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I had Friday afternoon off and I thought I'd take advantage of the extended sunlight hours and head out for a camp.
As I'm keen to tick off the Donalds I had a ponder before deciding that I'd do something similar to ExpatEddie's 2014 hike (
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=48246) over Herman Law, Andrewhinney Hill, and Bell Craig, but with a camp thrown in.
I set off from the parking near Crook Cottage at around 15:30. I should note that this area looks as though it's commonly used as a turning circle so I parked off to the side as much as possible.
After a short stint along the road the initial ascent up towards Brockhope Kips is pretty steep, esp. after 2.5hrs in the car and carrying an overnight pack. But soon I was on the line towards Mid Rig.
The sunlight at that time of the day was becoming beautifully golden and the views to surrounding hills increasingly open and vivid as I continued onto and across the ridge.
Mid Rig looked like a lovely spot to pitch but it was far to early into the hike to do so. Herman was a quick out and back from Mid Rig (it has been very dry recently so I'm sure parts of this section would be very boggy otherwise and therefore, potentially a bit more of a trudge).
Once back at Mid Rig I took a moment to properly take in the view to White Coomb et al. and Loch Skeen (a view that got better as I moved west along the ridge).
Following the fence line I was soon at Andrewhinney Hill. Again, the ground was very dry as I passed by but this definitely looked like a good spot to pitch- good ground and fabulous views.
After a few snaps and taking in the surroundings I cracked on towards Bell Craig. Given how dry it had been of late I decided that I'd keep an eye out for potential water sources on route so that I could top up when possible. The bealach between AH and BC offered a slowly moving burn so I filled up my 500ml Nalgene, ensuring enough water to filter and boil for a meal and a drink later.
I was soon on Bell Craig. I pondered where to camp, including carrying on to Bodesbeck Law. Hunger pangs and acknowledging that I wanted to be back at the car by 08:00 forced my hand a bit, so I decided to take the relaxed approach and camp by the cairn south west off BC summit (again, there were a good few pitches around there).
I must have started to pitch around 17:30/45 (in increasing winds). This was in many ways a good shout. I found a great pitch, once set up I got to leisurely take in my surroundings. I had something to eat at just the right time, before becoming hangry. And then I got to sit outside, leaning against a rock, all bundled up in my insulated layers watching the sun slowly set. Complete bliss.
I fell asleep earlier than I intended, woken a couple of times by squalls, before nodding off again.
I awoke around 06:40 and after breakfast and some faffage, I headed off hill.
