The outdoors – Page 31 – a sibilant intake of breath

Scotland 2006 photos: third batch

Taken over the course of all three days of hiking, these photos show a few more aspects of Scotland.

Weather in Scotland changes rapidly and dramatically, especially at altitude. I was literally holding on to my hat on a lot of these peaks and ridgelines.

There was a wedding happening in this castle which several members of the group were able to briefly crash before being escorted out by men in kilts.

You get a better sense of the scales involve when there are people in the photos.

Brief periods of proper blue sky were much appreciated. Along this ridge, I shot a good portion of my roll of Velvia.

Not a Monroe, this was the last peak we climbed before going home. By this point, my legs were so sore they became difficult to move if I stopped for more than five seconds.

Scotland 2006 photos: second batch

All taken during our first big hike on Friday, this series of photos shows a bit of the majesty of the Scottish highlands.

There is really no mistaking the glacial origins of these mountains, though the erosion patterns of the rocks look quite unusual to someone used to mountains in British Columbia.

These are three of the five peaks we climbed on Friday, including at least one of the three Munros.

While requiring less exertion, descents were often rather more daunting than ascents.

Continuity of hats is an important element of hiking trips.

From left to right: Milan, Mark, Helen, Kathleen, Dengli, Chris, and Bruno. Photo taken by Andrew or Roman.

With tutorials tomorrow, I need to get some sleep. More photos and descriptions of the trip should come online tomorrow.

Scotland 2006 photos: first batch

Before putting anything on Photo.net, I will put a few of my better photos up here. I used my film camera for the shots I hoped would turn out more artistically. These digital shots are meant more as a documentation of the excursion. These are all from the ‘Five Sisters of Kintail’ hike that we did on Friday.

When we first got out of the minibus on Friday morning, I joked that we were about to climb the steep rise in front of us. We then went on to do exactly that: through the fog, with one backpack dropped and recovered from at least 100m below before we reached the first ridge.

Here we are atop that ridge. On account of the fog, we didn’t get much of a view for quite a while.

Bruno and Andrew leading along the ridge.

Ecology on Scottish mountain tops is a study in grasses, lichen, and perhaps sheep.

When the fog did clear a bit, we got a close up view of the legacy of glaciers upon the Scottish Highlands.

Back from Scotland

After an excellent few days, those parts of me not devoured by midges are back from Scotland. Over the three days, we climbed seven proper mountains (each more than 900m), including four designated as Munros. The mountains were quite spectacular – a nice reminder of home – and the fellow walkers were a great pleasure to spend time with. Interesting, knowledgeable, and friendly people all, we had some excellent conversations about everything from quantum chromodynamics to medieval theology. The combination of physical scientists, computer geeks, and a political theorist was nearly ideal. I was really glad to meet everyone, and I hope I shall meet them all again.

Sorting everything out, both physically and in terms of all the data, may keep me a while. Digital photos will appear both here and on Photo.net as I process them. I should have the roll of Velvia I shot off in the post for processing and scanning shortly, as well.

In closing, I should quickly thank the trip’s superb organizers. The Oxford University Walking Club is an exceedingly professional organization, run by very capable and helpful individuals. I really appreciate the opportunity they granted me.

Off to Scotland – goodbye until Monday

One advantage of not having all of your gear with you (particularly large backpacks) is that it forces a certain parsimony in packing. Given that we are only going for four days and that we will be spending a lot time crushed in a minibus, that is probably for the better. As such, I am reduced to standard hiking gear, wet weather gear, cold weather gear, and basic camping equipment. One important thing coming along with my is my Dublin book, so that I can plan where I want to go for my excursion beyond the city and generally plot out what I want to see. Suggestions are still very welcome.

My brothers are parents are making their annual trek to Oregon this coming week. It is something my family has been doing for more than a decade now: always going to the Lagoon Campground near Florence, Oregon by driving down the gorgeous Oregon coastline. I’ve gone at least six times: twice with my friend Jonathan, twice with Kate, and several times with just my family. Once, we went as far south as the Redwood Forest in California, but Florence is generally our terminus. Several times, the drive back has included Mount Saint Helens, and it always manages to encompass the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I hope they have a safe drive and enjoy themselves.

A full account of the hiking trip in Scotland, along with photos, will appear here upon my return.

South Hinksey

Happy Birthday Bilyana

While walking with Kelly this evening, we found an unusually nice bit of Oxfordshire, accessible through a park near their new flat. If you carry on down St. Aldates and across the Folly Bridge, then farther on down Abingdon Road, you will eventually see a park on the right. There is a small waterpark and a pool. Beyond that is a reasonably large lake, which can be crossed using the bridge in the photo above. Farther on are a set of train tracks likewise crossed by that bridge and then fields and the village of South Hinksey. It is all very attractive and photogenic, and I am glad to have discovered it in such good company.

Tomorrow, I need to tie up final loose ends before the Scotland trip. Now that it has become clear that we will be driving more than thirteen hours each way, I am a bit daunted by this four day excursion. Hopefully, the drive will be pleasant and the two days of hiking will be spectacular. My fingers are crossed incredibly tightly that I will get both papers from my August tutorial students in time to print them before leaving. If not, I will have a very hectic period of work to be completed immediately upon my return.

If I am to get my paper into the next issue of MITIR, I need to have it submitted by the 31st. Since I will be in Scotland after the 27th, that means finishing it tomorrow. They haven’t been entirely clear on whether they just want a few stylistic changes and a few specific statistics, or if they are serious about the 4000 word maximum. If so, I need to boil away more than a third of the existing paper. Hardly something I can do in the day that remains to me. All that can be done is for me to revise the paper as well as can be managed, send it off before I leave, and then return home to find out what they have decided. It seems increasingly likely that I will also return home to finally find my new headphones.

