Essential info for activatorsTarget summit: 6 pointer YO/WC-006 "Piatra Secuiului" - www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/WC-006 Our Route: We climbed on the marked tourist path from Coltesti (blue cross). It's a steep climb, gaining over 500 meters in altitude in about one kilometer of trail. GPS Track: http://www.mopedmap.net/en/route/3544204-piatra-secuiului-yowc-006/ (download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data"). GSM coverage: Fair. Summit conditions: Open, grassy. Other info: Beautiful vista. Activity reportWe didn't plan to climb and activate Piatra Secuiului, but as soon as I saw how beautiful it is... I just couldn't resist it. In hind-sight, I'm not sure if I'd would've attempted it, knowing how painful it would be on the way back. We came from the south, on an alternative route between Sebes and Cluj Napoca. After passing throgh some nice vertical cliffs we saw Piatra Secuiului a few kilometers away, on the right. The first village we passed through was Coltesti. I checked the maps on my phone and Andrei did the same on his phone, looking for the best possible route. There seemed to be some trails so we decided to try it. In Coltesti there was no store open, so we couldn't buy bread or anything else. We had a couple of boiled eggs and some sausages with us, luckily. We managed to get closer to the foot of the cliff on a very muddy road. With the sausages and eggs quickly disposed of, we started up the incline. At first, the grassy trail seemed like any other in terms of steepness, but soon enough the climb got more and more vertical. The surface was a mix of grass, moist dirt and rock. Soon enough I overheated and stripped to my t-shirt, despite being the end of October. The climb was great and almost fun. In about a kilometer of walking, we've climbed 500 vertical meters. The trail at the top was on the relatively flat ridge of this little and spectacular mountain. But I had more trouble on that flat, grassy trail than on the actual climb. My ankle (yes, the ORIFed one) started aching badly from walking on that flat, yet irregular surface. After almost a kilometer or so, we got to the summit, which is marked by two concrete pillars. The weather closed in and, as we installed the rig, a few raindrops appeared. We got lucky, though, as rain didn't start. Made 33 QSO's in total, all in 14 MHz. No luck in 2m or 70cm bands. Met two guys who were climbing on the northern trail, from Rimetea. That path is even steeper, but also more spectacular. We turned back and left the summit on the same route we climbed on. The descent was brutal. The slippery dirt and loose rocks posed quite the threat on my bad leg. Thankfully, I got down safely, in great pains, but completely satisfied with the achievement.
0 Comments
Essential info for activatorsTarget summit: 1 point YO/WC-201 "Santimbru" - www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/WC-201 Our Route: Initially we wanted to start climbing from Santimbru village, but had to abort because of a highway construction that blocked our way (it was extra muddy because of all the machines working there). So we approached the summit from Oiejdea village, left the car on a grassy road and continued on foot. The hill top is easy to reach. GPS Track: www.mopedmap.net/en/route/3542429-sintimbru-yowc-201-vest/ (download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data"). GSM coverage: Good. Summit conditions: Mixed - open space and forested. Other info: Very easy to activate, nice view of the mountains to the west. Activity reportNot much to say about this one. It's very easy to activate. Grassy surface, probably grazed extensively in summer (beware of shepherd's dogs). Made contacts in 14 MHz only, 17 stations in total. The 2m and 70cm bands remained silent. We didn't linger for too long on the top because of two other summits scheduled for activation today. Essential info for activatorsTarget summit: 4 pointer YO/MC-197 "Dealul Furcilor" - www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/MC-197 Our Route: From Saliste we drove on the service road for the GSM antennas on top. The road is on dirt and gravel, some tricky sections. GPS Track: www.mopedmap.net/en/route/3544166-dealul-furcilor-yomc-197-short/ (download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data"). GSM coverage: Excellent. Summit conditions: Open, grassy, with some young birches. Other info: Nice place with cool views towards Sibiu, Fagaras Mountains, Trascau Mts and more, super easy to activate in good weather conditions. Activity reportAfter a well deserved one day break - mostly forced by non-stop rain - we resumed SOTA activities on the 25th, which turned out to be a great, sunny day. The walk to the summit was a little over a kilometer. Up top there are several GSM towers, but plenty of room and actually a nice place. The weather was exceptionally nice. In fact I think this was the longest activation in a while. We used 14 and 18 MHz. We also called in 145 and 433 MHz, but without luck. After we "got bored", we packed up and left. The car was parked next to a farm. When we wanted to turn around and go downhill, the car got suspended and it took us about half an hour to free ourselves. Andrei, the crafty one, jacked the rear wheel up, and with the help of a plank and some rocks, he lifted the car and managed to get us out. Essential info for activatorsTarget summit: 6 pointer YO/MC-246 "Magura Poienei" - www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/MC-246 Our Route: From Poiana Sibiului we've walked on the dirt road, as seen on the GPS track, then, after about 500 meters, climbed directly to the top on a shoulder. GPS Track: www.mopedmap.net/en/route/3544133-magura-poienei-yomc-246/ (download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data"). GSM coverage: Good. Summit conditions: Open, grassy, without