Walking – Page 77 – Clive's Blog

Overnight Walk to Woodhall Spa

9 September 2011 / Camping, Outdoor Gear, Travel, Walking / coffee, Golite Jam 2, outdoor gear, tea, walking

With the West Highland Way walk only weeks away now I am going to walk to Woodhall Spa this weekend for training. When we do the WHW we will be carrying daypacks and having our main luggage transported between the places we are staying at – the extra weight I will be carrying to Woodhall Spa will help with the training.

It will also be the first outing for the new GoLite Jam2, so I am busy packing it this evening.

The food will be the usual mix of “non-specialist” lightweight food simply bought from the supermarket, to keep the costs down!

Weekend walk 10/9/2011

Saturday

On the trail　

Tinned mackrel, crackers, white coffee

Evening meal

Noodles with tomato soup and salami
Instant custard
Granola bars x2
Tea

Indian tea (with milk) and biscuits

Hot chocolate

Sunday

Tea – whilst still in the sleeping bag looking at the sunrise (I hope) or listening to rain!

Breakfast

Granola bars x2
Oat cakes and jam
White coffee

Lunch

Salami and crackers
White coffee

Trail food

Cereal bars x2
Salted cashew nuts

Both days 750ml water with 2x soluble electrolyte tablets

Saturday arriving at campsite SiS ReGo drink

Extras

3x tea bags and 15ml dried milk
1x white coffee
1x black coffee
2x peach tea (use hot or cold)
2x sugar packets
2x pepper packets
1x salt packet
1x tomato ketchup sachet

2x moist towels
Tissues

Weight excluding mackrel lunch (which will be eaten within an hour of starting) 900g.

For this trip I am not going to take the fleece liner for my lightweight sleeping, to add warmth, I am going to try experimenting with wearing my winter long underwear and some wool socks. This combination packs smaller and weighs less – and hopefully will keep me warm.

After recent experiences with fuel usage in the meths stove when the weather was windy, I am going to carry 250ml of meths.

Equipment

GoLite Jam2
Karrimor 1100 sleeping bag
Silk liner
Complete long underwear (cold weather / sleeping)
Air mat carried inside the pack
3x dry sacks
Belt lens case for brewkit – ease of access on the trail
1m x 1m lightweight tarp – sit mat when walking – used in tent porch

Coleman Bedrock 2 Tent
12 Ti pegs
4 steel
black bin liner – to pack the tent in if wet on the second day

Cooking
Ti stove inc copper mug support
2 fuel tablets – emergency fuel
100 ml meths
100 ml meths
50 ml meths
Half Al wind shield
Stove Board/stand
Ti mug and lid
Beaker with lid
Small brewkit in neoprene case – 5 teabags 15mls dried milk 2 brown sugar
2x lighters
Hi absorbent cloth – drying up
Pot sponge 1/2
5ml washing up liquid
Small LMF spork
Folding spoon/knife
Wide mug
cutting board – plastic 5cms x 12cms

Spare Clothes
Hi tech jumper
Walking socks
Underwear
Hat, headover and gloves
(stuffing the above in the headover makes a good pillow)

Wash Kit
Small Lifeventure travel towel
Hotel soap
Travel toothbrush
20ml liquid toothpaste – the bottle was a giveaway sample from Theramed
Comb
Mirror – from a Christmas cracker
20cm square high absorbent cloth

Tools
Camper SAK
Leatherman P4 Squirt
whistle
LMF fire steel
Compass

Petzl Tikka Headlamp
iTorch – led wind up (from Morrissons)
FAK
Safety pins, gaffer tape, needle and thread, cable ties, paracord
Two clothes pegs

2l Camelbak
750ml SIS bottle in belt case
1l Platypus Roll up bottle – for use in camp

Nano iPod and headphones in neoprene case

iPhone with extended battery jacket fitted
Booster battery for iPod/iPhone
Watatait Case

Headphones for iphone
Swisscard
Money £10
Pencil and notepaper
Personal Medicine
Sunglasses
Cricket Hat
Compeed stick
Lip balm
Sun stick – factor 50

Wearing
Lightweight long sleeved polartec shirt
3way Crag Hoppers
Northface Boots
Walking socks
Underwear

Overnight Walk to Woodhall Spa Read More »

Golite Jam 2

6 September 2011 / Camping, Outdoor Gear, Walking / Golite Jam 2, lightweight backpacking, lightweight walking, outdoor gear

My new lightweight rucksack came yesterday – I was working last night but I did have a chance to throw a few things in and play around with some packing options.

