I have to say I’ve become so used to conducting day-to-day business from a mountain that I’m starting to wonder why I need an entire office. A laptop and an Iridium sat phone are all you need, and of course a way to keep them powered. Brunton’s portable solar panels are somehow able to suck enough energy from even the most overcast days to power the phone and laptop. These panels do away with the need for a loud generator and are the only option if you’re backpacking.
Soon the sheep will make their way to their rutting grounds where the rams will battle for the right to mate. Fierce headbutting competitions will establish the hierarchy and leave all exhausted. It’s a time that promises plenty of action.
Our camp is too far away from the rutting grounds, so we plan on relocating. But high winds (tent-destroying) are an issue, as the rutting grounds are completely exposed, so finding a somewhat sheltered camp location is crucial.
Today we packed light and made the long hike to scout for our new base camp location.
Hiking off the mountain to resupply afforded a night in a cabin with heat. Pure luxury.
It took a while to try all the AlpineAire meals, but I’ve found a favourite hands down: Hurry Curry Chicken.
Day after day of freezing rain and high winds are enough to drive you mad. Sitting inside a small tent isn’t much better.
Two pieces of gear have kept me sane and changed camping forever. First Ascent’s base camp tent is the size of a small living room and is just as comfortable when it’s raining. There will be no going back to sitting by myself in a tiny tent after experiencing this.
The other is contact with the outside world via email made possible by Iridium’s sat phone. There’s nothing like notes from loved ones to brighten yet another rainy day.
One of the techniques I’m using to capture images of the sheep is camera trapping. An infrared beam is set across a sheep trail, triggering the camera when broken.
The great thing about Stone’s sheep is that there are well-defined trails everywhere, so at any given location it is fairly easy to know where they will walk. The frustrating thing about Stone’s sheep is that are well-defined trails everywhere, making it impossible to know at which location they’ll be.
Well our First Ascent base camp tent has gained renown among the hunters throughout the plateau. As word spreads, we receive more and more visitors seeking shelter from the rain.
Tonight Steve and I even played host to a couple hunters who stopped by for dinner. That’s right. We had a dinner party on Todagin. Complete with pleasant conversation and wine. We compared AlpineAire meals and spoke about the weather. We even gossiped about a hunter in the neighbouring drainage we saw wearing cotton.
At the end of the night we said our goodbyes and Steve and I did the dishes while agreeing what a nice evening it was.
