On 25th January 2003, we completed our second SOTA activation of The Cloud (locally known as "Bosley Cloud") in East Cheshire between Macclesfield, Leek and Congleton.  From the A523 (Leek to Macclesfield road), at Smithy Garage, turn East and follow the road round through WTL International (Bosley Wood Treatment for traditionalists and tug-o'-war fans), then take the second left.  Parking for about 4 cars is available on the right hand side of the road.  From here, walk up the steep access road and then up the stairway path signpost "Cloud Summit".  This is another quick and easy walk, so much so that once I got to the summit, realised I had forgotten my microphone, and nipped back down to the car to get it, delaying my start by around 10 minutes!  There is a trig point on the summit, and lots of big boulders to sit on.  There are some steep drops though, so keep an eye on the kids.

Thanks to the following stations, all worked on 2m FM with 2.5 watts:

On 30th July 2003, we came to reactivate The Cloud following an earlier and very wet reactivation of Gun SP-013.  The weather cleared somewhat, and we parked in the small area (for about 3 cars) at Cloudside. We walked the short distance up the track until we came to the concrete stairway that achieves most of the remaining ascent.  What a difference from winter with the nettles lurching menacingly over the stairs - and one got me on the back of the leg! We continued the short distance to the trig and I started setting up the SOTA Beam just as another huge downpour started - in fact much heavier even than the earlier one. And then, guess what - managed to yank a crocodile clip of the SOTA Beam feeder.   Decision time. Should I (a) use the rubber duckie to make a few contacts and clear off or (b) just clear off - no points in this one for me anyway?  I chose option (c) to press on and activate The Cloud with the SOTA Beam.  Couldn't find any knives or suchlike in my increasingly soaked rucksack, so I used my teeth to strip a bit more of the centre wire in the coax and loop the newly exposed wire through and around the hole in the crocodile clip.  It worked well though, and four contacts were made very easily. For some reason, it seems natural to still aim for a minimum of four, even on repeat activations where it makes no odds! Much more challenging was scribbling the details on one edge of the logbook, but keeping it away from the rain.  This was nigh on impossible, but I just about managed to get the details down in a very loose form of shorthand and prevent the pages from disintegrating completely, although a few got ripped and very wet, and had to be dried out in front of the fire later that evening!

   

For our descent, the path had gone and had been replaced by a stream, which we had to wade through to get back to the car. I always thought "squelch" was a control on my FT817, but now I know it also described what was happening with every step taken in my sodden walking boots and socks! I was soaked, but again Liam managed to escape the worst of it, and we came home!

Thanks to the following stations, all worked on 2m FM with 2.5 watts: