Mountain Equipment Qupik

Where does a Copywriter go on holiday? Well I’m off to try and complete The Cape Wrath Trail. Having spent a portion of last year in the Torridonian mountains (climbing the likes of Beinn Eighe, Liathach and Beinn Alligan) I fell in love with the area but regretted that I departed never having climbed An Teallach, ’the forge’, a mountain that’s been in my imagination for as long as I can remember. I’ve been eager to get back to the region, and I’m hoping we’ll incorporate this peak (as a day-walk) within a projected 2-3 week trek that starts in Fort William and terminates at the remote Cape Wrath lighthouse (and takes in camping at Sandwood Bay).

I love Wales (where I’m from) and New Zealand but there’s something really magical about Scotland’s west coast: The fact wild camping is permitted in Scotland certainly helps.

Along with my good friend Matt (Hodson) I’ve been planning and getting excited about this trip for a number of months. It involves up to 6 days as at a time without even encountering a road so, along with midges and emergencies, transporting large amounts of food will probably be the chief difficulty. (Water shouldn’t be a problem with clean streams, river and lakes). However, we’re both really excited about using the almost endless days of a North Scotland summer to explore the wilderness, enjoy the silence and test our collective mettle.

I’m away for 3 weeks, so there will be no blog updates during that time.

Here’s my kitlist for the trip for those interested in such things. Emphasis has been placed on lightweight equipment:

Tent: Force Ten Helium 100

Sleeping Bag: Vango Venom 200 Down with Rab silk liner

Mat: Multimat superlite 25

Bag: Berghaus Extrem 40 litre

Waterproof shell: Berghaus Velum smock (Gore-tex Active shell)

Insulation: Mountain Equipment Qupik Jacket (also used as pillow)

Baselayer: Icebreaker 150 Merino t-shirt

Also packed:

Telescopic fishing rod to (try and) catch wild brown trout

Panasonic Lumix camera

Deet (for midges)

Small camping stove (Matty is carrying this currently)

Compact dynamo torch

Compeed blister plasters

Sealskinz waterproof socks

Food tips :

Merchant Gourmet puy lentils come in a sachet, have 11g protein/100g and don’t require cooking

Ainsley Harriett couscous cooks with added water in 3 mins, is nutritious and is acceptably tasty after walking all day.

Also carrying – High 5 electrolyte tablets, protein flapjacks and my special trail mix which consists of brazil nuts, walnuts, almonds, peanut M and M’s, Jelly Babies and Haribo – The rule is you can’t eat a sweet without also having a nut.

Weetabix breakfast biscuits are palatable without effort in the morning

The trip begins when I head up to Glasgow after work tonight. I’m watching the first Lions V Australia test with my brother (He’s studying architecture at the Glasgow School of Art) before meeting up with Matt and getting the train onwards to Fort William tomorrow evening