Thursday 26 February 2015
Reviews of Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles
Update March 4. A new review has just appeared in the latest issue of Outdoor Enthusiast magazine:
"It's a captivating read as Chris takes you through each step with vivid descriptions of his thoughts and experiences"
Outdoor Experience
My latest book, telling the story of my Pacific Crest Trail hike, has been out for a few months now and has garnered some positive reviews. Many thanks to all the reviewers. Here are some quotes:
" Every mountain, pass, valley and river is recalled and described in vivid detail and draws the reader into the changing landscape of the PCT............ Chris’ passion for the trail – or more accurately, his passion for exploring wilderness through long distance walking – shines through this book."
Pilgrimchris.com
"A rattlin’ good read...... I had to force myself to take breaks between chapters in order to savour the experience."
Blogpackinglight.
"This is a great book, skilfully written with charm and authority, and it will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in backpacking or wild places."
Alex Roddie
"It's indicative of the simple honesty of using one's own two feet to cover long distances that is at the centre of all of Townsend's books, and this one is no different, but it has one extra quality that makes it important. It amounts to a walking manual - not a gear manual or a backpackers guide (he does those too!), but a manual on how to walk, think about walking, how to stop and not walk at times; and what you might get out of all of it. "
Two foot free
"Gripping reading at times ..... a real sense of life on the edge."
Rucksack Rose
"Lively and at times gripping account"
Roly Smith, Outdoor Focus
"Chris says the PCT was 'the defining walk of my life' and what followed was ' a continuation of the joy I found on that trail'. It's something of a privilege to share those feelings, all the way from beginning to end."
Roger Smith The Great Outdoors
Saturday 21 February 2015
Allt Duine, Wind Farms & Wild Land
The wide open spaces of the Allt Duine hills |
Update: since I wrote this piece two excellent features have appeared on other sites. Cameron McNeish has written about wild land, what it is and why it needs protection for Walk Highlands and Alex Roddie has written about the proposed Caplich wind farm and the North West Highlands initially on his blog and then in an extended version for UKHillwalking.com. Both pieces are well-worth reading.
Also, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland has issued a new vision for Scotland's mountains and wild land along with a petition on 38Degrees which I urge everyone to sign.
The future of wild land in Scotland is in the balance. Since
the encouraging new planning regulations and the wild land map were launched
last June (see my post here) only a few wind farms that would impinge on wild
land have been turned down. Many more are awaiting a decision. Whether these
are rejected or not will determine just how meaningful the wild land map really
is. I echo Cameron McNeish’s recent call for the Scottish Government to state now that
no wind farms will be built on wild land areas. That, it seems to me, is one of
the points of the wild land map – to say that this land is protected so
proposing wind farms or other destructive developments is pointless.
One of the key decisions, long overdue, is about Allt Duine,
a proposed wind farm right on the borders of the Cairngorms National Park. This
is the fight I’ve been most involved in, as spokesperson for Save theMonadhliath Mountains, with many letters appearing in newspapers as well as
several blog posts, the key one of which describes a walk in the Allt Duine
area and shows with photographs just how wild the area is.
As well as Allt Duine decisions are awaited on Talladh-a-Bheithe
on the edge of Rannoch Moor which I wrote about here; Cnoc an Eas above Glen
Urquhart not far from Loch Ness; Caplich above Glen Oykel in the North-West
Highlands (Alan Sloman has written excellent posts with detailed maps about the
last two on his blog here and here); and Beinn Mhor on the edge of Glen Affric (Highland Council will make a decision on this on February 24th). These five are the most potentially destructive
currently proposed wind farms in my opinion. They are not the only ones of
course. Highland Council has recently produced a Wind Farm Map of the region
that shows all suggested and built wind farms that is very useful for seeing the possible spread of wind farms into wild land.
Ben More Assynt - the Caplich wind farm would be clearly in view from this magnificent peak |
Then there is Stronelairg, a huge wind farm in the Monadh
Liath that was excluded from the wild land map, though it should not have been.
Planning permission has been given for this but the John Muir Trust are
mounting a legal challenge. Please support them.
Pressure from wild land lovers is important to try and
prevent these wind farms going ahead. Write and email objections and comments to Highland Council
and to the Scottish government. Objections to Caplich can be made in the comments section on the Highland Council website here. Comment on social media too, tagging ministers
and Highland Council, and support those organisations fighting for wild land – the John
Muir Trust, Mountaineering Council of Scotland, Save the Monadhliath Mountains,
Keep Rannoch Wild
Wind measuring mast in the Allt Duine hills |
Note: anything I post
about wind farms usually gets some responses about the whole issue of wind
farms, climate change and wild land in general. I gave my view here. I haven’t
changed it. And no-one is going to persuade me that wild land is not worth fighting for or that sacrificing it is necessary to combat climate change.
Saturday 14 February 2015
An 'Easy' Day On Carn An Fhreiceadain
Carn an Fhreiceadain |
Away to the south and west thick rolls of cloud covered the
hills, clouds that were forecast to reach the Cairngorms and the Monadh Liath
hills before the end of the day. Starting late I went for what I thought would
be a straightforward walk up Carn an Fhreiceadain above Kingussie, a hill that
can be climbed on bulldozed tracks. Whilst unprepossessing in itself Carn an
Fhreiceadain –the cairn of the watcher – is a splendid viewpoint for the
Cairngorms and the vast rolling expanse of the Monadh Liath. It lies on the
western edge of the Allt Duine area, site of a proposed wind farm (about which
more in a forthcoming post).
