G3 Summit meeting
There’s a small (but elite!) band of outdoor bloggers and enthusiasts that meet regularly round Glasgow way, a group which I’m proud to belong to. Most of the time we’re eating random sandwiches in the Tiso cafe and talking gear, but on rare occasions we even manage to get outside.
I’d been planning a day jaunt on the Saturday. Kirsty had plans for the Sunday and given how indulgent she is of me heading out regularly, it’s only fair to respect the occasions when the calendar has an addition for her, so I’d planned a short scramble but now Davy and Sandy were suggesting a Perthshire overnighter. I mentioned this to Kirsty who pointed out that the forecast was good and we’d had so little decent weather this summer it was mad to pass up an opportunity, so she suggested I go along and she would amend her plans. Have I mentioned how wonderful my wife is?
With this approval in the bag, I promptly repacked and got going with an overnight kit. The target was Ben Vorlich and Stuc a’Chroin, old favourites for me; they were the key feature of the view from the end of the garden of our old rental house and I’ve been up there many a time from the Callander side.
Davy suggested the traditional Loch Earn start, so we met there at a very civilised late hour. Big bags were filled with comfort goods. New gear had appeared at the last minute to that was stuffed in, tags and all. Given the short distance weight wasn’t such a big deal so I sneaked in a few luxuries. There was much banter which sped our ascent up the motorway of a track to the summit of Vorlich, which arrived quickly despite the lingering lurgy I had. Davy and Sandy did a good job of ignoring the constant sniffing.
We had tons of time before sunset so we sauntered on down to the bealach and headed towards the nicely rocky face of the Stuc. I’ve scrambled this a few ways, making variations in difficulty, but this time it was the standard route, which is more of a ‘hands out of your pockets’ walk than a scramble to be honest. Still it was fine given the big bag trying to bounce off the back of my napper. We were somewhat surprised to encounter Wonder Woman at the top.
Once the man-in-ladies-pants trauma had worn off, we carried on over to the summit, which is fine and wide and perfect for camping. Some wandering about was done to select a good spot. The wind was getting up and the summit itself is fairly exposed. The shoulder down to the dubh coire was sheltered but very soggy underfoot. Sandy was groundsheet-less so prefer exposed and dry, so the choice was made. The tents went up, and a short relax-et-vous was grabbed.
The wind was steady and fairly strong, soon Davy’s Laser Comp took on a bit of a misshapen appearance. Sandy’s Shangri-La was remarkably stable. Photos were duly taken and then food was the priority.
I scoffed and then lay down for a wee rest. The light was dropping and there was an odd buzzing sound so I got out for a recce. The sun was dipping quickly in the west and I watched as a seaplane headed up Glen Ample, behind Ben Ledi and then turned back north. He must have spotted the big yellow tipi and adjusted course to come and say hello. He flew nice a low over the summit and gave us a wing waggle on the way past. Now that’s a nice way to see the Highlands.
We stood and took in the sunset, the light dying slowly over the hills to the west. The wind started to get quite cold, so down jackets were produced, Davy sporting a new Bergans that weighed more than my sleeping bag and looked super warm. I’m sure he’ll be writing that up shortly.
Bed time came early, the wind driving us to shelter, but not before Davy installed some additional guys to help keep some structural integrity. Walking past later I saw the tent curved into a Davy-shape, so I shudder to think what things would have been like without the extras. I planned to get up in the early hours to get some star shots. I woke up at 3ish and poked my head out. The wind was howling, my boots and bottles were frozen and the moon was high and bright, so I snuggled bag into my very warm bag and drifted off again. The best thing about photography is getting to the stage of knowing if the shot is there or not without having to take it to find out.
I got porridged up pre-dawn (special mention to the MSR reactor here, I’m still amazed at how fast and efficient it is) and got out to take in the sunrise. When it came, it was a life giving warmth that spread out across the land. No inversion today, but still pretty damn special.
I watched the shadows cast by Ben Vorlich and Stuc a’Chroin creep up the sides of their twins along the road, Ben More and Stob Binnein.
In an effort to not completely take the piss, I’d said I’d be back home at a decent time on the Sunday, so much to Sandy’s delight we got packed up early and headed down. The pace was fairly brisk, broken only by the occasional chat to those heading up who thought we’d been up awfully early. A quick glance back to where we’d been then we were down and heading home.
A good lesson for me here: you don’t need to go wild and crazy all the time; some good local hills, a short walk and a camp with some good company is hard to beat.
Gutted I missed this but if you didn’t know better you would have thought Davy had smuggled me in his rusksack…. 😉
Aye you’re not wrong mate, it was a monster. Admittedly he needed 30 litres just for the down jacket….
Aye, alright. My pack size needs to be brought down but if I know it’s going to that cold that down jacket is coming! Great photos as usual MT 🙂
Hi – Just happened upon the site when looking out for some big agnes tent reviews… Great site, with some awesome pics!! Thanks for Sharing 🙂
Thanks Robbie and welcome!
Superb photography as usual Michael. Looks like I missed a cracking wee trip, although the disappointment at missing it is somewhat offset by the brilliant day out I had cycling round Arran on the Sunday. You really have to make the most of it when you get weather like that.
Great photies and write up, it’s always nice to see the same trip from someone else’s viewpoint.
I was pretty jealous of that jacket in the morning!
Stunning photos there. It certainly looks like you guys got the weather on this trip.