I got my one man tent in the front pocket with room to spare and my inflating sleep mat in the main compartment without any problem. Getting the mat inside was important to me as when I had it strapped to the top of the previous pack it made the pack very awkward when making my way through overgrown areas.

When I put on the pack it felt very comfortable. The hip belt pockets were a little difficult to use but I am sure with use the zippers will loosen a little and I will get used to them. I could reach the drinks bottle reasonably easily.

In my Karrimor pack I had a foam back pad that included two flexible aluminium strips embedded in it, which gave the soft pack some rigidity which I found useful – I have inserted this into the pad pocket on the Golite. It makes it easier to pack as it gives the bag some structure and I also think it will protect my back from the load and the water bladder and help transfer some of the weight to the hip belt. There is a weight penalty for this stiff pad – 165gms – which I feel is a bargain if it makes my walking more comfortable.

Golite Jam 2 Read More »

Wainwright’s Coast to Coast

4 September 2011 / Walking / Coast to Coast, IT Support for Lincolnshire, Octagon Technology, Wainwright

We are just getting into the final planning stages for the West Highland Way walk in about six weeks time – and whilst going through the maps and other documents for the walk, on my laptop, I came across the document I wrote after completing Wainwright’s Coast to Coast.

The information is from the summer of 2008 but it should still offer an insight to walk for those thinking about doing it. I have put a link to the .pdf file on the Downloads page and the here.

Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Read More »

Haglofs Watatait Mobile Pouch – Test

28 August 2011 / Camping, Outdoor Gear, Photography, Technology, Walking / iPhone, iPhone photography, outdoor gear

As it was raining it was a good opportunity to test the waterproof case for the iPhone 4.

Here is a photo taken through the pouch.

Haglofs Watatait Mobile Pouch – Test Read More »

Peach Tea

26 August 2011 / Camping, Outdoor Gear, Walking / backpacking food, camping, camping food, hiking, outdoor gear, tea

Whilst shopping in Lidl we came across this instant fruit tea.

I am always looking for things to add to the brew kit and peach tea sounded good. Back at the campsite we tried it and both of us liked it, Jeremy especially like the idea that it could be added to cold water.

The instructions said use five tea spoons (20g) we used two heaped mini sporks in a mug and that was fine.

I packed about six mugs worth in this 100ml nalgene bottle (I’ll weigh it when I get home).

Peach Tea Read More »

Glen Glass and the Cromarty Firth

25 August 2011 / Photography, Travel, Walking / coffee, Cromarty Firth, Glen Glass, Invergordon, iPhone photography

There was a heavy and prolonged thunder storm, last night in Dingwall – following what had been a fine day. The rain was so loud beating in the tent that we had trouble hearing the thunder over it.

I awoke, this morning, (JSC was still asleep) to a damp but bright campsite and had a very good coffee made with my “coffee maker”, sitting outside the tent, watching the rabbits on the field. Eat your heart St*rb*cks this is the only way to appreciate fresh made coffee.

Once JSC got up we decided that we would go walking.

The photos below are from Glen Glass, a little north of Dingwall – as you can see blue sky and sunshine.

Click on this Pano image below for a larger version

What you cannot see in the photos are the midges – so JSC went back to the car, leaving me to take my photos and try out a bit of gear I bought yesterday – a lightweight midge head net! Not something I had considered before, however the air at the campsite at Cragganmore, last week, was “midge soup”. The other backpacker I met there had a midge head net which she found useful. That got me thinking that many of the wild camping places I plan to visit in the future will probably also be plagued midges.

The one below (modelled for you by JSC) is the Micro Head Net, from Highlander, it packs small,weighs little, (I will weight it when I get home) and cost £4 from Tiso.

We left the forest and headed for the coast – with a stop at the picnic site at Invergordon. The Cromarty Firth was used by the navy in the past as it is a deep safe anchorage. Today the oil industry uses it for the same reasons.

Click on this Pano image below for a larger version

Another photo using Pano – if you have an iPhone get it – it is easy to use and, as you can see, great results.

Glen Glass and the Cromarty Firth Read More »

Dornoch

23 August 2011 / Photography, Travel, Walking / Dornoch, iPhone photography, outdoor gear

Jeremy and I walked down to the coast at Dornoch today. We took the small brew kit and had a brew and noodles with tomato soup for lunch.

There was plenty of RAF action whilst we were there with pairs of Tornados performing “power turns” in front of the beach, displaying their underneaths and weapon loads.

Dornoch Read More »