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Recently, I've
taken an interest in backpacking and camping and wanted to get to grips
with the ins and outs of it. Preceding this trip, I'd tested out my new
tent in the back garden but wanted to use it on the hills. I told Steve
that I was going to spend the night out on the Campsie Fells and he
wanted to come along too. We decided to climb Dumgoyne in the process
and would make the decision concerning where to pitch when we got there.
Additionally, it would be my 10th summit of this hill. I always thought
I'd see my tenth ascent of The Cobbler first, but some things aren't to
be.
We left the Dumgoyne Distillery around about 9.30pm, carrying the gear
we'd need for the night. The midges were out in force, but a breeze at
higher altitudes saw to that. The night
was calm, not at all cold and our progress steady. Higher up, we went
into the cloud and lights from surrounding villages and cars would come
in and out of view as the cloud shifted. We'd found a jacket
abandoned on the hillside, thinking it had been perhaps dropped. There
was a phone and other valuables in it so figured we'd best make sure it
gets beck to whoever dropped it. After all, who would be up Dumgoyne at
this time? Five minutes later, a girl descended ahead of us and it was
hers. It wasn't a bit awkward trying to explain why we had her jacket on
us...
When we reached the summit, it was getting dark so we pitched our tents
right away. I had my Mountain Hardware Sprite 1 which fits one
only, so Steve brought along his own. My main reason
for coming was to try out the little Sprite, so two tents would have to
do. We walked around the summit region sometimes, but it
was dark, misty and an odd place to be. Sometimes it felt like the only
things that existed were us and this little platform of ground.
Once
the tents were pitched and our gear was sorted out, there was nothing
left to do. Both in our own tents, tiredness crept upon us and we both
fell asleep. I slept rather well that night and didn't wake up. Steve,
on the other hand, apparently didn't sleep too well...
I woke up early, got out of my tent to another day of cloud. There had
been some rain during the night which led me to wipe some of the rain
off my tent. That was okay in theory but as I wiped the rain off
the sheets, I heard a snap and saw that one of the tent poles had given
in. Now a projection cutting into the outer sheet, the pole looked like it
could rip the tent material. I disassembled the tent rather quickly then
inspected the damage. I told Steve (who was awake now) of my problem and that we'd have to go.
For now at least, I couldn't have the tent pitched.
We packed up and left the summit, descending beneath the cloud and back
to the car. Later in the day, I went back to Cotswolds Outdoor where I
purchased the tent, and to my delight walked out the store with a brand
new tent pole. Here's hoping the same doesn't happen to this tent pole.
I'll be carrying a roll of duct tape with me wherever I pitch, just in
case...
Update 20th January 2010: 6 months on and my new tent pole still hasn't
snapped.
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