My Favourite Camps of 2024 & The Tents I Used

Coire Ardair, Creag Meagaidh, April. Mountain Laurel Designs DuoMid XL.

The winter solstice is when I to start looking back on the year that's ending and at the trips and camps I've done. For the fifth year running I didn't venture beyond the Scottish Highlands. As I said last year, there is so much to do here! Most trips were just two or three days. The longest was eighteen days on the Cape Wrath Trail in the Northwest Highlands in mid-May and early June, the second longest six days also on the Cape Wrath Trail in October. And I still didn't quite complete it! 

Last camp on Cape Wrath Trail near Sandwood Bay, October. Uncomfortable but sheltered from the worst of the wind. Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstars. Tony Hobbs has just lowered his as we packed up in the rain.

I camped at least once every month except for August and December (I don't think I'll manage another trip between now and New Year). Overall I had some great camps and splendid walks. Here's some pictures from each month. As someone usually asks about one or two of the tents this year I've made a few comments about them. I've also given links to my posts about the trips.

Dawn in the Cairngorms, January. Nortent Vern 1 (Version 1).

My first camp was in January in snow on Miadan Creag an Leth-choin in the Cairngorms. The temperature fell to -7C and I needed crampons and ice axe for the walk over the Northern Corries the next day. The Vern 1 is the only tent I had to test this year. I never reviewed it as the design was changed drastically and I never received the new version. 

On the Moine Mhor, Cairngorms, January. Nortent Vern 1 & Hilleberg Nammatj 2.

January saw a second Cairngorms trip, this time two nights with Tony Hobbs. There was less snow than earlier in the month and we pitched on frozen ground.

Down in Glen Feshie, January.

After crossing the Moine Mhor we descended into Glen Feshie for a sheltered camp in the forest as the wind picked up.

Deep in the forest, February. Hilleberg Soulo.

February saw another forest camp in the Cairngorms with Tony, this time in Rothiemurchus Forest. We had intended camping higher but couldn't find a site that was reasonably sheltered from the fierce wind and not sodden from recent rain and snowmelt. Down in the trees I didn't need the Hilleberg Soulo, the strongest most storm-resistant tent I have. A much lighter shelter would have been fine.  The next day we failed to reach a summit due to the wind.

By the Allt Coire Bhlair, Glen Feshie, March. Mountain Laurel Designs DuoMid XL. 

March saw three trips. Early in the month I walked through Glen Feshie and camped where the forest starts to fade away before heading up to snowy Mullach Clach a' Bhlair and back down to the glen. For this trip I took the DuoMid XL pyramid tent, which has been a favourite for a decade. I love the room inside, especially when used with just a groundsheet, as I usually do.

Below Sail Mhor, March. Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar.

Two weeks later I made the first trip of the year away from the Cairngorms when I headed west to An Teallach to join the It's Up To Us path work for a feature in The Great Outdoors. My magazine work finished I walked up the Allt Airdeasaidh glen to camp between An Teallach and Sail Mhor. I climbed the latter from camp on the spring equinox. The superb Trailstar tarp I used has been a favourite for over twelve years and by far my most used shelter in that time as it's been on several long-distance walks including the Scottish Watershed. 

 

Spring snow camp, March. Mountain Laurel Designs DuoMid XL.

My third March trip was back in the Cairngorms on the annual Inverness Backcountry Snowsports Club igloo building trip on the Moine Mhor.  Having helped with the igloos I retired to the quiet of my tent. This was the last camp on snow until the autumn.

Dusk in Coire Ardair, April. Mountain Laurel Designs DuoMid XL.

In April I was joined by Tony Hobbs again for a walk into Coire Ardair below the great cliffs of Creag Meagaidh. From our camp we went over snow-covered Creag Meagaidh. Ice axes were still needed.

Upper Glen Affric, Cape Wrath Trail, May. Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL.

Mid May to early June I was on the Cape Wrath Trail, completing most of it before storms persuaded me to leave the rest for better weather. The first five days were superb with clear blue skies and sunshine. Then it became rainier and windier. I took the SoloMid XL as it's lighter than the DuoMid XL and has a door that can be closed, unlike the Trailstar. I gave it Best Buy in a review of solo tents in The Great Outdoors.

