outdoor gear – Page 38

Weekend Trip to Woodhall Spa pt3

20 July 2011 / Lincolnshire, Outdoor Gear, Walking / coffee, iPhone camera apps, lightweight stove, outdoor gear, tea, walking

Below is the kit list for the weekend

Coleman Bedrock 2 tent
Pole
Ti pegs
I did not use any of the bags the tent components came in. The inner tent and fly were refolded and packed in the main pack compartment at the top. Pegs went in the pop stud packet they were sold in and went into the pocket with the spare clothes. The pole went into the middle of the sleeping mat roll.

30l Karrimor Hotlite pack circa 1986
2x Karrimor 3l extension pockets
LowePro small lens case (brew kit)
LowePro bottle case – Inc 600ml Sigg bottle and drinking cap
2l Camelbak

Self inflating sleeping mat – black sack to pack it in and 2x small bungee cords

Karrimor lightweight sleeping bag – in stuff sack
Fleece sleeping bag liner
Both these items are packed in a drysack

In a 5l litre drysack
Light fleece jumper (very warm)
Fleece hat, head over and gloves (for extra warmth)
Spare underware and walking socks
All this clothing goes inside the head over to make a pillow
This bag was compressed into one of the extension pockets

Lightweight raincoat

Kitchen/brewkit
Ti mug and aluminium lid
Ti stove – inside the burner three solid fuel tablets and the copper mug stand
Plastic beaker with lid
Lighter
Small brewkit in neoprene case contains
* 5x tea bags in ziplock bag
* 15ml bottle of dried milk
* 2x sugar
* Lighter
50ml bottle of meths
Small LMF spork
2in1 coffee sachet
2x cereal bars
Poly bag for rubbish
The above is packed in the lens case and was secured to the pack

Half sized aluminium wind shield
Hardboard stove stand
Both of these items were packed in the second extension pocket

110ml meths

Folding knife and spoon
Wide plastic mug
Heavy duty plastic sheet – packed under the bungess hold the mat onto the pack (these bungess were a good place to dry things under, whilst walking, on the second day)

The following items were all packed in a 2l drysack and carried in the other extension pocket

Petzl headlight
Small FAK including hotel sewing kit and toilet paper
Pocket pack of tissues

Miniature wash kit
* hotel soap
* 15ml toothpaste gel
* folding tooth brush
* comb
* small mirror
* 50cm square hi-absorbent towel
* Hotel sachet shower gel
* hi-absorbent cloth 20cm square
All packed in the case the towel came in

2x plastic clothes pegs
Hi-absorbent cloth for drying up
5ml washing up liquid in hotel bottle
1/4 washing up sponge
Small repair kit
* 1m gaffer tape wound onto a stoppered tube
* inside the tube two needles, thread and 1m of thin string
Two large and four small cable ties
1.5m paracord
LMF Scout firesteel and striker
Sun screen stick
Compeed stick (not used!)
Emergency plastic poncho – heavy showers were forecast and I had no pack cover
1oz single malt whiskey

Food

Two zip lock bags packed in the main sack
One containing the food and drinks for the first evening – and a 50g pack of REGO
The second contained the breakfast, drinks and trail snacks for day two

Total weight of pack including water and food was about 24lbs or 11kgs

In my pockets

iPhone with extended battery back fitted (allows for a complete charge and 25%)

I used the iPhone as
* a phone, email and text
* as a eBook reader
* with Memory Map for navigation
* to watch a movie on

Aquapak – for the iPhone – see note below
iPod Nano and headphones in a neoprene pouch – I used this rather than my iPhone to listen to whilst walking

LowePro PDA belt case (used as a wallet and kept in an inside zipper pocket) containing
* Money
* Debit card
* Frensel magnifier
* Camping and Caravan Club membership card
* Paper and pencil stub
* Emergency iPhone charger
* Swiss card
* Two plasters for quick access

Sun hat
Lip balm
Sun glasses
Tissues
Trail snacks
On a length of paracord
* Camper Swiss Army knife
* Leatherman original P4 Squirt
* lifeboat whistle

Wearing
Northface hiking boots
Three way Craghoppers
Lightweight long sleeved shirt
Walking socks
Underwear
Rohan vest

Note
Unfortunately the Aquapak I bought two years ago to use my phone camera in, has deteriorated so I can no longer see either the screen or use the camera through it – I am back to using my original Aquapak (over five years old) which does not have a transparent back, so to take photo I have to take it out of the case, that means no photos in bad weather. To be green Aquapak removed some plasticisers from their cases making the softer – I will never buy another. So I am on the lookout this summer for a new weather proof case for my iPhone – one in which I can use the camera.

