Following my personal Waterloo experience on Glas Maol I decided it was time to get kitted out with some additional hardware as insurance protection against my own incompetence for the future. On the following Monday at lunchtime I did a brief bit of research then blew some Amazon vouchers and cash (cheers to my brother and sisters) on a Garmin Etrex GPS gizmo and accessories. I knew as I ordered that it would be a more recent version of the same one I'd been lent by my Dad prior to my 2005 US jaunt. I'd taken it up Wheeler Peak in New Mexico on that trip, the waypoints may still be in it! I concluded after a single day of use that the device wasn't really for me, it was an unnecessary distraction, never used it again during the trip and gave him it back afterwards. Lucky as if I'd been carrying it the next day it would probably have got smashed to bits on a rock in the Tsunkawi ruins near Los Alamos!
Anyway, times change. The Cairngorms had taught me a powerful lesson. I needed something to bail me out of future situations, or at least a device which would confirm in more detail exactly how lost I was, and assist the rescuers(!)
Took delivery midweek, loaded it up with batteries. Concluded it was pretty much the same device I'd borrowed before, maybe the electronics and s/w had been upgraded in the interim. Took off south early Saturday morning in my own car and parked at the East end of the Talla Reservoir. Acquired the satellites, headed up the Gameshope Burn with no fixed destination in mind, but it would be nice to do Hart Fell again from yet another direction.
Decided to preserve the batteries (I only had one set at home) and take regular waypoints, but not leave it switched on permanently. I regret that a little as it meant I couldn't keep an accurate running total of the mileage. However I switched it ON/OFF at strategic points so that I had a record of where I'd been. At one point I took the Lat/Long co-ords and matched them up to the map.
Made it to the final ascent of Hart Fell after going up 1300 feet in altitude from the car, then down 300 feet, and then into the final 600 feet of altitude ascent. Same section I'd attacked 3 weeks before from over the other side of Saddle Yoke from the A708 6 miles NE of Moffat. Got briefly blasted by hailstones at this point, dark, ominous clouds in the distance etc. Had already mentally plotted my route down from it to the head of the Fruid Reservoir. This was new, unvisited territory. I was going for a massive loop. If I got lost in the mist, this time I had mutiple points to head for using the GPS, plus a compass which works when you walk! Sadly I didn't get the full benefit of it's capabilities that day, although the altitude was useful to know. I'll have to wait for a future time when I can play at being "pretend" lost and use the rest of the capability.
Picked up a track down Hart Fell towards the remote Fruid Reservoir. It was steep so I was watching my footing. Imagine my surprise when dogs suddenly appeared from nowhere several feet behind me and threw themselves at me. Maybe the "Killer..." subject on this blog as a headline was a touch exaggerated, I'd apply for work as a Murdoch tabloid journalist, but they ain't hiring right now. The sheepdogs were probably just lonely, I guess they don't meet many new people. The little tractor with the farmer was right behind them! He switched off his engine and I talked to him for a bit, he was probably equally isolated as he lived in the farm at the end of the Fruid Reservoir I was heading towards. He said that years ago he used to see walkers like myself all over these hills, but nowadays you hardly see anyone at the weekends. I told him that the "youngsters" etc. were all busy bagging Munros further north at the weekends, even although some of the hills like these Moffat Hills were equally interesting. He was a nice guy to talk to, I guess I was on his land but he didn't appear to mind!
Told him my "planned" route back to Talla and he advised that it would be easier to take one of the earlier passes back over the ridge and back down. However I stuck to my plan of the moment which led to a brutal 1300 feet back up again! I'd chosen to ignore the clue in the OS maps contour lines. Character forming, the GPS told me this as if my body and increased water intake didn't give me a clue! Headed back down the steep hillside into the Gameshope Burn valley, waded through yet another deep stream (this was a feature of the day) and eventually rejoined my original trail back to the car. Just over 7 hours, and more than 3000 feet of ascent in different segments.
Went home, decided that night to document the Cairngorms experience of 2 weeks previously as I felt it was time to share my own incompetence, plus hopefully it'll make the people that know me laugh! Decided to order recharegable batteries for the Garmin so that I could leave it running in future, and then not only know the altitude changes but also my mileage.
More to follow, the warmup for Sept 3rd continues...
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