Ten Years of the Trailstar

Quinag, September 2015

On my walk with Tony Hobbs last month (see here) I realised that my Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar is ten years old and this deserved an acknowledgement. So here it is. In those years I've reviewed many tents and tarps but none has supplanted the Trailstar as my favourite for long walks. Indeed, I've used it on every walk of more than a few nights (and quite a few shorter ones) since 2012. It's travelled well over 2000 miles and been used on hundreds of nights and in some big storms and has never let me down.

Below Fuar Tholl in the NW Highlands on the TGO Challenge, May, 2012

Why do I like the Trailstar so much? Because, it's very light, roomy, and amazingly stable in stormy weather. I also like - no, enjoy, - the versatility. As it's a tarp rather than a tent it can be pitched in different ways. In particular it can be raised or lowered according to the weather - high for airflow, low too for wind resistance and to keep rain from blowing under the edges. 

A low pitch in very wet and windy weather above Loch a' Bhealaich on my Scottish Watershed walk, July 2013.

 

 

The Trailstar does have a big footprint but I don't find this a problem as it's easy to pitch over rocks and bushes. I've even pitched on small sites with one side halfway up a bank. Working out how to pitch on awkward terrain is much more interesting than pitching a tent with a fixed shape.

On the TGO Challenge, May 2014. A wet and windy site in the Cairngorms.

I love the feeling of contact with nature and the landscape the Trailstar gives.It's airy and open. I usually sleep with my head at the door so I can look out at the night sky. If wind and rain disturb me I can quickly shift to the back, out of their reach. I do have a mesh inner which I use in midge season though. There are limits to how close I want to be with some of nature!

TGO Challenge, May 2016. Beside Loch Morar.

At 3500 metres below Mount Whitney on my Yosemite Valley to Death Valley walk, October 2016

On the GR5 Through the Alps, September 2018.

TGO Challenge, May 2019. Below the Mamores.

High in the Colorado Rockies, August 2019

After all this use the Trailstar is still in good condition. Only the little MLD label has faded and frayed. I smeared sealant over the seams when it was new - straight out of the tube, no messing with thinning or multiple layers - and it has never leaked. I'm hoping to be using it for many years yet.

On the Moine Mhor, Cairngorms, May 2022

In Search Of A Path In The Cairngorms

Sron na Lairig catches some hazy sunshine

On my trip with Tony Hobbs last month (see here) we descended the north ridge of Creag an Leth-choin in the Cairngorms. I couldn’t remember ever coming this way before but my maps showed a broken path much of the way. The maps also showed a path angling down the steeper western side of the hill, a route that would have been shorter and probably quicker. However as we descended the ridge I didn’t spot the start of this path and I didn’t want to take Tony down into possibly tricky terrain so we stayed on the upper path until it ended at a boulder field which wasn’t steep and so not too difficult to cross.

Cairn Lochan

Afterwards I wondered about that other path and decided to go back and see if I could find it from below. The stormy weather was meant to ease in the afternoon I did this so I had a late start. Initial sunshine was promising, and deceptive. I could see traces of snow high on Cairn Lochan and the sky appeared to be clearing. The change came very fast. In just a few minutes the clouds thickened, a cold wind roared, and torrential rain fell. Walking straight into it I felt scoured. 

Storm blasted

As I entered the rocky defile of the Chalamain Gap the storm cleared and the sun appeared, shining straight into my face. I welcomed the sunshine but would have preferred it anywhere else on the walk. The boulder scramble through the Chalamain Gap isn’t difficult but concentration is required and being dazzled by the sun didn’t help in selecting which rock to step on next. After the rain the boulders were greasy too, as a walker coming the other way warned me. I slipped a few times, bruised my shin, then decided slowing down, testing foot placements, and taking short steps was advisable. Two walkers coming the other way were also moving cautiously. “Slow and steady”, said one. They were the last people I saw all day. 

The Chalamain Gap

Down in the boulders it felt warm as the air was calm. However once out of the ravine the cold wind reminded me of the time of year. The sun vanished again as more thick clouds rolled in. I soon found the path up Creag an Leth-choin, the start marked by a small cairn. I’ve walked this way many times, including twice previously this year, but couldn’t remember ever noticing it.

The path was narrow and overgrown in places but quite clear. As it reached steeper ground it took a careful line, avoiding boulder fields as far as possible. It had been designed well. As the angle eased I lost it a few times. Eventually it disappeared altogether, or maybe I couldn’t see it. The terrain was easy here, just short vegetation and stones, so I just angled up to the ridge. I was recording the route on Topo GPS on my phone and looking at this afterwards I could see I’d paralleled the path and was only a hundred metres or so from it. I’ll have to go back and see if I can find this top section.

The Lairig Ghru

This wasn’t the day for that though as I was now in the cloud and the wind was very strong and cold. Rain was starting again too. I went over Creag an Leth-choin, with fleeting views down the Lairig Ghru pass, and then descended to the Sugarbowl car park, the last hour by headlamp as night fell.

A Look At The December Issue Of The Great Outdoors

The December issue of The Great Outdoors is out now with an emphasis on winter, as you'd expect at this time of year. However I have a combined trip and gear report on a walk and camp in last summer's heatwave! Originally scheduled for November it got bumped an issue and so now appears surrounded by snow and ice. 

