Starting the day with a stroll around loch Katrine did help to realise I’d made the right decision about car camping there wasn’t a whole host of options for camping spots.
Then I headed back into Aberfoyle for a cooked breakfast of sausage, bacon, hash browns and a good double helping of haggis. Ahh I love haggis, and knowing that it’s suitable at every meal is amazing.
Duke pass might just be one of my favourite roads. It’s bendy with lots of ups and downs but it feels like exactly the type of road my mini SUV (Nissan Juke) was built to handle. I only wished that other people driving 4x4s understood how to take on these types of road although it’s no bother to me. I try to make sure I keep my distance. The last thing that I want to do is make the driver in front feel rushed or uncomfortable. It’s not exactly the easiest of roads to take on. Some of the cut backs are tight and pretty steep!
Loch Achray
The rest of my day has been reasonably chilled out. I’ve headed back to one of my favourite campsite beside Loch Achray. I even managed to book the same spot I stopped at last year.
It feels like I was here just yesterday, like I’d never left. As much as love exploring new places, there is something quite nice about rediscovering a favourite spot.
The only question that remains is whether I’ll be enjoying a cold dip when I’m here like I did last time. It would be pretty beneficial to bath at least a little. Already after just a couple of days I’m smelling a little ripe!
My evening then consisted of something very familiar to me unpacking and repacking my bags. I’ve been on the road for three days now and I’m already starting to realise what it is that I need in my pack and also some of the items that I could benefit from loosing.
I want to make sure that I have enough in there to stay warm over night but then I also want to ensure that my pack isn’t too heavy. Although at least for this Scotland trip I will be keeping the axe in there. It’s helpful for slimming down fire wood and also helps me feel a little safer when I’m camping off in the wild. It probably has the opposite effect though.
Then when the evening started to set in the camp site quietened down and I got my fire going. I do enjoy having a nice fire pit and I managed to only use one bag of firewood and having it roasting for a good four hours before I settled down for the night in the tent.
Camping Gear
Sunday was a little bit slower than my last two days in Scotland. I knew it was going to result in a pretty relaxed outcome. So I took a little more stock on some of the gear I was using. Selecting my final loadout for this Scotland tour. So these are the four main pieces of my camping setup…
Tent setup
The Tarpstar 2 by Alpkit
This was my first night in the Tarpstar during this Scotland trip. I managed to get it set up with my tarp as well which is something that I hadn’t expected to work. It gives me a nice outside seating area to cook under away from the rain. It’s also a nice spot to catch some warmth from the fire.
I’ve used the single bedroom in the Tarpstar 2 and I’ve found that it works best for, the central pole doesn’t feel in the way. I’ve even added some carabiners so I can hang my hiking clothes up over nights. There is a hook inside the room section too so you can hang a lamp. My head torch works pretty well for this. Once I had replaced the three AAA’s my little OEX led light shone a pretty bright light around the tent.
Inside the room itself there is plenty of space for most of my gear along with my bed set up. Due to the pyramid shape of the tent the corners are a little tight inside. You don’t want anything to be touching the outside fly. I was able to strategically place a few items of clothing and other bits which pinned my sleeping mat in place.
There is lots of space on the other side of the tent to keep my pack. Well for this night that was packs. As I had unloaded most of my gear to make some adjustments to my loadouts. It’ is nice though’s great that even with such a lightweight tent I’m still able to have a separate living and sleeping space! Alpkit have really made an amazing tent here.
I’m going to write a more in-depth review of this tent, when that is finished you’ll find it here…
OEX Expedition Tarp
I’ve never had much success with this tarp. It isn’t your standard square it’s a start shape. It’s a star, designed specially to go with their Bobcat one man tent.
It does seem like something has clicked on this trip though. It seems to be working pretty well every time I set it up. With some rain on the way tomorrow I think I’m going to appreciate the little dry seating area.
By using the poles it came with and a hiking pole I was able to make a pretty good space under the tarp. At least enough for me to be able to sit up on my collapsible stool.
The setup did overhang the pitches space slightly. No one mentioned the peg outside of the gridding though!!
My sleep setup was pretty good this year too…
My camping sleep setup
Armed with my OEX Drift 700 sleeping bag and OEX Flux 5.0 sleeping mat my experience last year told me I might not have been carrying enough. I did have a backup 4 season Vango sleeping bag in the car but that didn’t get used on the whole trip.
OEX Drift 700
The sleeping bag is 2 seasons and last year my experience in Scotland was a lot colder than it is now. With a warmer climate this handled late spring in the Highlands pretty well.
The Drift is compact both in it’s pack away size and when it’s in use. I’m 5’10’ and about 12 stone, so I’m not exactly tall and big. It is just enough space for me. I also tend to sleep a little like a vampire when I’m in my tent. There isn’t a lot of space if you’re more of a restless sleeper.
It does however work for me, it weighs less 740grams which is pretty low for a sleeping bag. Then it packs down to a tiny size, so it takes up hardly any room in my pack. That does mean at this moment I am also prepared with a OEX Sleeping bag liner too. Not a massive one, but it does help to add an extra layers of warmth if I need it. I am imagining on summer camping trips this year I might even just go for the liner. When those hot summer nights kick in I might just have to go and find a mountains with a bit more of a breeze to go sleep on!
If the weather takes a turn to the extreme cold when I’m camping I’ve also got some foil blankets ready. Just on wraps from under the mat and all the way around. So you can sandwich yourself, sleeping mat, and bag in between, this is only needed on very cold nights though.
OEX Flux 5.0
The Flux mat is amazing the air pocket pattern allows for a comfortable night whilst not requiring hours of blowing it up. I will admit I didn’t use the bag they provided. Instead opting for my all powerful lungs to inflate the pad. I do not recommend this though. The air we blow out has a lot more moisture in there and as such it can lead to the build up of dampness and mildew inside the mat itself. I’m sure that there is a knack to using the pump bag, I’ve just not quite found it yet!!
All my mats seem to slide about a little on the tent floor. I do use a little bit of rubber rug matting usually underneath which holds it pretty well in place. It is not much use if you leave it on the dining room table and setup camp 400miles away though.
Still I’ve found this setup amazing, none of it takes up much space in my pack. It’s very light weight and it can be extended easily if the temperature drops extensively over night.