backpacking

Old Man of Coniston pt1

Before setting out we visited the grave of Malcolm Campbell.

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We finally picked up our rucksacks from the car and set off for the summit at about 1.30pm. The weather was mostly fine with just the occasional dark cloud.

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Richard on the summit

We had lunch on the way up and plenty of photo stops (rests!) and got to the top of The Old Man of Coniston at about 5pm.

Old Man of Coniston pt1 Read More »

Backpacking this weekend

I had been planning to walk to Woodhall Spa this weekend, but following the BBC weather forecast yesterday I quickly changed my plans to a trip to the Lake District.

So the plan is to climb the Old Man of Coniston and then find somewhere to camp tonight.

We left Lincoln at about 4.30am and have now stopped in Lancaster. This gives Richard a chance to reset the multiple controls on his G12.

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As with all good walking trips this one features an English Breakfast.

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Backpacking this weekend Read More »

Overnight trip to the Old Man of Coniston

Next weekend I am planning a backpacking trip to the Lake Dustrict, with a couple of friends, to walk up the Old Man of Coniston with an overnight camp – depending on the weather. (Click on the map for a larger version).

Old Man of Conniston

The main reason for going away is to spend the weekend taking photographs – so we are taking a tripod with us and I am going to try my hand at some video on my iPhone. I have a bracket to mount my iPhone on a tripod.

iPhone on a tripod

This weekend I have been sorting the gear.

  • I will get to try out my second inflatable pillow!
  • I am going to take my MSR Pocket Rocket stove with a 100g cannister – I have not yet used it on an overnight trip
  • I am going to test using a Molle water bottle pouch to carry my lunch and brew kit – fixed to the hip belt or compression strap on the Golite Jam2

Molle Water Bottle Pouch

  • I am going to pack the titanium meths stove and 50ml of meths in the Molle pouch – for hot drinks whilst walking

Food for the trip

We are going to start walking after lunch on the Saturday

Saturday

  • On the trail dried mango slices and salted cashew nuts
  • Instant white coffee – I can make a brew whilst waiting for the light to change for that perfect photograph

Evening meal

  • Smoked Sausage
  • Tortilla x3
  • Onion Gravy
  • Instant custard and chocolate chip cake
  • Tea

Indian tea (with milk and brown sugar) wafer biscuits
Hot chocolate, wafer biscuits

Sunday

Tea and biscuits  whilst still in my sleeping bag

Breakfast

  • Cereal bars
  • Breakfast biscuits
  • Crackers and jam
  • Apple flakes
  • Tea

On the trail dried mango slices and salted cashew nuts

Extras

  • Boiled sweets, apple flapjack bar
  • 2x instant peach teas (use hot or cold)
  • 15ml of dried milk 2x sugar packets 2x pepper packets 1x salt packet 1x tomato ketchup sachet
  • 1 oz Southern Comfort
  • Tissues

Emergency Food – Glucose tablets

Water

  • 1l in my CamelBak for the walk – this should be enough for both days as we are not walking far
  • 1.3l for evening meal
  • 0.7l for breakfast
  • 0.9l for extra cups of tea and cleaning

I am going to store some water in the car so I can drink before setting out and on my return.

 

Let’s hope the weather is good enough!

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Annotated Kit Photograph

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1 Aluminium foil wind shield – wraps in close around the stove for really windy weather
2 Stove board/stand – it protects the grass and makes a stable base for the stove.
3 Half aluminium wind shield – I bought a wind shield, cut it in half and removed a panel to make it fit better around this stove and mug
4 Vargo Triad XE Alcohol / Fuel Tab Titanium Stove with a copper mug support
5 MSR Titanium mug – mug and cooking pot
6 Aluminium lid for the mug
7 & 8 Small Beaker with lid – second mug when the titanium mug is being used as a pot. The lid makes it a useful storage jar and it is just big enough to rehydrate a 65g pack of noodles in.
9 Small Brew Kit
10 Army style tin opener
11 25ml bottle of dried milk
12 Refillable gas lighter – it has a stronger flame than a disposable lighter
13 2x fuel tablets – emergency fuel
14 Methylated spirits- in a clearly marked bottle – packed in a ziplock bag to protect the other equipment from leaks.
15 Washing up and Hygiene
– Alcohol hand cleaner – hygiene is essential when camp cooking
– 20ml Multi-purpose bio-degradable soap – for washing up, cleaning clothes or person. I decant some into a shampoo bottle that I got from a hotel
– 1/4 Pot sponge
– Hi absorbent cloth – for drying up
– Kitchen cloth
16 Plastic Cutting board – this is made from a plastic wall tile cut in half – 5cms x 12cms. Some kind of chopping board is often overlooked, having something to cut on saves other bits of kit, lids or plates getting damaged. I have several of these tiles in my camp box when one gets too badly scratched up I will replace it.
17 Victorinox Camper SAK – cooking knife, tin and bottle opener as well as an all round camp tool.
18 Paper towels in a small ziplock bag
19 Small LMF spork – this is a double ended utensil with a real fork at one end and a real spoon at the other. A true spork is not very good at getting the last drops of gravy out of a bowl or for hooking up a forkful of noodles.
20 Camp folding spoon and knife
21 Three section spice pot/shaker
22 GSI pot lifter
23 LMF ferro rod and striker
24 Spare gas lighter
25 1oz Single Malt Whisky
26 Stuff sack that holds most of this equipment
27 1l roll up water bottle with sports top for easy pouring
28 Selection of small pots and bottles to carry, dried milk, peanut butter etc
29 Coffee maker/tea strainer
30 Air tight canister for fresh coffee
31 600ml bowl with a clip on lid – this is large enough for the meals I make, but it also serves as a container for transporting more fragile food whilst walking.
32 1m square lightweight tarp – for putting on the ground and making a clean cooking area

Not shown in the photograph

  • Tea bags and sugar packets in the brew kit
  • 58 Pattern British Army water bottle
  • Plastic food bags with wire ties used both for food storage and for packing rubbish out

Annotated Kit Photograph Read More »

Gear that worked – Gear that didn’t

Inflatable Pillow

I’ll start with the failure – the inflatable pillow. It started off alright, it was comfortable, but that soon decreased as the air slowly leaked out from the valve. Luckily it only cost me a pound. I dumped it in the bin before leaving the campsite – however I will be looking for a better quality inflatable pillow as the idea was good.

Peanut Butter

I have seen in other backpacking blogs that in the US peanut butter, in single portion packets, is easily available in supermarkets – I have found it online in the UK but not for a price that makes it a viable purchase here.

I have been on the lookout for some small containers to portion jam, honey and peanut butter in to, and last week I found these in Boyes, in Lincoln at 89p a pack of four.

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The pots have a very secure high thread so they can be filled to the brim. I filled two with peanut butter for this weekend and found one pot was enough for four crackers at lunchtime.

So these are a success.

Beaker or bowl

I have swapped the screw top beaker for a 600ml bowl with a snap top lid.

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It is much larger which was needed to make the sausage and mash dinner.

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I have gone back to carrying the lightweight beaker that fits inside my titanium mug, so I can have tea whilst cooking. The titanium mug with a lid still makes an excellent “one person kettle” and a mug. I can use the titanium mug almost straight from the stove – I have a GSI pot lifter to hold the handles in when I lift it from the stove (and to handle the lid and wind shield when hot) but by the time I make my tea or coffee in the mug the handles and mug lip are cool enough to hold and drink from.

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