Activating EA8/TF-004 El Sombrero

 A long and challenging hike on a well marked path to a beautiful summit, 10 SOTA points

The hike was fairly long (2.5 hours up) and steep in parts, made particularly challenging by a lot of scree/rock chippings.  This made the ascent hard going (and tough on the legs) and the descent slow due to the slipping hazzard (and tough on the knees!).  But the path was quite well marked with cairns and was well worn to the top.  I had perfect blue sky warm weather with a cooling breeze.

 When nearly at the top, access to the summit is through a turnstile:

 The summit provided stunning views and a large activation area, and I did not see any other hikers  so had the summit to myself.  I set up my bandhopper antenna using rocks to hold the wires and string in place just below the summit.

I started the activation on 2m FM, with Fraser EA8/M0EFI first in the log with whom I had been in touch as he was holidaying on Gran Canaria.  He was on EA8/GC-011 and so this was the first of 3 summit-to-summit contacts.

I also contacted Fritz and Hans (EA8/HB9CYX, EA8/HB9BQU) on 2m FM who were on EA8/GC-005

 A further 2 on 2m, followed by just 3 qsos on 20m (which was very quiet) encouraged me to try 15m SSB.  There I enjoyed a further 8 QSOs including one across the pond with KC2WLR in New York.

I had planned TF-005 for the afternoon, but my weary legs were complaining and so I next returned to the easy EA8/TF-007 >>

Activating EA8/TF-011, Paso -934m 14th March 2026

 

 Challenging hike through dense forrest with limited space at the summit under the canopy, 6 SOTA points

Paso can be approached from the North West or the South East - I chose the latter and parked in a layby along the road from the start of the ascent:

 The path I took is marked on SOTLas maps as part of the PR-TF3 trail and is well worn initially.  The map then shows a departure up a steep incline which I found difficult to find, and had to use some judgement as to when to start clumbing up the steep slope.  From this point the summit is simply found by continuing to climb upwards (perhaps obvious!) but choosing the route to avoid very dense forrest, loose sliding ground and thorny bushes was quite challenging.  Long trousers, gloves and sunglasses provided some protection from the trees!

  

The summit is well marked by a large trig marker and a welcome relief when it came into sight!

 

Space to set up an HF antenna is very limited so I again limited the bandhopper span to the 20m section only and anchored the ends to tree branches, my pole tied to the trig marker to give the centre what height I could get under the canopy.

 

 I magaged 8 SSB qsos on 20m, including 2 summit-to-summits.

 The descent was also difficult as again the route was not obvious. I followed the track on SOTLas as closely as possible and was glad to find the well walked TF-03 track back to the car.

Next activations TF-008 Taborno (previously activated)>>  and then TF-004 El Sombrero >> 

 

Activating EA8/TF-012 Chinobre -910m 14 March 2026

 A gentle hike through the forrest, easy set up worth 6 SOTA points

NB: PERMIT REQUIRED - see below 

I returned to Tenerife in March 2026 to activate 12 SOTA summits over 5 days.  An atlantic storm came over towards the end of my trip and the Teide National Park closed and disallowed hiking on my last 2 days, but I enjoyed the usual 'winter sun' climate for most of my trip.

The hiking trail to Chinobre is well marked from the road and is easy to follow through the dense forrest, typical of this part of the island.  I parked in a nearby layby.

 There are 2 routes marked on the map, one approaching the summit from the South West (which I took) and one from the North East.  Both are part of the 'La Ensillada - Cabezo de Tejo - La Ensillada Loop Trail' which requires a permit.  The permit is free and can be applied for and downloaded around 2 weeks before hiking here:  https://www.tenerifeon.es/en/routes/hiking/pra-72-la-ensillada-cabezo-del-tejo.  I applied for an additional permit for a different day in case the weather prevented me from activating on my planned day, but this can be easily cancelled online when not required.

 The summit does not provide much space so I set up my sotapole and bandhopper on the trig marker for 20m only.  I had 5 quick SSB qsos with hams in UK, France and Spain.

  

 I wanted to activate 2 further summits so packed up and headed back to the car.

 

 

Next activation EA8/TF-011 Paso >>

Activating SOTA Summit ZS/WC-047 Constantiaberg, November 2025

 A well marked and safe hike with fantastic views, worth 2 SOTA points

 There are a few hiking route options to reach Constantiaberg: from Chapman's Peak Drive, from Hout Bay (both of which require over 800m vertical ascent) or the easier route from the Silvermine reserve (which I chose).  I had visited Silvermine many times previously when living in Cape Town and knew it as a safe and well maintained reserve.  But I had forgotten the access charge: R200 as an international visitor (much cheaper for South Africans).

