Work vs Survival

After a couple of disasters over the summer, I am now testing a new strategy for living and working in the hills. I am in a mountain bothy on the shores of Loch Lomond where, fortunately, I can tap into a sporadic GPRS and 3G signal to get me on-line. The reason for coming here was to see if I could do without my solar panel for the winter and still remain productive. With two tents gone, I am forced to rely on a tiny shelter that is billed as the 'world's lightest tent' (Terra Nova, Laser Competition). Living and working throughout the winter in such a tent is not realistic and I cannot afford to buy another. Consequently, I intend to stay in mountain bothies, supplemented by the Laser when appropriate. The weight of the tent has been partially replaced by the weight of a real-life paper manuscript. Boy, but paper is heavy and so single-use!
However - so far, so good.
It's too early to tell, but first impressions are that I might be able to make this work. The weather has been stunning during the day, but extremely cold when sitting still, trying to write and edit the mss. During the night, freezing conditions mean that it's difficult to get a full restful and rejuvenating sleep. Thus, I imagine that, as full winter conditions set in, I will find the process particularly challenging. The truth is, that while I am on the adventure of my life, it is difficult to maintain any sort of efficiency as I struggle to keep warm and recover from the constant interruptions that force me to attend to other things (such as surviving). On the upside, being out here constantly puts me in situations where I am uniquely set to experience (and hence film) some of the most incredible scenery in all its guises. Perhaps, after a year of doing this, I will will be able to blow some warmth into my bones and find enough gems in my stash of tapes to produce an interesting film that might help me in some way as an author.
All next week, I will be in civilisation, dog-sitting as my sister and family holiday in Florida. When I get there, I will post some pictures from my stay in Loch Lomond and plan my next extended stay in the wilds. So far, since May this year, I have lived over four months in the mountains and six weeks house-sitting for friends and family throughout the country. One part of me really wants to experience the full force of winter living like this, but I must always look to getting myself into a situation where I can write as efficiently as I can. Somehow, I doubt that being in survival mode for over four months will produce the productivity I seek. Will I have a choice? One thing I've learned since starting this venture is that I never know what's coming round the corner.

And that is really cool.



Edit to Add. the photos from Loch Lomond were corrupted. Since then, I have spent a number of freezing weeks in the beautiful area south of Ullapool in a winter wonderland. The filming is continuing apace and the effort and expense worth all that it has cost me. As is everything I do, this is a long-term project. With luck and enterprise, I hope it will all come together in 2009. My target is to launch at The Edinburgh Festival in August of that year. I will explain more closer to the time.