Scotland on Thursday

I’m heading north of the border on Thursday.  Some business to attend to and then some tarping in ‘them thar hills’.  NOT mountains – I don’t do mountains – but maybe the Pentlands or something equally woosy.

I have bought a nice new piece of kit to take too.  Here. Ordered on Monday and it arrived today (Wednesday).  Great service (as always, in my experience) from UOG.   See here also. This is a MUST READ!

With increasingly dark days and long nights,  AND with my rapidly deteriorating eyesight (for those of you who don’t know I am registered blind!) I need every assistance for solo backpacking and this headlamp seems just the ticket.

I am also hoping, Royal Mail willing, to be taking a new Tarp I’m definitely trying to pare down the weight.  I’m trying to fly with ‘hand luggage’ only so the challenge is to take all my necessary kit for ‘packing,  and some decent gear for business.  Should be amusing when I turn up to a couple of meetings in walking boots – (Brown walking boots too!)  Ah well, ‘officer issue’ eh?

I should have some interesting results for stovies when I return.  I’m taking my newly acquired Primus windshield and a Snow Peak GST-100 canister-top stove (the Rolls Royce of canister-tops).  I’m going to use standard Coleman 70/30 gas, (I have some awaiting my arrival) a Tibetan Ti-700 pot and also (a concession to the possible cold) a Tibetan Ti-550 too.  These pots are both exactly the same diameter and will fit comfortably on my stove setup.

I have consulted various weather forecasting sites and am now totally confused.  One says one thing and another (equally reputable) says almost the opposite so I’ll go with my instincts and rely on experience and years of training.

Hasta la Vista…….I’ll be back!

Jurassic Way

For an overview look here.

Below are a few fairly nondescript photographs I took during the past weekend on the Northamptonshire/Lincolnshire border.

It’s very ‘comfortable’ walking, well waymarked and mostly deserted.

Approach to Fineshades

Pathway

Leaving Fineshades and entering Westhay wood.

More in Westhay

A little frosty in Fineshade

Look at that sky!

Forest Ride

More Sunshine

Primus Windshield

I recently obtained, from Bob and Rose at BPL.co.uk, a new Primus Windshield (now back in stock) and have been trialling it to see how efficient it can be and whether I shall be carrying it, and appropriate stove and gas canisters during the forthcoming year.

Regular readers will remember that I conducted some ‘real world’ tests  HERE and concluded that under certain circumstances Gas was a better bet from a weight carrying point of view  than Meths.  Continuing this theme I have spent a very wet weekend on the Jurassic Way in East Northamptonshire  trying my new toy.

My conclusions are that the Primus windshield does work extremely well, even in extremely windy conditions (albeit less efficiently) and seems to have no major drawbacks.  It is lightweight  (60 g  – less than my recently constructed foil windshield at 66 g) easy to pack, easy to deploy and does exactly what it says on the box.

My results, taken over 4 days, (that would be about 28/30 uses) show that 1 ml of water requires  an average o.o2 grams of gas (standard Coleman 70/30 mix in a ‘250′ canister) to bring it to the boil.  Extrapolation from that figure gives an immediate estimate of gas required for any planned trip where total amount of water required is known or can be calculated (e.g. 300 ml * o.o2 = 6 grams,  400 ml * 0.02 = 8 grams and so on).  This calculation I would only use as a Minimum indicator.  However, it does seem reasonable that a 220 gram (Net) canister should be expected to produce at least 15 pints of boiling water,  and a ‘100′ (96 net) canister to boil approx 8 pints.

For all my tests I used a Snow Peak GST-100 stove and a Tibetan Ti-700 pot.

All in all I would commend this windshield to anyone, but do observe the measurements on the BPL.co.uk site for use-able  pot sizes.

It’s A Hard Life!

The Lean Mean Lurching Machine

MORNING LIGHT

Dawn

is a faint thin line,

a scarlet gash unzipping.

Bloody sunlight splashes the icy land.

Thirteen

is a coven of white doves fleeing,

a circle wheeling against racing cloud.

Night pales as long shadows grow.

 

Purity

Out just before sun broke the flat line of the horizon.   The air is crisp and clear with a salty tang.  Minuscule ice crystals cling to fronds of clumpy grass, spiders webs glisten and the sky is a polished pale blue dome.  Not a cloud mars its incredible clarity.

Directly overhead, east/west, horizon to horizon, a thin white line catches sun before  my world, a precision cut with a fine scalpel blade  bisecting the dome of sky.   I could be looking up at a gradually opening wound in the underbelly of the universe awaiting white pulsing intestines disgorging at any moment.

The aircraft that left the fine straight contrail  must have been very very high and traveling at considerable speed.  The fact that the compact trail of vapour is still intact  suggests that there is little upper atmosphere disturbance.  The jet streams must be having a break.

All I hear are gurgling water runnels as they drain slowly into a nearby dyke, the squelch of my feet, the gentle tap, tap, taping of the dogs  paws breaking the odd ice skim, and the harsh screeching of a host of marauding gulls.  An occasional honk from distant pastures suggests that a few geese and still  feeding inland.

Somehow, now the sun has risen, the world feels at peace with itself.  Perhaps in this tiny flat piece of land there is little to cause friction.

It is a joyous moment and I feel whole once more.

Something FROM The Weekend

Home Monday and we both came down with streaming colds.  The full works, hacking coughs, aching ribs, headaches, stiff joints….you name it!

I rarely get ‘colds’ and when I do I’m the typical caricature male – I’m the only one who does (and ever has) felt this bad…..etc…Yeah, I know we’ve all been there.  To be fair I’m not suffering anything like as badly as Mrs F.

I have managed to focus on one ongoing project – that of windshields – and may soon have a result to show.  More of that anon.

Now I’m heading for the hot toddy maker.

Something For The Weekend, Sir?

0600 hrs. – Overnight gales seem to have blown themselves out and the rain has stopped too.  Sky is clear and blue(ish), just faint glimmerings as the sun comes up.  Everything looks washed and sparkly clean.  Smells good too, a combination of a November smell of fallen leaves (beginning to rot down) and tangy salt-laden sea air – makes me want to take deep, deep breaths to absorb the quintessential essence of our good land.

Shortly Mrs. F,  Jess the Lean Mean Lurching Machine and I are going out for the weekend.  Not too far, but we’ve packed some essential supplies, food for the mutt, a blow-up bed for Mrs. F and a tent and a couple of stoves for me (well, along with other camping – not backpacking kit). and we’re heading to a more inland location to see our daughter and grand-daughter.  I have things to test out and think about so it’s not entirely without an ‘outdoors’ theme.  I hope to get some walking in too.  Time will tell on that one.

Newly Found Blog – for the lightweighter

I can’t remember haw I came by a reference to this Blog – minimalgear blog but it looked interesting so I had a search through.  Interesting concepts WELL WORTH A READ I’ve also added it to the Blogroll.  Enjoy.

Treking Pole Extenders….New Gear On The Way

Having received the BPL.co.uk’s  conceptually brilliant new walking pole extender (which involves removing the bottom section of both poles and then inserting the extender into both poles and adjusting to size {length/height}) and ascertaining that it does not work with some poles, or (with Pacerpoles if it fits – and some it doesn’t) necessitates using the angled handles at the foot and top,  I spoke to Bob at BPL.co.uk only to be given the heads-up on another extender currently reaching fruition.

This new extender will involve a larger inside diameter section which will allow the  handle/top section of each pole – especially Pacerpoles – to be removed and the two bottom sections of each pole to be joined.  Simplicity itself when considered in the cold light of day.

So keep your eyes peeled for the new addition….AND remember, you first heard about it here.