Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
I've now had a chance to pitch the shelter somewhere other than the garden, and so also have been able to spend the night in it. I took it on my recent Dartmoor trip to try out, although the forecast was such that originally I had decided not to risk it: quite windy and cold, … Continue reading Making my Own 3 Season Tent – Part 12: Field Testing
A familiar route, the road walk to Two Bridges. I stopped a few moments to watch the geese. I took the path that heads towards Wistman's Wood, although I wouldn't be going quite that far. I slanted off up the hillside towards Littaford Tors, not bothering today with Crockern Tor, as I was on a … Continue reading Dartmoor: The Safari – Part 3: The Land of Horses
A spot of negotiating meet time for Tuesday morning turned on contrasting definitions of what "early" meant. The time agreed being a little too early for me, considering how long I would take to pack up and do the walk into Princetown; the time agreed being a little late for Paul. Ultimately we set a … Continue reading Dartmoor: The Safari – Part 2: Harts, Foxes and Sheep
Lockdown eased and social media was awash with people taking their first tentative steps back into backpacking. I had a week off arranged for mid May - a remnant of the time already reserved for the TGO Challenge - but with a reasonably settled forecast, and some evolution in things going on at work, I … Continue reading Dartmoor: The Safari – Part 1: Cats, Bears and Bunnies
While you're waiting for the main write-up, here's a few images from the trip... https://youtu.be/-pBEIKetfVM
With the tent "finished", I was obviously itching to see what I'd ended up with, so put it up in the garden. I knew it wasn't the neatest sewing job ever, but was hoping it would look ok. Results are a bit mixed, to be honest. Your eyes do not deceive you - it is … Continue reading Making my Own 3 Season Tent – Part 11: The Result
The time has come. I've made a small prototype and am happy with the design. I've made some other items in the materials the tent's going to be made from. I concluded I'm as ready as I'll ever be to start on the real thing. And a 4 day weekend seemed like a good time … Continue reading Making my Own 3 Season Tent – Part 10: The Build !
As part of the process of building up to making a MYOG shelter, this weekend I made a few smaller bits... Before embarking on the tent build itself, I'd decided that not only did I need to prove the concept with a prototype, but I also wanted to get some experience using the actual materials … Continue reading MYOG Bits and Pieces
In my last post, I only showed one picture of the completed 2/5 scale prototype, so here's some more. It was made from cheap polycotton fabric, with an assortment of various grosgrain ribbons used to create loops to stake it out, and for the big guy from the beak to the ground. It's pitched with … Continue reading I Made a Tent…. (sort of) [Making my Own 3 Season Tent – Part 9]
After my wife's exertions, and the evolution of planning that came with it, it was now my turn to have another go. Since my first abortive attempt, I've practiced sewing seams a bit more, cutting them straighter and seeing the benefit in the end result. The lesson about patiently measuring and cutting has been learned. … Continue reading Making my Own 3 Season Tent – Part 8: Bigger and Better
My big box of supplies from Ripstop By The Roll took a week to arrive. They had a fun journey from North Carolina via Memphis, Tennessee to the UK, and after some scare stories I'd heard recently from other people, in the end the import charges came out pretty much bang on what I was … Continue reading Making my Own 3 Season Tent – Part 7: The Supplies Arrive
"...it was just shit generally." This was the verdict on my first attempt at sewing a scaled-down version of the tent. This weekend, with supplies on their way from North Carolina, I needed to make some progress on the "skills" side of the project. Anyone (?) who has been on the edge of their seat … Continue reading Making my Own 3 Season Tent – Part 6: More Sewing and Refining
Over recent weeks I've been firming up what I'm going to need to build the shelter, and yesterday I finally cracked and put the order in. Here's a rundown of the main items... Fly There was a bit of last minute dithering over the main fly fabric though, the choices considered being: 1.1oz Silpoly (20D … Continue reading Making my Own 3 Season Tent – Part 5: Supplies
A look back at some stand out days of backpacking. Today we go back to May 2018 and the TGO Challenge. That year my route started in Oban, and took in Glen Etive, Rannoch Moor, Dalwhinnie, Glen Tromie, Glen Feshie, Ballater, Glentannar Forest, Fetteresso Forest and Stonehaven. An unexpectedly solo route after my walking partner … Continue reading Best Backpacking Days #3 – Rannoch Moor to Loch Ericht
A look back at some stand out days of backpacking. Today we go back to September 2014 and the Southern Fells of the Lake District. I orignally blogged this as part of The Four Valleys Walk. I'd arrived in the Lakes the previous day and headed out from Keswick to Borrowdale and climbed over the … Continue reading Best Backpacking Days #2 – High House Tarn to Sampson’s Stones