I'm late to this thread and also late for work so no time to read back, apologies if this has been mentioned.
[url= http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/ ]Alastair Humphries[/url] cycled round the world (and wrote good books about it, 'Thunder and Sunshine' and 'Mood of Future Joys'). He's been promoting the idea of a 'microadventure' that fits the bill of what your looking for Cougar.
Info and videos to inspire are on his website and also here on the [url= http://www.howies.co.uk/brainfood/tag/microadventure/ ]Howies [/url]website.
I booked him to speak at my school and he was excellent.
My mental image for this trip is a cross between Robinson Crusoe, Deliverance and that episode of Bottom where they go camping on Wimbledon Common.
On a more serious note, in terms of map reading, navigation, etc. there are some great books out there, Mountaincraft and Leadership by Eric Langmuir is the classic, while there's also a more 'modern' book (ie lots of colour pics and maybe easier to start with) 'Hillwalking' by Steve Long et al. Both very good books and cover everything from nav to how to 'behave' in the hills.
So an update.
First, I've decided I'm definitely going to do this. I had cause to be at the hospital a few days ago, and seeing people variously limping / rolling through the place convinced me that I need to do it whilst I still can.
The rest of this post is largely based on recommendations here, so thank you:
I've bought an airbed. I was in need of something light for this project and also something comfy for an upcoming fortnight in France. Long story short, I picked up a Thermorest NeoAir XLite (as recommended on STW and originally discounted be me on cost grounds) for 69 sovs from Decathlon. 100 quid is silly money, rude to leave it on the shelf at that price.
I picked up (now last month's) 'backpacking special' of The Great Outdoors. Read it cover to cover, very interesting, inspring and helpful. Just grabbed the new one today.
I'm reasonably sold on the Zephyros 2 tent, though I'm agonising over the premium on the Lite version. The regular is 100 quid on t'web, the Lite is twice that. For a shorter pack size and (from memory) around a pound's saving in weight I'm struggling to justify the price hike. Anyone know whether the Lite is better / worse in any other ways? Ie, are there other compromises or is it a better investment? Anything else I should be considering instead?
Water, I have a LifeStraw® which I got as a Chrimble present, which should be more than sufficient for the UK, no?
And the elephant in the room is, I still have no idea [i]where[/i] to go. Help!!
Sorry if it's been done (my memory ain't what is used to be and there's already 4 pages to look through....)
Get over onto the [url= http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB3/index.php ]Bearbones forum[/url] for lots of dedicated bikepacking chat
Also - you might fancy the idea of a two-day "starter" course. http://www.carbon-monkey.co.uk/wp/index.php/2014/05/intro-to-bikepacking/ That might help you decided on kit and would give you some hints and tips on campcraft.
For your first couple of nights out, just stay local. Learn what works for you, what you need to buy, organize, what you prefer etc. [i]Then [/i] work up to something with more of a journey or adventure to it.
PQ who used to post here is a serial bikepacker. Goes all over the world on his trusty Roberts. 650b might bring the trails alive but you can get a 26in tyre in deepest Africa or Mongolia. He told me he spent 11 days without seeing a living thing (not just a person) riding across the Tibetan plateau. As a vegan he found the fermented horse milk I'm Krygistan a bit hard to keep down.
Head up to the Lakes, bin the tent and head for the Priest Hole on Dove Crag..
Only about 90mins from Accy..
Park up, head up, kip, then onto Ambleside for some breakfast..
On the tent Cougar.
Sat in one last weekend, on the day price was £90 special offer 🙂
For a first tent it will be fine.
The lite version is lighter and i think has 2 doors.
Trying to find a XL Lite 2 version to sit in somewhere, need something a bit bigger.
Have the Terra Nova Laser comp 2, the wild country is based on the old pattern. They are fast to pitch up, can pack down smaller with a proper stuffsack, apart from the 2 end rods, but they can be made to fold down, the lite version i belive comes with the folding endpoles as well.
