I knew it would be after 13:00… But it was 14:01 when I caught another fool on a hill (Snowdon) with my h/h while setting up the fiddly bits of the beam. 14:09 was the first 2m SSB into Fife, followed shortly by Hertfordshire. No other signals so went vertical with FM on the FT817 and got another 9 (GM, GW and G) including G8PNN.
Trig point on Sightly Crag, just inside North Cumbria
Scottish hills rising above mist in distance
Light was going to fade quickly so I had to move off, knowing the awful terrain already tackled on the way up. Clear sky and a rising moon proved lucky and mist threatened again. In the gloom, finding the bike could have been interesting but it was right there just as I was thinking about turning about to do another sweep.
Horizon of Lake District hills with Eden Vale full of mist
Misty N Tynedale and Redesdale
I left the car at 10:26, dumped the bike about 12:15 and arrived on Sightly Crag around 13:45. Left the Crag about 15:50 and back at the car at 18:00. Knackered but happy, the luke warm tea, chocolate bar and apple didn’t last long. Driving across to Otterburn in and out of mist with stars above was interesting before heading home for a tongue-lashing at 19:45!
Derek Smith
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