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Weekend Trip to Woodhall Spa pt2

17 July 2011 / Lincolnshire, Outdoor Gear, Walking / backpacking, outdoor gear, tea, Woodhall Spa

The days walking took me along the Water Rail Way, which follows the River Witham and then through Woodhall Spa to the campsite. The walk was good and the weather was good, considering that Friday night there was a terrific thunder storm and around me there were spectacular clouds.

Question – why do some dog walkers let their dogs run free, then look at you funny when their dog bothers you! Surely the responsibility is theirs?

By the time I reached the campsite I was pleased that all those years ago I padded the bottom of my pack! The belt I had fitted to the pack did not transfer the weight to the hips but to the back of my hips – the padding helped there. I has made my mind up to get another bag for more serious walks as this could be a real problem on longer trips or trips over rough ground.

I had a pitch at the campsite next to the small lake between the trees, if you had a car or even a slightly larger tent you could not have used this pitch but for a backpacker it was perfect. Once I had my tent up and gear stored, I was very happy to sit by the lake drinking SIS REGO (an excellent recovery drink – I swear by it after long walks, to make the next day better) and tea.

Dinner consisted of

Tea
Tuna with BBQ sauce
Instant noodles with tomato cup-a-soup
Instant custard
Salted cashew nuts

later instant Cappuccino and biscuits (this was another fill of meths)

I filled the meths tanks on my Vargo Triad XE stove and set it going and by eating the tuna from the can, making the noodles in a small beaker with a lid (I used my sleeping bag as a cosy whilst they rehydrated), having the hot drinks in a plastic beaker and then finally making the custard in the Ti mug, one fill of meths completed the meal with the Ti mug being refilled with hot water.

In the future I will add something extra to this may be some extra banana flakes or dried fruit and “no fridge” salami.

In the evening I watched a movie on my iPhone and even had some single malt whiskey as the sun went down.

In the morning I was woken early by the brave ducks, foraging under the flysheet for bugs and insects they could find there. It was a hot sunny morning so early morning tea, whilst still in my sleeping watching the ducks and the lake was a real treat.

Breakfast was two servings of instant porridge with dried milk and brown sugar, a cereal bar and plenty of tea.

I used 110ml of meths at the campsite.

The walk back was just a good as the day before but this time I took the Viking Way back.

Catering was probably the main thing I will change in the future, carrying some extra trail snacks and a little extra for my evening meal.

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Weekend Trip to Woodhall Spa

12 July 2011 / Outdoor Gear, Walking / backpacking, Camping and Caravan Club, hiking, iPhone camera apps, outdoor gear, tea, walking, Woodhall Spa

I am intending next year to start backpacking again, so as part of my training for the West Highland Way I decided to walk from Fiskerton Bridge to the Camping and Caravan Club site at Woodhall Spa, overnight there and then return the next day. It would be a good test for the gear and for me.

I am planning to get a new lightweight backpack for next year (something by GoLite) but for this trip I used a Karrimor pack I bought about 25 years ago. When I got it I made some adaptations to the bag, I added patches to take extension pockets, added anchor points to the lid, padded the bottom of the pack and added a 50mm unpadded hip belt. With the extension pocket the volume of the pack was about 36l, a little less than I think I need but it would do.

I carefully packed the gear, choosing only what I needed, but was detirmined to be as comfortable as possible so when people look at my packing I am sure they will say “why”.

One thing my old pack does not have compared to modern packs is fittings for a water bladder, so I simply had to slide my CamelBak between the bag and the tent, and then feed the tube out under the lid. I used a velcro cable tidy to secure the drinking tube to the shoulder strap.

I secured my sleep mat to the top of the pack using minature bungee cords I got from B&Q. I had a LowePro water bottle holder fitted to the belt. As you can see for the photo the bag was well stuffed and I ended up fitting a camera lens bag to the back of the pack, which has been adapted to hold my small brew kit, including stove, fuel and trail snacks – this was something I would need at lunchtime – however I did add extra security to this by securing it with cord to the pack.

To save weight and to ruduce the size of this small brew kit I have cut down an aluminium wind shield I bought – at the moment it has five plates but I am considering removing one when using it with the mug. The windshield was essential as on the riverside it was reasonably windy and the meths burner without it would have been useless. (The copper stand – see earlier post – worked well.)

I had made up two bags of food for the trip one for the evening and the second for breakfast the next day primarily consisiting of commercial dehydrated food and snacks, but it did include a can tuna – I will post a menu list later. One of the reasons for menu packs was to carefully see how filling the food was and to measure the amount of fuel I will need on future trips.

