hogmanay

Just put down my order for a tarptent hogback. Happy new year!

zpacks gear

I've been waiting to order this stuff ever since Joe went hiking. I actually emailed him with an order while he was on the trail which was extremely cheeky but I never realised his work email was his personal email too. Nice chap that he is, he emailed me back from the trail almost immediately. This meant I was pretty much his first order when he got back heheheh. The problem is that my murmur is just too big. I always pack my sleeping bag first and the weight of my gear compresses it. The pack actually carries quite well like that but it's really hard to cinch the top closed. Most of my trips are single nighters and it's overkill for that. What I wanted was a pack about half the size and the smallest zpack zero pack fitted the bill exactly. It's 16l with no added pockets, hence the name 'zero'. I agonised for a long time over whether to go for that or a bigger pack. I packed my gear into a whole bunch of different packs and what I discovered was that no two 16 litres are the same. The next size was 20l against the murmur's 28l in the main pack body. Stil I reckoned it would just about go. I added two bottle pockets and a front pocket, and thought that would definitely go, then I added a few other bits and pieces that I needed or just fancied. The pack arrived christmas eve, about a week and a half after I ordered it.

The pack is beautifully made, everything is designed to shed weight. Instead of webbing connected to the shoulder straps, it has cord with those cord lock thingys on them. The sternum strap is connected by a couple of cord loops, the compression straps are also the elastication for the front pocket. It swallowed my kit easily, I didn't even have to touch the front pocket which is huge and runs from top to bottom. I reckon I could easily take a three day kit and still not use the front pocket- whether that is a comment on the size of my kit or Joe's definition of 16l I don't know. I got it with a waist strap, so I can take the extra weight The only niggle is the colour- my brother called it 'the jellyshoes of backpacking'- I think I can get used to it though!

Joe has a whole bunch of accessories- I needed a really small stuff sack, a camera pouch and I decided to get a stake (or peg) pouch just for kicks, because my silnylon pouch is way too heavy! heheh. Actually, the stake pouch is about half the size of my current pouch, which probably accounts for the vast majority of the weight loss...

The small stuff sack is exactly the right size- I'd carried my odds and sods in a trekmates windshirt stuffsack. No need for a new one really but I wanted it. It has an extremely small cordlock and really thin cord. It's sewn rather than bonded like the team IO sack but other than that it's pretty similar.I carry my camera in a lowe alpine camera bag on my shoulder. It's a bit bulky and it doesn't need all that padding because it's not getting bashed around. Joe has a really nice looking shoulder pouch at only 8g so I got it. It's too big for my camera so I may put some laminate flooring underlay in there as some minimal padding, but the nice thing is it also fits my GPS and my whistle so they are both more accessible. It attaches by two elastic straps and a safety pin. I'm not convinced by the safety pin so I may rig up some velcro- on the other hand, it obviously works for Joe and he's done some fairly extensive testing!

Unfortunately it's probably going to be the spring before I can test the pack-bah!

mail...

heheh my parcel from joe at z packs has arrived.....

Beef Jerky

I love beef jerky, it's incredibly addictive. I remember trying supermarket jerky and being so disappointed, but homemade jerky is just in a league of it's own. It's really easy to make too-enjoy!

The Gatewood cape

I love my Gatewood cape. I'm growing in confidence with it every trip I take out. I chose it at a time when I wanted to drop a lot of weight from my pack, but wasn't ready to go for a tarp. It's very similar to Six Moon's Wild Oasis but I figured that if I didn't like the cape option, I'd still have a tent but I would'nt have the hood option if I went for the Oasis.
It's not a tarp, it's a tarp-tent, a catch-all term that covers a lot of ground, but generally refers to a tarp, with more coverage that cannot be pitched in multiple ways. Tarp-tents often have no built in groundsheet and will take a little bit more care to pitch. Note- I'm not referring to the branded Henry Shires Tarp-tents here. I also apologise for referring to tent pegs as 'stakes'- too much time on American backpacking sites!

Absolute Gems

PTC is a lucky man. It's not pure luck, because he makes a lot of his own luck, and here's a good example of him doing just that. A great piece of writing and some incredible photos. There's also the new 24 from Ryan Jordan. The best one yet I would say, it really captures that winter feeling-I want to go camping!

And more..

