Website updates
I bought an Apple iPod Touch yesterday.
This will be a useful bit of kit and supplement my smartphone when I am walking, backpacking or camping.
Read about this and other updates to my backpacking and camping gear for 2015
lightweight backpacking
Water treatment methods and their effectiveness
Whilst browsing Pinterest this morning I found a excellent document published by the USA government organisation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about water treatment methods. This is a particularly useful, one page pdf description about the ways to treat water when wild camping and their effectiveness against various water borne pathogens.
Water treatment methods
a guide for individuals intending to use untreated or poorly treated water as a drinking source
Link to the CDC page – A Guide to Drinking Water Treatment and Sanitation for Backcountry & Travel Use.
More about water – Backpacking water, bottles and bladders
Water treatment methods and their effectiveness Read More »
Notes from my Woodhall Spa weekend
First thing at Woodhall Spa – I had early morning coffee at this camp instead of tea
Menu for the weekend
Weight 750g
Lunch
Tinned Mackerel in Teriyaki sauce
Crackers
Cereal bar
Tea
Arrival at Woodhall Spa Camping and Caravan Club site
Milicano coffee stick and cakes (the warden gave me some milk as they had sold out of 1 pints – otherwise I would have bought some)
Dinner
Sesame flavoured Japanese noodles
I let the noodles cool down then I added a small packet of mixed pitted olives in herb oil and a salad dressing sachet that Mum had left over from her dinner on Friday
Chinese sesame dessert
Peach tea (cold)
Milicano coffee
Tea
Early morning
Tea and breakfast biscuits
Breakfast
Apple Pop Tarts
Dried fruit
Fresh coffee and more tea
Elevenses
Nescafe 2 in 1 coffee
Nutrigrain breakfast bar
Extras
2x decaf coffee sticks
Nutrigrain bar
Hot chocolate drink
I also had my Backpacking Brew Kit, packet of glucose tablet and some SiS Go Hydro tablets.
lunch in the pouring rain – getting a little shelter under the trees
Chinese sesame dessert
I got this from a local Asian supermarket – there is no other way to describe it, it is black custard. It is very sweet and tastes strongly of sesame. I like it as an alternative to instant custard.
Water
It was a warm humid weekend so I carried 2.5l of water and used nearly all of it. I carried a pack of SiS Go Hydro tablets, which I made up in my 500ml bottle, which I refilled as required from one of my other bottle – I had three bottles of the electrolyte drink. I made tea at lunch and drank nearly all the rest of the water – and it was probably just enough for the conditions.
Once I was at the camp site I was aware how much fluid I had lost during the day so I made sure I had plenty to drink – stoping to make a drink before I even put my tent up.
I walked until about 1pm on Sunday I carried 1.5l of water. I used one of my electrolyte drinks, made hot chocolate whilst I waited for Diana to arrive and drank most of the rest.
Read about my water choices here.
HTC Wildfire – MP3 player and ePub reader
This is the first full weekend away using this “retired” mobile phone as an MP3 player to replace my iPod Nano. It worked really well. I listened to an audio book all day Saturday and Sunday morning whilst I was walking and at the campsite I read for an estimated four to five hours. The 2.5Ah battery gave out about 20 minutes before Diana picked me up on Sunday, so it lasted the weekend. I had the original 1.2Ah battery with me so I swapped them and carried on reading. If I am away for any longer I will need to take my 20Ah Power Pack with me to charge the HTC. (Read my Backpacking Geek.)
I still used my iphone for my photos, photo editing, blogging, navigation etc, but not using it to read my books on meant that I only used one of my 2Ah emergency iphone batteries. I have used both of them on previous weekend trips.
Notes from my Woodhall Spa weekend Read More »
Photos from my Woodhall Spa Weekend
BBMF Dakota
Coffee and cake by the lake on arrival at Woodhall Spa Camping and Caravan Club site. I had my usual pitch in the space between the road and the lake and among the trees. There is now a bench nearby which is useful – it saves always sitting on the ground.
