by DopeyLoser » Wed Jul 17, 2019 6:15 pm
I started out in the 1970s. Things that come to mind additional to what's been mentioned already:
- As well as more hillwalkers paths, which can be quite eroded, there are also some constructed paths in highly trafficked areas.
- Bothies are on the internet; back in the day they were not secret but you'd find out about them through conversation, e.g. around the fire in a bothy.
- Hostels have gone in many areas e.g. north of Glasgow no more Inverbeg, Ardgartan, Loch Ard, Loch Venachar, Balquhidder, Killin, let alone Fintry, Glendevon. Stayed at some of those. Wish I'd stayed at more. Of course the idea was that you could walk from one hostel to the other. Nowadays car ownership has increased hugely so people drive out of the city to the hill then back on the same day.
- There are now many private hostels. I imagine it's about economics and work regulations, the reduction in 'Hostelling Scotland' hostels, and rise in private ones
- Safety: we don't seem to have the kind of tragedies that happened in the 1970s e.g. groups getting lost / frozen on the Cairngorm plateau. In fact it surprises me how few incidents there are, given the large numbers of people on the hill.
- we used to camp. Nowadays we don't camp, we "wild camp".
- we used to buy one of the few tents that was in the Blacks catalogue and we were quite content with it. Nowadays we go on the internet to ask which model out of hundreds of models we should buy. After buying it we are on the lookout for another one that is slightly different.
- we used to take our tents and pitch them at a convenient safe spot at the end of the day. Now we go on the internet to ask for a list of "wild camping" sites, preferably on the top of a mountain for the best experience.
- if our tent blows away we phone the Mountain Rescue to help us (okay, one group did, at Ben Lomond ...)
Oops, getting old and grumpy, sorry.
I will just close with something that has, surprisingly, not changed. When you're on the hill and you pass someone, you'll not only acknowledge each others' presence (rare exceptions) but more often than not there'll be some conversation. Maybe checking the view together, talking about where you've come from etc. And then you move on, just a little bit enriched by the experience. It's wonderful, and has not yet changed.
I have a lovely memory from just last year of being in the absolute middle of nowhere, feeling tired and stressed on a long walk that I wasn't sure I could manage, and on passing near a couple of campers (excuse me, wild campers) being asked "Would you like a cup of coffee?" What a wonderful half hour we spent, chatting and drinking coffee, before going our separate ways. That fellowship hasn't changed. Long may it continue.