I never thought my video would generate this much interest! I'm going to continue to publish comments that deal with safety because it's important for people to look at these issues and make their own mind up. So, Martin Rye said:
Couple things and more. On a multi day route you would miss those spare clothes. Wet days on end would push the safety boundary in my view. You would be safer with spare warm clothing to get into in an emergency. Wet clothing wicks body heat away five times faster.

It seems that every time I've taken this kit out, it's been wet days on end so I've got a fair understanding of how it works. The cape/chaps combo does a good job of keeping me dry except for the ends of the arms-I've been just as wet in traditional waterproofs and I would always save my dry clothes for when I got to camp. But when I'm in camp, if I'm really soaking, I can take my wet clothes off and get into my sleeping bag and put on the down vest which will keep me warmer than a fleece or long johns and not getting into the sleeping bag. What I actually found myself doing was just wearing the clothes until they dried when I got to camp. I wear montane terra trousers and a smartwool microweight baselayer which I have found dry extremely quickly. on my feet I wore coolmax liner socks which also dry very quickly. I do run pretty warm though. I dried at night and got wet again during the day, which was similar to what I used to do which was wearing dry clothes at night and putting wet clothes on again the next day.

I like Caldera stoves but they can flare up and set fire to the ground. If your shelter burnt down what would be plan to keep the elements of you without a waterproof? Good luck to you but would it work on a five day no resupply wet Scottish route in May?
I haven't had any problem with my caldera setting fire to the ground, but if it's dry, I put it outside the tent. If it's wet, then there shouldn't be so much of a problem with the ground catching fire but should the worst come to the worst, then silnylon burns slowly. The worst should be a hole in my waterproofs. There's enough material in the cape to be able to bunch it and tie it off or even just wear it with a hole in it- I'd be generally covered. 5 days no resupply in a scottish May? I don't get the chance to get up to Scotland much unfortunately but my understanding is that I may well be encountering snow etc. I would be more likely to pack a kit that reflected the more wintery conditions and lower temperatures, but if it's cold enough to wear a micro fleece, that would be on my back and not in the pack. Wind is the real killer with the cape as a waterproof but only if you're going up high. The main change I'd make for a 5 dayer is spare socks- my socks reek after 3 days!
Also does that pack keep all the kit dry without stuff sacks? Yes!

Clarification

This post is a response to podcast Bob who made some reasonable comments on my visual gearlist:
So no spare dry clothes, gloves, weather hat, camera, entertainment, book, poles and wicking insulation layer? Fine for average summer conditions and I agree with the content, however I would be interested in your choice of additional items to cover the cooler and wetter months to stay safe if you had to bed down at any time?
I thought it might be useful to add these extra comments. The list is what I carry in my pack- the basics- I'm planning to do another video with my other gear that I carry, but briefly- I carry GG lightrek 4 poles, I've got a widebrimmed hat which is weather resistant and I usually take a camera too. I don't take gloves for the summer, I found that my clothes dry quickly enough that I don't need spare clothes (I took some longjohns on my Rhinogs trip and didn't use them and that trip was plenty wet enough!)and I am fine using my windshirt and vest so that I don't need a wicking insulation layer. As the weather gets colder, I usually wear a microfleece which I don't take off and take some liner gloves and I may swap my vest for a Patagonia down sweater. For longer trips, I will take a book, but really, I don't need it, especially if I'm walking with someone else- I'd finished my book by 7pm on my second day in the Rhinogs and didn't miss it. I will adapt my kit depending on the weather reports but after using this basic kitlist for a year now, I'm pretty happy with it.

Second place is the first loser....

I've just discovered that Red Yeti has done something very similar to my kit video. Except filmed it better. In a better location. In much more detail...... Ho Hum.

A visual gearlist

This may be incredibly dull or you might be quite interested- I suspect it may be something to do with how much of a gear head you are. I am as guilty as the next man of sticking my gearlists up but whenever I look at other lists it all starts to fade into a list of products and numbers. When I saw this post on Backpacking light I thought it was a pretty good way of seeing exactly what people are packing which gave me the idea for this video. It could also function as a bit of a guide to packing a frameless pack I suppose. Have a look and see what you think! I missed out a bit of information- the windshirt folds into it's own pocket and the chaps fit into that too. The hat goes in the vest pocket and the camp shoes/plastic bags just get rolled with the sleeping bag. I also carry a tibetan long handled spoon which fits inside the cone.

