So here we go again. Bivvy a month has become such a part of my routine it seems daft not to really. I've nothing fixed in terms of plans, venues, rides or anything just now, as usual I'll take it as it comes. That said I'm going to be as selective as possible weather-wise as I no longer feel the need to go out in the rain!
My January bivvies have been fairly benign overall - cold and one wet and windy evening dealt with thanks to the posh bivvy shed near Falkland, but nothing too drastic. This one was looking like it would be the easiest one of the lot. I'd had to leave it until the last weekend of the month thanks to a ski holiday wiping out one weekend and the resulting infection with the dreaded lurgy wiping out the following one. Technically I was still 'infected' by Saturday morning but in the absence of symptoms and my usual plan to avoid all other human contact, I didn't see this as a problem. A storm had come through on the Friday evening but for Saturday afternoon, overnight and Sunday morning it was looking cool, breezy but sunny. Perfect!
This year I'm going to map my load outs a bit to see how lightweight I can get. This is OK but I had to carry 2l of water thanks to my water filter being absent (last seen on the river spey....) and there being nothing in the way of water sources en-route. I also fancied a beer so included are two cans as well as my hip flask.
The dryness of the trails was a pleasant surprise. We've not had a lot of rain, very little snow and a few breezy days, including the drying gale that struck Friday night, this year. Even so this was unexpected but thinking about it, we are still seeing the benefit of last spring and summers incredibly dry weather and the largely rain free Autumn and the winter so far. It was still breezy however so I was aiming for a woodland spot. As usual I set off with various route ideas loosely based on a circuit I've done a fair few times now, into the hills of North Fife. Despite this, I'm far from bored with this area as there is a nice mix of riding and some great trails. I also wanted to scope out more bivvy spots along the way as I've used a couple a few times now.
This took me into Dunning Glen via Glen Devon res.
I was in no rush so watched the sheets of water running down the dam face and spill ways for a time before heading off into the afternoon sunshine. Glendevon forest was my destination for bivvy spot hunting. I found a few, leading to me wishing it was three hours hence and I could use one of them! In particular was a trail up the amusingly named 'Fanny Hill' (who gives these hills such names?) - lots of well spaced firs that were dense enough to provide shelter but not enough to be gloomy. In the event I carried on, back to the road and up towards Coalcraigy, passed my oft use spot on Linn Hill. There was evidence of more trees down thanks to the storm the previous evening but none got in my way thankfully as I'd had enough fighting my way through windblow on my pre hogmannay ride in Queen Elizabeth forest.
On a whim I followed the ridge top trail past Coalcraigy (a proper hill name), noting the trail was in good nick thanks to the grass being all dead. This sees little use and is heavy going in the summer but was fine today thanks to the dryness.
This links to a well used trail which is part of a small network around the hills Heads, North, Slungie and Black. It sees a lot of dog walker use but was empty now and lots of fun. I checked out one more future bivvy spot although next to it was an old sign suggesting that 'hidden cameras' were in use. This seems very odd as I suspect poaching is not something that takes place much in this modern world. The days of people wanting to supplement cash strapped diets by actually killing things are long gone, particularly given that you will need to skin, gut and butcher anything you shoot. So I suspect its the preserve of a very small minority and therefore using the tech to catch them on camera seems a waste of time. I'll use the spot at some point and test out if anyone is actually monitoring said cameras.
From here a fair bit of road riding is needed to link up to my chosen bivvy destination, Pitmedden forest. It was now full dark but I had the roads to myself. Into the forest by Glentarkie and then on with the bivvy radar as it was nearly 7 and I'd been going for 5 hours. Up a nice trail over Glentarkie hill but it was quite breezy so nothing doing pitch wise. I then picked up my favoured area (based on not very much, it just looked like it would be good on aerial photos) over the days second hill with an amusing name - clamieduff. There are trails all over the place in Pitmedden and unlike those in my nearby Devilla and Blair Adam, well drained so this evening they were bone dry. After a bit of nosing around I entered an area of well spaced out pines, all I needed was a level area.
I found one eventually, near the bottom corner. It was still a bit breezy but up went the tarp and in I got. Hmm, as usual I'd found a spot which still had a side slope. These only seem to be revealed when your in your bag! Whatever, it was fine and a strategically placed bit of log would stop me sliding out from under the tarp in the unlikely event that it rained. Then food on the go, drink beer, hide under quilt reading and sipping whisky, the stars shining down and the wind gone. What a perfect way to spend an evening.
January insect interlude. I'd just settled in when this fellow appeared on my bar bag. There were a couple of spiders about too, all thanks to the very mild weather of late. Snow drops were also out, about a month early! I suspect this will mean a bumper midge year unless we get some hard frosts in March and April so here's hoping.
Not my best flat tarp pitch, thanks to the uneven ground.
The night had passed without incident and I'd had my usual sound sleep. So followed a leisurely morning before packing up and heading out to bag some more single track before a return home.
The sun was shining so a longer route home suggested itself over the Lomonds, which I'd not been to since last June. The trails were indeed dry which is a real bonus at this time of year. Goodness knows what this means for the rest of the year and I suspect we won't be getting another dry spring like the last two but I was glad to have cashed in on this rare occurrence. The wind was building so a fair bit of pushing ensured but other than a few sprinkles the forecasted drizzle missed me until the last few road miles home.
