It was very cold last night. Definitely the coldest night I’ve ever been camping in. Although not by much in terms of the lowest temperature but it was different this time because it had been really cold all day, cold at night, and the day ahead was also going to be really cold.

If I’m honest, I did question if I was wise to carry on. I was finding the conditions pretty tough. I didn’t sleep well at all, and when I woke at 4am the inner tent was wet from condensation and the fly sheet was iced up. I worried that the tent would stay wet and frozen and I’d be unable to use it properly for the next few nights. I was concerned that I’d bitten off more than I could chew.

I really didn’t want to get my bed clothes off and my hiking gear on. Even though I was cold, it was definitely going to be colder when I got out from under my quilt. But, with the lack of any sensible alternative I dragged myself up, got all my gear on, packed away all my bedding, and left the tent.

I don’t know why but my mood changed instantly. I felt warm as I was moving and felt good about the day ahead. Packing up the tent was actually quite funny as I was shaking all the ice off it. I just had a couple of issues to resolve and I’d be fine. The first issue, and most pressing, was to be able to get warm at night. I decided that the problem was my sleeping mat. It’s a good one but probably not quite good enough for these conditions. I think my quilt was fine but the mat was letting cold air in from under me and that was preventing me from getting warm. When I touched it I could feel it was cool, even when I’d been lying on it.

I had a plan.

It took me a couple of hours to reach and negotiate Conic hill. I then reached Balmaha where I knew there was a shop that sold a small number of camping items. I was hoping they’d have a cheap sleeping mat that I could put under mine to make it warmer by insulating it from the ground. Unfortunately they didn’t but they did have a blanket. Not ideal but worth a try so I bought it. It didn’t seem too heavy but I was willing to add a bit of weight to my pack in an attempt to be warmer tonight. It’s now laid out under my sleeping mat, which I’m laying in top of, hopeful of a better nights sleep.

Be sensible

Early in the walk, as I was starting my climb up Conic Hill, I needed to call my parents for some help with Kian. I’m lucky that they can be relied upon. Unlike me who just clears off walking whenever I fancy.

My Mum told me it was snowing in Leicester and asked was I ok. I told her we didn’t have any snow, just that it was cold and there was a lot of ice. Conic Hill has little waterfalls that run down the path and all of these were frozen solid. So I said I was being careful. It wasn’t dangerous, but they did need avoiding.

She then went on to make sure I wouldn’t do anything silly or dangerous and made sure, that if I did feel it was unsafe, I’d stop the walk. I promised I would. But it got me thinking, because earlier that day I was thinking about quitting. That I’d taken on too much. And it made me realise that I wasn’t thinking of quitting because it was dangerous, but just because I wasn’t being strong enough. I wasn’t, at that moment, enjoying the hardship and discomfort. I vowed at that moment I’d only stop if I was in danger or injured, no other reason was valid.

Early rest

The steps down from Conic Hill are all recently installed and look great. I’m sure they’ll last for years. I saw new ones being installed as I walked by that would take you to the summit so that path was closed off, but the West Highland Way doesn’t go to the summit so it was ok. However, even though the new steps look great they’re not much fun to walk down so when I got down to Balmaha, and on a high from my blanket purchase, and on another high for then remembering to go back in to purchase a lighter for my stove, I treated myself to a hot chocolate in the cafe.

It was in there that I met a really nice guy called Willy who was also walking the route. He was actually the guy who had left the Premier Inn just before me on Monday morning. I was so glad I’d had a chance to talk to him. We mainly talked about how cold it was! But, he gave me a few tips, one about keeping a spare bottle in your tent, which I think will be invaluable. It was good to talk about the different challenges of walking in the winter and how you have to approach it differently. I hope I see him again on the trail. We camped in a similar spot last night so he may not be too far from me tonight. It’s nice to know it’s not just me walking it but I am enjoying how empty the path is.

No snow

A couple of hours after the cafe I passed Cashel Campsite. This was where I had camped on my first night the last time I was here. It did make me worry a little about progress as I only had three hours of daylight left so I was almost going twice as slow this time. But I soon forgot about that. Indeed, I compared how much my backpack was hurting me previously and how good the one I have now feels. I was grateful to be walking the section again in relative comfort.

Not long after Cashel some mountains come into view. They look impressive to me as I don’t see mountains everyday, but I think they had snow on them last time I was here. I suppose that could make sense as in April the snow from winter may not have melted yet, and now, even though we’re more into winter, it may not have fallen. Or maybe I’m remembering wrong and they didn’t have snow on them before either.

Another point of difference, all the paths are covered with leaves. That definitely wasn’t the case last time. It’s like I’ve got a carpet to walk on. Unfortunately I don’t think that’ll be the case later on with the more rubbly surface.

I have all the luck

I did push it a bit today. I was trying to employ my technique of keeping an eye out for a decent camping spot from around 3pm. Sunset is 4 and it gets dark about half an hour later. So this approach seems sensible.

I did see a few decent places but I really wanted to get my daily mileage to 13 miles so decided to carry on for a bit. I so nearly stopped on a couple of occasions but talked myself out of it. I was getting a bit annoyed with myself as I was worried I’d end up searching in the dark and I hate doing that. I was also annoyed that I’d not stopped at the shop at the Cashel campsite as I really fancied some fizzy pop.

It was just about to turn to 4 o’clock, as I was walking by a few buildings and really scolding myself for not stopping sooner, when I happened upon an honesty box, and it was fully stocked. Not believing my luck I grabbed myself 2 cans, messed around for a bit trying to pay via their QR code, and I was on my way again, looking forward to my fizzy drink with my tea.

And then, about 200 metres later, the perfect camping spot.

It lit

I was grateful that everything came together. I’ve managed 13 miles which isn’t much but it’s enough. And considering how last night was I’m very content.

The tent was ok. I managed to put it up with the day’s remaining light and the inner just needed a wipe with a cloth to dry it. I was surprised with I took the fly out and lots of frost came out of the bag. It hadn’t felt too cold today but it obviously wasn’t warm enough to melt the ice I’d packed away with the tent this morning.

I’ve had a warm meal as well. The meths just needed a little encouragement to light and was fine once it got going. Now I won’t have to resort to drinking it to get warm.