Activity Summary | Weather |
Date 2nd October 2025 Distance: 7.16 km Ascent: 432m Max Altitude: 623m Moving time: 2:07 Total time: 3:54 | Cloudy Temperature 13 ℃ Humidity 93% Feels like 10 ℃ Wind Speed 14.0 km/h Wind Direction SSW |
Equipment Used
- 4000 mAh LiFePO4 battery
- Icom IC705
- Flower pot 2m antenna
- 40m EFHW antenna
- SOTABEAMS Carbon 6 pole
- PoLo logging app on iPad mini
Parking Location What3Words
///soups.nation.minivansActivation Report
The parking spot is just off a single track road at SH6833 3360, this seems to part of some old mine or quarry workings. The information about this route, and the parking, was found on the SOTA resource page for the summit.
At 09:25 I was walking the short distance along the single track road. You soon reach the point, just before the farm, where you turn right and start walking up the track. The track is fairly well defined for most of the way, although there is the odd short boggy section. The track eventually turns into a faint path, just as you turn NW for the final ascent. The path passes through a gap in the wall, this makes a good landmark for the descent. I soon arrived at the summit and was immediately hit by strong winds. Although it was a little hazy, I could still enjoy the view looking down on the estuary at Porthmadog.
I setup my station with the IC705 in a slight hollow, this gave me a just enough shelter from the wind. I deployed the 40m EFHW using the carbon 6 pole, positioned next to the summit cairn. I started on 20m, but it turned out that HF propagation was the worst I had experienced this year. I logged 4 QSO’s on 20m, and that was after turning the preamp on. Unfortunately, there was a S2S station calling me, but I just couldn’t hear them well enough to complete the QSO. I did try 40m, but did not manage any contacts. I then swapped to 2m using the IC705 and a flowerpot antenna, again on the carbon 6. I only managed a further 2 contacts on 2m, one to Anglesey and the other to Wicklow in Ireland. So in total only 6 QSO’s, better that the 4 QSO’s required to qualify the summit, but a little disappointing in radio terms.
I packed my gear away and enjoyed the views, whilst eating my lunch before heading back to the car.
The interactive map below shows a track of the route taken. You can zoom in or out to change the scale. The map can also be shown in full screen. The GPX track can also be downloaded using the link below the map.
Download file for GPS