Right I’m back. No records broken, no fanfares, but a wonderful trip. The heat made it tougher than it looked on paper. Almost five days of sunshine with the temperature in the upper 20’s c during the middle of the day. I’ve got a lot of material to blog, both the trip, gear and some general observations, so for the next two to three weeks, that’s what you’re getting, even though it looks a bit junior compared to the TGOC! BTW thanks for the good wishes for the trip, which I only saw on my return.

I’m a bit sunburnt, especially on the back of the hands, a function of using walking poles. I did take some suncream but didn’t use it on the first day and paid the price. Doh! I should have taken the Tilley hat as well.

I had to change my route as it was clear that the Fords of Avon and the stepping stones were a figment of the cartographer’s imagination. The raging torrent was definitely not passable, especially as I was on my own. Fortunately I ascertained this on the outward leg as I camped by the shelter at the “Fords of Avon”. It was also clear that the alternative of walking around Loch Avon would be very arduous. So I decided to vary my route from Derry Lodge back to Aviemore via the Lairig Ghru.

Crossing rivers remained a worry for me until after the Luibeg Burn. My other concern was the paths which faded in and out of existence at regular intervals. However, generally, the route finding was easy, although I did go wrong in a couple of places by not paying enough attention to the map, but neither was disastrous.

Most of the gear worked well, although there were some surprise outperformers and disappointments. I will give some details later. However, I must mention what a fantastic find the Nike Mayflys are. Because it was so hot I walked in them where the ground was not wet for a while and they were surprisingly comfortable and grippy. They were also great for stream/river crossings and dried out surprisingly quickly. They weigh only 250g and fold flat. A must have for alternative footwear.

 Overall it was a great trip, notable for its loneliness. On one day I met no-one at all and on another only one who drove past in a Land Rover. While the distances were not that great, the terrain and the heat made it harder.

It’s given me a better appreciation of the Scottish landscape and its challenges. It’s made me re-think how I might attempt the TGOC at some stage. I’ve got quite a few notes and photos. I’ll sort them into some sort of order and post accordingly. That’s all for now. The shower this morning was heavenly!

This evening, I’m off to the Cairngorms and won’t be returning until Saturday morning. So, there won’t be any posts until then. I don’t have any mobile blogging kit and even if I did, I doubt whether I’d find a signal. I couldn’t have hoped for a better weather forecast: mainly dry with light winds, looks like ideal walking weather.

Several records are being attempted:

1) The longest walk I’ve done without resupply (five days).

2) The longest walk I will have ever done without encountering a road.

3) The most amount of time that I’ve spent on my own for about 25 years.

4) It could be the longest time I will have spent without talking to anyone.

All will be revealed when I return.

4.5 kgs of food for five days! It’s probably too much, but I’d rather have too much than too little. Total pack weight is 15kg. A bit more than I’d hoped but I’m erring on the side of caution on most things, although I’m not taking the bothy bag.

The weather forecast is improving each time I look. The forecast for next week is for reasonably settled weather with a high pressure to the north dominating. Of course, you have to take these with a pinch of salt. However, I’m tempted to adjust my clothing options accordingly by exchanging the Cascadas for some Lowe Alpine powerstretch tights and Berghaus Paclite overtrousers, reducing the weight by 25%  (600gms  vs. 442gms).

Here’s a handy little program that gives you a weather summary for any location in the UK from the Met Office for your Vista sidebar. Needless to say (what a stupid phrase), mine is currently showing Aviemore.

Two packets found for the price of one!!!!  Saviour. Bit of adjusting to do on the food front to accommodate.

In answer to an enquiry, my route for next week in the Cairngorms is: Glenmore Lodge, Strath Nethy, Loch Avon, Glen Avon, Linn of Avon, Glen Builg, Loch Builg Lodge, River Gairn (westwards), Carn Eag Dhubh bealach, Quioch Water, Clais Fhearnaig, Derry Lodge, Glenn Derry, Lairig an Laoigh, Fords of Avon, around the east side of Bynack More, Glenmore Lodge. Looks like a great walk. I’m already salivating.

Ralph Vaughan Williams is responsible for opening my ears to classical music. When I heard “The Lark Ascending”, it was the most beautiful piece of music I’d ever listened to. For me, he is the greatest composer that ever lived. His range of musical expression was stupendous, from the beauty of the “Lark” and Symphony No. 5 to the destructive desolation of Symphony No. 6, the other worldliness of the Tallis Fantasia to the absurd beauty of the Concerto for Bass Tuba. It is absolutely criminal the way that his music has been neglected by our performing orchestras over the past fifty years. However, according to an article in tonight’s Evening Standard by Norman Lebrecht, there is a revival of interest in the grand old man of English music. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to go to some of the concerts. If you’ve not heard RVW yet, you don’t know what you’re missing.  RVW Society.

