Working alongside the military is a very rewarding career to have
but hearing stories of adventure training in exciting places was stirring a
need for adventure in me. Admittedly the race for the last biro in the stationary cupboard can get
the adrenalin pumping but this weekend I fancied an adventure of my own so I could
join the coffee break chats with my colleagues in green. With this in mind I
set off for an adventure of my own. I rounded up my fellow Ray Mears wannaby
Ian and headed North. The plan was to hike across the mountains, rough camping
as we went and leave the bustle of daily life far behind.
It was well past nightfall when we arrived at our destination for
the first night and the cold winter rain was falling heavily. We followed a
trail through the woods and hurriedly set up camp alongside a loch so we could
to get out of the downpour. Starting the fire was abandoned and we turned to
the camping stoves for a warming cuppa before bed.
In our haste we’d managed to make a mess of setting up the shelter
and by 3am it had re-located it’s self deeper in the woods. The camping stove
was floating and it was apparent that the heavy rain had made the level of the
loch rise enough to have now engulfed our well placed camp. We aborted and
returned to the relative comfort of the car.
Instead of our valiant march across the Scottish mountains, we
spent the next morning trying to get warm and dry using a petrol station toilet’s
hand dryer, while lamenting our failings of the night before. Fortified with a
hearty breakfast, warmed and dried we headed north to the start of our proposed
trek. It became apparent that at higher altitudes the overnight rain had fallen
as heavy snow. We were not equipped for this at all. Camping in a loch was not
ideal, but hiking across a snowy mountain with no equipment and limited experience
would be somewhat dangerous. Time to re-plan.
Studying the set of maps over more shop bought coffee we chose a
low lying and snow free place to explore. The day proceeded well, sharing the
stunning scenery with plenty of deer and some forestry workers making lots of
noise.
We eventually ended up back at the loch from the previous night.
This time we spent a lot more care in finding a suitable place to camp and set
everything up properly. It was perfect and we cooked dinner on an open fire
under a clear sky. All was well until 11pm. The thump thump thump of club music
started to infiltrate our peaceful haven. Three cars had arrived carrying
drunken Glaswegians intent of having an all night rave! I could not imagine why
they’d travelled this far from home for their party, but here they were! One of
the revellers approached and tried to communicate, but his drunken slur was
incomprehensible. He returned to the party and a few moments later came back to
present us with a bottle of beer each. Our quiet night had been destroyed, we
might as well have a drink with the new arrivals. The party continued all
night. At one point a whole pine tree was brought from the woods to fuel the
fire. We eventually made our escape at 6am.
Despite having achieved the objective of adventure absolutely
nothing had gone to plan so I decided it best not to share my experiences with
my better trained colleagues. When asked how my adventure training civvy style
went I simply replied, “cold.”
