tea

A couple of hours walking along the Witham

/ General, Lincolnshire, Photography, Walking / , , , , , ,

I had to drop Diana off in the city at 7am this morning, so it was a good opportunity, on the way home, to park in Washingborough and walk along the Witham. The light was low in the sky and bright so it gave some good late summer shots.

River Witham

River Witham

I’d packed my breakfast and cook set, so I had my tea cakes with homemade raspberry jam and tea, sitting on one of the benches on the river bank, looking out on the river. A very quiet and calm way to start a Sunday.

Why does tea always taste better when you drink it outside?

River Witham

Shadows are always a problem when shooting landscapes with a strong, low sun.

Unfortunately I could not make a day of it, as I had to get back to my office. We have a big job on tomorrow in Grimsby and I need to make sure everything is organised and ready for Martin to head up there first thing.

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Camp Coffee

/ Backpacking, Camping, Outdoor Gear / , , , ,

How do I make camp coffee?

Camp coffee – I was asked last night, had I got a recommendation for a “camping gadget” for making fresh camp coffee when hiking or camping? I do have one, but my answer was unexpected. My friend was expecting me to recommend something from GSI or some other ultralight gear manufacturer. Instead I suggested a plastic tea strainer.

Here are some recent posts about camping coffee:

Making camp coffee in my Crusader Mug

Here is a photo from a trip to Wales – fresh camp coffee whilst camping on the Welsh coast. I am dripping the coffee into some milk that I have already heated in my steel British Army Crusader mug.

The coffee filter

I use the tea strainer as a coffee filter. It is not as fine as commercial filters but it does a good job – but there will be a few grounds in the final brew.

It is very lightweight, simple to use and pack. It is also far cheaper than the commercial camp/backpacking coffee makers.

I chose a strainer with a plastic mesh because it is easier to pack, as it can be crushed, and it has a finer mesh than the metal models.

How I make camp coffee

I make my camp coffee in two ways:

Make in the pot method

I measure the grounds into cold water and then bring the mixture to almost the boil, stirring occasionally. I leave the coffee to stand for three or four minutes before gently pouring it into a mug through the strainer. I am careful not to stir up the grounds once they have settled. With this method I can make more than one serving of coffee and can make a stronger brew if I want.

Drip method

I pack the coffee into the strainer to cover the mesh and press it down firmly with the back of a spoon. I drip/slowly pour through, nearly boiling water. The strainer holds enough grounds to make one mug of coffee.

This method makes less washing up so is my favourite when wild camping.

Making camp coffee in my MSR titanium mug on the summit of The Old Man of Coniston
Early morning coffee on the summit of The Old Man of Coniston – read the full story here.

My “coffee maker” is an essential part of my backpacking and camping cooking gear and I use it on most trips. I bought mine a few years ago and it cost 20p at the time. Asda and The Range sell suitable tea strainers, today, at about 50p. I’d recommend anyone to try one out before spending more money on a coffee gadget.

There are other coffee makers on the market!

Jeremy and I saw this portable coffee maker when we were in Truro last year. Click this link to read the blog post.

Fresh Coffee Update

To make packing easier I have cut the handle down on the tea strainer – see the story here.

Fresh coffe - summer 2016
Breakfast in bed – Scotland August 2016

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Gear in use – August 2014

/ Outdoor Gear / , , , ,

Although the weather and being on holiday with Diana, rather than in an adventure trip, meant that I did not walk much in Scotland this year, I did get one day out in the forest.

Packing

I took my Sea to Summit day pack, which was large enough for the day’s food, drink and gear.

* waterproofs
* cooking gear and windshield
* 2l of water and food
* plastic sit mat
* first aid kit
* emergency gear, extra warm clothing and glucose tablets
* Head lamp

I had planned three brew stops, breakfast, lunch and an afternoon break.

Breakfast – Pop Tarts and coffee
Lunch – mackerel in spicy sauce, crackers, cereal bar, banana, instant mocha coffee
Afternoon break – tea and cake

As usual my MSR titanium mug with the lid made a perfect small pot for use on the Alpkit Kraku stove – with this set up I use a heavy duty aluminium wind shield. I made my hot drinks in a plastic beaker to keep the pot clean.

Sea to Summit Pack – modifications

The elastic strapping worked well to carry my wet rain coat – however it was difficult to remove the jacket at the end if the day as the thin elastic cord got tangled. I have since replaced it with thicker elastic cord which works better.

I have recently added two loops of cord with cord grips to attach a walking pole to the pack – in the photo I am using it to hold my Square Jellyfish camera mount.

Square Jellyfish camera mount and flexible pocket tripod

This is an excellent gadget for holding my iphone steady for those HDR or low light photos. I have been really pleased with it as it has assisted in making some stunning images.

The image of the iphone and mount above was taken using my HTC phone that I now use as a PDA/MP3 player – more details here.

Other gear

Scottevest RFID Travel Vest

I bought this direct from the manufacturer in the USA and have been using since setting out on this trip. My first impressions are it is an excellent vest.

One picture so far showing a few of the 26 pockets!

* Concealed outside chest pocket – I keep my iphone in here, so it is always at hand, in another pocket inside this one.
Inside pockets
* MP3 player with the head phones routed inside the vest and the ear buds in a pocket in the collar.
* pen and torch pocket
* sunglasses pocket

I am going to write about this new vest more when I get back from this trip.

Bush Hat

My old cricket hat has been retired – it is as old as Jeremy and has been worn on most of my walking trips over the years. I wear it to keep the sun off my head and face and for comfort under my rain jacket hood. But it is wearing out.

In Forres Diana and I discovered a traditional Army Surplus Shop and they had a selection of bush hats among lots of other things. I wanted a dessert camouflage version but the only ones they had in my size were the woodland DPM.

It came with an elastic chin strap, I changed that for a length of light cord, which I think works better. the cord loops up onto the back of the hat, out of the way, when not in use.

Having worn it on several walks the wide brim (wider than my cricket hat) keeps the rain off and it fits under my rain jacket hood. I can’t yet say how it works in the sun.

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