Trips of 2011

2011 was a busy year for me. I managed to get out on more trips and discover more than any year previously.

In March I got out for my first trip of the year. Jon and I went to my favourite beach for my birthday.

We used a small dome tent each and used a small pop-up tent as a store instead of leaving food in the car as the weather during the day was surprisingly warm.

One of the meals we had was some bannock along with bacon and fried, sliced turkey with HP sauce. It was amazingly filling and kept us fuelled through the afternoon and well into the evening.

In April there was the trip to Comrie Croft which I have covered in an earlier post.

In June I visited Comrie Croft again, this time by myself. It was very quiet with only myself in the lower field. I used a new 5 man tent as I wanted to be as comfortable as possible.

Because of the quiet I was fortunate enough to have some close encounters with some of the local wildlife, including a pair of blackbirds, one of which even landed on my table as I was sat by it, and a vole which ran past my foot.

My next camping trip was up to Aviemore with my dad. We stayed at the Rothiemurchus camp site which, while busy was quiet and pleasant. It had been almost twenty years since we had been camping with just the two of us and it was great to spend time together in one of my favourite areas.

We used the 5 man tent again since we were sharing and wanted plenty of space without going overboard.

I took the opportunity to take my dad on one of my favourite short walks between Loch Garten and Loch Mallachie.

We stopped for lunch at my usual stopping place by Loch Mallachie. Later that day I had a go at making chilli with bannock. It was good and more than filled us. Though it was a little hotter than I prefer. Getting the measurements of spices right is something I will have to work on for later camps.

Between these trips I was involved in a couple of Scout camps and had the chance to teach the boys a few things. I am hoping this with continue and I will be able to teach the boys and leaders more in the years to come.

There have been discoveries and new lessons a plenty during the last year. Some of these will be included in future posts.