Dales Outdoor Weekend/Backpacker's Club

On the weekend of May 7 and 8 the Backpacker's Club AGM and Dales Outdoor Weekend ihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifs taking place in Stanhope, Country Durham. The event will have lightweight equipment displays and a book fair at which I'll be signing copies of my Scotland book.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif I went to the last big Backpackers Club event like this held in Bellingham in Northumberland in 2007 and it was a really enjoyable weekend. Like Bellingham Stanhope is in a lovely area with plenty of opportunties for walks and cycle rides - an ideal place for an outdoor event rather than the urban exhibition halls in which they are too often held. This is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and look at interesting gear and visit some lovely countryside. I hope to meet many of you there.

More info from event@dalesoutdoorweekend.com and the Backpackers Club, where there is a link to a poster about the event.

The pictures were taken at the Bellingham weekend.

Tramplite Skins Pack Pictures

From top left:

Silnylon small skin

Cuben fibre medium skin with medium hipbelt

Cuben fibre medium skin

Silnylon small skin with small hipbelt

Dyneema medium skin

Silnylon medium skin with rain cover

Silnylon medium skin with no hipbelt frame

Dyneema medium skin with large hipbelt.

The frame disassembled.

Following on from the post about my TGO review of Colin Ibbotson's Tramplite packs here are some larger pictures, as requested by Robin of Blogpackinglight, whose post on the packs is here.

Apologies for the awkward layout. That's the best I can do with Blogger.

First Review of Colin Ibbotson's Tramplite Packs

Recently I was privileged to have a first look at a revolutionary new ultralight pack design from long distance backpacker Colin Ibbotson (who I have written about before - see Ultralight in the Cairngorms). Having had the design explained to me by Colin, examined the different styles and tried a model on day hikes and an overnight trip I've written a piece that is now on the TGO website here.

These packs really are different and look like being the most comfortable ultralight packs available.

The picture shows the Dyneema version, which is the one I have been testing.

Quick Cairngorm Overnight

A sudden opportunity for an overnight trip combined with fine weather and a good forecast saw me hastily packing gear and heading for the Cairngorms late in the afternoon. As I climbed up to the Cairngorm Plateau the shadows were lengthening and the low sun was highlighting the cliffs, making the always dramatic rocks look more jagged and splintered than usual. Once on the tops the stones were glowing gold, the snowfields shining white and the darkening blue sky streaked with fine tendrils and smears of cloud. There was no wind and the air was warm. The last few day walkers started their descent and I was alone, in sole possession of the vastness and space. Dodging round the soft and slippery snowfields I took a circuitous route to the heart of the Plateau where I camped beside a still half-frozen lochan, settling into the tent just as darkness fell. Then as I lay looking out at the silent hills the sky started to brighten again with a yellowish hue on the clouds and a pale grey-blue cast on the snow. A sharp curve of light edged the clouds and slowly an almost-full moon rose over a distant ridge. As the moon crept up the sky I fell asleep to be woken hours later by a restless wind rustling the tent and blowing cold damp air over my face. Zipping up the tent door shut out the breeze and I was soon snuggling deep in my sleeping bag and sinking back into sleep.

Waking again to the very different pale grey of dawn I looked out to see clouds covering the summits. The temperature was not far above freezing and the wind, sweeping over the snow, was chilly. Coffee and muesli set me up for the morning and I was soon climbing the snowfields to Ben Macdui. The summit was cloud free but there was little in the way of views as all around the clouds swirled and surged. Then as I returned across the plateau the clouds began to dissolve, revealing summits and snowfields. A great sweep of shattered blocks and cracked slabs of snow marked avalanches on the Great Slab in Coire an Lochain. The burns running out of the corries were heavy with snowmelt, taking away the last of the winter.

Twenty hours after it began my trip was over, a short but intense immersion into the wild world of the Cairngorms, a familiar landscape but one that never fails to impress with its power and beauty.

From the top the pictures are:
Evening light on the Cairngorm Plateau, April 17.
Early morning at the Lochan Buidhe Camp, April 18.
Across Lochan Buidhe to Cairn Gorm as the clouds clear, April 18.

Spring at Loch Garten

The return of the iconic ospreys to their nest at Loch Garten in Abernethy Forest is an event I look forward to every year and I always go to see them soon after their arrival. For me they are a symbol of wild nature and a signifier of the coming of spring. Hearing that both birds were back (the RSPB reports in detail with http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifa daily blog and live videocams here) my partner and I headed for Loch Garten on a day of warm breezes, cloudy skies and touches of sunshine. Sometimes both birds are away from the nest before eggs are laid and sometimes one is there but low down in the big bundle of sticks. There can be a long wait to see the birds. Today we were in luck and arrived to find the female, EJ, on the nest and the male, Odin, perched on a branch just below eating a fish EJ had brought for him (a rare event as usually the male brings fish for the female). They both looked magnificent, birds of prey in their prime.

After viewing the ospreys from the RSPB hide we had a quiet wander through the pine forest along the edge of Loch Garten and then onto Loch Mallachie. Two red squirrels entertained us chasing each other in and out of the branches of a big pine, stopping occasionally to watch us warily. Their reddish fur and the reddish coloured tree were well-matched, both catching bursts of sunlight. Out on Loch Garten we could see distant flocks of ducks, small black bobbing dots on the water too far away to be identified. Then in a calm bay, where water lilies appear later in the year, a few came close to shore – beautiful goldeneye with their distinctive plumage and ringed eyes. In a flooded marshy area in the trees two mallard paddled. Out on the main body of the loch the breeze rippled the water and the reflections of the clouds shimmered. Beyond the water and the forest the hills rose, dark against the sky as most of the snow has gone.

The forest was calm and quiet, with just the gentle rustle of the wind in the tree tops and the occasional calls of woodland birds. In the distance came the soft murmur of doves. Just once a loud “chrr” broke the peace, a great spotted woodpecker warning of our presence. The forest floor was starting to green over with bilberry bushes and other low shrubs. Soon there will be flowers and more colour.

The photo shows Loch Garten, April 8, 2011.

"Scotland" book signing and book review

On April 16 I'll be at Hilltrek in Aboyne on Deeside to sign copies of my book on the Scottish mountains and chat to anyone who wants to come in for a blether. If you're in the area do pop in and say hello and have a look round Hilltrek's shop. Hilltrek is an outdoor clothing company that makes (and that is "makes" not "imports" - an actual manufacturer) garments suitable for Scottish hill weather from fabrics like Ventile and Nikwax Analogy and also sells Paramo clothing.

"Scotland" has also received another positive review, this time on the website Undiscovered Scotland, which can be found here.

The photo shows Loch Coruisk and the Cuillin, a wild scene on a wild day.

Wind Turbine Politics

Since my post about wild land and the Scottish elections on March 25 the debate has moved on. The Mountaineering Council of Scotland has put out a press release calling for politicians to protect wild land, with the proposed Allt Duine wind farm on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park given as an example of a development too far (Alan Sloman has a good piece on his blog about this - Allt Duinne: The Big Lie). The MCoS press release has resulted in publicity in a variety of places including the Press and Journal newspaper and the Walk Highlands and Grough websites. It's important for those of us who care about Scotland's landscape and natural environment to continue talking about these issues and emphasising how precious our wild land is and how it must be protected. And for those who haven't yet to write to election candidates and ask them whether they'll work for wild land (I haven't yet had any replies to my emails).

The photo is from my unfortunately growing collection of pictures of wind turbines in the Scottish hills. I'm showing these pictures at a meeting on wind farms and the election in Inverness on April 6.