The Lakes in February

I'd already published this trip report from last February on the TGO forum but I've got some video that i wasn't able to post. I thought it might be interesting for people who hadn't read it as it was one of the first times I began making conscious gear choices based on the expected conditions rather than just reducing weight or taking a lot of equipment 'just in case'.

I had been looking for the opportunity to test out all my new toys for a while and the heavy snowfalls gave me interesting conditions to test the gear. I played around with different packing configurations during the week before deciding on my kit list. I took both my sleeping bags to layer up, a five season multi-mat and a torso length section of GG eggbox foam. I had tried including a Thermarest 3/4 instead, but the weight difference made me decide on the GG despite the fact that it would have to be carried on the outside of the pack. In the event, it didn't bother me as much as I had thought it might. For warm wear I took my down sweater, some merino long johns and at the last moment threw in my minim ultra vest. Having looked at the weather I decided against taking any waterproofs and instead took pertex trousers and top-my down sweater can shrug off snow and if anything unexpected came up I could wear the Gatewood cape. The pertex was an excellent choice- I put them on, supplemented by a microfleece and they stayed on until I got back to the car the next day. On uphills the long front zip on the Rab tob vented well and every time we stopped and the cold hit, they blocked the wind fantastically. This meant a lot less removing and replacing of layers. On downhills, I added the minim vest. Shelter was the Gatewood cape and evrything was carried in my jam sack. After packing I weighed everything on my (not terribly accurate) and it came out at 6.5 kg including food, fuel, water, ice axe, crampons and 300ml of whisky (winter essential!). We set out at an ungodly hour and arrived at Wasdale at 10.30, just in time to nab the last parking space. After a bit of faffing and taking of team photos we headed towards Lord's Rake. The plan was fairly fluid but we wanted to have a crack at a bit of steep snow and the Rake had been recommended as a good introduction. We were all up to speed with our winter skills and wanted to take them a bit further. My pack felt good on, especially once I strapped on the crampons and began carrying the ice axe. The Rake was in excellent condition, and fairly untouched except for a few snowed over footsteps. There was plenty of exposure but nothing technical and we all agreed it was one of the highlights of the weekend. The original plan had been to head over to Sprinkling tarn to camp, but we had already spent longer than we thought climbing the Rake and now I made the classic mistake of looking at the objective rather than the map. I descended through the wrong gully and ended up on a short slope with a nasty looking cliff at the bottom. I was heading down to check out the possibilities and thought to myself that I'd better hold my axe in the self arrest position when I slipped and began sliding. I picked up speed remarkably quickly but managed to stop myself after a few feet. There was an anxious moment where I thought the axe wouldn't bite and was a bit shaken when I got up. Lesson learnt, we descended down the right gully and headed towards Great Moss.
It was clear that we weren't going to make it to sprinkling tarn now so we began to look for a dry spot. There was plenty of bogs and tufts but we finally found a spot on a small knoll. The wind had picked up and I was a little worried about the Gatewood cape. My brother in Law had a KWay 2 man wedge that I could have squeezed into but I wanted to test my capabilities. I rigged an extra guy at the back using my ice axe which had the benefit of giving me a bit of extra headroom and I settled down to cook my supper. I was very impressed with the cladera cone. It was the first time I had used it but despite the wind and the icy water it still boiled enough for a coffee and my meal in a very short amount of time. The wind was making the lightweight aluminium pole on the cape flex quite alarmingly. I closed the door and it improved matters but I would have been much happier with a trekking pole there instead. I still felt safe enough to leave the tent to go and hunch up in the bottom of Martyn's tent to drink whisky and munch on my homemede jerky. I don't think the other's were convinced. Ben commented that no meat should crunch!We decided to settle down at about nine, but exiting the tent we saw that the whole valley was bathed in the most incredible moonlight. I spent a few freezing minutes trying to capture the scene before getting into the bag. The wind had dropped and the thermometer in my tent registered -5.
I was warm during the night. I wore all of my day clothes and my minim vest. i used my down jacket as a pillow. Occasionally my backside got cold when i curled up so I placed my sit mat between it and the sleeping bag which worked well. I was pressed up against the side of the tent and because I was pitched on a slope I kept slding down so my feet were pressed on the bottom.You really need to sleep dead centre in the cape to avoid touching the sides. When I woke up there was some ice on the fly but not a lot, which was good because I hadn't vented the tent at all. I had kept my mouth inside the sleeping bag which may have reduced condensation. There was some ice on the foot of my bag but luckily, the night had been so dry I could just brush it off and my bag remained dry.We set off up the tongue after a relaxed breakfast. We were making time because we wanted to get driving before the predicted snow arrived. After avoiding snow patches as much as possible we finally gave in and strapped on our crampons. We saw a lot of people on the Sunday, conditions were just about perfect. After a a quick spin past Sprinkling tarn we descended back through Wasdale and returned to the car just in time to catch the first of the snow showers as we drove back.Overall on this trip I was really pleased with the weight of my kit and the way it worked. Last winter my pack weighed closer to 10kg without axe, crampons or 2 sleeping bags. I felt that each element worked together and different elements could be combined to reduce weight. I didn't use my long johns or spare socks but I was glad I had them as there was still the possibility of putting my foot through a bog and getting wet as happened to Martyn. Realistically I could have got away without the vest but it did give me a bit more flexibility. The caldera cone was great. I took 250ml of meths and only used about 1/4 of it for 2 hot meals and a few cuppas. The Gatewood cape worked really well. I would have felt safer with a trekking pole but I think that I was being a little paranoid and at 400g for a shelter it's hard to beat. Finally I was really happy with the kahtoolas combined with my hedgehog mids. I kicked a fair amount of steps in the shoes and my toes were fine. I could have done with a little pair of debris gaiters to keep the snow out.