The downside to this style of tent, and it's been copied/cloned by many other brands....space.... the 2 person tent is a luxury 1 person and a snug 2 person.
We go 2up in ours with 2 rucksacks on multiday trips, and can get all gear inside the porch and still cook in there too.
However, one cooks while the other lies down, and only one door makes night time relief trips interesting as someone has to get climbed over. However, it was when i bought it very lightweight and more for Mrs Ace for solo use, i think a Zep 2 XL lite might be better for us or a TN Voyager superlight (other brands out there )
For £100-120 for a Zep 2 if it fits your end use, can't go wrong and can always sell it on fairly easy.
Loads of youtube reviews on them.
Bump!!
Ok. Progress. I've done a lot of reading, and set a date. Weekend of the 26th is when I plan to do my best Reggie Perrin impression.
I have a borrowed tent, my OH's down sleeping bag, lightweight thermarest, cookset, bladder, and generally more crap than I actually need. I think I can read a map and use a compass (I read the instructions the other night, what could possibly go wrong?) I know Naismith's rule, Napier's rods and Rimmer's directives.
Few random kit questions:
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[*]I don't have a suitable rucksack to stash it all in, so am open to suggestions. I guess I'm looking at around 40L, is that right?[/*]
[*]Should I worry about a trowel? Or will a knife suffice for the burying of unmentionables?[/*]
[*]Milk for coffee. How? Small bottle? Dried coffee-mate? Something else?[/*]
[*]Walking boots or Salomons? Route-dependent, I guess.
[/*]
[*]SAK or Opinel?
[/*]
[*]Is carrying emergency repair kit like zip-ties / duct tape sensible, or overthinking it? I think I want to make a paracord bracelet, for no real reason I can figure.[/*]
[*]Tent pegs. No-one carries a mallet, surely; is it de rigueur just to find soft ground and / or pound them in with a handy rock?[/*]
[/list]
More pressingly, what I also don't have is a destination.
I plan to leave the house on Saturday, drive for a couple of hours (from East Lancs), then set off walking. I want to camp somewhere near a water source (ideally a tarn I think - some of the pics I've seen here and in mags are just breathtaking), then make my way back on Sunday. I'm looking for somewhere away from other people, but for a first solo outing I presume that something with a reasonably easy to follow route would be sensible.
Assuming that I don't, in fact, die, or get lost and become a nomad only to be discovered 30 years later grey and naked and living off juniper bushes, I hope to turn "overnight" into "multiple day" stints.
I've looked at the weather and it's looking nice (so far) with the highest chances of inclement weather in the north west. With that in mind, can anyone recommend a good "my first solo route" destination please?
Oh,
I was eyeing up the Quechua [url= http://www.decathlon.co.uk/forclaz-40-air-hiking-backpack-red-id_8243262.html ]Forclaz 40 Air[/url] pack at Decathlon a little while back. Seemed ideal for the price. Thoughts? Anything better?
You are going Air hiking! Awesomes 🙂
[i]BTW,it looks a good pack[/i]
40l sounds about right - you'll always fill whichever size you take. I find using the heel of your boot is fine for 'disposal' but if you're only staying one night you can probably manage a before and after? I'd say go for boots as you're varrying a rucksack, on your own, and also more likely to have dry feet at the end of the day. I'd just take instant coffee with milk in it if you're wanting to keep the weight down, or just drink it black. Bit of duct tape never goes a miss, wrap a bit of it around your camping mug/poles/etc. so you don;t need to carry a whole roll. Couple of zip ties won't hurt. Just use your foot to ease in tent pegs, but go steady so you don't bend them.
As for where, [url= http://www.mwis.org.uk/ ]MWIS[/url] seems to reckon thunderstorms for Lakes/Yorkshire/Pennines which are the areas I know well within a short-ish drive so can't hugely help this time sadly.
Just make sure you've got everything in drybags/ziplock bags and you'll be grand!
if you're only staying one night you can probably manage a before and after?