 

I had walked to Elephants Eye cave before as part of a circuit within Silvermine.  From the Silvermine car park this is over half the distance to Constantiaberg but only 40% of the vertical ascent.  In the picture above, the distant mountain is the 'elephant' with the eye (out of view) in the 'head' on the right hand side, and Constantiaberg on the elephant's 'back' with the commercial mast almost at the summit.

After Elephants Eye Cave the path splits and remains well marked and easy to follow, but fairly steep for 100 metres of ascent.

 

It is then less steep for the final 200m ascent.  Approaching the summit there are 2 gates closed to traffic (presumably for access to the commercial mast) but the pedestrian gates were open allowing easy access past the mast and up to the rocky summit.  I used the trig marker to support my Sotapole and pointed my inverted V dipole North East to maximise gain towards Gauteng.

There was very little shade on the summit, but I kept my KX2 out of the sun (which seems to reduce power output when it gets too hot) at my operating position under a rock just below the trig marker.

 

HF propagation had not been playing ball over recent activations in South Africa so I was prepared for limited longer distance QSOs.  I only managed 3 unique callsigns on HF, despite moving up and down between 20,30,40 and 15m and self spotting through the chasers' Whatsapp group.  2 of these were local ZS1's and the 3rd was a very weak ZS4 in the Free State, so my 10W signal was not getting anywhere near Gauteng.

 

I had been in touch with Phil ZS1WW who posted my activation on the Cape Town Radio Club's forum, and as soon as I switched to 2m I was greeted with 13 further enthusiastic callers, activating the summit with ease.  Constantiaberg overlooks a large part of Cape Town and its suburbs and so is well suited for VHF and UHF.  I was using a Yaesu Hand Held with its stock rubber duck antenna, 5W, but mostly 5/9 reports.

 

Overall a nice hike to the top with fantastic views over both Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts, and great VHF/UHF take off.

 

 

 

 

Activating ZS/KN-168 Qulashe November 2025

 An easy and quiet summit accessible by car worth 6 points

 This was the last of 3 activations of the day so I chose one that I could drive close to.  This summit is fairly near KN-158 so worth activating the two together to justify the long dirt track drive!  I was able to get very close on the farmer's track with my small hire car and park close to the summit - this track is marked on the open topo map:

 A short steep ascent over grassy farmland took me to a grassy/rocky summit with plenty of space for activating. 

I used the trig point to attach my sotapole which made it easy to change orientation to point towards Gauteng or the Cape.  I needed this flexibility as band conditions were terrible due to solar activity and a recent Coronal Mass Ejection!

 

I only just managed to activate this summit with 4 confirmed QSOs in the log all on 40m.  CQ and self-spotting on 30m and 20m did not provide any responses.  All contacts were struggling to copy and it took me 40 minutes to log these 4.

Next Activation: ZS/WC-047 

 

Activating ZS/KN-158 November 2025

 A short, steep ascent from a rural village to a well wooded summit

 The D3 dirt road (yellow road below) is signposted from the R617 and is driveable with a normal car.  It took me about 25 minutes to get to the junction with the grey road.  I parked just off the road next to an electricity pole as indicated by the blue dot below:

A local worker pointed me to the nearest ascent track which looked well used (see arrow below).  In fact there seemed to be several tracks up the summit which criss cross from various points.
 

 

 

 

I just kept walking upwards until I was in the activation zone.  The actual summit was well wooded with thorny bushes and, I suspect, snakes and other hazards, so I chose a clearing with some shade and space for my sotapole:

HF Propagation conditions were challenging and it took me an hour to achieve 7 QSOs on 20, 30 and 40m SSB.  2 QSOs were possibly unconfirmed (we exchanged callsigns and signal reports, but the other station did not confirm the report I gave).  So 5 definite QSOs with the summit activated, but hard going!

 

My bandhopper antenna also got caught by the thorny bushes and broke at one point, so I needed to perform an emergency repair!

 

Next Activation: ZS/KN-168 >> 

 

Activating ZS/KN-129, Hlokomo November 2025

 A lovely hike up Hlokomo, easily accessed within Underberg, worth 8 SOTA points

 The hiking trail starts along a dirt track off Woodford Road in Underberg:

 I parked on the road, near the start of the beaten walking track, opposite Hawley House:

The track proceeded through a gap in the fence near a UHF dish on a pole (TV or internet dish?) and was easy to follow, with the occasional cairn to mark the route:
 

The trail was steep in parts but not technically difficult.  It took me about 45 minutes to reach the summit.

 I used the summit's trig point to hold my Sotapole with bungees.  Therev was limited shade on top. 

 I managed 9 SSB QSOs on 20m and 40m.  Propagation was reported as poor due to solar activity, including a Coronal Mass Ejection.  The bands were very quiet, even the FT8 channel!

I did meet a couple who had also hiked up, so this seems to be a popular walk.  There is a fairly large activation zone so plenty of space to site antenna and station.

With thanks to Adele ZS5APT for advice and access information for this summit.

Next Activation: ZS/KN-158 >>