Lovely evening light at Loch Coire Fionnaraich after a wet day, Cape Wrath Trail, May

There was fine light at times though, even if short-lived, and I still had some good camps.

Glen Oykel plantation, Cape Wrath Trail, June. Tony with the Mountain Laurel Designs Grace Tarp.

Tony Hobbs joined me for the last four days of this trip, during which the weather worsened. After one wet and windy day we found a sheltered site in a plantation in Glen Oykel, not a scenic site but a very welcome one. The next morning the sun shone for a short while and we were able to air our damp gear.

Last camp on the Cape Wrath Trail, June.

After crossing a high pass in very strong winds and with a forecast for even stronger ones to come along with heavy rain we had one last camp before I decided to end the walk at Inchnadamph.

Stormy by Loch Eanaich, July. MSR Hubba NX Solo.

July saw just one camp before an operation on my hand put me out of action for a couple of months. Back in the Cairngorms I walked up Gleann Eanaich to camp by Loch Eanaich. The weather was wet and windy and the next day I walked back out the same way, which was no hardship in this beautiful landscape. Forgoing pyramid tents I took the MSR Hubba NX Solo, a good three-season tent I like but for some reason don't use that often. I should take it out more often.

On the Cairngorm Plateau, September. Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL.

August was spent waiting for my hand to heal. By early September I felt ready for an overnight trip so I went up to the Cairngorm Plateau. The weather was hot and dry and after a comfortable camp I wandered up Ben Macdui and then back across the Plateau. 

At Fuaran Diotach, September. Mountain Laurel Designs SoloMid XL.

Ten days later I was out in the Cairngorms again, this time camping on the flanks of Sgor Gaoith before traversing that hill and Sgoran Dubh Mor in mixed weather.

Below Scotland's highest waterfall,  the Eas a' Chual Aluinn, Cape Wrath Trail, October. Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar.

Early October saw a return to the Cape Wrath Trail with Tony Hobbs and a five day walk from Inchnadamph to Sandwood Bay in increasingly stormy weather.

At Lone, Cape Wrath Trail, October.

On this walk I took the Trailstar for the extra room and storm resistance. I didn't need a mesh inner as midge season was over nor a zipped door for privacy on camp sites. I just took a groundsheet and revelled in all the space.

Shelter in the forest, October. Hilleberg Niak.

Later in October I had a camp in Glen Feshie, a place I always visit in the autumn as the colours are wonderful. I used the Hilleberg Niak which had just been returned by Tony Hobbs who'd had it on loan for a year or so. Whilst it's a bit heavy compared with the pyramid shelters it is very roomy and quite stable. The latter was needed on this trip as it was quite windy.

In Strath Nethy. November. Hilleberg Niak.

I liked using the Niak so much I took it out again in November for a camp in Strath Nethy in the Cairngorms before I went up to The Saddle and back to Glenmore via Ciste Mhearad. 

Early morning, November. Hilleberg Soulo.

My camping in 2024 ended as it had begun with a camp in the snow on Miadan Creag an Leth-choin. This time the temperature fell to -9C. I took the Hilleberg Soulo, which was appropriate up here rather than in the forest, though the weather was less wind

Tents and tarps I've used for long-distance walking over the decades

In the Wintergear Voyager on the Continental Divide Trail in 1985

A few weeks ago I posted about the packs I've used on long-distance walks. As that proved popular here's a round-up of the various shelters I've chosen over the years.

Starting out with ridge tents I then went to domes and hoops as curved poles became standard and then back to ridge tents when designs arrived that could be pitched with trekking poles. Most recently I've abandoned tents altogether and gone for shaped tarps. The tents I used in the early days would still be fine now though. What's changed is the materials. Modern shelters weigh less for the same space whilst being tougher and more durable.

My first backpacking tent was a single-skin ridge tent with no vents and no porch. The condensation was horrendous! I never used it on more than two-night trips. Next came a Saunders Backpacker II sloping ridge tent which was double-skin and had a big porch. I took this on the Pennine Way in 1976. Whilst it performed okay the sides did bellow in and out in strong winds as they were unsupported.