That's the plan, but as a good friend once memorably said to me; "I don't care what statistics say, it [i]will[/i] be me." I'm almost guaranteed to need to consult the Bristol Chart halfway round.
Ah, I didn't know about MWIS. That's handy, ta.
It's pretty reliable, updated very regular as well so keep an eye out. Also, just realised that the 26th isn't this weekend, duh, so a couple of recommendations would be:
High Cup Nick, Pennines: Ideally from the Cow Green reservoir side as you can leave the car there, easy navigation as it's a decent trail and you have the 'wow' factor when you arrive at the head of it. Stream for water and flat areas to pitch there too.
Innominate Tarn, Haystacks: Stunning place to camp, various option for approach, I'd suggest if the weather is good so you don't have to worry about nav, park at Seathwaite in Borrowdale, up Sour Milk Gill, Green Gable, Brandreth, then along to Haystacks (good camping spot by tarn). Next day maybe head down to Honister Slate Mine for breakfast, then down the valley and back up to Seathwaite.
Trowel - yes
Milk - dried milk is ok in coffee in a get-it-down-yer sort of way, but vile in tea. UHT milk keeps somewhat longer than normal milk out of the fridge, ime, but given how hot it's likely to be I'd not bother. You can get sachets of coffee creamer liquid in supermarkets, this might be your best bet. Or learn to drink it black like a man.
Emergency repairs - sure, why not? Bootlaces are important though, and a tent pole repair sleeve (you will already ahve one if you have a decent tent, I suspect). You can get small neat rolls of duct tape in Clas Ohlson.
A knife is handy for whittling tent pegs when you forget yours... *ahem*
Practise your compass usage when it's fine. I like to double up - GPS and map.
Tent pegs - yes, I use a foot or a rock.
I can lend you a rucksack, work in Burnley so could meet up if your interested?
Have your people call my people, we'll do lunch. I work just off J9.
That's very kind of you, what have you got? I should clarify - I've got rucksacks coming out of my ears but none are ideal. Most are on the small side; the only one that's big enough is the one I used to use to haul climbing gear, it's a Karrimor Hot 30 (IIRC) and about 20 years old so not the most comfortable thing I've ever worn. So, I can "make do" if needs be but I'd prefer something that actually fitted properly.
It's a Karrimor Alpiniste 45+10. Long back length and pretty good nick but a few years old. Mail in profile to sort details.
On the rucksack front. Planet-x are selling podsac rucksacks for cheapness.
Sak or opinel... Either or both.
I think I'll give that offer a miss, given the number of Planet-X threads there have been lately. Ta anyway.
Please don't use a knife to dig a hole. It can ruin the blade. I don't mind so much if it's a cheap blade, but if you buy a decent/good one (and you should because it will be worth it in the log run), you will ruin it. Just buy a Gerber Gorge or something ([url= http://www.heinnie.com/gerber-knives-folding-shovel ]http://www.heinnie.com/gerber-knives-folding-shovel[/url])and use that for digging when on a shovel recce.
Knife-wise, what will you be needing it for? Just opening packets, or whittling (as per molgrips)?? Heinnie Hays is doing the Ontario RATII for cheap money and that's a good knife for the money ([url= http://www.heinnie.com/ontario-rat-ii-black ]http://www.heinnie.com/ontario-rat-ii-black[/url])
Thirty quid for a poo? Nah, you're all right, I'll use a cork first.
The knife question wasn't really "recommend me a knife" - though that RAT looks ace - but rather "which of my knives would be most useful?" I've a big SAK, a light Opinel and an old lock knife that a fit ninja could hurl through a tree trunk.
For your tea coffee and sugar. A and well anything else really...
But you'll want tog o camping again yes? So then it's only 15 quid a poo. Another trip? A tenner. One more?
You get the point.
It's not quite a "buy cheap, pay twice" scenario, but quality and thinking long term helps. I have one of these for camping and hunting: [url= http://www.heinnie.com/fallkniven-knives-wm1-sporting-knife-satin-zytel-sheath ]http://www.heinnie.com/fallkniven-knives-wm1-sporting-knife-satin-zytel-sheath[/url]
You get the point.
