PDF Reprint - Backpacking in Scotland Dealing with the Wet and Cold

Catalog No. BPLV3SCOTLAND

Description

Originally Published In: Issue 3, Winter 2006

PDF reprint of an article on Backpacking in Scotland Dealing with the Wet and Cold from Backpacking Light Magazine (Print Version).

• Title: Backpacking in Scotland Dealing with the Wet and Cold
• Author: Chris Townsend
• Word Count: 3,573
• Images: 9 Photos

Abstract

In May 2004 I hiked across the Scottish Highlands from coast to coast, a 13-day, 190-mile walk. This was my tenth such crossing, each time by a different route and each time including the ascent of many hills. On this latest crossing I climbed 28 summits, with a total ascent of 46,725 feet. With that much climbing, the majority off trail on rough, rocky, and steep terrain, it really is important to keep pack weight down. However, the Scottish climate is generally wet and cold and the hills are mostly bare and exposed to the wind. Equipment must be capable of dealing with such conditions. Tarps and umbrellas are not ideal. On this trip, the weather was mostly cloudy, with winds gusting well over 20 miles per hour (37mph was the maximum recorded) and rain on six days. Temperatures were moderate—in the fifties most days and thirty to fifty overnight—with just a couple of frosty nights and only one sunny day. The air was damp. Relative humidity in my tent was often over 80 percent and once reached 90 percent.

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