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[whoRya]

Rumblebum, myself and another mate had planned a wee overnight somewhere in the hills, but coming up to the date the weather was looking like it could be a bit suspect.  Winds were forecast to be gusting up to 50 mph in the morning so a site offering some shelter was a must.  With none of us having been to the site at the Spinkwee River we decided that we would be able to stay there regardless of the weather, and it would be another thing on the wish list ticked.  It was also probably early enough in the season to not be tortured by the midges.

The walk in through the forest was pleasant and not too cumbersome.  Once out on the hillside we had a little bit of an explore, finding another couple of potential future spots for camps.  Having seen some of the photos of previous trips we knew the site offered a great location to spend the night and we weren't disappointed when we arrived.  Unfortunately though the previous visitors had shown little respect for the environment in which they had the privilege to enjoy spending some time.  The entire contents of their camp had been discarded including not just the usual packaging but also insulated flasks, aluminium water bottles and the complete components of a damaged tent

With the tents pitched and a camp fire lit, we fired up the stoves for dinner and enjoyed a pleasant evening under a clear starry sky. 





Just after midnight this guy came out of the darkness and joined us.  He didn't say much but we felt we had to offer him some honey roasted nuts and a glass of red wine to wash it down regardless.  He then left as suddenly as he had appeared.  I was glad, the conversation felt a bit awkward with a stranger in our midst.


The first of our party turned in while myself and Rumblebum sat on for a while longer into the wee small hours putting the world to rights.  We gathered as much of the rubbish as we could and burnt it on the fire.  Included in the rubbish was unopened tinned foods.  The nice thing about leaving camp in the morning is knowing that you have consumed some of the weight you have carried the day before - carrying other people's rubbish out again is a bit depressing.  Rumblebum came up with what he thought was a cunning plan to deal with a full tin of beans throwing it into the heart of the fire.  Now I'm no physicist but vacuum sealed things and fire don't usually mix too well.  well no matter, the fire was in its retirement phase anyway so I thought we'd probably just end up carrying a slightly charred full tin of beans the next day.

We sat enjoying the peace and quiet and watching the glow of the fire, then the next thing was a huge BOOM as the tin of beans exploded, exploding our fire with it.  We both sat for a moment processing what had just happened before becoming creased in laughter at the site that now surrounded us.  "What the heck was that?" came the call from our fellow camper awoken from his slumber by the blast.  Surveying the blast area we could see that a half eaten packet of donuts had been blown about 6 feet away and various lumps of wood had similarly been catapulted in all directions.  Despite only sitting 2 foot from the fire we had moved so quick that the back of our coats were the bits that got covered in most of the tomato sauce.  We were lucky the blast mostly went sideways and not towards us.

Where Rumblebum had been sitting a few minutes earlier.




The su su su su su su su suspect device .


Having totally decimated our wee fire it was time to hit the sack.


The next morning we had a quick dander up around the flank of Luke's Mountain before following the river back into the forest. 
Another quality night under canvas, and a few more funny memories to add to life's experience.



     

The only downer was having to carry three bags of other people's rubbish off the hill.  We brought back pegs, poles, bottles, cans, flasks etc but unfortunately we had to leave the discarded tent inner, outer and a full size camping chair.  Perhaps if someone else is passing they'll bring a little bit more back again.
 
   

[Rumblebum]

Nice write up mate, you gave me a really good laugh reading that.

Another quality night in the hills! Ohhh and i told ya you didn't need a middy net, I pack light   

[KyleL]

Nice one! I was meant to go to Spinkwee that night but decided against it, I wish I had gone now and met up with you guys - sounds like great craic.

How's the tempest going?

[Mourneman]

Karma lads,it's unfortunate people litter places like this,spinkwee is such a nice wee camping spot,some guy walked into the camp at midnight,that's just wired up,what was he doing up there,freaky shit

[whoRya]

Karma lads,it's unfortunate people litter places like this,spinkwee is such a nice wee camping spot,some guy walked into the camp at midnight,that's just wired up,what was he doing up there,freaky shit

Sorry Mourneman, my humour must have been a little subtle.  He looked like he needed a bit of a feed and kept spilling the wine **see below**

Just after midnight this guy came out of the darkness and joined us.  He didn't say much but we felt we had to offer him some honey roasted nuts and a glass of red wine to wash it down regardless.  He then left as suddenly as he had appeared.  I was glad, the conversation felt a bit awkward with a stranger in our midst.

Nice one! I was meant to go to Spinkwee that night but decided against it, I wish I had gone now and met up with you guys - sounds like great craic.

How's the tempest going?

Cheers Kyle, yea it's a shame you didn't go with your gut feeling and go on Friday    We'd only really firmed up where we were going to stay on the way there.  It was one of those weeks where you are constantly watching the weather forecast hopeful for a window of opportunity to open.

That was the first sleep in the Tempest, it's a great wee tent.  Pitches easily, feels sturdy and the 300 is plush for two sharing.  Can't quite picture how you pitched it on the side of Slieve Bearnagh, and the steep side at that!

[Glenn B]

Brilliant lads my sides are bustin I'm sure u's near sh1t. When the beans went off lol. The pic were the beans are all over the show had the tears rolling down my face. If I had of been there you would have had to send for an ambulance as I would have been killing myself laughing. 1st class lol.

[Kayakgirl]

Laughed lots, thanks for the write up guys!

[Wolverine]

That's a great write up lads and nice pics. Weird one indeed regarding the sudden appearance of a stranger?

I'm going camping this week for an overnighter to Annalong with my 2 boys, and I can assure you I won't be as welcoming if a strange man appears from nowhere in the dark.

The beans episode sounded like an outtake from ' Blazing Saddles'. Very funny.

[Wolf_Larson]

Nice one lads looks class

[RedLeader]

Classic stuff guys. Beans always cause some sort of explosion for me, maybe it's better out of the tent than in

[Fred]

Nice one lads. You were lucky that you werent hurt which is just as well because you would look a bit silly turning up at casualty covered in beans!

Fred

[KyleL]

Classic stuff guys. Beans always cause some sort of explosion for me, maybe it's better out of the tent than in

Oh dear

[Typo-On]

lol he'll forever be known as Beano! now

[surfnscenic]

Class. Gives a bit of a twist to "Blazin' Saddles?"

[sjh1]

I was up there on the afternoon of the 11th to check on the Grey Wagtail nest-site I found last year. They'd used it again but the nest had been predated, only one broken egg.

Saw your sheep-skull friend and the wee seat, very nifty, did yous build that? I saw the wreckage of the chair, tent (and beans!) but to my shame didn't take them back with me. Actually thought the place looked quite tidy compared to the last time I was up there (and did a bit of tidying myself), so yous did a good job.

Would attach pics of nest and seat but it's a nuisance uploading to flickr or whatever. Make posting pics easier please!

... and should add, some at least of the birch saplings on the steep eastern river bank are surviving the sheep, others not so fortunate. Damn sheep!

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