The Cairngorms |
Sometimes finding a way out of a town and into the hills can
be the hardest navigation of the day. Kingussie has a good path network and the
track up Carn an Fhreiceadain isn’t hard to find so I wasn’t expecting problems
and on the ascent there were none, though I did notice a closed bridge, path
relocations and some new hydro construction. Climbing through lovely old birch
woods to frozen Loch Gynack I had wonderful views across Strathspey to the
Cairngorms shining white in bright sunshine though the views west along the
loch showed dark overcast skies. Those clouds to the south-west were coming
closer though and soon the first of them swept high overhead, casting the land
into shadow.
Loch Gynack |
Once above the trees there was soon enough snow left for me
to use my snowshoes. Some of the drifts were deep enough that walking would
have been slow and arduous as the snow was soft. Even with the snowshoes
progress was quite hard work. I couldn’t use the snowshoes all the time
however. I was climbing up long open slopes towards the subsidiary top of Beinn
Bhreac and wherever the angle turned the track towards the sun, which was
frequently, the snow had gone. The snowshoes came off and went on again many
times, slowing me down. The mist was just touching Beinn Bhreac as I approached
the summit. Away to the north-east I could see the rapidly fading Allt Duine
hills. Mountain hares raced across the snowfields, pausing occasionally to
glance in my direction, and grouse flew low over the ground, chattering
quietly. Otherwise all was quiet and still.
Mountain hares |
From Beinn Bhreac to Carn an Fhreiceadain the mist was
thick. If the snow cover had been complete I’d have been in a white-out. As it
was I could always see rocks or heather in the distance though the snow in
front of me appeared completely featureless. A few times I stumbled when the ground
rose or fell unexpectedly. Again my progress was slow.
The clouds rolling in |
Eventually the summit trig point loomed up, banked by snow
but otherwise surrounded by a bare stony plateau. The wind was cold and the
time late with sunset not far away. I didn’t linger but was soon descending the
track that runs down the Allt Mor glen. Sheltered from the sun the snow here
was deeper and unbroken and I was finally able to make good progress on my
snowshoes. In places the snow was banked at steep angles across the track and I
edged across cautiously, wondering about avalanches. Coming out of the dense
cloud I could see tendrils of mist writhing across the glen below me and
seeping into the dark trees.
Descending out of the cloud |
By the time I reached the forest it was dark and under the
canopy I needed my headlamp. The track was still snowy and I kept the snowshoes
on. The mist drifting through the trees meant I couldn’t see far even with the
headlamp as the beam bounced back off the thick air. I passed some big earth
movers and various signs warning of the hydro work before reaching a cleared
area with sheds and machinery. Beyond this the track reached some fancy gates
and a private sign. A building with lights on lay not far inside the gates. I’d
seen no junctions but knowing I must have missed one I turned back. Casting
round the cleared area I found a half-hidden signpost pointing down a now-muddy
track through the trees. Off with the snowshoes and then careful walking as although
cleared of snow there were icy patches on the track.
I could hear the rushing waters of the Allt Mor becoming
louder and louder, my hearing sharpened in the darkness, then a wide bridge
appeared with a blue rope strung across it. Snow covered it and I could see
many footprints. I followed only to come to an abrupt stop on the edge of a
dark void high above the water. The bridge was not complete. Whether new or
damaged I couldn’t tell but what was clear was I couldn’t go on. Back over the
blue rope I skittered down the steep loose bank to the river and boulder-hopped
across, my feet getting slightly damp as some of the rocks were under six
inches of water, to haul myself on to the snow above the steep farther bank. I
hadn’t expected to be fording rivers in the dark, my snowshoes clutched under
my arm.
The walk had now taken a somewhat unreal air. I’d lost track
of the time and seemed to have been in the dark mist-wreathed woods for hours.
I knew I couldn’t have far to go yet felt as though I was in a remote wilderness.
Eventually a sign appeared pointing back down to the river and to Kingussie.
This time the bridge was complete. Up the other side I found myself on the edge
of the Kingussie golf course. Again I cast around for a sign or a path.
Nothing. Mist drifted over the links. I set off down the fairways, still
feeling I was in the middle of nowhere. The golf course seemed to go on for
ever. Eventually the club hut appeared and a road and soon my car, an hour and
a half later than estimated.
Thick mist, soft snow, broken bridges, confusing tracks – it
had not been the easy day I’d been expecting. But it had been much more
interesting.
Wednesday 11 February 2015
The Slow Thaw Continues
Strathspey and the Cairngorms |
As the sunny weather continues and the daytime temperatures creep up to 4 and 5 degrees C, so the gradual thaw continues down in the straths and glens and on the lower hills, though the High Cairngorms remain white. The still low sun means that anywhere with even the slightest slope to the north or east is still snowy whilst anywhere exposed to the sun is mostly bare. This leads to a striped effect on the landscape with lines of snow lacing the hills and fields. The trees though are brown and grey, the heavy snow that decorated their branches just a few days ago gone completely.
The Cromdale Hills |
Underfoot the snow is crunchy and crusted, breaking when weighted and making walking difficult. Wandering through the fields I took a zigzag route, avoiding the snow wherever possible. Rabbits darted over the grass, able now to eat without having to dig through the snow. A roe deer ventured out from a copse but soon trotted back into the trees. A flock of rooks were noisy in one field and fieldfares called loudly from the trees. After the big freeze nature is coming back to life.
Some of the snow drifts were still deep and extensive with windblown banks pile up in rows against crumbling stone walls. It will be interesting to see how long these last.
Snow drifts |
Green grass, white snow |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)