Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
A trip with the express purpose of having my first wild camp. I chose an area I'd visited before, with reasonable options for a bail out if needed, but which also gave the opportunity to revisit places I'd not been for a while, some favourite places and to mop up some fells missing from my … Continue reading My First Wildcamp
Monica is in the garage, sprawling languidly over a selection of discarded furniture and old boxes, as she dries out from the trip. It was sods law that having been dry as a bone both nights up high, that she should be sopping wet on the morning I travel home. I lay in my sleeping … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 4: Job Done
I woke (yes actually woke, thereby signifying that I'd actually slept!) early and stuck my head out the door to see if there was any sort of sunrise going on. Â Not much happening of interest, so I had a lie in. Â Sleep had come courtesy of no musical wind, a better set of nocturnal sartorial … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 3: Drawing the Line
All night the wind gusted around the tent, setting off metallic twangs as the crossing poles resonated. I lay shivering in my sleeping bag, barely dozing for much of the seemingly endless night, willing the dawn to come. Yes it really was that cold. So cold that the slightest movement brought me into contact with … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 2: Tired, Cold and Hungry
Quite literally, in fact... It was a struggle to get everything in my new Golite Jam, but I really wanted to avoid going up a rucksack size to my Lowe Alpine Khumbu 65:80 for what is a relatively short trip. So the Jam really was jam packed and bulging. I was also pushing the boundaries … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 1: Jam Packed
I hate leaving things until the last minute. Â There's always more to do than you think, and in the final rush to get it all done, you have to cut corners and risk not doing it properly. Â However, I find myself in the position of having to leave this decision to the last minute... Six … Continue reading Should I stay or should I go ?
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!). Â 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. Â But when I say pack, I do mean just the pack. Â I love the pack itself - despite being claimed to be 19L it seems about the same size as my Berghaus Remote 30. Â Consequently, I've found … Continue reading Geigerrig RIG 1200 Hydration System
You know what, I have a walking trip coming up fast and I'm struggling with my planning for it. Â Not struggling to come up with a plan - not by a long chalk. Â My struggle is with my trying not to plan it. In exactly two weeks time, assuming things go ok work-wise, and that … Continue reading A different planning perspective
Our annual gathering of ex-university friends saw us take a cottage in the Hiraethog area of North Wales. Although not a primarily walking-focussed holiday, we did get out a few times: Â Sunday 8 April: Easter in the Hiraethog A group walk across the moor to the summit of the Marilyn Mwdwl-eithin. We walked along … Continue reading Snowdonia April 2012
Snowdon (or to give the actual summit its correct name, Yr Wyddfa) is probably Britain's most touristy mountain, but under the right conditions can also be a serious mountain on which people die or hurt themselves every year. Â This post is dedicated to the melting pot and mountain of contrasts that is Snowdon and the … Continue reading Snowdon from various angles
Tryfan and the Glyders are wreathed in cloud as I sit here in the cottage writing this. Patches of sunlight highlighting the yellows of the moor. Yesterday we were up there, as my legs and in particular my knees are reminding me. We picked a good day for it, although the range of weather we … Continue reading Getting Some Rock
"The where ?" I can almost hear people asking. Â Mynydd Hiraethog, often just called the Hiraethog is an area of moorland between Denbigh and the A5 in the north east of Wales. Â It lies just outside the Snowdonia National Park, and so doesn't get quite the same level of footfall. Â There's not much there apart … Continue reading Easter in the Hiraethog
Each lunchtime I take a walk, both for the exercise and to get what passes for fresh air in the centre of London. It’s a walk of about 3 miles, which is about as long as is decent for lunchtime. The terrain isn’t particularly challenging of course, but what it lacks in ruggedness it makes … Continue reading Daydreaming
It's early morning and I'm in a unique situation. Â Whilst I've blogged from a tent several times before, this is the first time I've done it over a Wifi connection. Â And moreover, my own home Wifi! Yes, I've never camped in the back garden, and thought it was time I did so. Â I had an … Continue reading A first date with Monica