Odds and sods

My postie has been having a pretty busy time recently. Latest delivery to drop through the door was this package from Team IO. Team IO are worth a mention because as far as I'm aware they're the only American style cottage manufacturers in Britain (Let me know if I'm wrong!). I've been using their zero g guylines on my laser comp and as a lifter guy on the Gatewood- it's called zero g because apparently it doesn't register on digital scales! The mini linelocs which go with it are super good also. More interestingly I've been using one of their cuben fibre stuff sacks as a food/stove bag. I had a real purge of my stuff sacks a while back and now I only use three-one for my food, one for my torch and medical kit and one for my tent pegs. It makes sense to me that they weigh as little as possible and at 6g, the medium stuff sack seemed just the job. Compare that to my previous food bag- a trekmates silnylon at 25g. The only problem was that when I received it it resembled little more than a crystalised fart- beautifully made with bonded seams, a light static drawcord and a tiny cordlock but way to0 fragile for my purposes. Except it wasn't. I carried +3kg of food for the Rhinogs plus my stove and pot and didn't baby it and it's still looking as good as new. I've hung it by the cord, stuffed it in my pack and sat it on the ground and I'm very pleased with it. So I've decided to replace it. Why? For the crime of being too big and heavy! You get a lot of sack for your 6g-I can fit my head in it (remember my head isn't the biggest!) and with one night's food in it it's too big. The small stuff is 4g and for an overnighter it's all the sack I need. The only problem is it might be ever so slightly too small. The final item in the pack is a set of Vargo hi vis pegs. I love my Terra Nova carbon fibre pegs but they're beginning to break with monotonous regularity. I am taking a hit on the weight though- I foolishly assumed they were the same as the superlight stakes with a bit of paint on them. Still you live and learn.
Here is the picture of the Mountain Laurel poncho as a poncho- I seem to have assumed a Meechanesque thousand yard stare but really what expression do you use to model a huge tesco carrier bag? You can see just how see through it is in this picture.

Finally apologies to all those who have made comments which I failed to reply to- I hadn't realised I needed to moderate them-doh!

