(With the stories and pics of you guys doing the wall at the weekend I'm a little bit nervous posting this, which is nothing in comparison, so I'll hide it in this thread...)My first 'in anger' wild bivvy.
Plan:
Dropped off by Mrs at Carrick Little Car Park, along track beside Annalong Wood, up to Lower Cove Mountain, on up to Cove Mountian, if all is well bivvy overnight, otherwise drop back down into the Annalong Valley/Wood to bivvy. Then the next day exit via Brandy Pad to Hare's Gap and down to Meelmore Lodge to be met by Mrs.
Weather forecast: Sat: Clear skies. Sunday: Cloudy & rain. Temp dropping down to -2. Sunrise: 6:12 AM Sunset: 8:32 PM
Saturday Morning.
Up at the crack of dawn to do a wee bit of
this and a wee bit of
that. Top fun (wife now wants to buy an Evo
), give it a go if you can, they are based out towards Craigavon
http://www.superdriveni.com/Running very late, get packed, hit the road 16.00, get slowed down by boy racers who t-boned each other on the road out of Ballynahinch. Lots of fire engines in a hurry somewhere..
17:01
Leave Carrick Little Car Park. Mrs and dog to keep me company as far as the stile.
Pass father and son combo climbing into Annalong Wood otherwise no sign of anyone else in the main camping area.
17:23
17:34
Pass the corner of Annalog Wood. Take second right towards low cove. Remind myself to pace myself.
17:45
17:51
17:58
Arrive alongside Cove cave, realised I was walking too . Dozen climbers doing their stuff, one instructor getting the slight rage when one of his students couldn't get his (insert name of clamp thingy they use) out of the rock. Remind again myself to pace myself.
Pass couple of climbers dragging a serious amount of rope and hardhats.
17:59
18:04
18:06
18:16
(happily) blinded by the sun coming through the shoulder between Slievelamagan and Cove Mountain.
Wave at couple of campers already set up on the lower slopes of Cove and looking a bit board.
18:25
18:32
18:33
Finally find the summit..now time to find a pitch.
18:37
18:41
18:42
Found a pitch
18:46
Let the 'fun' begin
18:52
19:08
19:24
Blood goes cold...not enough pegs.
19:26
19:29
19:30
19:33
19:35
(Yup, folks, it took near an hour to put a tarp up...sob)
19:49
19:57
20:24
Phone home. Hear about fires near Tollymore, look about, see the smoke and later after the sun goes down see the glow of the fires on the hill side.
Starting to get cold (must get a thermometer) time for bed. Sleeping bag and mat into bivvy, boots into carrier bags, everything into rucksack with rain cover on just in case the tarp blows off during the night.
Rucksack just the right height for a pillow...handy enough.
(footage missing)
06:15
Woken up not by sunrise and bird song but my mobile phone alarm going off. Ahh for forks sake! Looked out, bright but lots of cloud, no sign of rain. Rolled over went back to sleep.
07:48
Wake up again, yuck, lots of dark looking clouds coming in. Make 'get me out of here' phone call home.
08:01
09:26
Up, breakfast (should have left left porridge to cool down a bit, no more skin left on roof of mouth), pack-up.
09:35
Head down towards Slieve Beg. Passed by a couple of hill runners going the other way.
10:10
10:18
10:33
Down to the Brand Pad.
Pass gent being pulled along the path by two huskeies, he's heading for Donard.
Meet Mrs and dog halfway along Brandy Pad. Dog pleased to see me....Mrs says "well, you don't smell **too** bad"
11:00
Showing off: stick the tarp up at Hare's Gap, coffee, couple of sausage rolls and an entire packet of chocolate biscuits. Give dog one of his mountain hotdogs. Dog decides he'll go for a scrounge for scraps around the walkers having lunch at the wall (ladies: he knows he looks cute...but please don't feed him...he will end up following you rather than us)
Dog captured, put on lead, lead tied to rock. Go back to lunching walkers, retrieve dog and rock. Find bigger rock. ;0)
11:55
Down from Hare's Gap, past gaggles of DoE's huffing their way up/down the path, over the ford and down the side of Meelmore to the stile to Meelmore lodge. Offload packs into car and then to the cafe for pot of tea and apple pie. \o/
Mini pack list:
DD Tarp (dumped the metal pegs, used plastic ones instead)
tech mate bivvy (£19 TKMax special)
foam mat & water proof picnic blanket (both cheap gelert kit)
Mountain equipment 2 season sleeping bag
1.5l of water in bladder & hip bottle w/ dilutable juice (hate drinking water on the go)
Pocket rocket gas cooker w/ black clip on stand
Sainsbury's microwave rice and curry sauce & small plastic bottle of red wine for afters.
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