The Ultimate Tramp on a winter camp in Snowdonia

Wanting a more stable tent for my first really long walk, Land's End to John O'Groats in 1978, I chose another sloping ridge tent but one with side guylines and an A-pole at the front, the Ultimate Tramp. This proved excellent. I wasn't a photographer when I did that walk - my cheap compact camera broke in the first few weeks - so I have no pictures of the Tramp from it. I did find the photo above in a box of old prints, taken a year later, by which time I'd acquired another camera.

Both those ridge tents weighed around 1.8kg and had polyurethane coated flysheets that weren't that durable. As I didn't think the Tramp would last another long walk I looked for something else for my next trip. I also admit to being seduced by the new flexible pole hoop and dome tents that arrived around 1980 and which gave more space for the weight and it was one of these that I chose for the Pacific Crest Trail in 1982.

Wintergear Eyrie, Pacific Crest Trail, 1982

The Wintergear Eyrie was a two pole dome tent with a third pole for the porch. It was also single-skin and made of Gore-Tex. In the dry conditions of most of the walk it worked really well but in rainy and snowy weather in the Cascade Mountains near the end of the walk there was rather too much condensation for comfort. It was quite heavy at 2.26kg but very roomy and easy to pitch. The tent didn't last much longer than the walk though as soon afterwards it leaked badly in a Scottish downpour. It was the only time I ever used a single-skin tent on a long walk.

Wintergear Voyager, Continental Divide Trail, 1985

I used another Wintergear tent, the Voyager (still available from Terra Nova), on the Continental Divide Trail. This three-pole semi-geodesic dome was very stable and roomy but also quite heavy at 2.7kg. For the first 500 miles it housed two of us as my friend from the PCT Scott Steiner accompanied me. After that I had to carry it myself. It was the first time I'd used a tent that pitched inner-first, which was useful on nights when I wanted shelter from bugs or a breeze but rain was unlikely. Using just the inner there was never any condensation.

The Phoenix Phreeranger, Canadian Rockies walk, 1988

For my next two long walks, the length of the Candian Rockies and the Yukon Territory south to north, I chose a tent from a new British company, Phoenix Mountaineering, the successor to Ultimate, whose Tramp I'd used a decade earlier. This was the first single hoop tent I'd used and I liked the space, the weight (1.8kg) and the stability, even if the nine guylines could get tangled. The Phreeranger is the only tent I've used on two long-distance walks. I really did like it!

Phoenix Phreeranger and all my gear, Yukon walk, 1990

After four North American walks I returned to Europe for my next one, the Scandinavian mountains from south to north. Appropriately I chose a Scandinavian tent for this, the Nallo 2 from Swedish company Hilleberg. This two-pole tunnel tent weighed 2.2kg and was very roomy and stable. It needed to be the latter as this was by far the stormiest long walk I'd done so far. (It was soon to be surpassed). Like other tunnel tents it was best pitched rear to the wind for stability. There was one night when the wind changed and started pushing the sides of the tent against me and flexing the poles alarmingly. I got out into the black wetness and turned the tent ninety degrees. The shaking stopped and I went back to sleep. The Nallo 2 was the first tent I used with a silicone nylon flysheet rather than a PU coated one. Every shelter I used after the Nallo 2 was made from this light durable material.

Hilleberg Nallo 2, Scandinavian Mountains walk, 1992

I loved the Nallo 2 and I was impressed with the quality but I did wish it weighed less. At the time it was the lightest tent Hilleberg made. However not long after my Scandinavian walk the company introduced a solo tent that has been one of my favourites ever since, the Akto. This single-hoop tent weighed 1.7kg (the current version is made from lighter materials and weighs a little less). I chose it for my walk over the Munros and Tops and really tested it as this was even stormier than the Scandinavian Mountains walk. The Akto came through fine and I've since used it on many Scottish walks, including several TGO Challenge coast-to-coast crossings of the Highlands.

