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My last walk report on walkhighlands was over three years ago.
I couldn’t believe that when I checked, but as it was my first ever wild camp I thought I’d share.
I’ve planned to do this for a long time now but matching free time with ideal weather conditions etc. has been tricky.
This was a quick decision as I spotted a good weather window for Wednesday through Thursday morning.
I wanted somewhere relatively easy but still remote enough to get the experience I was seeking.
Thanks to wilkiemurray and others on Walkhighlands, Youtube etc. I settled for Beinn a'Chrulaiste,
hoping for some good photo opportunities.
I parked at Altnafeidh and headed up the hill just after 5.00 pm.
It was my first time with such a heavy pack, 18k
but this was deliberate as I had a lot of overkill with my gear.
First time wild camping with heavy photo gear, plenty of water, food, lights, batteries etc. I didn’t want to scrimp,
I was there to enjoy myself
The summit was reached in just under two hours, I had taken my time,
much slower than my normal hikes, 18k has that effect!
As I arrived I met a young lad who had the sameplan as me and was setting up camp.
We chatted for a while then I searched for a pitch a good distance away from him.
We couldn’t see each others tents so still had the feeling of isolation.
As the night progressed we crossed paths and chatted some more as we both searched for our ideal photos.
For obvious reasons our cameras were pointed towards Buachaille Etive Mor quite a lot.
Taking photos kept me busy till nearly midnight so I was ready for some food.
Jetboil and Adventure Food’s Pasta Bolognese to the rescue,
followed by a cuppa and some chocolate of course.
It was now I expected the midges to spoil the perfect night but surprisingly there
were only a very few which were attracted to my headtorch. It was a still night and quite mild
so I didn’t understand their absence as I was also camped in a grassy waterlogged area.
My pitch was on a convenient rise and nice and dry though.
Into bed and alarm set for two hours later, I wanted some night shots as there was no moon
and I'd hoped for some star shots. I didn’t get exactly what I was after,
although I was pleased with what I ended up with.
No point in going back to sleep, well I’d only had an hour at best anyway so stayed out
hoping for a sunrise. I got mist!
6.00am all packed up and heading for the car.
My first wild camp was a great experience leaving me itching to get back and repeat it as soon as I can!