Mountain Laurel cuben tarp-first impressions

I was packing the car to go to my parents in Wales and was slightly stressed when the postie walked up to me and placed an extraordinarily light packge in my hand. It's always a bit of a suprise when you get something from mountain laurel. They have a waiting list of 4-7 weeks and although they have a customer area where you can check your status it only ever says 'pending' until you actually get it.As a bonus, this one had managed to miss customs- it may be something to do with the battered old envelopes Ron sends his stuff in- I'm not complaining anyhow!
A bit of information on tarps and me. I've had a go with a basha and army bivvy bag in grim January weather before I got a lightweight tent and then it seemed a bit pointless- the bivvy weighed as much as my laser comp. I wasn't entirely struck on the open air aspect of it either. Fast forward a couple of years and I have the Gatewood cape. This was about as lightweight as I thought I could get. The lack of a need for a rain jacket meant that total weight was ighter than any bivvy and tarp combo with rain jacket. That is until I spotted the ML cuben poncho tarp. Combining it with the Ptarmigan bivvy I could save a sizeable 200g off my baseweight and since I was already up to speed with the poncho aspect it looked like a good option. The only problem was that I'm no sure I actually like tarps! Any hiker aiming for low weights needs to push themselves a little. On my last trip I had tried low top shoes for the second time. The first time, I had felt extremely vulnerable, not only to twists but to bashing my ankle on rocks. This time, I was totally converted. It's been a few years since I last tried a tarp- my knowledge base has developed considerably, and the total weight- around 350g for the whole set-up including rain protection will certainly ease the transition!
So- first impressions. The main thing is it's tiny! The width of it scared me at first, something I brooded on throughout the journey to Wales. When I actually set it up though, it's perfectly adequate for my needs. I'm planning to trial it in settled weather at first, only taking it on more dubious trips when I feel confident about it's use. I set it up with Team IO zero-G guys and mini lineloks. It's definitely well made with reinforcement at all the important points. No photos of me wearing it yet- the hood is too big for my head, but I expected that and it's easily sorted. Down the sides there are four lightweight snaps and at the hood there is a small diameter bungee with a tiny cordlock. That's about it for features apart from the neck tensioner when the poncho is in tarp form. Its a loop of bungee that attaches at the neck with four mitten hooks at tightens everything up. Have a look at mountain laurel for more photos.

MYOG: windscreen

I'm really not a fan of MYOG (make your own gear). Not because I don't think it has it's merits but because my attempts always turn out amateurish. I made a tiny tarp for the head end of a bivvy- it was floppy, saggy and badly sewn. I've made stuff sacks and they look poor. I've recently given my brother in law a pop can stove as part of my ongoing mission to lighten his pack. He doesn't get much time to fanny about with gear so when I had a spare moment I decided to make him a windscreen. Of course, I didn't actually photograph the process, I am so lame.... Any how: I got 2 baking trays for a pound from pounland, cut off the edges and rolled it all flat with a sigg. Next I cut it in half lengthways, got 2 of the short edges and folded them together to make one long strip. That got rolled as well. Then I made a thin strip, folded it a few time to give it strength and added it to one end, kind of like a belt loop so the diameter of the pot could be reduced. The other end of the windscreen was fed through the' belt strap' to make a circle and air holes were punched in it. Easier to do than describe and it actually looked pretty good!

Inside showing 'belt strap'

Set up around the pot

Everything inside the pot, inside the pot cosy I made too!

Ryan Jordan shoots all kinds of things

Look here for a good example of how to shoot a camping trip video rather than my mediocre efforts. His 24 video really captured the feeling of being out there. It's a lot easier when you live in Bozeman I suppose. Scroll down for his story about trail running and hunting with an ultralight rifle. I feel deeply uncomfortable when I know people enjoy killing things. As I get older I feel this more and more strongly, which I suppose makes me a hypocrite as I am a meat eater and shooting is generally understood to be a more humane way of killing animals. I guess it's the enjoyment factor: 'I enjoy running and icecream and killing things'. I killed a rat the other day, hit it with a spade, twice. Once which just maimed it and once to finish it off. The fact that it was running at my baby son didn't make it any easier for me. It was the first furry animal I've killed (I've been fishing) and it affected me quite strongly. Things just aren't black and white though, I'm still figuring this one out.

Rhinogs part 2

There's not a lot of photos for the second day due to the rain! As usual, once I was moving I felt a lot better. It seems like while I don’t have a definite plan, things get on top of me a little. It wasn’t so much the rain because I don’t mind rain and it wasn’t a lack of views because the visibility was such that I could still get a fair impression of the hills. Maybe it was a feeling of being trapped by circumstance. Anyhow, I decided to take my foul weather option. The cloud base was at about 650m so there was going to be no point in hitting any summits and the Rhinogs rock seemed to be absolutely lethal in the wet. I hoped it would clear later and set off down past Lyn Cwmhosen. This actually seemed like it would have been a much better spot to camp. The ground was drier and the area was more sheltered. There was no point worrying about it, however. I ambled on, down into Bwlch Drws and had some breakfast. The Rhinogs are much more overgrown than other mountain areas I’ve been to. The valley was covered in lush grass and there was a thick growth of heather up the valley walls. It felt isolated in the mist. I could hear the sound of ravens calling and the drip of the rain. I was beginning to really enjoy myself though. The rain had abated slightly and I ate and drank well. I had planned to ascend Rhinog Fawr via a scramble but instead I headed north out of the valley and into a wooded area. It was nice to walk on the smooth paths and I made good time. I walked right around the base of Rhinog Fawr aiming to use the path to its summit if the weather cleared. I stopped again for lunch and tried to dry out some of my gear. I wasn’t trying to make big miles, the experience of being out in a wild place was enough and I took my time eating and resting.
As I headed towards the Roman steps, the weather closed in again. There was no point in trying for the summit, the wind was gusting quite strongly and the cloud base was low. I struck out west, aiming for Lyn Du. At this point, I began to encounter the legendary Rhinogs path network made up of a series of well trodden paths that vanish into nowhere. I could see Lyn Du below me, but despite the path markings on the map, I was wading through thigh deep heather and sliding down if not life threateningly, certainly limb threateningly steep slopes. The ground was full of holes and then just as I thought I was totally lost, I noticed that the heather had been stripped away and pushed all in one direction as if someone else had semi fallen down the slope many times before. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the path reappeared, marked with a distinctive footprint. I followed this path for a short distance, then became totally lost again. The map and the GPS disagreed violently with each other, there were no paths and I had to resort to wandering in vaguely the right direction until I discovered that what was vaguely the right direction suddenly became exactly the right direction and I was following a well trodden path marked by the man with the distinctive print. This pattern repeated itself the entire afternoon through thick bogs, lethal overgrown boulder fields, down semi cliffs and over ancient barbed wire fences. The membrane in my boots had given up hours ago and I could see the man with the distinctive print going through everything hours (days?) before me. I knew I wanted to camp up by Llyn Twr-glas but the lakes were stubbornly refusing to appear. I checked my position against the farm over the valley and had no idea why I couldn’t see them. Finally, checking my GPS, I realised that I was a good 100m below where I wanted to be. With the tops concealed in the mist, I had little idea of where I needed to be- my map reading skills obviously need a little more polishing!
Up I went. It was hard work and I had no visual idea of where I was aiming for- I just watched the little numbers climb steadily upwards. In the back of my mind I had a feeling that this wasn’t the best idea I had ever had but stuck to my plan. I had been expecting to see the lakes all afternoon and wanted to satisfy myself that they really existed! I reached the top just as the worst rain of the entire trip blew in. The storm battered away at me- I could barely see two feet in front of me and the lakes were reduced to a narrow band of water at my feet. I had a notion that there was a slightly more sheltered area at one end of Llyn Twr-glas but at that moment I realised I had lost my map. I hadn’t checked it since I had started climbing and began to get the distinct feeling that the Gods were laughing at me. Luckily I was able to retrace my steps and found it fairly close by. The storm was in no way abating and I was beginning to feel pretty sorry for myself. I didn’t want a repeat of the other night, didn’t fancy erecting the tent in the rain and was fairly exhausted. I made my way towards Llyn Pryfed hoping to find some shelter where the rocks pinched in towards each other but it just wasn’t happening. I gave up and began to use a wall as a handrail back down towards the valley. Even this became another dance with lady fracture as the wall led me over a huge boulder field with steep drops and concealed thigh deep holes. Again, I obviously wasn’t the only idiot to have chosen this route as there were definite signs of previous idiots.
Typically, the valley was bathed in sunshine. I was encountering another problem now- I was getting ever closer to civilisation and there weren’t many obvious camping spots. The valley was also pretty exposed if the wind kicked up again and I wasn’t keen on holding the tent down all night. I found a clump of trees on one side of a field but there really wasn’t enough room between the braches to pitch the tent. On top of that, it was too sheltered and quickly became a bit midgy. I wandered further, slightly worried and feeling a bit beaten up after the hard work of the day’s walking. Finally after a lot of backwards and forwards along the route of a river I found a fairly lump free spot. Here the ability of the Gatewood cape to be fairly easy about misshapen pitches came into it’s own. I used a section of my compass lanyard and a mitten hook to repair the broken hook on the cape and settled down to empty the water from my boots and the whisky from my hip flask.
It was actually a very good pitch. The weather held and in fact, the next day was glorious sun. I wandered down into Trawsfynyedd enjoying the easy walking and feeling a bit disoriented by having to actually talk to people. It was only on the bus back to Barmouth that I realised how bad I smelt. It was my boots- they had a distinct aroma of tramp to them. I bought some flip flops in a tacky seaside shop, paddled in the sea and scrubbed my feet with sand. There’s not that much to do in Barmouth so I decided to catch an earlier train back. I picked up a couple of bottles of beer (Including a welsh lager?) bought myself a new book from a charity shop and settled down for the long journey back. The Rhinogs certainly lived up to their reputation for being hard work but it had been a good trip. The ability of my gear to work in British conditions had been proved to my satisfaction- the failure of the hook on the cape was easily repaired and all my down gear had remained effective despite the wet weather. The use of quick drying clothes meant that I was comfortable and warm and I certainly felt the benefit of carrying such a light load.

