From
Knockiveagh
GI/MM-016, it was south to Rathfriland on the B10 and continuing
towards Rostrevor on the B25. However, just after Hilltown, we turned
right onto the Mullaghgariff Road which climbed high into this range of
western outliers of the Mournes. Jimmy, with the OSI Road Atlas of
Ireland, and the OSNI Mournes 1:25,000 sheet (a rare 1:25,000 map in
GI!) on his lap, carefully counted the tracks striking off into the
hills until identifying the one we required.
There was enough space to pull the car in at the side of the road near
the start of the track, and then it was simply a case of walking up said
track. The afternoon was cracking along on Sunday 30th March 2008, and
we climbed into field with the track. We tried a left at the T-junction
at J196258, but backtracked a few minutes later realising this to be
non-starter. The other direction, while dropping initially, soon bent
around to set up a logical final approach to the summit, and the fence
to be crossed had a tiny gate in it that could be stepped over.
.JPG)
It was quite nice on the summit, decent weather and a cracking view
across to the main cluster of the Mourne Mountains. That is where we
intended to be tomorrow. Although it was after 5pm local, I knew that
the intended last summit of the day - Carrigatuke
GI/CA-003 - was only a short and trivial walk, so I decided there
was time and opportunity to set up for 80m. Jimmy sent the spot while I
prepared the dipole antenna.
A good run was enjoyed on 3.557MHz CW with 13 stations worked. Also
heard calling, but not worked successfully, were ON4ON and F5NEP. Jimmy
then had a decent run of ten contacts on 3.660MHz SSB, and I tied the
ribbons with a single 80m SSB contact with Phil G4OBK.
.JPG)
.JPG)
We left the summit before 6pm local BST, and were back at the car
with another twenty minutes. Physically, this was turning out to be a
useful and appreciated "rest day", even though it contained four unique
summits. Since returning home, I was surprised to discover that this
summit had never been activated before, so I had the pleasant bonus of
picking up my first "first activation" for many years! Back in the car,
we headed over to Carrigatuke GI/CA-003 on the opposite side of the city of Newry.
Many thanks to the following stations, all worked on 80m with 5 watts:
| G4OBK |
Pickering |
Phil |
CW |
T |
| GI0RQK |
Ballyclare |
Colin |
CW |
T |
| G3OHC |
Selby |
Graham |
CW |
T |
| G4CPA |
Crosshills |
Geoff |
CW |
T |
| MX0BCQ/A |
Crosshills |
Geoff |
CW |
T |
| EI2CL |
Dublin |
Michael |
CW |
T |
| G4SSH |
Scarborough |
Roy |
CW |
T |
| GM4FAM |
North Kessock |
Cris |
CW |
T |
| ON4CAP |
Oostkamp |
André |
CW |
T |
| G3RDQ |
Stockbridge |
David |
CW |
T |
| GW0DSP |
Connahs Quay |
Mike |
CW |
T |
| G0NES |
Hollywood |
Don |
CW |
T |
| GM0AXY |
Edinburgh |
Ken |
CW |
T |
| G6MZX |
Thornton-in-Craven |
Geoff |
SSB |
J |
| GW0VMZ |
Merthyr Tydfil |
Alistair |
SSB |
J |
| GW7AAV |
Connahs Quay |
Steve |
SSB |
J |
| GI0RQK |
Ballyclare |
Colin |
SSB |
J |
| MM0USU |
Falkirk |
Andy |
SSB |
J |
| MW0IDX |
Kinmel Bay |
Roger |
SSB |
J |
| G4OBK |
Pickering |
Phil |
SSB |
T, J |
| GM4YMM |
Edinburgh |
Christine |
SSB |
J |
| G3OHC |
Selby |
Graham |
SSB |
J |
| G6LKB |
Ulverston |
Dave |
SSB |
J |
|
.jpg)
