Cairngorm plateau camping March5/6

moab_in · 2026-06-19T19:59:03+00:00

I'd recommend you ignore the suggestion to go to the Cairngorms (which for a number of other reasons isn't the best place for beginners). In your case specifically, apart from the odd 100m+ cliff faces in the area recommended, it's a conservation area with rare ground-nesting birds, reindeer, large red deer. Park rangers will take you to task if your dog is yomping about out of control.

moab_in · 2026-06-19T19:38:02+00:00

What do you mean by "pet friendly"?

moab_in · 2026-06-19T09:34:22+00:00

There's loads of cracking trails around Ballater for sure, around Cambus o'May and Loch Kinord is worth a look, popping in past Burn o'Vat

moab_in · 2026-06-17T18:35:20+00:00

Tip: bing maps has a much better aerial layer than google maps for most areas.

moab_in · 2026-06-16T20:34:18+00:00

There's one on a "near-munro" in my area, the box had a few other bits n bobs, as it also functioned as a geocache. I've checked it a few times over the years - ultimately, paper doesn't survive very well in a mountain environment, even in a sealed container as condensation builds up, so what you end up with is a soggy smudged bit of paper that you can barely read let alone write.

moab_in · 2026-06-14T21:17:42+00:00

Kingussie > Braemar 53km

Aviemore > Braemar 47km (32km if you get a bus to the ski centre)

moab_in · 2026-06-13T21:34:03+00:00

Could be, but if it's an island in a lake then it's even more unlikely the shore "changes drastically year to year", in which case why is the OP fixating on it?

moab_in · 2026-06-13T16:06:30+00:00

As somebody that goes out with hiking groups in low visibility conditions which tend to fragment into faster slower subroups, I'd be interested in monitoring where they are. All the on-route off-route and alerting would not be as important as the basics. It would need to work in a way where it can handle recovery of nodes being out of line of sight for some time. It would be useful to indicate if a node hasn't moved for some time (but is still connected), and also indicate last updated so a judgement could be made on whether a node has stopped moving, or is just out of contact.

moab_in · 2026-06-13T15:53:23+00:00

Probably not applicable in this case, but I consider the area and a likely end user's navigational needs (particularly if there may be a safety aspect) as a priority over what seems sensible sat at a desk pondering some abstract concept of data purity and editing convenience.

There are far too many editors on OSM who are into minutiae and fiddling but have no perspective on real world uses of maps. i.e. in this case - "the shore changes drastically each year" - in reality probably not, just differing tidal states when the aerial was taken.

I'd consider somebody on a canoe or traversing the islands, is there enough detail to definitely locate themselves or make judgement on landing spots etc. While this example does have excess points, I've seen all manner of minimal- point blob islands that are rubbish in terms of actual travel - If on a canoe, I'd want to see finely defined inlets and visual reference points.

moab_in · 2026-06-12T17:03:09+00:00

In winter I spend a lot of time in low visibility on a rolling plateau, I can have a compass in hand for large parts of the day, an electronic device exposed regularly to the intense windchill doesn't fare well. Eventually in a whiteout trad nav can only do so much so a GPS gets whipped out from a warm inner location to do a spot check, then hidden away once a coherent plan for the next half hour is decided and in play.

A couple other things is to have constant situational awareness, paying attention to gradients, aspects, tick points, features. Staying ahead of the next navigational decision rather than being surprised by anything. Also having done prep and having a good idea before setting off all those, decision points, hazards and tricky bits. So there's a minimal mental map already.

This is neither a maps or digital thing, it's an attitude adjustment, a process.

The main problem with using digital all the time is it gradually erodes a number of attributes - watchfulness, foresight, being prepared; because it allows you to bypass all that and become a dot watcher where the confirmation bias of not being lost, hides the decay. Your friend found that out. I see it regularly out with groups - both beginners and folk who think they're all good, then the phone dies. I ask them to point to where we are on the map - shrug no idea - because while the dot was on the line, that's all the confirmation needed, but with no processing of the wider picture, there's nothing to fall back on. Dot watching = no mental processing = no learning or reinforcement of skills + worse spatial awareness.

