walkhighlands

To make the forum a bit more social... for new members (and old ones!) to introduce themselves to the site. You are welcome!

A Weegie New to Hiking

A Weegie New to Hiking


Postby seannno » Thu Apr 20, 2017 1:43 pm

Hi,

I'm completely new to hill walking and have always lived in the city so in the past few weeks I've taken to the country roads (which scare the life out of me!) and done Conic Hill and The Whangie.

I've basically learned only the most basic orienteering skills and am basically at the stage where I can rotate a map via the ViewRanger app but I'd really like to eventually get a decent GPS device in future and learn more.

I have a friend I go hiking with but I like to go outside myself so any suggestions for hills that are fairly easy to navigate but not too short would be good! (I'd like something roughly 2x Conic Hill style walk)

Also open to any tips or any youtubers that may be worthwhile following since I'm trying to learn map reading skills etc too :)

Thanks and hello.
seannno
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Apr 4, 2017

Re: A Weegie New to Hiking

Postby basscadet » Thu Apr 20, 2017 4:15 pm

Welcome to the site :)
Plenty of hills about over Argyll way that would fit the bill, you can use the'find a walk' feature - its affy good :)

find-a-walk.php

You seem quite anxious about the navigation, but this isn't nearly as scary as it seems, especially in decent visability. Most of the hills have a rough wee path up them if you stick to the tourist route, and the closer to Weegieland, the more footfall the hills get, so the bigger the path 8)
User avatar
basscadet
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 2778
Munros:84   Corbetts:52
Fionas:18   Donalds:8
Sub 2000:34   Hewitts:13
Wainwrights:17   Islands:21
Joined: Dec 1, 2011
Location: Edinburgh

Re: A Weegie New to Hiking

Postby weemaw » Thu Apr 20, 2017 5:16 pm

Hi you could contact some of the Mountain Rescue teams who often do navigation days to raise funds and you'll get to pick their brsins about other stuff too !
weemaw
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Dec 31, 2013

Re: A Weegie New to Hiking

Postby SuperMillie » Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:28 pm

There's loads of resources for learning navigation but you could start by looking at the links on this site:
Click the Safety Link (top of the page)>Navigation skills link, head to the bottom of the page and have a look at the links there, i.e. "The Navigators Dozen", etc

If you're looking for free Navigation courses, you could tryhttp://www.mountainaid.org.uk/free-skills-courses.html

I did the Navigation & Winter skills courses and can't fault them
SuperMillie
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 164
Munros:108   Corbetts:1
Fionas:3   Donalds:5
Sub 2000:9   
Islands:12
Joined: Dec 31, 2012
Location: Livingston

Re: A Weegie New to Hiking

Postby derekjburns » Sun Apr 23, 2017 7:12 am

Like yourself, Im fairly new to walking (and im also a weegie haha). I started exploring the trossachs area, did a few forestry tracks to build up fitness then threw myself in at the deepend and climbed Ben Ledi. But my most recent walk was up Ben Venue. Doesnt take much navigation as theres a path almost all the way to the top.
Great day out, especially if the weathers good as the views from the top are stunning!!
derekjburns
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 2
Munros:4   Corbetts:1
Fionas:1   
Joined: Apr 9, 2017




Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Say hello...

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests