Galloway BAM#2

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summittoppler
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Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:27 am
Location: North Wales

Galloway BAM#2

Post by summittoppler »

You may have seen these pics in the BAM thread but here's some words I put together for fat-bike.com.

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BXxmMh ... e=youtu.be

I had a pass and the weather window opened up for a 2 nighter in Galloway SW Scotland.

After committing myself to the Bivvy a Month lark its got me thinking about where to have these mini adventures. With February usually a bit on the chilly side I had my thoughts on staying in a bothy. So I thought why not make an early in the year trip to Scotland and sample one of theirs...

After a sneaky early finish from work (I love Fridays), I made the 250 mile drive from north Wales to the Galloway National Park in south west Scotland. Now I’d never been to this part of Scotland before so I was going in ‘blind’. I mapped a basic route after looking at maps and satellite images on the PC at home. That’s what I enjoy about the BAM, planning rides, looking for routes and energising the mind with positives thoughts.
My Salsa Mukluk was looking a little different as I’ve got the BackCountry range of bikepacking bags to try out courtesy of Apidura, with some words going on fat-bike.com soon..
I started the ride at 3:30 after the 4.5hour drive. The weather was fine, not a cloud in the sky and not a breath of wind although the temperature was at around 0° Celsius. The sun was setting at just after 5 so I knew I was going to be pitching my tent in the dark at my proposed site and with me not having the best lights I was hoping the magic hour of light would last a tad longer.
I made my way along an old dismantled railway track for 11 miles. The scenery was stunning, Scots pine trees and open moorland with a couple of small lochs (lakes) which made me think the journey by train must have been a spectacular route. The ground was frozen in places where the day time sun couldn’t reach. The air was getting colder, the sun was getting lower and my excitement levels were rising. I had some faffing along the way as I was also trying out my new video camera for the film. After leaving the train track I followed a fire road through the forest and onto the southern shores of Loch Grannoch. I hadn’t seen anyone during the ride which added a sense of adventure to the trip. I pitched the tent on the sandy shore of the loch which as still as it could be. I lay in the tent, cooked some food and watched the million stars overhead.

After a cold night (my sleeping bag isn't the best) in the tent I made a coffee to warm myself up and had a quick bite to eat. Today my plan was to head to the White Laggan Bothy which was around 18 miles north of me and 18 miles on a loaded fat bike is pretty far. I followed one of the many fire road tracks that cuts through the forestry. Some felling of trees had recently happened which opened up the view of the snow covered hill tops not that far away. Again the air was chilly with a bit of a breeze. I was in a happy place as the good scenery and good weather made me feel this BAM challenge was a good thing to do.
The morning clouds soon cleared by midday and the winter sun was beating down on the snow covered hill tops making the views even more picturesque. I was on the look out for deer but did not see any during the trip. I did however startle the biggest fox I have seen. As I came around a corner I was around 20-30 feet from a mountain fox which soon scarpered off into the dense forest before I could get my camera out.
The stone bothy soon came into view set in a small valley. As you approach this one you soon notice the painted Scottish flag on the gable end of the shelter. The smoke coming from the chimney told me I wouldn’t be alone this evening but it did mean I’d soon warm up. I soon got inside and introduced myself to the resident walkers who had stayed the night before and decided to stay this evening. I got some much needed food in me and started cutting some wood ready for the night ahead.

A better nights sleep was had after sleeping on the wooden floor by the wood stove and I found myself sneaking about collecting my things as my fellow bothy residents slept through. The bike was soon loaded, the flask was filled and I was ready to ride back to the starting point which was 21 miles away. The morning was extremely still just like the first evening. The loch’s looked like sheets of ice with no ripples in them. The bike was going well despite the weight of the kit and I’ve always liked the feel of a loaded fat bike as you know you’re on an adventure. I followed the fire roads with a gentle down hill as they followed the rivers flowing down to the next loch.
I was stopped by a local farmer who asked about the bike as he made his way to feed some livestock. He told me they had a fair bit of snow a couple of days before my visit and the weather soon changed to this calm spell.
As I got closer to the finish point my mind soon turned to planning BAM #3. The ideas spinning in my mind as I try to forward plan the next one.

Image20180204_085600 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

Image20180204_082159 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

Image20180203_073857 by Jeff Price, on Flickr
BAM: 2014, 2018 & ......
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Fat tyre kicker
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Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 8:39 pm
Location: Cheshire

Re: Galloway BAM#2

Post by Fat tyre kicker »

Excellent as usual Jeff, I've driven through there countless times and been to the Wickerman festival there,
Looks top notch for a few days away :-bd
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summittoppler
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Re: Galloway BAM#2

Post by summittoppler »

Cheers, as I didn't do that much homework on the place I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. A very scenic part of Scotland thats not a marathon to get to :-bd
BAM: 2014, 2018 & ......
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Stumpym4
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Re: Galloway BAM#2

Post by Stumpym4 »

And thanks to Jeff and his write up and video, ive cancelled a up coming road sportive and instead heading up to Galloway in 2 weeks time to ride pretty much the same route, ive just added a few extra miles on the middle day :)
thanks Jeff
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summittoppler
Posts: 1271
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:27 am
Location: North Wales

Re: Galloway BAM#2

Post by summittoppler »

Stumpym4 wrote:And thanks to Jeff and his write up and video, ive cancelled a up coming road sportive and instead heading up to Galloway in 2 weeks time to ride pretty much the same route, ive just added a few extra miles on the middle day :)
thanks Jeff
Nice one cheers :-bd
BAM: 2014, 2018 & ......
2024 Bikepacking nights: 3

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