Photos from my Woodhall Spa Weekend Read More »
The weather at lunch time
I took the opportunity to walk to Woodhall Spa today and camp overnight even though the weather forecast was predicting interesting weather.
I walked through three thunder storms of which this one, during my break for lunch, was the most intense. It was close with the thunder rolling on sounding like a jet engine and plenty of rain. But it only lasted twenty minutes and by the time I reached the camp site at least I had dried out.
The wardens at the Camping and Caravan Club site at Woodhall Spa were as welcoming as ever. The site was full – there is a WWII event on in the village this weekend – but they still had space down by the lake for my one man backpacking tent. They even gave me enough milk for a couple of mugs of tea as they had sold out of 1pint bottles.
lunch spot on Memory Map
The weather at lunch time Read More »
Star Wars Wild Camping trip to Black Combe – Lake District
Black Combe Wild Camping
This wild camping trip had been planned for months – the only issue was we chose the time over the Bank Holiday weekend when the weather was not splendid! However even with the wet, we had a great weekend.
The Lake District from Black Combe – click on the above image for a larger version
The route and site we chose for this camping trip was one I had checked out last January and it did not disappoint.
There was a suitable parking spot reasonably nearby – with a short walk from there to the start of the path, some care has to be taken as there is not footpath and the road is narrow. There is a car park at the actual start of the path, which is much safer for both the walker and the car driver, but unfortunately the local parish council prefers to see it empty overnight.
The view on the way up.
The first look at the trig point on the summit of Black Combe.
We found an excellent area to camp, over from the trig point towards the edge of the summit.
From here we had great views across to the summits of the Lake District.
click on the above image for a larger version
However once we had taken some time to photograph the view and get a group shot at the trig point it started to spot with rain. This rain became heavier and the visibility dropped to a couple of hundred meters. We each retreated to our one man tents for the evening – conversation was then shouting at each other.
The visibility was no better at sunrise.
Food and Water
As I had to carry all my water up with me for this wild camping trip, I chose my menu so it needed no water in the preparation. All the water I had with me was used for drinks or hygiene. I had planned to take up 2l of water but at the last moment I added an extra 500ml bottle of water to which I added two SiS soluble electrolyte tablets. I am glad I did this as I used this drink on the way up. I made a much faster pace to the summit than the other two, with barely a stop and only one quick photo opportunity. They on the other hand took the much more sensible way up with plenty of rests and photo stops. When I got to the summit I was very hot and I needed the extra water/electrolyte drink.
For my evening meal I made spicy sardine sandwiches with the Warburtons Brown Sandwich Thins which was a great success, I shall use this bread again. It comes pre-sliced which is convenient but even better it resists the inevitable crushing that food suffers in the backpack. However my crackers and breakfast biscuits did not survive so well when Richard turned my pack upside down.
I needed the wind shield for the stove because of the wind
Even in the flapping, windy conditions it was quite safe to boil water for my drinks in the porch of my MSR Hubba tent.
POP tarts and breakfast biscuits make an easy, filling breakfast with fresh coffee and tea. It is something I can prepare whilst still in my sleeping enjoying the view! The only thing to improve on my menu was the bacon bap Richard cooked and brought over to me in the morning, complete with Heinz tomato ketchup.
Two litres of water was enough for this trip – I had planned to have six hot drinks and some water for the walking. This worked out and included using a little water to clean my spoon, pocket knife, plastic mug and teeth. I also used KFC wipes and anti-bacterial hand cleaner for my hands and face.
Star Wars Day
After breakfast we packed away and left no trace of where we camped – inspecting the site carefully for wind blown litter or “lost” kit.
Heading back to the car on Star Wars Day – the visibility only improved once we were below 300m
Other posts about this wild camping trip:
Star Wars Wild Camping trip to Black Combe – Lake District Read More »
High Dam – Lake District
Before heading up to our campsite we had a walk through the forest up to High Dam.
We also stopped for lunch – here is the pie I mentioned in yesterday’s post.
High Dam – Lake District Read More »