraser for LOS views. It’s full of wonderful stuff.
Hi Geoff, the day was thoroughly enjoyable! Thanks for your kind words.
73, GW4BML. Ben
It is! Next time I’m up Morven I’ll be looking for Ben Wyvis! Thanks for this.
Hi @G0EVV David, I’m glad you enjoyed your activation. The wx was cold so you did well to hang around on the summit for two of our activations - thank you very much!
After trying quite a few different 2m FM setups on the mountains (including home made antennas), I find my Yaesu FT-65e hand-held connected to the slim-g (made by spectrum communications) on a 4m pole works the best and has good reports. As for HF, I now use the new Xiego X6100 running into a home made linked dipole, that also seems to work well.
Looking at your photos, it looks like you had a good time on ES-001 and ES-002. Well done on the 1000 points, it takes some doing! I’m looking forward to hitting my MG, it’s been great fun so far!
I agree with your comment reference the Cairngorm Plateau, I’ve activated and hiked/scrambled in Snowdonia park for years, but the Cairngorms are something else, very spectacular!
Again, thanks for both S2S contacts and I’ll listen out for you in the future.
73, GW4BML. Ben
That is a nice cycle Brian. Easy to White Bridge and do-able on single track up the west bank of the Dee for a couple of more km. The start of the walk can be wet, but a path soon appears. Unfortunately a subsidiary top needs to be climbed, however all worth it, as Ben Bhrotain sits on the edge of the massif and has great views all round.
An easy a 10 pointer as you’ll find round here.