Ti goat ptarmigan first impressions

These Titanium Goat bivvies seem to be very popular- they're cheap (compared to similar bivvies from other manufacturers) light and well featured. I ordered mine with the bug window despite the extra weight as I don't fancy Ron Turnbull's method of only leaving a tiny hole to breath through and blow the midges away! It was sent promptly and then I had a wait of about three weeks for it to clear customs. All the time, the USPS tracker was telling me that they had been 'notified to expect my parcel' and I could get no further information on it. Now, while I have no real issues with paying VAT on my parcel, I do get a bit fed up with the post office charging me an equal amount so I can get my parcel from their office. Both the charges added another 20 quid to my costs-bah!

Firts impressions were of something very well made, simple and with that almost flimsy feel of very lightweight equipment. The bivvy itself is black, possibly the blackest thing I have ever seen in my life and it's big too.

I checked I could get my neo-air short into it by email to Ti Goat (very prompt reply) but I can also side sleep and even curl up in it. As you can see from this comparison with the Alpkit Hunka, it's a good 6 inches larger in diameter. It packs up to pretty much the same size too. Of course it's not waterproof, but I've had it with using only a bivvy bag and no tarp. The hood can be raised from the face and attached to a tarp, which I'm pleased about, because I tent to get quite claustrophobic in a traditional bivvy. When you zip the bug window closed, there is a substantial amount of space there. My only niggle is with the tab used to pull the hood off the face- it's sewn directly to the hood with no reinforcing material behind it. With material this thin, I get the feeling it's going to pull free fairly quickly. Bonus news is that the weight comes up at around 160g on my (admittedly poor quality) scales rather than the advertised 198g.

Rhinogs trip part one

The summer holiday means a hiking trip. This one had been in the planning stages for a while-My last trip had been in February and I'd been fiddling with kitlists since then. There was a fair bit of untested kit in there, but by the end it had all been comprehensively tested! Part way through the trip I started videoing stuff. The camera work is a bit ropey becuse I could only use it on the end of my arm!
pack-murmur 220
Shoulder pouch-lowe alpine camera 50
tent-Gatewood cape 311
inner-6 Moons serenity 198
stakes and pouch-TN carbon 30
sleeping bag-PHD minim ultra 350
Sit mat/ food cosy-section of CCF 20
sleeping pad-Neo air 270
food bag-Team IO cuben (med) 6
cooking pot-Snowpeak solo 105
cup-disposable 500ml 5
stove-Caldera cone 60
Firelighter-disposable lighter x2 40
utensils-Tibetan long handle spoon 17
Cloth-1/4 bandanna 7
medical kit-Homemade 20
head torch-Photon 10
knife-SAK 22
Stuff sack-trekmates 4
hat fleece-25
insulation-phd ultra vest 150
windshirt-Rab neutrino 70
over-trousers-Mountain laurel cuben chaps 39
campshoes-plastic bags 25
water bottle-mineral water 25
bladder platy-1l 25
hip flask-nalgene 53
water treatment-aqua mira 30
poo- trowel-MSR blizzard stake 22
gps-Geko 80
Compass-Silva mini 8
safety-whistle 5
Total 2301
With camera 2476
add paperback 2676





