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 >>