Long range weather for next week looks promising:

UK Outlook for Sunday 4 May 2008 to Tuesday 13 May 2008:

It will be mostly cloudy to start the period with outbreaks of rain in the west, sometimes heavy, gradually extending throughout, after a generally bright start in the east. The rain is likely to retreat westward during Monday, with many eastern areas, and some far western parts, becoming dry with periods of sunshine. The weather is expected to become largely settled as next week progresses, particularly in the north, although there may be some rain in western areas at first and areas of cloud about eastern coasts. Temperatures should be near normal to warm in central and southern parts at first, with warmer conditions in the west later next week. Conditions are likely to remain fairly settled through the following weekend and into the next week.

The weather this weekend looks really bad, particularly on the tops. Good luck, Colin, you may need it!

That is the question I was faced with at lunchtime. I scooted over to Cotswold to get some gas canisters and to look for some gaiters (no luck). I also had a look at the Prolite 3 short. The cost was £65 to save 87gms. Is it worth it? Difficult to tell, so I kept my hand in my pocket. I’m not saying I’ll never buy a Prolite 3 short but it’s not a straightforward choice. As I mentioned before, the older Thermarest feels more comfortable as the foam has less perforations. The pack size appears to be very similar. I looked at the reviews on OM, where a couple of the reviewers suggested that the weight of the Prolite 3 short is higher than advertised. Perhaps I’d better take my scales along!

I’ve been playing around this afternoon with my gear for the Cairngorms, to make sure it fits and to save a bit of weight here and there. My base weight comes to 9.4kg on the spreadsheet. Round it up to 10kg with some dry bags and plastic bags. I’ve not done all my food shopping yet, but I expect food to be 3-4kg for 5 days. It should all fit in. I’m glad I got the Quest as it gives me a little extra flexibility compared with the Aether.

On the sleeping mat, I remembered I had an old 3/4 lightweight Thermarest that I’d not used for a while. It is heavier than the latest version at 457g, but lighter than the full length Prolite 3  (543g). It is very slightly thicker and may be warmer as the holes in the foam appear to be smaller. Lying on it, it feels more supportive than the Prolite. I experimented with putting my thin closed cell foam mat on top, securing it with two lengths of thin shock cord. This seems to work well and gives me full length insulation. I’m considering whether to buy a Prolite 3 Short or stay with the old Thermarest. What ever I do I will be saving a bit of weight. It will also reduce the volume as it packs down quite a lot smaller. I also think that a shorter Thermarest is easier to manage in a small tent.

Because the sleeping mat seems to give me a good level of insulation, I’ve decided to take the Pipedream 400 rather than the 600. I’m taking a light gilet (Gap!) and a powerstretch top (Lowe Alpine), so if I’m cold, I can always use those. I guess I could always wear my Paramo as well!

I have now cut the Akto footprint in half (now weighs 125g). I was going to tape the cut edge, but don’t think there’s any need as it shows no sign of fraying. I could probably cut a further strip off and save some weight as it will reach well under the door, but I’ll see how it fits first. So now I have a groundsheet for the porch. I will be interesting to see whether it cuts down condensation.

I normally carry a Nalgene fliptop drinking bottle weighing 107g, but I’ve ditched that and will use an old Highland Spring 500ml bottle weighing 25g. I could use the Aquagear Survivor on its own, but I’m concerned that the base is not fully watertight. I will test and report back.

I am in a little bit of a quandry as to what gaiters to take. I could take some short Treklite ones that I used in the Lakes or my much heavier Paramo ones. I might see if I can get a pair of Rab Hispar gaiters as they are made from eVent and ought to be less sweaty than GoreTex ones. I need to go to Cotswold to get a fuel cannister, so I’ll have a look.

 Apart from mislaying my microphone for my Olympus dictaphone and buying some extras for food, I’m nearly sorted.

I’ve been playing about with the waterproof belt pack that I bought from Bob and Rose in combination with the Golite Quest. Unfortunately when you wear it the “wrong way round” in combination with a pack, the belt buckle pushes into your back. The Inov-8 Race Pro has a lower profile buckle, which doesn’t cause this discomfort, so it looks as though it’s the Race Pro that will go with me. 

Disaster, there appears to be a fig roll shortage according to OM and the Guardian. I checked a Tesco’s Metro yesterday and there were none to be found. I’ll have to cast the net wider afield.

 

Thank you to Simon and Jerry for their feedback on current conditions in the Cairngorms at the moment.  They’ve also made some good gear points.