shade nor wind cover (except from some shallow holes in the ground). Other info: Nice place with some cool views, super easy to activate in good weather conditions. Activity reportThe weather was pretty bad since early morning, but when we got on the top the rain started to pour down even harder. Despite knowing the ugly forecast, we were badly prepared and got soaked. We managed to stick the equipment into the tent sheet and made only a few QSO's in this avant-garde fashion. :P There were many stations calling, but the puddles formed on the sheet started to grow larger and we had to leave. Sorry about that! Essential info for activatorsTarget summit: 2 pointer YO/EC-628 "Pietricica" - www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/EC-628 Our Route: We used the dirt road that serves the summit tower. The summit is accessible by car, even though parts of the road are not in ideal condition. Half way up there's a monastery and we've left the car below that point and continued on foot. GPS Track: www.mopedmap.net/en/route/3542421-pietricica-yoec-628/ (download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data"). GSM coverage: Good. Summit conditions: Forested, broadleaved and pines. Other info: Nice, easy summit, some great views towards the city, the lake and the Ceahlau mountain. Activity reportNot much to say about this one. The view from the top is quite spectacular. The town of Piatra Neamt is visible below, and the lake, together with Ceahlau mountain in the background, are beautiful. Essential summit info for activators - YO/EC-511 ”Neamț”Target summit: 2 pointer YO/EC-511 "Neamt" - www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/EC-511 Our Route: We followed the road to the Neamt Fortress and left the car in the parking lots at the base of the hill. Continued on foot on a steep road, passed the fortress and took a forest trail. After a few hundred meters we made a left turn and continued on the ridge trail until we reached the summit. GPS Track: www.wandermap.net/en/route/3541722-neamt-yoec-511-scurt (download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data"). GSM coverage: Good. Summit conditions: Forested, broadleaved. Other info: We've found what seemed like bear droppings and a small ball of fur and bones regurgitated by an owl. Essential summit info for activators - YO/EC-623 ”Boiștea”Target summit: 2 pointer YO/EC-623 "Boistea" - www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/EC-623 Our Route: Our planned track had two possible routes; we used the west one for climbing and the east one for descending. There are dirt roads all the way to the top, multiple GSM operators are active in the area (about 4 towers). The eastern path is a bit trickier in driving terms, but poses no problem for trekking. GPS Track: www.wandermap.net/en/route/3541724-boistea-yoec-623/ (download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data"). GSM coverage: Excellent. Summit conditions: Mixed: open field and forested (broadleaved trees, pines). Other info: In the summer it probably is used for grazing. Beautiful vista. Activity reportAs my recently broken leg is pretty stiff and painful still, we chose the easy Neamt summit as our target. The climb was pretty short and didn't pose any serious problems. Marian was accompanying us on this trip. We activated the summit in 14 MHz only, having tried the 145 and 433 bands with no success. After an hour or so, we left and visited the fortress. Then we decided to activate the other nearby summit, Boistea. The day was beautiful and we still had plenty of time. This second "summit" was even easier to climb. It is crowded by GSM antennas, but didn't get much interference. This time we managed a couple of contacts in 145 MHz as well. (pics will be posted soon)
Essential summit info for activatorsTarget summit: 6 pointer YO/EC-380 "Runcu Boului" - http://www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/EC-380 Our Route: From Paltinu we drove on a gravel road up the mountain within "striking" distance. For me, with a broken leg and crutches, that's a few hundred meters. Check the map. GPS Track: http://www.wandermap.net/en/route/3531616-runcu-boului-yoec-380/ (download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data"). GSM coverage: Exceptional. There are several GSM antenna towers on the top, which can give you some QRM. In 14 MHz was OKish, even though "there were noises coming from the darkness, strange, like a whisper". Summit conditions: Open, grassy, with some scattered trees and hay-barn-thingies. Not much shade nor wind cover. Other info: Safe from bears and apparently there's not much grazing either. Easily accessible by car with some careful driving required. Activity reportBeing one of the easiest SOTA peaks and given my broken ankle, we thought of it as my get-back-in-the-game summit. That's a bit optimistic, since I'm a long way from being recovered and probably another 4 months or more from my first un-aided summit (which will be an easy one, no doubt). Moreover, soon I'm getting under the knife again, so this was my last chance for a summit in the immediate future. It turns out I was lucky: the grass was freshly mown and so my crutches didn't get stuck at every step. The distance from the car to the top was around 450 meters, which I covered in reasonable time. Radio-wise it was pretty chaotic, with the IOTA contest going on and the people who kept mistaken our SOTA activation for a IOTA contest station. We bagged a few contacts each (I got 9, Andrei got 12), all in 14 MHz, and call it a day. Back home my foot was swollen and ached, but I was satisfied. Essential info for activatorsArea code, name and location: YOFF-0263 "Fagetul Dragomirna" Padurea Patrauti - Natura 2000 site number ROSCI 0075, near the Dragomirna Monastery, Suceava. Access: The area is accessible by car and there are several entry