Hills: Ben Rinnes
Date: Monday 24th December 2018
Company: Just myself
Distance: 7.6km, Ascent: 525m
I've been meaning to write-up this trip report for almost a year now
and at long last have got round to it
.
On the
afternoon of Christmas Eve 2018, I was sitting at home bored. The downside
to shared child custody meant this year I would not see my daughter until
Christmas Night .
To cheer myself up, I decided to pack a rucksack and go spend the night at
the top of a hill to look out for Santa
. The weather
forecast was pretty-good albeit it was meant to get cold! As well as taking
my DSLR, I also packed a tripod to stand any chance of taking photos in the
dark.
I arrived at the Ben Rinnes car park shortly after sunset. My rucksack
was far from light but the ascent of Ben Rinnes is relatively short and
straight-forward via a good track.
At the base of Ben Rinnes:
Setting off post sunset:
During the initial ascent I met several other walkers who were descending
the hill. All laughed at seeing my hat and on seeing the size of my pack
enquired as to whether I would be sleeping out. I think most thought I was
at least a touch mad
.
View
during ascent of Ben Rinnes:
Ascent of Ben Rinnes:
It
was lovely to walk with a post sunset glow above the distant Cairngorms. I
was already feeling the cold as it was below 0C when I set off. It would
however feel much colder higher-up due to the wind and windchill.
Ben
Rinnes:
Distant Cairngorms:
I
made it to the summit in just over an hour and was glad to take off the
rucksack. After visiting the summit, I descended a short distance and
commenced pitching my tent.
At the summit of Ben Rinnes:
Once my tent was pitched, I took some photos before heading into the tent in
an attempt to get warm. My biggest regret was not packing a stove.
Tent pitched a short distance below the summit:
On
venturing outside an hour or so later, the tent was already starting to ice
up.
On returning to the car in the morning, the temperature was -5C.
I suspect therefore the temperature at the summit was around -10C. With
added windchill, it was not particularly pleasant standing outside the tent.
Not long before tent was icing-up:
After decorating my tent, I took some photos which I posted-up to Facebook
and Twitter. I still can't believe the number of responses I got ranging
from "You loon" through to "Have I hung up my stocking".
Tent tinsel:
I
ventured outside several times to take photos of surrounding houses and
villages and also of stars.
View from the summit of Ben Rinnes:
Camera set up to photograph the moonrise:
The best sight of all, and what made the wee adventure worthwhile, was
photographing the moonrise from the summit.
Christmas Eve moonrise
from the summit of Ben Rinnes:
Orion:
The night was long, cold and dark.
Attempting to keep warm:
After some sleep, I awoke around 3am when I decided to pack-up my tent and
descend the hill to get back home by 5.30am.
Alas, on falling asleep
I missed seeing Santa. It was however an interesting wee adventure.