Hi Paul, good to hear you are out and about again! Your expeditions with Gerald are meticulously planned, I know, so forgive me for pointing out that the “danger area” affecting the path up from Haynes Mill has been extended - in case that is helpful.
Lounging around at present waiting to have stitches out next week after minor op on leg…
73
Adrian
Nice report Paul Thanks for the contact, I’m sure we’ll have many more.
Stay safe and Best 73
Thanks Armin, I was certainly well pleased with my performance 
When planning ascents we generally use 4km/hr and 1 minute for ten metres of ascent which we normally manage to achieve or better, though for very long or arduous walks we might add a bit extra to take account of “photographic opportunities” 
In Alpine conditions the hour per 400m would seem to make sense 
Hi Brian, no probs sorry the activation was such a smash and grab…
Think we might be on opposite side of the hill?.. we were parked in Great Malvern itself, behind the Unicorn actually which was appreciated on the way down
Many thanks for listening Allan, sorry we didn’t make it unfortunately my setup was somewhat sub-optimal 
We’ll be doing 2m and HF from Rhinog Fach so should be a cert. I’ll watch out for your activation, a complete would be most welcome
Thanks for the heads up Adrian We’re actually planning to go up from the Llanfihangel side so think we should be OK. There’s a wonderful spooky section of what we’ve come to call the “Enchanted Forest” on that route up, hoping it’s not been felled… Hope your leg is fully healed soon
Many thanks Allen, good to work you. Sorry it was so difficult but you were my best DX Take care look forward to working you again.
Late update - due to poor weather forecast for tomorrow, the attempt on Great Rhos GW/MW-002 has been moved to Wednesday. Hope to catch some of you then!
73 Paul G4MD/G6GGP
Hi Paul.
Thanks for the s2s on Saturday - good to hear you out again.
Wednesday looks pretty good but cold so we will try Fan Fawr, SW-005 (using a route we have not tried before) so hope for a 2m s2s (and also 60m if I summon up the energy to carry the HF kit as I am finding weight a real problem now).
We were not best pleased at the promotion of Rhinog Fach as we had only done Y Lliwedd a few weeks earlier for me to complete NW. It will probably still be there to do next autumn 
Hope to catch you tomorrow; take care,
73,
Rod
I did Fan Fawr earlier this year. I took a fairly gentle route. There was one boggy bit but otherwise it wasn’t difficult.
Yes, John, never tried that one before - usually Storey Arms or the Craig Cerrig Gleisiad nature reserve route.
73,
Rod
Thanks to you Rod - it was a joy hearing you call in
Yes it’s going to be a tad bracing tomorrow! An s2s would be great we’ll be looking for you. Weight is an issue for me at the moment… we are just taking one set of HF kit with us this time to limit carrying (many thanks Gerald!) hence our unusual MO.
I’m looking at the silver lining! At least I (hopefully) get to do another unique before the next round of treatment 
Take care yourselves, hope to catch you tomorrow.
73 Paul G6GGP/G4MD
I have snook the HF linear into the backpack plus a couple of 4.2AH LiFePO4s so we can run 30 watts. If anyone Stateside is on 1300 - 1400z, then there’s a reasonable chance of a QSO on 20m. The dipole can be configured for 17m as well if that’s where the action is.
73, Gerald G8CXK aka G4OIG.
Great to work you!
You’re very welcome Martin many thanks for the call much appreciated 
Successful completion of the expedition to Worcestershire Beacon G/WB-009 gave the green light for a more rigorous challenge on my quest to activate the newly promoted Marilyn Rhinog Fach, GW/NW-078. Discussion with my long-time co-conspirator Gerald, G4OIG/G8CXK identified Great Rhos, GW/MW-002 as a suitable target. With the same walk-in distance but a bit less ascent, if I could make this one I would feel confident in tackling the main prize for both of us – a new unique and restoring our status of having activated all GW/NW
As I am still a little fragile following surgery a few weeks ago, Gerald kindly suggested we adapt our usual MO and share his equipment for HF working to reduce the weight I had to carry, an offer which I gratefully accepted. I would just have to take the FT60 and “RuckSack Special” to do 2m FM whilst Gerald was on HF. He also insisted on driving, which was much appreciated as I didn’t know what state I’d be in by the time we got down…
As usual, a detailed itinerary, this time with somewhat extended time allowances to allow for my uncertain performance, was prepared and agreed. Initially Monday 15th November was set as the day, but the forecast took a turn for the worse, promising clag and rain so we changed the date to Wednesday 17th, which proved to be a good move.
