by samanual » Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:39 am
When I was a student a friend and I based ourselves at Creag Dubh for five days of hiking in Glencoe. Our plan was to summit all the main peaks whilst we were there. We got off the train in Bridge of Orchy and cycled up to Glencoe with all our gear. We spotted the bothy from the road, rolled up our trousers and lifted our bikes above our heads. After a while my friend fell into a bog up to his nipples, leaving him with his arms outstretched with his bike above his head. I nearly split in half with laughter.
The bothy is as described in the thread. A large sleeping platform, a very old open fire, a blocked chimney, creaky windows and all rather grubby. We were disappointed to find that the bothy was not, as we had been told, inhabited by paraffin Lizzie, who apparently had a large collection of paraffin lamps and smelled as you would expect. Maybe she was on holiday?
We did feel slightly conflicted using the bothy initially, however after seeing the weather forecast of 4 days of pishing rain, we decided to stay as a tribute to the hardy spirit of the CDMC. In the follow four days we submitted all the main peaks with 0 views, hitching hiking to the bottom of the walks from the main road. I'm surprised people picked us up as the days went by and our faces blacked from the poorly ventilated fire. On one day a glaswegian in a white range rover sport picked us up. We couldn't believe he pulled in. I sat trying to levitate above the white leather seats like I was having a post-curry bathroom visit whilst the driver laughed at how terrible we looked. He runs a bag carrying service for the WHW and owns a BnB in Kinloch - shout out to that man.
One evening after a particularly wet day on Aonach E we went for a few pints at the hotel at the top of the glen. Due to our appearance they asked us to sit outside (the cheek), so on the way out we borrowed some spare coal from the reception fireplace. On return to the bothy I realised that shoving lumps of coal down my wet trousers had been a bad move. We had the fire roaring that night and managed to warm up the water in our socks for the next morning, which was quite a treat.
On the second last day we ended up in Glencoe Village store. At the counter we almost bought the discounted lemon smelling candles that were on offer. However my pal wisely concluded that they wouldn't suit the bothy decor. The cashier laughed and asked how long we'd been staying in the bothy. Too long we replied.
Now many years later I reflect on our time in the bothy and look back with fondness. Now as father I'm not sure I could rough it as I did back then and in hindsight, I'd discourage anyone from using it as a non-member unless totally stuck for other better options. I would especially advise against having the fire lit whilst sleeping, as the ventilation is very poor.
Whilst some here will understandably disagree, I do not regret our trespass and use of the bothy. Had we had a decent tent, money for accommodation or a fancy campervan as many do these days, things would have been different. However for me and my pal hiking in the pishing rain, eating tinned ravioli and running the fire on soggy cardboard pikeyed from the recycling bins at the hotel, we felt we were doing things in the spirit of those who had built the bothy and pioneered many of the routes in the glen so many years before.
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- View from the howff