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Selecting and Buying the Pack A few months ago, and in contemplation of walking the Cambrian Way this year, I started looking around for a replacement large capacity backpack. That is a replacement for my old workhorse Lowe Alpine Khumbu 65:80 which I picked up cheaply in Decathlon a couple of years ago (also in … Continue reading ÜLA Epic
This tent was provided to me free of charge by Go Outdoors for the purposes of this review. It's summer and festival season once again, and so it wasn't a huge surprise that the list of tents GO asked me to pick from to review focused firmly on that market. Not a festival-goer myself, I skipped … Continue reading Review: Hi Gear Atom 3
It will be clear from the last post that the trip didn't go quite to plan, as I stopped short of my intended end point of Llandovery. But that's not to say it was a failure, and I'm looking at it as simply having altered the plan further as I went. Nevertheless, there were some … Continue reading Cambrian Way Phase 1 – Post Mortem
It was just as well I delayed setting off for the walk by a day, caused by a final flurry of work issues, as it took most of yesterday to get it all together. This was going to be a post on the final preparations for the walk, but in truth apart from booking the … Continue reading Kitting up for the Cambrian Way
Hopefully you can see where I'm going with the title of this one... As early as the first day of this trip I started having thoughts about its success or failure and the learnings that could be taken from it. And if I'm honest with myself, the seeds of that conversation with myself were sown … Continue reading Snowy Learnings of Cumbria for Make Benefit Glorious Walk of Cambrian Way
I bought a lot of gear last year. Oh boy, did I. Instead of spending it on accommodation on trips, I invested the cash on upgrading my kit and using it wild camping. Too much time on my hands probably also played a part. So this year, I need to spend less on gear and … Continue reading Which Pack ?
After six months of usage of Monica, my Tarptent Scarp 1, I've now got a feel for what I like (almost everything) and what I don't (a couple of minor things only). Most importantly I've got a good sense of how she performs in the field and in a range of conditions - from warm … Continue reading Pimp My Tent
Considering that the first attempt at this trip went tits up due to the weather taking umbrage at my presence in the Lakes, this second attempt went really well. This is a short post on why. How good was the planning ? This was a strange trip in that I deliberately tried not to plan … Continue reading Far Eastern Odyssey – The Debrief
In case you were wondering, this isn't a post about Dale Winton. Although I'm sure that would be a most worthy subject for a blog entry. No, this was inspired by a piece I read on sectionhiker.com where our man was talking about his routines for making and striking camp, It struck me that I … Continue reading Improving My Camp Routine
There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes. Or so goes the proverb. But it's a load of sanctimonious bollocks... If there's one piece of so-called outdoor wisdom that really gets on my tits, it's this. Not because I totally disagree with it, but because of the way that people trot it … Continue reading A Far Eastern Odyssey – Part 4: Bad Weather ? Bad Gear ? Bad Decisions ?
There's now only three sleeps left until I load up my camel, plant my feet firmly on the Silk Road and head to the Far East. Well, the "Far East" of the Lake District, that is. And I've started gathering some gear... As anyone who read my previous post will have gathered, I've been a … Continue reading A Far Eastern Odyssey – Loading my Camel
I know I'm not the only one who has wondered why so many things in the world of technology and communication are named after fruit, and why there are none named after vegetables (please feel free to point out any!). It's probably because fruit conjures up images of sweetness, pleasantness and happiness whereas vegetables conjure … Continue reading Changing my fruit
Living Review It's April 2012 and I've now been using this pack heavily on my walks this year. But when I say pack, I do mean just the pack. I love the pack itself - despite being claimed to be 19L it seems about the same size as my Berghaus Remote 30. Consequently, I've found … Continue reading Geigerrig RIG 1200 Hydration System
It's early morning and I'm in a unique situation. Whilst I've blogged from a tent several times before, this is the first time I've done it over a Wifi connection. And moreover, my own home Wifi! Yes, I've never camped in the back garden, and thought it was time I did so. I had an … Continue reading A first date with Monica
This week my work situation became a little clearer, and I've felt able to view a trip at the end of April/start of May as something which is going to happen. And in order to enjoy the spontaneity that the trip will bring, some further planning and decisions will be needed. What's also happened is … Continue reading Wild Camping planning 2