We both having tested negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday, Gerald duly arrived at my QTH at the allotted time on Wednesday morning. It was quite an emotional re-union - although we had been regularly in touch by Zoom, text and e-mail we had not seen each other in person since our last expedition to GM back in March 2020. After a quick coffee, we packed my kit into Gerald’s car and were on the road bang on time.
Due to recent changes to the extent of the “Danger Area” to the South of the summit, we decided to go from the North – a route we had both done a couple of times before. Gerald’s SatNav took us by an “interesting” route via Bridgnorth, rather than the more usual way via Bewdley and Clee Hill, but we arrived on time at the traditional parking spot (SO 1727 6727) just beyond the gate at the end of the narrow road from Llanfihangel Rhydithon, where we managed to tuck the car in off the track under the trees close to the gate. After a quick kit-up, we started off up the metalled but steep track a few minutes ahead of plan.
Beyond the first gate we encountered our first “hazard” – a cattle feeding station adjacent the track, surrounded by a herd of a couple of dozen brown cows, with some calves amongst them. We skirted round the herd on the badly-churned up grass without incident, a group of them breaking away and running up the hillside ahead of us. The rest of the track is fairly simple, a well-made farm track takes you to a pair of gates at SO17436685 – take the right hand one, then up the gentle incline till you see a pedestrian gate on the left (SO17506634) that takes you into the forest. A short path takes you to a forest road, turn right onto the road and carry on till you reach the highest point at SO17776578 where you branch left, uphill. The generally well-graded road gets a bit steep and rocky here, but soon levels out.
At SO18436499 take the path branching off to the right. Sadly this section of forest has been felled since our last visit When it was standing it was truly a wonder. The enormous size, close planting and drooping branches of the trees all covered in moss and the thick carpet of moss under them gave it a surreal fairy-story character, and we named it “The Enchanted Forest”, expecting Hansel and Gretel to emerge in front of us at any moment! All that remains of the magical scene is an enchanted lake – a foot-deep puddle consuming the track which requires a detour round it’s banks to avoid wet feet A short way beyond this is the gate which gives onto the open moor beyond, and a clear path takes you to the trig point. Beware of deep waterfilled ditches beside the path, cunningly concealed beneath lush vegetation – I managed to go nearly knee deep into one, though fortunately boot and gaiter limited water ingress to a tolerable degree.
In deference to my recovering state we’d allowed two hours for the ascent, and I was pleased to discover we’d done it in 1hr 43min. The trig is sat on a plinth raised above the surrounding ground level, and I quickly commandeered this for a comfortable seat for myself, sitting on the East side to get shelter from the stiff breeze that was blowing from the West. A quick inspection of the trig revealed no cap and the hole was clear, with a couple of re-usable cable ties just below the choke coil to stop it going too deep my RSS sat nicely in the trig and with a quick plug-in to the FT60 made for an almost-instant setup.
Meanwhile Gerald started to set up a rudimentary shelter using his large tarp to provide some respite from the cold wind. Once he had this in place, he set up his 60/40/30m link dipole close by, doing a bit of bog hopping to get around the ponds of water on the summit.
