A workmate of mine has been expressing interest in trying out wild camping for some time now. We decided to head this weekend to Binnian and the surrounding area for him to give it a shot for the first time in the Mournes.
The weather forecast gave quite windy conditions for the Saturday, with rain expected to roll in on the Sunday, so we kept our plans pretty flexible, with the opportunity to adjust as we went.
We parked at Carrick Little and decided to head up Binnian with day packs to begin our trip. The clouds were gathering in the distance, and it was clear from how fast they streamed over the summit that some wind was waiting for us at the top. Down on the Carrick Little track however, it remained very calm indeed, with the occasional walker coming past in either direction.
As we set up along the wall, Binnian itself provided plenty of shelter, which was making for a very pleasant ascent indeed, particularly with the lightweight daypacks on. I did wear heavier boots than usual, a pair of Scarpa Mantas, as my feet have been a little tender this past couple of weeks from a lot of miles in very lightweight shoes. The stiff, torsion resistant mantas might be a little harder on the calf muscles, but they give the feet plenty of protection.
Aaron isn’t new to hillwalking in general, he’s been out for plenty of day walks around the Mournes, although not Binnian and has never been camping. The easy footing for the wall route up Binnian certainly helped.
As we got higher the wind picked up slightly, which provided a nice refreshing cooldown during our efforts. After having done this exact route in late August with a camping pack, it was nice to feel the cool breeze rather than a heavy heat bearing down on me, to say nothing of the absence of pack weight.
The final push up to the summit was very breezy indeed, it was quite clear at that point that a Summit camp would have been out of the question up here, unless we were using bivvy bags. Another reason why bringing the day packs was worth it.
The wind would clear the sky for brief periods every once in a while, while we sat and had a drink and a snack. At least it wasn’t raining!
After we were refreshed, we opted to return back down the route we came. Ordinarily we’d have went past the north tor / buzzard’s roost and seen a little more of Binnian, but we were acutely aware of the time of day, having only left Belfast at lunchtime. Setting up camp while there’s still a little light is always preferable. Also the high winds and low visibility would have made that loop less fun than it might have otherwise been.
The descent back down the wall quickly got us out of the wind again and the sky cleared periodically to give us a nice view of what we were missing on our way up earlier on.
Before long we were back at the car and trading our day packs for camping packs. Loaded up like pack mules, we started back up the Carrick Little track again in search of a pitch.
Aaron was borrowing one of my Osprey packs. It’s pretty clear he’s going to need a long back version whenever he goes to buy his own. The hip belt was absolutely nowhere near his hips. It still proved comfortable enough though, and the various communal sundries were shared between the two of us. I was carrying a 90L (now-discontinued) load-lugger from Osprey called the Xenith. Affectionately known as the “Tardis” for its bright blue colour, it’s an absolutely cavarnous pack that you can just keep cramming stuff into. For instance, I had packed a lighter pair of boots to change into when we got to camp. If you have the space, why not!
We passed a few spots that we had in mind to see groups already set up. Such is the luck of the draw when arriving to pitch late. It was great to see so many people out and about all the same.
Luckily the last of the spots I had in mind was unoccupied, so we set up camp for the evening as the light of the day had just began to fade. I had the Terra Nova Voyager for the evening and Aaron had opted for the Vango Cairngorm 200. It was still without a breath of wind, so neither tent was going to have a hard time in these conditions.
I stepped out of the Mantas and into the Cloudrocks. They’re over a kilo lighter for the pair, so it felt like hopping around on the moon after wearing the Mantas all afternoon. Still, my plantar fascia had been spared the hammering of rocks and constant torsion, so the Mantas had served their intended purpose.
I was keen to ensure that Aaron’s first taste of wild camping was an agreeable one, so out came the Omnifuel and a pan, and I got to work on cooking him up a couple of cheeseburgers. They went down a treat.
This was no ultralight camp, I even brought a couple of hard perspex pint glasses for our evening tin of Guinness each. It’s not the sort of thing I’d normally bring, but weight doesn’t really matter an awful lot when you know there’s a short trudge to and from camp. I’d have been more judicious were we spending the night on a summit.
I had brought along the Primus Ulti for its first outing. I’ve had an MSR Reactor (click for review) for over 13 years now, and I was interested to see how the Ulti shaped up after such a long period of the reactor being more or less uncontested. A full review will come in due course, but for now it seems that it’s robust, heavier but more stable with a lower centre of gravity owing to the remote canister design. It made short work of the task of boiling up the water for our tea, as I’d have expected in such calm conditions.
After a couple of cups of tea and some biscuits and a good natter, it was time to hit the hay for the night. Neither of us was particularly beat, but we knew the forecast gave rain in the morning, and we didn’t want to be laying around when our window of opportunity to pack up in the dry had arrived.
Both of us slept soundly. It’s hard not to when you’re out in the fresh air in such calm conditions, after a good feed and plenty of fluids. At around 6am a heavy rain shower rolled in and I awoke to the familiar snare-drum putter of rain striking the flysheet. The inside of the Voyager was condensation free and the beaded rainwater ran off the fly with ease.
We packed up our kit and waited for our moment to pounce. Before long the rain eased off, and we got out, shook off our tents and got them packed away, ready to head back to the car.
I didn’t get many photos of the walk back, but the few I did capture more or less sum it up. Lots of rain, lots of mist. Nothing to complain about after you spent the entirety of the previous day dry as a bone.
Before too long we were back at the car and bound for Newcastle. The “Eats and Beats” festival was on for day two. Unsurprisingly there weren’t many about. The weather had perhaps deterred people from arriving too early. I hope it picked up in the afternoon. We opted to nip into the Shimna Cafe for a fryup, having not eaten before leaving camp.
Well fed and well watered, we headed for home to dry off our kit. Aaron’s first wild camp (hopefully the first of many) was a success. The seed has been planted and he’ll be back out plenty before long I’m sure. It’s hard to beat a weekend in the Mournes.
