BAM 2019 Round-up

A wee round up of some of my overnighters for 2019. In some cases, I had multiple trips per month but I've just selected one from each. All were great fun (even if only in retrospect!)



January - Culbin / Loch Morlich

It's always good to get the year off to a flying start. An easy post-pub trip from Nairn along to the beach at Culbin got me a couple of VeloViewer squares too, and I found a lovely wee hollow in the dunes for my tarp. 

February - Loch Mallachie

Ticking off another local bivvy spot. Short/easy ride there and a very "fresh" pitch next to the the Loch. I awoke around 2 am with the wind whistling under the tarp but was so comfy and warm I couldn't be bothered moving. 

March - Strathconon 

We abandoned Neills orginal plan when the mental headwind made riding up the strath very difficult. Once the rain came on too I dug around in my memory banks for an alternative. It turned out to be not as sheltered as I'd have liked and I spent a couple of hours holding the tent pole up to save being blown away.

April - Uath Lochan & Loch Tarff (MM200)

Two overnighters as part of a 3-day ride on the Monadliath Military 200 route. A lack of Smidge and careless camping resulted in me pulling 24 ticks out of my body after the ride.

May - Cairngorm Summit

I'd been thinking about this one for a while and just took a flyer based on the overnight weather forecast. Had to push up through some snow to get to the summit cairn but found a great spot to relax and watch the sunset/sunrise.

June - Lismore 

Another trip I'd been planning off and on for a while. Took in part of the West Highland Way, had a long-dreamed of scoot down Glencoe and then topped off with a bivvy on an island.

July - Loch Morlich

Another post-pub jaunt and back to the shore of Loch Morlich after Neill had a bit of a mechanical and we were running behind schedule. Nice spot but a bit tight for three tents.

August - Glenlivet

A bit of a change. I wanted to try bikepacking on the full-suspension Orbea and using a small backpack. This tied in with a bucket-list trip to Glenlivet. As a rig, it worked out really well and it's a set-up I plan to make more of.

September - CL300

Will I / won't I? After an attempt at the Cairngorms Loop group start was ruined due to flooding, I set a date for a repeat attempt and this one just came off so well. I got round in under 40 hours, which surprised me not a little.

October - Bynack Stable

Dismissed as an option for our June bivvy due to weather and timing, this turned out to be a brilliant spot, fully lit up all night by a huge moon. Bloody cold in the morning though - had to scrape ice off the saddle.

November - Roseisle Forest 

A return visit to a favourite spot but man was it wet getting there (and back) along the Dava Way! 

 


December - Torr Alvie

This only really cropped up as an option after a short ride there with the Fatbike Highland mob. Great spot with extensive views and not as much traffic noise as I'd imagined. A crystal clear night sky and 3 meteors topped it off and I didn't even care that it was minus 4 or 5C.

That's another 12/12 and now 37 consecutive months. I'm not sure I'll carry on that streak through 2020. Likely I'll head out January and February and then see how enthused I am. 

(Thanks to Neill for some of the photos)

May Summit Bivvy

Well, the weather has certainly been somewhat variable. Late snow falls and then a mini-heatwave gave me the idea of doing a high bivvy I had promised myself over the winter but had somehow never fitted in. 

I left around 17:30 in scorching heat and headed up towards Glenmore when I bumped into Neil out for a wee spin and he accompanied me for a bit of a chat (and was on hand to take a photo of/for me). 

Once at Glenmore, the hard work begins so it was a grind up the ski road to the Sugar Bowl car park then up the old zig-zags and thence to the car park.  

I made an effort to cycle up the main access track as much as I could but it's incredibly dry and dusty so traction was almost impossible to find. Luckily, I didn't have to cross any snow until past the Ptarmigan. What little there was created a bit of extra drag on account of it being so soft. With time in hand, I made it to the summit and worked out where the best shelter would be. 

I found a wee spot in amongst the rocks and laid out my bivvy bag, mat and sleeping bag before getting some water on for some soup. It was very relaxed, with only the occasional whirr of the Automated Weather Station for company every 30 minutes. I hoped it wouldn't be so loud as to stop me from sleeping. 

I watched the sky gradually change colour then, just after 10, I flashed Mim with my torch a couple of times and she confirmed she could see me from our bedroom window. That was quite a weird feeling; on the one hand quite remote, but with this very strong connection to home. 

I awoke just after midnight; (1) the moon turned out to be very bright, despite the overhead haze, (2) the wind had shifted and I could now feel it buffeting my bivvy bag and trying to get in the top and (3) my bladder was crying out for relief. The latter made up my mind. I quickly exited the bag, did the necessary, then picked up the bag and moved it round a bit to a big rock shelf I knew from a previous bivvy. However, I was now even more under the glare of the moon. Luckily, my hat was big enough to roll it down and cover my eyes. Though I could still hear the wind, I was now well out of it and settled back to sleep.

By 3:30 or so, the wind had turned again, strengthening too, and I was getting more buffeting which was also cooling me down quite a lot. I now faced the bivvy-dwellers dilemma - get more sleep or stare transfixed at the developing colours in the sky. 



After a while, I cooried down, knowing it wasn't too long before sunrise. At 4:30 I had the water on again for coffee. I've been experimenting with meths stoves recently, in preference to wasting partly-filled gas canisters and not had a lot of success. As it turns out, my meths was just getting too cold. This time, I had the bottle in a bag and the bag inside my sleeping bag being warmed up by my body. This worked a treat and it lit first time. 

After watching the whole of the north-east sky turn a flaming red, the sun eventually burst through and I could immediately feel some warmth from it. 

Packing away my gear, I took the mat out of the bivvy bag and found that the bottom of it was absolutely drenched through condensation. I guess an indication of (a) how cold the rock had been and (b) how well the mat worked given I had been warm enough on it all night. 

The return trip through Glenmore highlighted just how cold it had been, with frost on some of the parked cars. Back in the sunshine, however, it was again very pleasant.

Oh - and no midgies or ticks! This summit camping has much to recommend it.