Despite the quick set-up, by the time I’d snacked and made myself comfortable half an hour had passed, and my first contact at 11.55 was Rick, M5RJC followed quickly by S2Ss with Richard, MW0GWG/P on GW/MW-034 Mynydd Cynros and Viki, MW6BWA/P on GW/SW-005. Ben GW4BML gave me the fourth qualifying contact 10 minutes in. I’ve not used 2m FM much before, but I am warming to it! Eight further calls came in over the next 30 minutes, including Viki’s other half Rod, MW0JLA/P also on GW/SW-005, and non-SOTA operator Stu GW7HJN/P who was on Mynydd y Betws (though he didn’t know it was GW/SW-028!) testing a new portable antenna set-up. Initially I was excited by the thought of another S2S, but when entering the log I realised I’d not checked whether Stu was operating within SOTA rules so didn’t claim it. Stu if you’re reading this and you were operating without any connection to your vehicle let me know!
After being passed the mic for a quick chat with Viki. MW6BWA/P, Gerald got started on 30m CW. A couple of CQs got the RBN into action and Lothar DL3HXX was first into the log. Then the chaos began. Everyone calling seemed to be intent on netting precisely on frequency and calling multiple times. The result was a loud monotone that lasted for almost a minute. All Gerald could do was wait to see if anyone opportunely chipped in their callsign once the frequency went quiet. Usually this invoked others to respond so all that was received was a few letters, sufficient to initiate contact under most circumstances, but quite a few callers were not listening attentively. This made the going very difficult. However, Gerald managed to wade through the mire and complete 31 QSOs in 35 minutes before the frequency eventually went quiet at 1247. It was obvious that some callers had given up, either due to lack of time or in disgust…. hopefully not at Gerald’s operating.
Last in my 2M FM log was long-time SOTA compatriot Frank, G3RMD. Gerald had just finished taming his unruly pile-up on 30m, so I passed the mic to him for a chat with Frank before he changed the dipole links for 60m and handed control of his HF station to me. The band was very noisy (S6/7) but signals were good and flattened it well. Andrew, G4AFI came straight back to my initial call on 5.3985, followed by ace chaser Don, G0RQL. I passed the mic to Gerald (who was now eating his dinner!) to pass his regards to Don, then continued to make another dozen calls including G, GI, GM, and EI and best DX for the day Mick, LB6BG near Stavanger. Last call was Steve, G4CWS at 1334 and when the channel went quiet I handed the HF station back to Gerald to check out 20m, while I snacked again and packed up.
Conditions on 20m CW did not seem to be as good as they had been on 30m earlier. First into the log on the band was Guru EA2IF followed by Mirko S52CU, both of whom Gerald had worked earlier on 30m. Just 6 were worked in 10 minutes, the last caller being Gary K3TCU who unfortunately did not respond to Gerald’s report, probably on account of conditions having worsened. After this Gerald decided to pull the plug as it was now 1355.
We were both packed and ready to leave by 1420, spot on time and the descent was an uneventful reverse of the ascent. Having made good time, we had a chance to take in our surroundings on the way down 
The cows were absent this time, but the deep slough of their ordure remained to be forded… fortunately a large puddle in the track below allowed for a good washing of boots before changing back into civvies.
All in all it had been a successful and highly enjoyable expedition, and I am forever indebted to Gerald for his continuing friendship, support and encouragement through what has been a very difficult time for me. And for the pictures in this report Our next outing would be our attempt on Rhinog Fach, GW/NW-078 – watch this space!
Thank you, Paul, for this nice report with pictures. Very nice to see where you were operating from when Gerald and I made our QSOs on 30 and 20m.
I’m glad that you seem to be recovering well from your recent surgery and I hope all those problems will be definitely left behind for ever. You are blessed with Gerald’s friendship and you know it.
I’ll be looking forward to your next joint activation report.
73,
Guru
Great report Paul and photos. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers Geoff vk3sq
Thanks for a lovely activation report. I wasn’t able to get to my radio, it sounds like I missed a fantastic weekend. I look forward getting you in the log on your adventures in the future.
73, Kevin
Hi Paul, what a great reports! As a newcomer to SOTA they are very inspiring and hope to catch you on air soon.
73, Lea M0XPO
Thank you Paul & Gerald for the dual outing absolutely great to work you again Paul. Thanks for the great wright up and pics and trust you both really enjoyed your day out like old times.
