{"id":290,"date":"2018-01-20T15:06:06","date_gmt":"2018-01-20T15:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/?page_id=290"},"modified":"2021-07-15T14:24:52","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T14:24:52","slug":"cefn-yr-ystrad-waun-rydd-and-tor-y-foel-2018","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/sota-summits-on-the-air\/welsh-summits\/cefn-yr-ystrad-waun-rydd-and-tor-y-foel-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Cefn Yr Ystrad, Waun Rydd and Tor Y Foel 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

GW\/SW-008,\u00a0GW\/SW-004 &\u00a0GW\/SW-013 \u2013 Another three peaks<\/h2>\n

Another early start, met up with Peter on the motorway before heading over the bridge and into Wales.\u00a0\u00a0Weather forecast<\/a>\u00a0not looking great and once the sun came up this was confirmed out of the windscreen ahead\u00a0 Not expecting to see the sun today!<\/p>\n

Cefn Yr Ystrad<\/h3>\n

First stop,\u00a0Cefn Yr Ystrad. Probably not a summit I would have ever done if it wasn\u2019t for SOTA but it turned out to be an enjoyable challenge.\u00a0 There is room for two cars to park in the entrance to the water works so long as you park at either end and not in the middle of the pull in.\u00a0 The post code given below is nearby but you will have to navigate the last bit from the map.\u00a0 After a bit of a climb at the start you arrive on the flattish top.\u00a0 There are tracks but none of them go to the summit.\u00a0 In good visibility you might be able to see the summit, I don\u2019t know though as we could see no more than a couple of hundred metres.\u00a0 There are a number of point features marked on the map which can be used as way points to navigate towards the summit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Cefn Yr Ystrad summit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Starting from a known start point we navigated by pacing on a bearing from point feature to point feature until eventually we saw the summit trig point appear from the gloom.\u00a0 We set up the station using the hole in the trig point to support the mast.\u00a0 I soon made eleven contacts to clear the pile up so we rapidly packed up and headed back to the car.\u00a0 The return is easier to navigate as there are a number of catching features that can be used to navigate back.\u00a0 We headed in a straight line back to the last track and then followed this to find the path back down to the car.<\/p>\n

Cefn Yr Ystrad Log<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Journey Details<\/h3>\n

Date \u2013 20th January 2018<\/p>\n

Postcode \u2013 CF48 2UP<\/p>\n

Parking \u2013 SO 060 114<\/p>\n

Radio \u2013 Kenwood TH-D74 + 50W PA on 2m<\/p>\n

Antenna \u2013 2 ele dipole<\/p>\n

Band \u2013 144 FM<\/p>\n

Contacts \u2013 11<\/p>\n

SOTA points \u2013 4 (+3)<\/p>\n

Group \u2013 Myself & Peter<\/p>\n

Walking Route Summary<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Waun Rydd<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s a short drive from\u00a0Cefn Yr Ystrad to\u00a0Waun Rydd.\u00a0 As usual the car park was full but we managed to squeeze in a place on the side.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Walking along the ridge above the steep climb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The walk up Waun Rydd was pleasant and occasionally we managed to get a glimpse of the views. As we got higher though the weather deteriorated and once we passed the 600m mark we started to see lying snow in patches.\u00a0 Fortunately although it was wet it was not too windy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We managed to keep up a good pace on the way up and reached the summit in just over an hour.\u00a0 \u00a0On the top it was blowing a bit,\u00a0 probably about 10 \u2013 15 mph which with the wet and the cold was enough to make it rather unpleasant.\u00a0 We set up the station next to the cairn and soon has another ten contacts in the log.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t bother with the detour to the memorial this time as by now we were both soaked through and very cold.\u00a0 Instead we made a rapid decent, getting back down to the car in about 50 minutes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Waun Rydd Log<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Journey Details<\/h3>\n

