The real joys of backpacking now await you. You've got past the first hurdle. Being in remote areas on your own is when the real fun starts.
He was right on that one! At the start of this week I set out on my first solo backpack, and here's the report, if anyone's interested.
A conference in Glasgow gave me the perfect opportunity to take a couple of days off and head out for my first backpacking adventure in Scotland. It would be a 3 dayer, well, one full day book-ended by two half days, the 45 or so km from Spean Bridge to Rannoch through the Lairig Leacach over to Loch Ossian and down to Rannoch along the flank of Carn Dearg. It seemed an ideal first Scottish jaunt, with nothing over 500m, no route-finding problems and no serious river crossings. I planned the route on Memory Map and ‘followed’ it on Geograph, which confirmed that Harvey was correct in placing a bridge over the Allt a’Chuil Choirean (phew!), which OS didn’t mark.
With the forecast a bit iffy for the full day’s walk, I arrived at Buchanan bus station where another walker was waiting for the bus. “Off to Skye?” I asked. The OS map of Skye was a bit of a give-away, I’ll admit. But his response was something of a surprise. He recognised me from my avatar (my god, there’s no privacy in this world!!). OMer Norrie was also heading off for a few days and the journey was much more pleasant for his chat, hill-talk and refreshments (on which more later).
I walked out of Spean Bridge in fine Spring weather and headed up the Lairig, stopping a couple of times to adjust my pack as it was the first time I’d used it on a long walk. Apart from a farmer, a tree-trunk truck driver and a cyclist, I didn’t see anyone til next morning when the inmates of Loch Ossian hostel passed me. I did, however, almost end up adopting a lamb which got confused about who its mother was. I managed to shake it off by crossing a bridge at which point it stopped abruptly, presumably more aware than I of the trolls. The first night’s campsite had been intended to be by the bothy, but I got there at 6 and it was such a lovely evening that I continued for another hour or so before pitching. Dessert was a Lindt chocolate egg that had been a parting gift from Norrie (much appreciated, thanks ), and I was asleep by about 10.
Morning brought a brisk south-westerly but not the threatened rain so I had a bone-dry tent to pack up and I made quick progress south. So quick in fact that it became apparent by about midday that I was going to be at my intended second night’s campsite far too early to stop, and as two lads from the hostel gave me a weather update, and it was too chilly to… chill out when I stopped for breaks, I decided to crack on to Rannoch and reward myself with a night at the hotel. The route from Loch Ossian up to Peter’s Rock was a bit of a slog, but the promises of views kept me going and I stopped there for lunch. Wow! Mountains to the left of me, mountains to the right of me, mountains in front of me (and behind me). Enough cloud to make it interesting, and enough of a breeze to make me work. I am actually quite impressed with myself for going nearly 19 miles, didn’t think I was that fit, though the last stretch along the road was a killer, and boy was I glad to see the hotel come into view. Delight quickly turned to despair – the hotel was shut because Liz had broken her ankle (poor Liz), but the emotions flipped again as I discovered the last train to Glasgow left in 15 minutes. What an amazing feat of engineering that train track is! Rannoch had looked extraordinary from the hills – from the middle of it, even more so....
So, my trip ended sooner than expected but was no less rewarding for that. And I completed my first solo backpack. I know most OMers have walked a lot in Scotland, but I haven’t. It just blew me away, it’s so beautiful and so empty. I'll be back
Kit things: the Velez Adventure Light arrived in time (thanks Whalley Warm and Dry) and was perfect for the trip; I wasn’t able to test its waterproof qualities but it’s a lot lighter and packs a lot smaller than the standard Velez, and I think probably isn’t as hot. My Smartwool micro-weight merino top (zip neck, long sleeves) – worn for 3 days and not a sniff of pong on it. And the Deuter AirContact 50+10 SL, the heaviest rucksack I tried on in my rucksack hunt last autumn, and the most comfortable: not a trace of sciatica which I’ve had from 50+ litre packs in the past.
Thanks to: Lindsay Boyd and ptc* for route reassurance, Jamie for being my check-in contact, Elaina for the weather updates, and Coldplay on the iPod for seeing me through those last 3kms along the road!
), and I was asleep by about 10.