Look forward to the next, take care and stay safe both of you. 73 Don.
Guru, Geoff, Kevin, Lea and Don,
Many thanks for your lovely comments they are much appreciated Hope to work you all in the not too distant future!
Report on Rhinog Fach, GW/NW-078 to follow…
73 Paul
With the successful activation of Great Rhos behind me, I was keen to get on and activate Rhinog Fach GW/NW-078. With further medical appointments potentially crowding the calendar, I suggested to Gerald G4OIG that we might find a day during week commencing Sunday 21st November. Looking at a range of weather forecasts, it seemed that Tuesday 23rd would be the best day of the week. Certain media channels were forecasting a new ice age for later in the week.
We had again developed an MO to minimise the weight I would carry, I would use Gerald’s HF antenna setup to run 60m while he did 2m ssb, then he would take over on HF while I did 2m FM. This avoided the need for me to carry antenna, pole and ATU and I also ditched the FT60 that I’d carried on 500+ activations and used on about 3. In addition I went through the rucksack discarding numerous bits and pieces that had accumulated over the years and which I thought would be surplus to requirements; an action which would come back to bite me later in the day.
Making reference to Gerald’s previous activation of the summit back in 2019, when the summit was considered to have a prominence of less than 150 metres and was therefore part of the HEMA scheme, an itinerary was drawn up for the outing. Following further consideration of the route and in deference to my health situation, the timings were extended somewhat and agreed. This would involve Gerald in an early start and a late return, but he indicated that this was fine by him. After all, we had often had even earlier starts to our outings over the years!
It was 05:15 when Gerald arrived at my house and a very quick turn-around enabled us to get on our way just 8 minutes later. The journey took all of the 2 hours and 40 minutes that the satnav had indicated on account of slow traffic on some sections. On arriving at the parking spot near Graigddu-isaf, we wondered whether we were at the right place or whether we should be further on. The landscape had changed considerably since our activation of Rhinog Fawr GW/NW-023 in December 2009. Back then there had been quite a bit of felling of the forest, new trees now 3m tall having been planted in their place. Fortunately an information board announcing that “we were here" gave us confidence that we were indeed in the correct parking spot.
It was just 4 degrees at the parking spot, but with virtually no breeze it did not feel cold. We set off along the forestry track at 08:30, soon passing the farm where the farmer was in a field nearby with his dog, the only person that we were to see all day. The initial part of the ascent was easy… perhaps too easy as we made a rare navigational error, missing a turn-off on the forest tracks and had to backtrack a short distance, but we were soon making reasonable progress out to the bend in the track where the path to Bwlch Drws-Ardudwy is signposted. After fighting our way past the buddleia that was invading the generally well-made path and passing through a gate in the wall that marked the edge of the forest we entered a very wet section that had been upgraded with large stone slabs, beyond which the path deteriorated to a mix of boggy and stony stretches.
We knew that the path up the hillside started at the cairn marked on the OS map and this eventually came into sight. At the wall just before the cairn a path makes its way down to the valley bottom and over another wall thence on to the steep pull up the hillside. I took the opportunity to stash a bottle of water close to the point where the path started and then we crossed the wall to begin the steep ascent. The path, if you can describe it as such, wandered hither and thither across the hillside and was strewn with stones and boulders of all sizes, boggy in places and drier in others, the only consistent factor being the unrelenting steepness.
In quite a number of places a large step up was required. I soon found this somewhat challenging as I have had issues with nerve pain and weakness in my right leg which limited my movement and the result was that it took a considerable amount of time to negotiate this section of the walk, Gerald patiently waiting behind at each stage. We both found our walking poles a great help.
After this first steep section, the ground flattened out and the going was easier for a while, but higher up there was another steep section, though thankfully this was somewhat drier than the lower section. Progress remained slow and we were both aware of the fact that we were getting behind schedule. I suggested that Gerald go ahead and start his activation, but being the good friend he is, he refused to leave me. The top section of the walk is over a series of undulations, and it wasn’t until these final few hundred metres that he agreed to go and set up the HF dipole ready for me when I reached the summit. He reached the summit cairn at 12:00, precisely the time that we should have started our activation.