Warped wheel

I have discovered why the rear wheel of my bike keeps going out of alignment and rubbing against the frame: the wheel itself is somewhat bent. No matter how I line it up, there is a warp that causes it to rub against the brake pad once or twice per revolution. Over time, I guess it drifts more and more, to the point where the side of the tire is rubbing against the back portion of the frame.

When I get back from Scotland, I will have to go to Beeline Cycles and learn how much it will cost to have repaired. Until then, I will ride with a spanner so that I can reset things when they go too badly out of whack for me to easily maintain forward momentum.

[Update: 5 August 2006] I brought the bike in to Beeline Cycles, where I bought it back in March, and they fixed it for free under the warranty. Yet another case in which they have exceeded my expectations for good customer service.

500 miles by minibus

Google Maps predicts that the drive from Oxford to Shiel Bridge, near the Isle of Skye, will take almost thirteen hours. That seems an excessively long time to traverse less than 550 miles, but they may know things about the character of the roads that I do not. We leave at 8:15am on Thursday.

The weather is predicted to range between highs around 22 degrees Celsius and lows of about 12. Cloudy days are predicted, which is welcome. I much prefer to climb mountains under an overcast sky than under the glare of the sun. I have a spray bottle of 50% DEET to repel midges.

Since the whole trip is only four days, and I don’t need to carry a tent, stove, or sleeping bag, I will just be taking a day pack. Naturally, I will include items necessary if real rain or real cold emerge – Gore-Tex and wool respectively. On the photographic side, I am bringing both my A510 and my EOS Elan 7N (with 28-105mm zoom). On the latter, I will be shooting the roll of Velvia that Tristan sent me. As with so much other gear left behind in Vancouver, I wish I had my 50mm prime lens and my Manfrotto tripod with me for the trip.

While it’s a bit of a shame that we won’t get much chance to see any Scottish cities or towns, it is really the mountains that are drawing me up there. Nice as the countryside around Oxford can be, it has no wildness to it. It’s all marked off and manicured. I expect Scotland to be more vital.

Scotland prep: boots and midges

Whenever I mention the upcoming Scotland hiking trip, talk rapidly turns to the Scottish Highland Midge (Culicoides Impunctatus). From everything I have read, the end of July is definitely high season for midges, and these aggressive creatures can be maddening. Does anyone have experience with dealing with these insects? I plan to equip myself with high DEET spray before I leave, though I am of two minds about the wisdom of purchasing an actual midge net. Supposedly, their concentrations vary a great deal by region. Our plan is as follows:

[W]e’re camping at Shiel Bridge (grid reference NG 938 186) (rather than near Invergarry as originally planned). This should be a wonderful base, located between Loch Duich, leading out towards Loch Alsh and the Isle of Skye, and Glen Shiel, site of the Battle of Glen Shiel in 1719. Glen Shiel itself is lined with Munros, including some of the finest hills in the Western Highlands. These include the classic Five Sisters of Kintail and the South Shiel Ridge, so we’ll be spoilt for choice!

In spite of anticipated midge problems, I am very excited about this trip. I’ve been wearing my hiking boots all day, with the aim of re-acclimatizing to them after a year in trainers. A great deal of joy can be extracted from torsional rigidity and ankle support. Despite being ankle-high, my boots are actually cooler feeling than my trainers. The people at MEC knew what they were talking about when they said that Gore-Tex shoes, while good in the wet, become excessively hot fairly easily.

PS. I will post a conversion of the coords above to UTM or DMS as soon as I can find a script that will deal with the UK grid.

[Update]: Converting from UK national grid to anything else is a huge pain. Not only does it have its own zero coordinates and uniquely sized zones, but it is based on a different datum from more familiar coordinate systems. You can read all about it, if you like.

UTM Coords: (30 V) E0337948 N6359854
Deg DeciMin N57.211605 W005.416130
Map and Perspective View

Canalside rolling

I discovered another nice Oxford bike trek today. Begin by reaching the Port Meadow, by any means, then cross the southern portion westwards, move north along the Oxford canal, cross it, then head north and west to The Perch. This is not the time to stop for a drink. From there, turn left (south) and follow the undivided blacktop road (Quicktime!). This runs very pleasingly along pastures and farmland. The surface is especially nice – a situation that forms a marked contrast to other parts of the ride.

At one point, I thought to myself: “I can’t believe there are sheep in the background of this Nine Inch Nails track! The things you learn when you listen with headphones.” Moments later: “Oh, wait. These Apple earbuds let in external noises, and there are about 200 sheep in that pasture right there.”

That road ends in Botley, where you should turn east. About three kilometres away, you should see the green spire of Nuffield College. Very soon, you will reach a bridge across the Isis / Thames. As soon as you cross it, head up the path on the eastern bank. Watch out for the many other people who will be using the path, particularly if you do this in the evening, as I did. This path follows the river in a way that feels much more properly woodsy than most of the canal-side paths, and it ends at the southwest corner of the Port Meadow. From there, if you are feeling adventurous, you can ride right across the Port Meadow to the bridge that ends near The Anchor pu (where a micro geocache is hidden).

One word of warning: riding across the Port Meadow can be a very bumpy business. In my case, so much so that I had to re-align my rear tire afterwards so it wasn’t rubbing against the frame. Using a thin-tired hybrid bike on some of Oxford’s paths is a good way to force yourself to learn in-the-field bike maintenance. I now carry patches, pump, and spanners everywhere. My MEC sling-pack serves the purpose very well, when I don’t have books and things to carry about at the same time.