Pen y Garn Hike - GW/MW-004 SOTA (2020)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Thursday 17th December, 2020.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Pen y Garn, Mid Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/MW-004 (4+3 points).
Summit Height: 611m elevation, 194m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 52.37912, -3.76651. Maidenhead Grid IO82cj.
Distance: 5.7km travelled with 236m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T1.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 1hr 35m (including operating).
Weather: Feels like 7.2°C, 17 kph SSE wind, 89% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, Diamond SRH770S, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 6 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Pen y Garn is a mountain nestled in the Cambrian Mountains of Mid Wales, standing at 611 metres above sea level. The summit sits atop a 500-600m plateau, which notably includes the contentious Cefn Croes wind farm. A large stone shelter, which was hollowed out from the remains of an ancient burial cairn, marks the summit, accompanied by a trig point.

Accessing this remote hill presents its own challenges. The parking is extremely limited, with space for just one car on a narrow grassy verge. I was fortunate to meet a local who offered assistance, suggesting he could tow me out if my car became stuck in the long and wet grass.

The easy walking route begins by heading north from the parking area, following a grassy track through a gate. A gravel road soon appears, winding up the hillside. Midway, a small forest interrupts the ascent, with approximately one kilometre remaining to the summit after passing the woodland.

The weather was cool but not freezing, with overcast conditions not affecting visibility too much. Arriving at the substantial rock summit shelter, I quickly set up my Yaesu FTM100D radio for a 2-metre band activation.

In just over ten minutes, I made six contacts, including an enjoyable summit-to-summit (S2S) exchange with Neil and Karen, who were operating from Long Mynd G/WB-005. The activation was swift and successful, typical of a well-positioned VHF operation.

The rural isolation of Pen y Garn was apparent - no other hikers were encountered during the visit. While I would recommend this summit, potential visitors should be cautious about access. An SUV or 4x4 would be ideal, or alternatively, seek out alternative approach routes with more suitable parking.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Pen y Garn on Thursday 17th December, 2020.

Walking Route for Pen y Garn

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Pen y Garn. The GW/MW-004 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 6 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/MW-004 Pen y Garn 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 Pen y Garn:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/MW-004 Pen y Garn.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Pen y Garn.
• Google Earth view of Pen y Garn.
• Wikipedia entry for Pen y Garn.
• 360° Panorama near summit of GW/MW-004 Pen y Garn.

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