EA7/MA-078, Pico del Fuerte - 999m, 4 points 29th Feb 2024

 First activation of a lovely summit with well a marked path

When researching this summit I was surprised that it had not been activated before.  On paper it looked straightforward and worth a decent 4 points.  I was not disappointed.

 
There is a well documented hiker's trail from Frigiliana, approaching from the South East, but I chose the shorter but steeper route marked on the Open Topo map, approaching the summit from the West.

The access road is a good concrete road which becomes a dust track for few hundred metres.  The walking trail started at a a sharp bend, and I found a parking layby just north of this point.

 
The start of the trail was marked by slightly concerning signage, but it is clearly a footpath and is well marked with mostly blue marks on rocks and trees (occasionally yellow markings)

 

The path then progressed eastwards, with a constant ascent over a good rocky path. There are occasional climbs up large rocks/boulders required but nothing dangerous or too challenging.

The summit provided a convenient trig point to attach my Sotpole but alternatively there was plenty of space on top to set up an antenna.

 

 

I chose to operate just below the trig point in a shaded area.  I saw several walkers arriving at the summit so probabkly worthwhile activting away from the trig point to allow others to enjoy the top.

 

 I managed 17 QSOs on 20m, 2 on 40m and the 6 on 15m (using the 40m antenna on its 3rd harmonic).  Once again I was delighted to include one transatlantic QSO on 15m (NT2A). 

 

Next Activation: MA-105