 Akto footprint: I bought this originally to cut in half to make a groundsheet for the porch. The thought was that it would help keep the condensation down and extend the usable tent area, given that the Akto door opens up almost all of the front of the inner tent (I think Chris Cowell did this). The other advantage is that it keeps the under side of the inner tent comparatively clean and dry (I’m not worried about the durability of the Akto floor as it seems quite robust). It is quite heavy at 250g, so perhaps reverting to plan A and cutting it down might be appropriate.

Sleeping mat: my normal combination is the Torsolite plus a sheet of thin tent underlay closed cell foam (1.5m x 0.5m, weighing 112g). This combination weighs 386g but gives me a good combination of comfort and almost full length insulation.  The limitation is that it is easy to roll off the Torsolite. I have a full length Thermarest Prolite 3 (543g), so I think I’ll take that to ensure better insulation and comfort. The weight penalty is not huge (269g). The main disadvantage is a bit more bulk, but I’m less worried about that now that I have the Golite Quest.  Having said that I will think about whether to buy the Prolite 3 short as the weight penalty would only be 100g. I will also take the thin foam mat as there is little weight penalty and I’ve found it makes a huge difference to insulation. I will experiment with putting it on top of the Thermarest rather than underneath (as I usually do).

Gaiters: yes I’m taking some. I’ve got a simple pair of Trekmates gaiters, which are very lightweight and reach half way up the calf. I suppose I ought to consider taking my Paramo gaiters, although they are a lot heavier.

 Crossing rivers: my strategy is to avoid wading! One of the biggest differences between Scotland and the rest of the UK is the river/stream crossings. I’ve planned the route to use bridges where possible. However, some wading is inevitable. My strategy is to use a combination of long SealSkinz socks (120g) with Nike Mayflys (250g).

 Warm drinks: I normally carry a small Aladdin insulated flask (250g) with hot tea for the morning walk. I’ll probably replenish at lunch. It is also useful to have an insulated flask to keep some water overnight that won’t freeze. Extra fuel is a good idea!

Just looked at the weather forecast for the Grampian region for 29th April to 8th May:

“The outlook for much of this forecast period is still rather unsettled with few, if any signs of summer arriving. The first week is likely to be dominated with low pressure sitting close to, or even over the British Isles. This is likely to bring rain or showers to many areas, heavy at times, and perhaps occasionally wintry over the mountains of Scotland at first. Temperatures are likely to be around or a little below normal for the time of year. Thereafter, into the weekend and the following week, it looks set to remain generally unsettled and showery, though towards the end of the period there is a slight hint of drier, and warmer conditions for southwestern parts.”

I was lulled into a false sense of optimism by the generally warmer weather down South over the past few days. Looks like the Akto + Pipedream 600 + full Paramo are the most likely gear choices!

 

 

This arrived in the post today. I’ve been looking for the ideal short sleeved shirt for some time. I like the Paramo Tiede shirt, but it’s not very odour resistant. The Haglofs shirt claims to be smell resistant for the life of the shirt. The fabric is quite different from the Tiede. It is slightly stretchy and ribbed. It feels like it should be a good hot weather shirt, especially as it has underarm vents. Unfortunately they have run out of blue, so I had oyster (stupid name for a colour), which is quite a pleasant light green/khaki colour. I bought it from Tamarack Outdoors who are a good source of Haglofs gear. Don’t think it will going with me to Scotland though.

From today’s “grough“:

“Waste-disposal millionaire Euan Snowie has lost his battle to keep walkers from his Stirlingshire estate. Sheriff Andrew Cubie today decided that there was no justification in Snowie and his wife Claire keeping out walkers, cyclists and horse riders by locking gates at their Boquhan estate near Kippen. Both the Ramblers’ Association and Stirling Council, which jointly fought the Snowies’ bid, welcomed the verdict.”

After the bad news on Scottish access rights recently (Gloag, Trump etc.), nice to see a small victory.

Geoff at v-g Backpacking in Britain has just published a review of his experience with the TN Laser Competition. Like me he found it an awkward tent to pitch but made a better fist of it than me (not difficult, I hear you cry!). Like him I will persevere to unlock the mysteries of pitching the Laser. However, I’m pretty sure I’m taking the Akto to Scotland. The extra room is worth it.

Atificially boosting the number of posts by posting trivia: my sleeper tickets for Aviemore arrived today. One less thing to worry about. Expectation is rising.

Also arrived in the post was a set of 10 Aplkit Tikes and 10 clippers. 

Today this blog passed 10,000 page views since I started last November. I guess there are more gear junkies than I thought.