That one day a year …

Extending my walking range from the house. Mission objectives included walking the highest hills on the way and so three trig points, as well as minimal time on the NC500 / Great Glen Way. No known or prepared path – just aim for the tops! Plenty of time in the heather.

The first trig point (pics from a previous trip: Lentran to Dochgarroch and back).

The second trig point

South from An Leacainn (mainly heather), over the Blackfold road and up to Doire Mhor (all heather). South west to the second trig point, Carn a Bhodaich (all heather).

I continued walking south west and hit the now felled wood so was able to take a track down to where it crossed the burn. I turned off the boring track and took a chance that there would be a path alongside the burn.

There just about was and so I came out at the tar at Abriachan. Couple of hundred metres westerly along the side of the B road before I found where the fence was down and headed across what might well be a bit of a marshy field towards the stream and birchwoods for a rest stop. Hellacious walk up out of there in 2m bracken swarming with the midge. No path.

Followed by hot and bothered tramp over heather to the top, Carn na Leitire. This part of the route is not to be repeated. Instead go left when you hit the tarred road and there looks to be a forestry track up a good part of the hill – total distance may well be further.

The third trig point

Carn na Leitire is on a spur off the Great Glen Way and so this was were I met various Macleods on a tour of the old country. I followed their track back down, branching left, to the forestry and turned left onto the main track before crossing through the woods at their narrowest point.

There followed a boggy tramp (heather) onwards towards the final trig point, Meall na h-Eilrig and a food stop.

By this time there was no way I was going to bother with Cnoc Fhearchair and so I spied a track above Loch Glanaith which took me to the tar at Drumbuie and on down to the main road.

A not very nice walk against the traffic into Drum, ice cream in the park and the bus to Inverness, 4 minutes changeover and bus 28 home.

About 28km, 8 hours.

Happens every year to some extent, then every five years is a big one like this! Especially so after the lack of rain in the rainy season. Elsewhere eg Nyanga National Parks, fire is bringing down the electricity poles and the sky is glowing tonight.

Don’t get me started on causes but it is deliberate. Three days before we were fighting a smaller one at the other end of our place. After this new fire the burnt places are now joined up on two sides around us – hopefully giving us more protection.

Anyway, Saturday it was touch and go as may only be imagined.

All hands on deck situation with the ladies carrying 20 L buckets of water on their heads over rough ground, continuously for about 5 hours. Without this water we would not have held the fire at our boundary.

We had made fire beaters a couple of weeks back – just after we did a planned burn with our neighbour – itself a risky enough procedure – along the 300m stretch we share. We had also started to remove the very combustible ‘Hanya’ / ‘Bankrupt bush‘ (Seriphium plumosum L.) along our fence which certainly assisted us in keeping the fire relatively controlled during our enforced ‘back burn’ in the afternoon and early evening.

Jumping in time to about 7pm and this is us desperately back-burning ahead of the real fire reaching us. Of course we lost control a couple of times; then the regret piles on.

During the afternoon we could see more smoke and I went to investigate, hoping it had not crossed to us. We had to address this new front much closer to the house. The fire had crossed one pre-burnt fireguard to get here. Now, was it going to cross this one into our place? (Fire decides to jump on the wind so however wide your fireguard you are always at risk.)

Anyway this was the scene to start with:

I wasn’t down here for this part of the fire fighting so no pics. The fire did cross sporadically; with more water carrying and beating it was contained.

Of course this results in quite a bit of polite negotiation over the phone as one front wonders why the folks at the other front don’t just finish up and come and help where it is really urgent!

These pictures are of the next day. And it is still smoking here four days later, today. The fire dies down at night then picks up with the wind the next day.

Below, the view where the early pictures were taken close to where we first met the fire.

Often the roots and pine needles keep burning just under the surface for days after. And every down and then will catch something on the surface and the fire can kick off again.

Survived another one.

Here is the Lanshan 2 with no pegs in the ground – just rocks as ballast and a handy dried tuft of grass roots in the right position. Spent the night and now know that I don’t like a sloping – left to right – sleeping mat!

Set up the morning before to full taughtness in the fly sheet then slackened off until night time to lessen any impact from a day in the sun. The trekking poles started at plus 135 cm at each end giving a very high end to the doors – below. Constant stable weather in Zimbabwe helps!