My rhinogs trip started out with glorious sun. It was a long trip to Barmouth and it was very difficult not to drink all the guinness I had brought with me- in fact it was impossible and so I started my walk with somewhat of a fuzzy head. I bought a packet of chips to soak up the booze and donated the last of my change to the lifeboats so that I wouldn’t have to carry it. I do enjoy drinking and walking, although the somewhat steep pull up out of Barmouth did dent my enthusiasm slightly. Luckily I only had to walk for about ten minutes before I found a flat shelf overlooking the sea. I brushed aside the sheep turds and threw up the tent. I was carrying a gatewood cape which allows fly only pitching and so I inflated the neoair and put it straight on the ground. While my tea rehydrated, I sat on a rock and read my book- JG Ballard’s Crash. The opening is incredibly intense and it’s a great book but it jarred really badly with my surroundings, obsessed as it is with urban decay and mechanised transport. In the end I sat back and looked at the view, breaking my promise to leave the Tobermoray I had brought for the rest of the trip unopened.
Unsurprisingly, I slept well. I was walking by 7 o’clock. The day’s walk was something I had looked forward to for a long time- a long ridgewalk into the heart of the Rhinogs. I had planned a short day with an early camp so that I could have a wander about and maybe a swim in one of the lakes. The weather was overcast, however, and as I approached Yr Lethr, a large bank of mist and rain rolled in. At first it was only spitting, but I put on my waterproofs anyway as I wanted to test them. I was using a tent/poncho combination and had teamed it up with some cuben fibre rain chaps from mountain laurel. I had actually hoped for a bit of rain, but I wasn’t expecting the blasting I got a few minutes later. In the mist, I missed the path and ended up stood on the edge of a cliff, trying to hang onto the wildly flapping map. After retracing my steps I picked my way down a rocky and steep path. I met the only people I was to see the entire trip, who gave me an odd look, as I greeted them dressed in two white bin bags and a big silnylon sack! As I descended to Lyn Hywel, I lost the path again and ended up clambering over scree slopes and through thick heather. I supplemented my diet with the bilberries that grew in great numbers as I went. I had planned to camp next to the lake, but the ground was absolutely saturated with standing water in places. I wandered around for a bit but nothing sprung out at me as a better site and so I tried to pitch. Here there was an issue- pitching a tent I was wearing. It is possible to do it from the inside, but that did necessitate crawling around in puddles. Eventually I gave up and got out. I can pitch the cape pretty quick and the rain had dropped so I received only a minimal wetting before I nipped back inside. It was only 3.30, and I was hoping that the rain would stop so I put on a brew and got into my sleeping bag. My top dried very quickly, as the arms were only a bit wet and I dozed for a while. The rain didn’t let up. In fact, it got worse. By 7.00 I had finished my book and eaten my tea. I tried to go to sleep and managed for a while until at about 10, I was woken by the tent fly pressing into my face. One of the pegs, a TN carbon had lost it’s top and the hook that attaches the beak of the cape to the guy had come free. I rummaged around, using my sit mat to

keep my arm out of the puddles in the porch and put the peg in at a steeper angle. All was well until an hour later when I was woken by the tent fly pressing on my face again! The weather was even worse, and the wind had changed direction so it was blowing directly onto the porch of the tent. There is a greater area of material here, and the force of the wind had caused the hook on the beak to fail. It had flown off, I knew not where, plus the topless peg had allowed the fly to come free again. I crawled around, with my torch between my teeth, praying that the entire tent wouldn’t launch into the night. Eventually I pegged the beak directly to the floor. The fly came free a third time an hour later at which point I got up, moved the topless peg to a different spot and spent the rest of the night worrying about it needlessly. In the morning I assessed the situation. In fact the tent had stood up the battering well. One component had failed, (six moons have replaced it without question) but it was an exposed spot- the actual tent was fine, and moved about a lot less than my Laser comp. All this in a shelter which weighs less than 550 grams. The weather was still poor but I pulled my motivation together and moved off.

Starting out

I've accumulated a fair bit of gear over the years, I've not walked as far as I would have like, but I've got a fair bit under my belt. From the beginning I've been a walker and a wild camper and my gear reflects this. More recently I've been slightly obsessed with reducing the weight of my gear. I'm not big, I'm not strong and I've had way too much time sat at a computer. Clearly the British weather has influenced my choices, but I've picked up a reasonable amount of American gear, that doesn't really seem to get talked about in Britain much. I've also been heavily influenced by other blogs and websites and maybe now it's time to 'give a little bit back'. I'll concentrate on reviewing the kit I've got, my own path towards the light and trips I've taken.