Well I’m having a great holiday but decided against SOTA in the end. The region we’ve ended up in, EA7 Córdoba has four summits, three within sensible driving distance. Of the three only one has been activated, Tinosa, and that only once. I suspect from research that the other three don’t have marked trail paths. The problem with Tonisa is that it is a four hour hike to the summit from the nearest point on a trail, and with temperatures averaging 35°C even if I set off at 5am at first light I’d still only just be down at 1pm, with the temperature rising sharply around 10am.
It looks like a great summit and the place we are staying at is lovely, so I may look into a dedicated SOTA expedition when the weather is a little more forgiving!
In the meantime I’ve strung the 20m dipole up between our little dwelling and a nearby bush. Even at only 2m high I’ve been receiving American stations at S8 and had a few QRP contacts in the Canary Islands And Crete (EA7/M0NOM isn’t easy to get across sometimes!) From my own observations of band conditions and overheard on-air discussions we have been experiencing an unusually prolonged lift.
Get out there while the going is good!
Regards, Mark