The boys went fishing today near Grantown on Spey, so after dropping them off I set off to do some walking. There are plenty of good forest walks around Grantown on Spey and a lot of geocaches have been hidden there so planing a route was straight forward.
Several of the geocaches were challenging to find (I did get some help on one of them from a local) but searching them out is part of the fun. I was planning on getting 10 – managed 7 as the boys wanted to be picked up earlier than planned.
For lunch I found a shaded spot, essential for today as it was very hot and sunny, with a very convenient tree stump. Before setting up the stove I was very careful to clear the ground of the dry leaf litter as I did not want any risk of fire.
Gear
Top of the list today was water.
1l roll up Platypus bottle with a drinking tube – I do not use the bladder tube very often but today it was useful to be able to sip water regularly
0.5l roll up water bottle – used to make my lunch time coffee (I know coffee dehydrates but I like it)
0.3l water with a squirt of Robinsons Squash’d citrus
Lightweight Sea to Summit pack
Map and compass
Rain jacket – not really necessary today but I still packed it
Lunch – including a snack pot of tinned pineapple for the liquid
Backpacking cooking set
GSI lightweight insulated mug
Sit mat – pads the back of the pack
Sun stick and lip balm
Bush hat with wide brim
Victorinox Camper Swiss Army Knife on a paracord lanyard
Long sleeved lightweight shirt
Crag Hopper long trousers
Karrimor hiking shoes with Bridgedale hiking socks
Pocket first aid kit, pack of tissues, whistle, space blanket, length of cord, four large safety pins, glucose tablets
Head lamp
Emergency power pack for my smartphone
Plenty of factor 50 sun screen applied before setting out.
New Gear
GSI Infinity Backpacker Mug
I bought a new mug yesterday – a GSI lightweight insulated mug, that is big enough to be used as a bowl to rehydrate a meal in when camping or backpacking. The lid has a sturdy lift up flap for drinking out of and to protect from swimming flies.
The insulated jacket is removable for cleaning.
Capacity 500ml
Weight 99g
Coffee
I saw this flavoured instant coffee in the supermarket the other day. Tastes great so I have added a Nalgene bottle if it to my kit.
