Munros Fifty to Fifty Three

[Chris Henshall]

15th. August, 1982:
My brother Nick and I were now a week into our unsupported walk from Lochluichart and were wandering the glens heading vaguely south towards Glenfinnan. Yesterday we had camped by the River Meig in Gleann Fhiodaig and then threaded our way through to the lonely fastness of the Orrin Valley before climbing high onto the western shoulder of Sgurr na Fearstaig. We had put up the tent by some lochans and, not having a watch with us and not realising it was probably only early afternoon, we turned in for the night as the weather was poor. Later, though, we were woken by bright sunshine and piled out of the tent to catch a brilliant sunset and, we thought, glimpses of the sea to both east and west.

Looking south west from our high camp on the western shoulder of Sgurr na Fearstaig (14.08.1982)

Sunset views from our camp high on the western shoulder of Sgurr na Fearstaig (14.08.1982)

Given our high starting point at over 2,500 feet, the next day was not especially demanding and we packed up late before wandering over the four Munros to the north of Glen Strathfarrar in cold, windy conditions carrying our heavy loads.

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

We got down to the glen and camped in relatively lush pasture, trying unsuccessfully to dry out by virtue of a fire and some intermittent sunshine.

Drying out by the river in Glen Strathfarrar (15.08.1982)

Next day, we'd be heading south to Glen Cannich and then the heights above Glen Affric.
Next Report: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=69430.

[Beaner001]

Chris I'm really enjoying your reports and old photos, keep them coming pal

[Chris Henshall]

Chris I'm really enjoying your reports and old photos, keep them coming pal

Thanks Beaner and sorry for the long delayed response! Unless I start writing up old trips from abroad (and I've got all sorts of stuff from the Alps, Andes, Iceland, Kashmir and Morocco), I've run out of reports and old photos of walks in Scotland so I'll just have to keep doing new ones...

[Sgurr]

We had a tent like that. It was pretty soon relegated to the kids for playing in the garden. It also looks like the tent SimonP took on his infamous walk in the Lakes, aged 15 1/2 http://www.scottishhills.com/html/modules.php?name=Trip_Report&topicid=12564 "God Looks After Fools and Drunks". I went to look for the report when I heard that a teenager lost in The Lake District had been found.

[Chris Henshall]

We had a tent like that. It was pretty soon relegated to the kids for playing in the garden. It also looks like the tent SimonP took on his infamous walk in the Lakes, aged 15 1/2 http://www.scottishhills.com/html/modules.php?name=Trip_Report&topicid=12564 "God Looks After Fools and Drunks". I went to look for the report when I heard that a teenager lost in The Lake District had been found.

That tent was actually a Vango Force Ten - a really robust bit of kit (if quite heavy) which belonged to my brother, although I swapped it with him for a rucksack (which he still uses!) a few years later. One great (rather unethical) advantage of these tents was that they were pretty much universal for school groups and the like so, if you worked in these environments, it was easy to exchange components (like fly sheets with dodgy zips) for replacements. As a result, I used the tent for years; it got a fair bit of use in the garden with the kids but I was still using it on the hill until well after the millennium!
Before my brother gave me the tent, however, I did part own a less wonderful model like the one in Simon P's article which a mate and I bought from the classified ads (remember them?) in the back of a paper before our first trip to the Alps in 1981. It certainly cost (a lot) less than £20 and we treated it with minimal respect. I have great memories of lying in it in Chamonix waiting for the rain to stop with my mate (Norman) deliberately burning holes in the flysheet with his cigarette ends.
Anyway, I still use ancient Force Tens for introductory camping trips with students when they don't have to walk too far; they're more robust than modern tents with bendy (often breakable) poles and, given that they're not made of highly flammable material, they're safe!

[Sgurr]

Very interesting. Can only remember daughter as a (just) teenager using ours in addition to our campervan. She was rather annoyed to be expelled and having seen all the posters about rabid dogs on the continent was convinced they were trying to break in. Alas, can find no photos. SimonP might have had a far less "interesting" night had he yours.