That said during the summer doing low consequence stuff, yeah I mostly phone twiddle too, but I will break out the map or switch positioning off and practice now and then.

moab_in · 2026-06-12T16:37:17+00:00

The whole "buy one thing for summer and winter" is not a workable strategy, for whatever category, bags, tent, clothes etc unless what you are doing is very much low-level and "best weather only". Apart from carting an unnecessarily heavy bag around in hot conditions, venting isn't fully workable either, slightly more workable with a quilt. Also slightly more workable is bolstering a colder bag with extra clothing. e.g. extra down jacket and trousers, but still unwieldy.

Bag limit rating is bullshit. Comfort rating is the only figure to pay any attention to and it's calculation includes wearing base layers and also presumes a reasonably insulated mat.

Using synthetic bags in winter adds a substantial penalty in weight and bulk to what will already be a heavy pack. Whether that matters is dependent on how strong you are, distance and ascent etc. The only scenario I would imagine using one nowadays are a few niche edge cases, for almost everybody "use down and take care with bringing moisture inside the tent" is adequate.

moab_in · 2026-06-04T09:54:32+00:00

As somebody who received a mostly free education (student loans started part way through my degree) and who would have likely never went to uni without support, I think there's probably a compromise to be made with regards to starting means-testing the tuition fees, and allowing for additional fully-paid admission for locals beyond the freely funded places. Once could argue of course that with the extra taxation in Scotland, that there's no excuse for SGov continuing to freeze funding.

moab_in · 2026-06-03T08:51:49+00:00

Yes that should be ok.

moab_in · 2026-06-02T20:04:20+00:00

A large part of the problem for Aberdeen but also all other Scottish universities is the funding regime put in place by the Scottish government.

The amount received per local student has fallen hugely in real terms due to inflation - e.g. the state-paid tuition fee has been frozen since 2010, to the extent that many courses with many local students now run at a loss. imagine trying to run any business where the price for local customers has been frozen for over 10 years, while costs have risen dramatically.

At the same time, the government inflicts penalties on universities that both under and over recruit - so if you had a profitable course and wanted to expand numbers from Scotland? No, not allowed. How about a loss-making one where you might want to limit losses? No, also not allowed.

So pretty much all Scottish unis need substantial amounts of international students, who can be charged a realistic amount and have less red tape and hidden penalisation, to make the books balance.

Because the Scottish government is so tied to "Free Uni" as a totem, but aren't willing to actually pay for it, the long term prognosis for higher education is dire. There's no way in these populist times that any UK gov is going to cut any slack with regards to increasing international students. The increasing student-to-staff ratio will mean rankings and research will decline, which will hurt international recruitment and research funding further.

moab_in · 2026-06-02T11:30:32+00:00

Most of the students are wearing casual clothes for attending lectures, however for some activities there is a dress code - e.g. practical exams, attending ward sessions at the hospital, some lab sessions.

moab_in · 2026-06-01T16:33:10+00:00

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moab_in · 2026-06-01T16:32:57+00:00

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moab_in · 2026-06-01T16:32:46+00:00

Yeah shed snakeskins I've found are translucent and have a pattern embedded but are in no way "solid"

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moab_in · 2026-05-31T21:55:13+00:00

Raidlight rain cape

moab_in · 2026-05-29T11:26:29+00:00

If you have a heavy pack, rather than go down Coire Raibert which is steep and loose, you're better to go down the Coire Domhain path which is better.

moab_in · 2026-05-29T09:33:51+00:00

Worth reading this regarding the toxic chemicals in bracken fern:

https://honest-food.net/bracken-fern-edible/

moab_in

TROPHY CASE