Hilleberg Akto, Munros and Tops walk, 1996

After two wet and windy walks I wanted to go somewhere warm and dry for my next trip. I'd really enjoyed the desert sections on the PCT and CDT so a return to the SouthWest USA seemed a good idea. After the Munros and Tops walk I did a two-week trip in the Grand Canyon with the Akto and realised that excellent though this tent was it wasn't needed for a desert walk where rain was very unlikely and I could sleep under the stars most nights. Also, I was now using trekking poles regularly and wanted to use them as tent poles too to save some weight. Designers hadn't caught up with this idea yet. So when I decided to walk the Arizona Trail I looked for a tarp rather than a tent and ended up with a shaped one called the Kathmandu Trekking Basha-Tent, which could be pitched as a pyramid. With a groundsheet and pegs the weight was 1.2kg, far lighter than any tent I'd used yet it was also far roomier than any of them too. I used it to keep off the wind on quite a few nights, which it did very well, and just once some rain and wet snow.

Kathmandu Trekking Basha-Tent, Arizona Trail, 2000

Having enjoyed using a tarp I took another one on my next walk, a 500 mile circular walk through the High Sierra starting and finishing in Yosemite Valley. I didn't reckon I needed the space or stability of the Basha-Tent so I took an even lighter tarp, the GoLite Cave. The weight with pegs and a groundsheet was 794 grams. Most nights I slept under the stars but I did pitch the Cave a few times when it looked like rain.

GoLite Cave, High Sierra, 2004

Using trekking poles for pitching the tarp was a success so I was determined not to carry tent poles on future long walks. However my next long walk, the Pacific Northwest Trail, went through country where it could be wet and windy and where mosquitoes could be a problem. I wanted something with doors I could close so I went back to a tent, a sloping ridge tent in fact that looked very like the one I'd used on the Pennine Way over thirty years earlier. However because it was made of silnylon and could be pitched with trekking poles the GoLite Shangri-La 1 only weighed 963 grams.

GoLite Shangri-La 1, Pacific Northwest Trail, 2010

The Shangri-La 1 had an inner, the Nest, that could be pitched on its own, which I did at camps where mosquitoes were biting but there was little chance of rain, the first time I'd had a tent that enabled me to do this since the Voyager on the CDT 25 years earlier. As the Nest was made of mesh rather than solid nylon it was even better than the Voyager inner as it meant I could see out whilst safe from the bugs.

GoLite Shangri-La Nest, Pacific Northwest Trail, 2010

I returned home for the next long walk, the Scottish Watershed. This high exposed route could be very wet and windy (it was) so I wanted a shelter that would stand up to big storms. I remembered how good the Basha-Tent had been in strong winds so I looked for something similar and found the Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar, which is amazingly stormproof yet very light. Knowing midges were likely I paired it with an OookWorks mesh Nest, which could be hung inside. The total weight was 1.16kg and like the Basha-Tent the room was more than I needed. At times the weather was as wild as on any walk I'd done and I was very glad of the Trailstar's wind resistance.

Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar, Scottish Watershed, 2013

After the storms of the Watershed I fancied another dry walk so my next one was from Yosemite Valley to Death Valley. I hoped to sleep under the stars most nights and I didn't really need a storm resistant shelter like the Trailstar. I took it anyway as it had become a favourite and it was so light. As I wasn't expecting mosquitoes I dispensed with the mesh inner and just took an ultralight Tyvek groundsheet. The total weight was just 801 grams. I did have some big winds in the desert that made the Trailstar worth carrying but overall I could have managed with an even lighter, smaller tarp like the GoLite Cave.

Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar, Yosemite Valley to Death Valley, 2016

Whern I wrote this piece I ended it "my next walk? Probably the Trailstar again". It was, on the next two long walks in fact.

The first was 400 miles on the GR5 through the Alps from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea. Again I was expecting mosquitoes as it was another autumn walk and I took the same setup as on the Yosemite to Death Valley walk. The weather was wetter and windier than on that walk though and I used the Trailstar every night.

Trailstar on the GR5 after a thunderstorm, 2018

The second was another 400 mile walk, this time through the southern Colorado Rockies on the Continental Divide Trail, a section where I'd been forced to take a lower route by blizzards and deep snow on my CDT hike in 1985. I took the mesh inner because there were likely to be mosquitoes early on, as there were, but only for the first week.

Trailstar in the Colorado Rockies, again after a thunderstorm, hence the drying waterproofs, 2019