Date \u2013 20th January 2018<\/p>\n

Postcode \u2013 CF48 2UT<\/p>\n

Parking \u2013 SO 056 175<\/p>\n

Radio \u2013 Kenwood TH-D74 + 50W PA on 2m<\/p>\n

Antenna \u2013 2 ele dipole<\/p>\n

Band \u2013 144 FM<\/p>\n

Contacts \u2013 10<\/p>\n

SOTA points \u2013 6 (+3)<\/p>\n

Group \u2013 Myself & Peter<\/p>\n

Walking Route Summary<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tor Y Foel<\/h3>\n

The drive from Waun Fach to Tor y Foel is a bit longer and I couldn\u2019t find a postcode any nearer, the one given will get you to the final junction then just follow the narrow road up to the parking spot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The summit cairn on Tor y Foel in almost zero visibility<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The route up is uneventful, there is a fairly obvious path, follow it and you will get to the top.\u00a0 This is another hill I have overlooked in the past, brought to fame by the SOTA programme.\u00a0 The visibility was still poor and by the time I reached the top conditions had deteriorated further.\u00a0 I set the station up on the small excuse for a cairn marking the top.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t guy the mast as it was getting late and I had left my head torch in the car, I needed to be quick on this one before it got too dark to see the path back down.\u00a0 I did struggle a bit to hold the mast, the radio and the mike whilst still operating and then to make matters worse the battery on the radio gave out and had to be replaced.\u00a0 After changing the battery I though I had switched the recording back on but after the main pileup had been cleared I noticed I wasn\u2019t recording anything.\u00a0 Disaster..! I knew I had completed one QSO before the battery ran out so I needed another three to secure the points and I had already cleared all the easy ones.\u00a0 Desperately I started calling CQ again on 144.500 and eventually managed to work a couple more stations.\u00a0 By this time I could see I was about to lose the light so decided in the interests of safety I had to pack up now and get down before it was too dark.\u00a0 It was not that big and I could always go up it again on another day.<\/p>\n

I got back to the car just before it became to dark so timing was spot on.\u00a0 By this time I was wet right through and extremely cold, but luckily I had brought a towel and some spare clothes so was soon warm and (mostly) dry.\u00a0 The remains of my flask went down well and warmed from the inside.<\/p>\n

When I got home I played back the file from Tor y Foel and with great relief realised that I had four confirmed QSOs recorded. I also had another three that I recorded calling me that I know I worked so I have logged those as well.\u00a0 I think I also worked\u00a02W0FLW but didn\u2019t have any record on the bits of recordings I have so I have not logged him as I can\u2019t confirm the contact.<\/p>\n

Tor Y Foel Log<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Journey Details<\/h3>\n

Date \u2013 20th January 2018<\/p>\n

Postcode \u2013LD3 7YP<\/p>\n

Parking \u2013SO 109 187<\/p>\n

Radio \u2013 Kenwood TH-D74 + 50W PA on 2m<\/p>\n

Antenna \u2013 2 ele dipole<\/p>\n

Band \u2013 144 FM<\/p>\n

Contacts \u2013 7<\/p>\n

SOTA points \u2013 2 (+3)<\/p>\n

Group \u2013 Myself<\/p>\n

Walking Route Summary<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GW\/SW-008,\u00a0GW\/SW-004 &\u00a0GW\/SW-013 \u2013 Another three peaks Another early start, met up with Peter on the motorway before heading over the bridge and into Wales.\u00a0\u00a0Weather forecast\u00a0not looking great and once the sun came up this was confirmed out of the windscreen ahead\u00a0 Not expecting to see the sun today! Cefn Yr Ystrad First stop,\u00a0Cefn Yr Ystrad. … Continue reading Cefn Yr Ystrad, Waun Rydd and Tor Y Foel 2018<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":199,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,14,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-290","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-south-wales","category-summits-on-the-air","category-welsh-summits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1307,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/290\/revisions\/1307"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.m1cje.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}