Yeah - but it's also it's also nearly 800g, that's half a tent.
If you need more than a one inch blade when you're backpacking for a couple of days in the UK then you're doing it wrong. A little said army knife or similar should do you.
if you need a blade then a small opinel beats a SAK. Little SAK classic for scissors toothpick & tweezers + opinel sems ideal combo to me. Theres also a very light backpackers trowel available for about a fiver, search 'coghlans backpacking trowel'
[url= http://www.greenmanbushcraft.co.uk/forest-schools/egear-hand-shovel.htm ]Bog shovel [/url] - lighter, smaller, cheaper
marczr - Member
if you need a blade then a small opinel beats a SAK. Little SAK classic for scissors toothpick & tweezers + opinel sems ideal combo to me.
If you don't already have a knife, other than the Opinel, then go with what you have. The Opinel is a perfectly good little knife for general use, and cheap enough to not weep over if lost or broken. Damn good steel, and keeps a good edge.
Might be worth getting a little diamond sharpener, Buck do a very neat little one in a nylon case, I've got two, one worn almost smooth now, but really handy, and tiny enough to put in a pocket without noticing it's there.
And drink yer coffee black, don't go sticking that vile plastic milk substitute in it! It's how coffee was meant to be drunk.
Or take tea bags in a ziplock baggie and drink it black.
This is the little sharpener I have, and it/they have been invaluable for some years now, I carry both in one case, back-to-back, and wouldn't be without them.
http://www.outdoor365.co.uk/knife-sharpeners-c45/buck-diamond-pocket-sharpening-stone-p774
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This is the little sharpener I have, and it/they have been invaluable for some years now, I carry both in one case, back-to-back, and wouldn't be without them.
I see no practical need to carry a knife sharpener on an overnight trip.
However, I do see a massive need to sharpen a knife on a hill in a manly fashion. Cool.
I see no practical need to carry a knife sharpener on an overnight trip.
Maybe not overnight, but you never know when you might catch the edge on something just when you need it sharp, and it's one of those things that is small enough, and cheap enough to carry regardless, just in case.
I've even used mine to smooth off a ripped fingernail when I didn't have a knife to hand.
Which, for me, is a rare occurrence! 😀
If you have a knife you have a pointy stick with which you can dig.
Opinel will be, great I love them. SAK as above handy for tweezers beverage opening etc.
The fallkniven... Hilarious.
Josh, how come? When I got it I was doing a lot of rabbit shooting for a local farmer and needed something really sharp for gutting and skinning. It is really sharp and holds an edge very well. As it's a fixed blade, there's no chance of the blade shutting on me either. Which is nice.
Soooooo yeah.
This is happening tomorrow. I've packed a stupidly heavy bag (special thank yous to chudsy for the loan of the bag, and rogermoore (IIRC) for the tent).
I've got a route planned up round the Langdales, long story short it's as close to familiar ground as I can muster and the weather looks favourable.
Signal permitting, I'll tweet updates / pics to http://twitter.com/ukcougar
Sincerely, thank you to everyone who's provided feedback, tips, help and encouragement. If I die, no, you can't have my bike.
Have fun! 😀
Good luck mate! 🙂
RM.
So, shall we start a book on how long he lasts?
I have 6-1 on him being mauled by badgers after 5 hours.
A tenner on him tripping over his beard in the carpark.
Enjoy yourself.
🙂
Is he going to get heatstroke, or is he going to get the only downpour in the entire country? 😀
*gets out photoshop
*tries to do an amusing fake movie poster featuring Cougar and a survival situation
*realises I suck at photoshop
This is the best you're going to get from me at 10pm on a Saturday....
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Jamie, that's not bad given the time of day or your (alleged) alcohol intake.
Lol 🙂
Do we need to fire up Lassie?
You'll need more than a fire to restart lassie