I have a permanent ‘S’ biner thingy between the outer fly and the hook on the inner (pics) which very occasionally I over-ride to lift up the inner for more awkward occasions.

What follows is for we Lanshan owners only as it is getting a bit geeky already. IE it’s quite alright to sign off here!

Next, the morning after…

Unsightly spots from dead spiders which came up from under the pines trees – dozens of baby ones!

There is a sting in the tail – all this fine stable weather comes at a price – four months after a very poor rainy season.

Next a before and after slider – with no slider.

Here is the same section a week later (bush fire).

I just checked and found the slider jobby in the app!

Rather chilly ground temperature at -13°C outside the tent, overnight 13^th to 14^th July 2024, altitude around 2150m in Troutbeck.

Fortunately I was ‘double bagged’ overnight. The previous nights (mornings) I had been wondering why my sleeping bag wasn’t keeping me warm enough …alright it gets a bit frosty up here, but this is Zimbabwe, not Scotland, how cold can it be….?!

Anyway I took the extra bag (ex Isle of Man TT charity shop bonanza – thanks Mum!) and had a pretty good night’s sleep. The first clue was the frost on my shoes in the vestibule.

The sleeping bag is rated at 4 °C for comfort, -1 °C for comfort limit. Clearly I was well beyond that.

I doubt the air temperature would have been as low as -13 °C though – the ground emitting heat as radiation much more easily than air!

The 3F UL Lanshan 2 which re-froze in this shape after I slackened off the guys in preparation for the sun striking it. We eventually reached 20°C in the afternoon.

The weather ‘forecast’ was saying 6°C overnight for Troutbeck Extension!

This one has been on the mini-bucket list for a while now.

(Diversion / background: Two years ago I found my own way up to the main top by driving ‘round the back’ as far as possible, leaving the car with the korakoza, semi-bushwhacking up until the reaching the main height then ‘turning left’ to head up to the peak over the rock. Beware – on the way back down you will start to follow the miners paths and come across an open vertical mine shafts in the path! I saw one, there may be more. As there were ‘leftovers’ from pine logging in the central east – west valley I assumed the men hadn’t taken this circuitous route and that there was a faster way – presumably from Nyamhuka 2.)

Start towards the top left (west) side of Nyamhuka 2 by taking ‘the path by the tree’ and head in the general direction of the hill following the path through the fly-tipping. Further up there is a giant, deep, erosion gully to cross, which I didn’t on the way up and went round the top, but did on the way down and this made life easier. The path is on the north (right) side of the vertical valley. It gets pretty steep as can be foreseen when looked at from just about anywhere in Nyanga. There are only a couple of sections where hands are required and these can be by-passed, more or less, on the way back down so don’t worry too much. Just push on excitedly upwards.

Before you know it, after several water (rest) breaks, and some close encounters with the steep sided valley to your left, things will start to ease up and you will reach the remaining pine trees. Somewhere in there you have to use your spider-senses and start choosing paths to the right (±north west) towards where you think the B peak will be. There are various ‘path looking paths’ so just select the ones heading up in your intended direction. Some were made by the pine loggers and some are probably reinforced by people doing what you are about to do and get to the peak. There is no one path. Skirt round and under remaining pines and eventually reach a flattish spot under the pine trees with a slightly ominous mound of rock and rocks piled above you. Take a breather and food/water break here. I put on my wind breaker based on the anticipated wind on top.

Next is a scramble up, there may / may not be a discernible path in the tufts of grass – likely depending on when someone else was last up this way. Just keep going up and it doesn’t last long before reaching rounded rock slabs and the going is easier. You are now more or less on top and it’s pretty flat with the best, stellar, views in Nyanga.

Take pictures here then head slightly further up and over to the highest point. The wind was something else and as you will have ‘perspired’ quite well on the way up you may need a windbreaker to keep the chill off. Get as close as you dare, but not as close as Monet, to the edge for some adrenalin boosted pictures and selfies! Goodness knows how far you are seeing but it’s a long way! The main Nyamakanga peak (and here, and here) and metal beacon is apparent to your south, on the other side of the valley, but nothing beats this one for excitement and views!