I arrived at the summit at 12:16 to find the dipole ready and waiting for me and, to boot, a flat stone arranged for me to sit on. Gerald had started to set up for 2m SSB a few metres away. He would use the HF dipole later when I had finished my session on 60m.
On checking the GPS the distance walked was 6km, over 1km further than predicted when I put the route on the usually quite accurate OSMaps routing application – testament no doubt to the wandering nature of the path at a level not reflected on the map.
I quickly settled down, set up my station and took a listen on 5.3985MHz, the frequency I’d alerted for. It was in use, so I moved up to 5.4035 and my query as to whether the frequency was in use got an immediate response from super-chaser Don, G0RQL who was waiting for me there, having recalled my usual MO. After a pleasant chat, he kindly spotted me and a run of stations commenced, Rod M0JLA providing the fourth contact to qualify the summit for me. Throughout the run QRM from RTTY a bit above my frequency had been troublesome, so when things went quiet after I worked Ian, G4WTF I took the opportunity to QSY to the now-clear 5.3985. for some reason I couldn’t access SOTAwatch from my phone to place a spot, and I couldn’t remember the format of message to use Andy ‘FMF’s excellent SMS spotting facility but despite the lack of a spot I managed to work a further six stations, finishing with David, M0NMI in Swindon and going QRT at 13:18.
To avoid having to carry two large poles, Gerald had utilised his walking poles to support his 5 element beam. Thankfully the lack of wind at the summit allowed him the strap the pole handles together with a couple of tie wraps and a small extension created a guying point. He later declared that he still had some work to do on this system to make it stable enough for when there was a breeze… Mike G4BLH/P was waiting to pounce and made it first into Gerald’s log at 12:37 on the usual frequency of 144.333MHz, no CQ being required! Signals were excellent and Gerald went on to work 9 on 2m SSB, good friend Don G0RQL appropriately qualifying the summit for him.
It was 13:20 when Gerald finished on 2m and after agreeing that it was changeover time, I recovered all the bits of kit I had taken out of my backpack and moved up to the summit while Gerald lowered his 2m antenna, packed it away and connected his feeder to the HF dipole.
I set up my RSS antenna by simply wedging it between rocks on the summit cairn, being thankful for the unusual lack of breeze which made this possible and assisted in maintaining my comfort despite the exposed operating position. After setting up the rest of my station and having a lunch of a few cereal bars and a glug of icy water, I was ready to call on 145.500. I was spotted by Simon, G4TJC at 13:47 though I didn’t work him – thanks Simon! First call was from regular chaser John GW4ZPL, followed by a QSY to 145.525, which frequency I didn’t need to leave for the rest of my activation. Calls came in steadily until 14:02, when I was amazed to hear Ian, GI0AZB/P calling me for an S2S from GI/MM-005. Sadly I wasn’t able to work Ian’s other half Esther, GI0AZA who was mobile below the summit.
No sooner had I signed with Ian than Nick, G4OOE/P called for another S2S from The Calf, G/NP-013 and I also worked Dave, G3TQQ/P who was on the same summit. A further three calls completed the log, including old friend Derek, 2E0MIX and when the frequency went quiet, I went QRT at 14:30
Meanwhile, after changing the links on the dipole to 30m, Gerald started on 10.124MHz CW, the RBN quickly doing its job of spotting him. Pasi OH1MM was first into the log and then everybody else arrived! Thankfully, the session was very pleasurable with callers sending their callsign only once and a number calling slightly off frequency which certainly made it easier to read calls. In all 20 were worked on the band around OH, DL, SP, F, S5, SM, OE, EA7, LZ and even GM. The 30m session ended at 14:00, whereupon Gerald decided that it was lunchtime and started to consume his smoked salmon starter, ham and tomato main course and orange chocolate biscuit sweet course, all prepared by his XYL. Who says this SOTA activating business is tough?
