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Video of Bivvy, inversion and MilkyWay
I was late – very late…. I had messaged Ray to let him know and to look out for a head torch in the darkness…
The plan was a wild camp on the summit of Ben Chonzie, what with a grand spell of weather, we decided to make the most of it, the only issue was I had commitments during the day that meant I couldn’t leave home until the afternoon. Ray was able to get away earlier and had spent a leisurely day exploring Glen Turret.
I had thought I would’ve made it to the summit before sunset but a series of events put me behind schedule by a few hours and as I left home I stuck my mountain bike in the boot to try and save some time.
Turning the wheels as quickly as I could I sped along the side of Loch Turret with the sun having left the Glen floor about an hour ago! There was still enough light for me to continue without the need for artificial light as I left the bike at Lochan Uaine, but as I reached the col on the should of Chonzie , the head torch was switched on. A faint band of light held on to the west, silhouetting The Lawers group beautifully!
Trudging up the hill in the dark and the senses are heightened. I could hear the stags bellowing and every now and again I could make out their eyes watching me as my head light spun around the landscape. Navigation wasn’t too hard , there was no clag and as Chonzie is a dome summit I just followed my bearing. Things became easier when I saw Rays head torch from the near the summit and he came to meet me. It was now completely dark with no moon as we reached the summit.
Ray had a nice pitch , sheltered from the easterlies with a grand view west. It didn’t take long for me to set up my home for the light – a bivvy bag! Weighing it down so as it didn’t blow away, we headed up to the summit to play about with the cameras.
As we reached the summit we discovered we were not alone. About 100meters to the north of the summit was a red tent , lit up by someone inside. The only problem was it seemed to be floating at the same height as the summit – a mid air pitch! Completely baffled and starting to think we were about to have a paranormal experience, the floating tent revealed itself as no tent but the rising moon! It had given a strange optical illusion for a good 20 seconds! I must admit I was thinking I was going to be making humans first encounter with extra terrestrial beings !lol
Having calmed down and realised that E.T. wasn’t joining us for some wild camping, we took a few shots with the stars and milky way and then retired to the tent and bivvy bag.
Summit selfie and milky way photo :
MILKY WAY SCOTLAND by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr
The main reason I was bivvying was to be able to sleep under the stars. Every time I woke I gazed up at the sky before sleep took me again – it was amazing!
Moon Rising by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr
My final awakening saw the dawn light creeping in to the east and I could see wisps of mist scudding over the summit with a pink hue. Over to the west I could make out we were above the cloud! Blooming fantastic. We quickly got up and walked the 20 yards to the summit were a blanket of cloud had rolled in from the North Sea , providing a cosy sea of cloud for Strathearn. It was a grand morning as we watched the sun rise over Perthshire and over the top of the cloud.
Dawn from The Summit by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr
Loch Turret by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr
Fence to Ben Lawers group by
Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr
Once it was up I unfortunately had to dash again as I had more family commitments. I was down (with the aid of the bike) in quick time and back home ready to take my daughter to her gymnastics by 10am!! A fab wee trip to Ben Chonzie
