Preparation

This isn't Kilimanjaro, but it did give me a good long walk over 2 munros. Beinn Chreachain and Beinn Achaladair. (Un)fortunately I rather nonchalantly dispensed with map, compass and GPS for the walk out and contoured too low and took the wrong valley out. What should have been a bealach looking down toward Achallader Farm turned out to be the well known bealach looking down on Bridge of Orchy from between Beinn an Dothaidh and Beinn Dorain, which meant I'd had a hard slog up the trackless Coire a Ghabhalaich with night closing in fast. The downhill to Bridge of Orchy in the dark was challenging. But all in all, very good excercise.

OK, so an inauspicious start. It's our garden in Edinburgh and not the African plains or a desert oasis. But that's the tent we plan to use for sleeping in on our ascent of Kilimajaro, and tonight we are going to try it out. We reckon it should be cold enough for us to get some idea of how good our sleeping bags and thermal mats are. Once in Africa we plan to use the Hilux's roof tent for most of our camping, but this lightweight little fellow (2.9kg) is coming up the mountain with us.