I used solid fuel to make my tea at lunchtime – this was a mistake as it makes both the stove and mug dirty, which means before repacking them they needed cleaning, on the second day I used meths, much cleaner so packing up was easier. I’d still carry a couple of tablets as spare/standby fuel.

The small hardboard board under the cooker is essential to protect the grass which was dry and to give the cooker and mug some more stability, although after this trip I have cut another piece the same size as the panels on the windshield to make it easier to pack. A sheet of black heavy duty plastic doulbes as somewhere to cook, saving puting utensils on the ground and as a sitmat during day on wet rocks and benches. The roll up bottle means less trips to the water tap when in camp and adds little weight or bulk to the pack.

I added KFC BBQ sauce to the tuna – but I should have packed a pepper and salt sachet as it could have done with some seasoning as well.

to be continued…

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Improvements to My Mug Cooker

18 June 2011 / Outdoor Gear / outdoor gear

I have had a new stand made for my titanium stove/mug cooker set. It is a slice of copper tube that holds the mug high enough to get the flames to heat the mug efficiently. I had struggled with this cook set whilst at Scarvorough a couple of weeks ago as the mug was too low to allow the meths to burn efficiently. In kitchen tests it worked well – the next test will be in the field next weekend when I use it for my lunch time brew whilst practice walking for the West Highland Way. (I have now walked 80 practice miles in preparation for the West Highland Way trip.)

Ti mug cooker — Ti mug with aluminium lid and copper stand

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Lightweight Camping

21 May 2011 / Camping, Outdoor Gear, Photography, Walking / iPhone photography, outdoor gear, tea

I took a few days off from work this week to try out some of my light weight kit – which eventually will make up the kit I will use on future backpacking trips.

Although I had the car I limited what I took. It gave me a chance to try the tent, food ideas and stoves I plan to use. I probably will not be carrying the folding stool on my backpacking trips.

The tent is a bit heavy for backpacking – but at £17.50 in a sale the price was right. It weighed 2.5kgs but by changing the steel pegs with titanium ones and not using the stuff sacks the weight drops to under 2kgs. It is also large enough for two (at a squeeze with rucksacks) but for one it gives that extra bit of space and comfort. I can sit up in it and cook outside the door easily or look at view whilst drinking tea. The window panels in the fly sheet doors adds some weight but this allows you to look out at the view even when it is raining!

I camped at the Camping and Caravan Club site on the outskirts of Scarborough. It is well placed so I could just walk out to the cliff top footpath, without having to use the car.

Map Clip — Camping and Caravan Club Site

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Be Prepared

25 January 2011 / Outdoor Gear / coffee, outdoor gear, Pine Lake Resort

I went to the bar at Pine Lake to night and at about 9.30pm there was a power cut. No power anywhere onsite. Fortunately between the emergency lights and candles the bar stayed open, they did not need electricity to serve to beer and they improvised a till.

I headed back to my lodge at about 11pm in darkness, one enterprising “camper” had parked his car outside the patio window of their unit and was using the headlights to light the room. When I got back, used the led light on my key ring to light my way to my backpack where I had my Petzl headlamp – I also unpacked my led hand light from my possibles pouch and I have that clipped to the uplighter in the living room with a small caribiner.

the next thing was a hot drink – there is a steel tray in the kitchhen so I turned that upside down and put that on one of my tea towels to provide protection for the work top and used my meths stove and crusader mug and lid to brew some fresh coffee.

There is also something wrong with the water pressure so I filled all three of my water bottles and the kettle just in case,

Another problem was I had spent the evening editing the address book on my iPhone and a few minutes ago I got the 10% power warning so I am now charging/powering the phone from the emergency power pack.

Be Prepared!

The photo is the bar by candle light.

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Pine Lake Resort Internet – Final Word

25 January 2011 / Travel, Walking / Crusader Cook Set, MSR titanium mug, outdoor gear, walking

I went to the reception this morning to ask what was going to happen. To be fair the receptionist did not know, I didn’t think she would, but I needed her to pass my problem on. Helpfully she said she would pass my problem on to her manager, unhelpfully she informed me that Pine Lake could not authorise a refund!

So after a day walking along the coast – see photo below taken from the promenade at Morecambe – I went back to reception where there was some news. The site maintenance could not fix the issue, neither can Swisscom, so no Internet. I did however get my money back.

Moral – I am sure the high speed internet works here, but think twice before buying it could use up some of your holiday sorting it out.

It is a shame I did not pack one of my engineers and his laptop, spares and toolbox – I just have the feeling we could have sorted at least a patch to get the customer online.

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