Also in the gear pages I review the Henri-Lloyd Mav Lite Shell waterproof jacket and the Klattermusen Ansur Hooded Wind Jacket, Alex Roddie tests ten head torches, and Lucy Wallace reports on three pairs of winter eyewear.

In the Winter Skills section winter novice Isla McCay describes taking part in the Introduction to Winter Skills course at Glenmore Lodge, James Roddie gives advice on using ice axe and crampons, Lucy Wallace looks at winter hazards, Jon Jones, the Head of Rock and Mountain at Glenmore Lodge, goes through the steps for a successful winter day out, avalanche forecaster Mark Diggins does a Q&A on being avalanche aware, and there's another Q&A with Glenmore Lodge Chief Instructor Heather Morning. 

In the main features six regular contributors describe their most memorable winter days, David Lintern goes winter mountaineering on Carn Dearg Meadhonach and the Carn Mor Dearg Arete, and Norman Hadley goes 'bumbagging' and has a winter camp on Scafell Pike.

Far from winter and the UK Anna Richards tackles 350-miles of the wonderful-sounding Transcaucasian Trail in Armenia.

The issue opens with a splendid winter view down Glen Etive from Buachaille Etive Beag by Simon Atkinson. Creator of the Month is snow artist Simon Beck. Jim Perrin's Mountain of the Month is Ireland's highest, Carrauntoohil. Continuing her series on her walk round the coast of Britain Emma Schroeder celebrates Scottish clouds.

In the Wild Walks pages Stefan Durkacz climbs Fuar Bheinn and Creach Bheinn in the West Highlands, Craig Weldon casts a Brocken Spectre on Stuc a' Chroin in the Southern Highlands, Francesca Donovan finds magic on Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike, Roger Butler explores Heron Pike and Loughrigg Fell above Grasmere, and Andrew Galloway wanders over Bera Mawr and Bera Bach in the Carneddau in Snowdonia.

Tony Hobbs videos of our Cairngorms trip

 

Tony Hobbs has five videos on our October Cairngorms trip I wrote about here. Above is the first one. 

It's interesting seeing a different perspective on a trip!

October Colours

Oak, aspen, & birch

October is the most colourful month. At least for colour on a landscape scale. Spring and summer flowers are bright and beautiful but they are small in the Highlands. Trees are big. And in autumn they can be startlingly brilliant, with colours that can seem unreal. 

Goat willow

Every October the colours are so strong that I always think they are the richest ever. From looking back through my photos I think that this year that may be true. 

Cherry

After the hot summer autumn began slowly with little colour appearing in late September. Often there are strong colours then. The autumn has been very mild too with few frosts so far. There has been much rain and most days have been cloudy. All these factors must contribute to how the autumn colours develop. It's a complicated process.

Rowan, birch, & goat willow

Not all trees have been bright this autumn. For the second year running rowans, which can turn a beautiful red, have gone from green to a brief orange and then a dull brown. Conversely aspens have been an even more intense yellow than most years.

Aspen

I've posted pictures of the autumn colours in Glen Feshie and Rothiemurchus Forest in my accounts of camping trips in those areas. All the photos in this post were taken on short walks from my home in Strathspey.

Aspen & beech

Birch & cherry

Cherry & aspen

Birch & aspen

Birch, aspen & beech

Birch & aspen

There'll be another week of colour, maybe two, but the leaves are falling now in autumn gales. 

Aspen & birch

Farewell to October. It's been a glorious month.

Waiting for Winter & a look back at early November last year

Cairn Lochan, November 4, 2021

The clocks go back tonight. In the Cairngorms sunset is at 16.35 tomorrow. Sunrise is at 07.24. Nine hours between them, daylight time that will shrink until the Winter Solstice. It's time for early starts and headlamps. It should be time for warm clothing and thoughts of ice axes and crampons but it isn't. It's unusually warm for the time of year. There have been dustings of snow on the summits but they haven't lasted. 

There's no sign of cold weather in the forecast but this can change quickly. Last year October was mostly snow and frost free, though not as warm as this year. Then in early November the first substantial snow fell and I had a great day out in winter conditions in the Cairngorms. All the photos in this post were taken on that day, November 4, 2021. Will it be the same this year? I hope so!

Cairn Toul appears amongst the swirling clouds

Here's a short piece I wrote for The Great Outdoors about how much I enjoy winter in the mountains, especially when solo.

View over Bod an Deamhain to Beinn a' Ghlo

Winter is exciting, challenging, beautiful. The mountains feel bigger, remoter, wilder. And they are. Winter means cold, short daylight hours, snow, storms. Time shrinks. Everything takes longer. The weather really matters in a way it doesn’t in summer. A storm doesn’t just mean you might get wet, it can mean blizzards, white-outs, hurricane force winds. Snow can bring avalanche danger too. Before every trip I check the mountain forecast and the avalanche forecast, and then decide on my plans. Winter mountains are not to be taken lightly. Especially when solo. It’s not the time to take risks.

Beinn Mheadhoin

At the same time the rewards of winter are immense. Being alone in the mountains as the stars sparkle in a dark sky above the ghost-white snow or the sun rises above a frosty camp. Making a new ski or snowshoe track through unbroken snow in the deep silence of a calm day. Navigating through a white-out with only your skills and equipment to keep you safe. 

 

Solo winter adventures mean self-reliance, confidence in your abilities. There’s no-one else to turn to.