points. The roads, although gravel, are well maintained and usable by any type of car (except maybe Formula 1). You can set up at one of the several convenient wooden bench-and-table halting places (two of them are at the Dragomirna or Patrauti entry points). Activity reportI coerced Marian to drive me to the activation spot. We've left Suceava around 10AM and by 11AM, with Marian's help, the rig setup was complete. Being my first FF activation and not being sure of the proceedings, I didn't announce it on the WWFF site, which showed. At first I called several minutes without any response, then tried to chase some random stations just to get a feel of how my antenna-station-location marriage worked. No success. I resumed CQ-ing and finally, after some 15 minutes, someone answered and I received a reassuring 59. I kept calling for about 2 hours and managed to bag 30 contacts in total. I made a sked contact with Andrei YO8SSQ, but the distance between us being about 15 km and in an unfavorable position, he could barely hear me. He gave me a signal report of 34 and I gave him 53. I only installed the 14 MHz antenna for this activation. We've packed and left around 1:30 PM and got home around 2 PM. Good weather, even if a bit hot for my taste. Essential info for activatorsTarget summit: 6 pointer YO/EC-360 "Bursunarul" - http://www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/EC-360 Our Route: We've left the car in the parking lot of Valeni Stinisoara's church (at the main road), the walked to the Suha Mare creek, crossed it and started the climb. The forest road is closed by a barrier, so there's no point in crossing the stream and risk to get stuck there. The mountain has some peculiar forest roads (the main one at the bottom of the valley and five more) that go parallel to one another on the contour line. We've picked the top most one and followed it for a while, but it's kind of sunny, so we switched to the darker ridge line after a while. Despite the short 3 kilometer climb, it's quite a steep and demanding 6 pointer, especially on hot days. GPS Track: http://www.wandermap.net/en/route/3522419-bursunarul-sota-yoec-360-gps/ (download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data"). GSM coverage: So and so. Summit conditions: Wooded (mostly broadleaved). Other info: Didn't see any bear droppings, marks or ... bears. Locals said there weren't too many in the area. Anyway, I bet there are bears everywhere in these mountains so be on the safe side and always make noise and carry a bear-spray with you. Activity reportWe only decided to go in the morning. The day was hot unlike any other so far. At the start of the trail there is a small river which we initially thought we'd have to cross on foot, through the water. We parked the car and returned to find an improvised foot bridge. Woohoo! The climb was steeper and a lot longer than the maps conveyed. The heat didn't help either. It took us about 2 hours to get on the top. The woods are nice, though, with rocks scattered around the ridge and a trail that reminded us of medieval movies. One side of the ridge, though, the eastern face, is almost vertical and the fall is probably around 30 meters in places. It's nothing to worry about, since the other side is safe to walk on, but the foliage, trees and plants mask the danger of the eastern chasm. The summit is completely forested and thus in shade. There are big rocks on which one can set up the radio equipment nicely. We've used a bigger rock as a table and a smaller one, next to it, as a bench. This was probably the comfiest spot since our activation on Bîtca (YO/EC-476). Propagation was poor, sadly, and we walked away with only a handful of QSOs. We made plenty of contacts with the people on our local group in 145, 433, 18 and 14 MHz. Some were at home, some on their own SOTA expeditions (Toaca). We packed up early (it was actually cold on the summit) and descended on the same route as we climbed. Halfway down, the heat wave engulfed us once again. Essential info for activatorsTarget summit: 6 pointer YO/EC-331 "Spinarea lunga" - http://www.sota.org.uk/Summit/YO/EC-331 Our Route: At the top of the road from Poiana to Risnov there's a little parking space and a meadow where we've left our car and started climbing on foot. We started on a trail that goes right and into the woods , parallel to the road. When we reached the ridge (extending to our left) we took it and climbed on it all the way to the top. It's an easy summit, but the surface is quite rocky and there are a lot of slippery sticks on the floor. GPS Track: www.wandermap.net/en/route/3521265-spinarea-lunga-yoec-331-gps/ (download the track by clicking on "Export GPS data"). GSM coverage: Fair. Summit conditions: Wooded (broadleaved). Other info: Bears are living in the area. Always make noise and carry a bear spray. Activity reportDespite bad weather forecasts, there was no rain and the temperature didn't drop below a comfortable 15 degrees C. Right at the beginning of the trail we found bear droppings (the area is heavily populated by bears) and we continued cautiously, making constant noise. The wood is made up of broad-leaved trees, even though the top is at an altitude of just over 1000 meters. The soil is a peculiar mix of dirt, rocks and fallen branches and it's not the comfiest to walk on. A slip is waiting to happen and the irregular surface is pretty nasty to fall on. Once on top, there's room to set up between the rocks and dead tree branches. We've activated for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Started in 145MHz, then switched to 18 and 14MHz. While in 18MHz the propagation was OK, the 20m band was pretty bad, with a lot of QSB and poor signal strength all around. |
AuthorHi, we're a team of hams from Romania. We're into SOTA and other activities. Thanks for stopping by! Archives
August 2020
Categories |