Drygarn Fawr Hike - GW/MW-003 SOTA (2020)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Thursday 17th December, 2020.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Drygarn Fawr, Mid Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/MW-003 (4+3 points).
Summit Height: 645m elevation, 257m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 52.21214, -3.66571. Maidenhead Grid IO82ef.
Distance: 13.0km travelled with 466m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T1.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 2hr 55m (including operating).
Weather: Feels like 2.8°C, 15 kph SSW wind, 99% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, Diamond SRH770S, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 5 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Drygarn Fawr, located in Powys, Wales, is one of Mid Wales' highest peaks at 645 meters above sea level. South of the Elan Valley Reservoirs, it rises above the Cambrian Mountains' moorland plateau and features two large cairns at its summit. The mountain has a gentle cone shape with some rocky outcrops around the top. Access to the summit can be achieved via two main paths, both of which traverse wild moorland and peat bogs, which can become difficult to navigate, especially after wet weather.

On this mid-December Thursday, I would complete three separate hill walks, activating the summits of Drygarn Fawr, Llan Ddu Fawr and Pen y Garn for the SOTA program.

Starting from a layby off a minor road to the northeast of Drygarn Fawr, I followed a linear route directly up to the summit. I elected not to walk up the shorter route from the south-west due to reading quite a few reports of aggressive dogs at the farm near Llannerchyrfa.

The path initially crossed some boggy sections before reaching the open moorland slopes of the mountain. Though indistinct in places, the route was marked by occasional quad bike tracks and fenceposts which aided navigation in the misty conditions.

As I gained elevation, the grassy ridge narrowed and the wind picked up, adding to the wintry feel. Passing some small rocky tors, I soon reached the broad, flat summit plateau. Here I found two large quartz-topped cairns and a trig pillar marking the high point. The views were unfortunately obscured by low clouds, but on a clear day the vista takes in much of Mid Wales and the Cambrian Mountains.

I set up my portable station in the lee of one of the cairns for some shelter from the cold breeze. Once on the air, I quickly made five contacts on the 2m band. For this activation I was using a Diamond SRH770S antenna as I had recently broken yet another MFJ Long Ranger antenna. It didn’t seem to mind being driven beyond specification at 50 watts - the cold weather probably helped. The activation was brief partly due to the wet weather and partly due to today being a three-hill day. With the pressure off after a successful activation, I retraced my steps north-eastward off the mountain, dropping back down to the start point.

Despite the dreary weather, Drygarn Fawr provided an enjoyable hike and allowed me to experience the quiet solitude of the Elenydd moorlands in winter. I would recommend this hill to other hikers and I look forward to returning in better weather to fully appreciate the expansive views this peak has to offer.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Drygarn Fawr on Thursday 17th December, 2020.

Walking Route for Drygarn Fawr

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Drygarn Fawr. The GW/MW-003 summit area is marked on the map with a blue pin icon.

You can download the route shown above as a GPX file suitable for use with most GPS devices. This file is provided for information only, to support your own walk planning and research (it may contain navigation errors, detours and/or safety hazards). The route downloads provided here are governed by the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.

Station Log

I logged the following 5 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/MW-003 Drygarn Fawr on Thursday 17th December, 2020 (all times shown are UTC):

In the notes field I will usually log the other operator’s name and the signal report they provided. In accordance with the Summits on the Air rules, I do not make a log entry where a complete exchange of callsigns and signal reports was unsuccessful.

Additional Information

The following resources may be helpful to walkers, mountaineers and SOTA activators interested in Drygarn Fawr:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/MW-003 Drygarn Fawr.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Drygarn Fawr.
• Google Earth view of Drygarn Fawr.
• Wikipedia entry for Drygarn Fawr.
• 360° Panorama near summit of GW/MW-003 Drygarn Fawr.

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