I was still working a steady run on 2m FM when Gerald finished his lunch, so he changed the dipole links again and called on 40m CW. It took a while to get a reply as he was now outside the RBN parameter set on the alert (S+2). Thankfully Mirko S52CU found him and after the QSO placed a spot on SOTAwatch. Once this had appeared there were a number of callers from around DL, EA2, PA, I, G, F, OK and OH to add another 10 contacts to the log, Marcel DM3FAM calling in to make contact on both 30m and 40m. A quick check on the spots showed that Louis HA5AZC/P was QRV on 30m, so he got up and made a quick change of links once again and the S2S was soon in the bag, after which he went QRT at 14:37.
In the excitement of the activation, time had run away with us and it was 15:00 when we started our descent, an hour and ten minutes later than planned. The upper section of the mountain is criss-crossed by many paths, and identifying the correct way down is difficult. I suggest anyone doing this hill take very careful note of the reverse route on the way up, and preferably use a tracking GPS to retrace their steps. Despite this, and Gerald having built a distinctive mini-cairn at the top of the steep descent, I managed to overshoot and cost us minutes that would be precious later in the day.
As much if not more care was required to descend the steep sections as had been on our ascent. Once again the walking poles came in very handy, particularly on the steep step ups, which were of course now step downs and potentially more hazardous. A few times I had difficulty negotiating these obstacles. With darkness upon us, it was with a measure of relief that we reached the wall and the gently sloping track back towards the car. I thankfully recovered the bottle of water stashed on the ascent and took a good swig before we set off.
Unfortunately we were now even further behind schedule and our head torches had been removed from our packs in deference to weight considerations. We had certainly not expected to be this late. By now my legs were protesting severely and it required a Herculean effort to put one foot in front of the other, let alone lift them over the stones in the path. We navigated by instinct and what little our eyes could make out, the cloud cover obscuring any assistance that the moon may have provided. Several times I wandered off the track into the heather and grass with somewhat unpleasant results.
Part way along Gerald took over the lead and managed to walk straight into one of the boggy sections - thankfully not above gaiter level, but almost! He said it stank awful… Where awkward sections were encountered, Gerald pointed them out to me, and we were relieved when we eventually reached the slabbed section of the path. As the route of the path is very straightforward I had not had recourse to check our position on my GPS and neither had Gerald checked his. Doing this belatedly reminded me (d’oh) that my phone had an LED torch on it and we used this to help us along the forest track back to the car which was reached at 18:30.
The journey home was straightforward, Gerald driving whilst I intermittently napped. I consumed an inordinate number of cereal bars en route and felt reasonably okay when we arrived at 21:26. Due to the late hour Gerald did not stay as is customary for a drink, but set off after phoning his XYL to update her on the situation. Closure of the M6/M1 motorway junction created a further delay for him and it was 23:18 when he eventually reached home. He assures me that this is not the latest return from a SOTA outing…
Obviously things went wrong on this expedition, largely due to my obsession with activating the new Marilyn which skewed my judgement and took Gerald and myself into a potentially dangerous situation. Fortunately on this occasion we prevailed, thanks to Gerald’s selfless assistance for which he has my undying thanks. He’ll be glad to hear the lesson is well learned and I hope we’ll get the opportunity to activate safely another 500 summits together.
I’m not sure what comes next, it’ll depend on the results of further tests, scans and consultations over the next few weeks but be assured I’ll be back out on whatever hills I can safely tackle just as soon as possible!
Last but not least… Many thanks to Gerald for the photographs
73 Paul G4MD/G6GGP
PS Viki, if you’re still with me hope the info on the route is adequate if not please message Gerald or myself
It’s always a great pleasure to get out on a joint activation with you Paul, indeed ever since our first outing in August 2007 when we hit it off on day one. I’m pleased that despite the difficulties, we got this one on our score sheet and I look forward to activating many more with you in the future. 
