Size isn’t everything

I’ve been asked how I manage to use a day pack for my weekend – and usually longer – backpacking trips.

A few years back my rucksack was a huge 65l plus bag – a Lowe Alpine one. It must have weighed a couple of kilo’s maybe more if I’m honest but I never put it on the scales. It did the job and I was able to get all my stuff in it including a rope, harness, rack and rock boots. With a crag sack strapped on the side I was all set up for a weekend of time outdoors.

At that time my camping stuff was ‘lightweight’ the tent was a two person Robert Saunders one with a huge porch and my stove was a trusty Trangia, and I carried the meths in a thirty year old one litre Sigg fuel bottle.

The first change came when I gave up the climbing part of the weekends away. That reduced the weight and bulk considerably, and meant that those 65l were no longer required.  Although I still found that I could fill the space, and frequently did. And this lead me to see that, with the help of Derrick Booth’s The Backpackers Handbook, if I got a smaller bag I wouldn’t have the space to fit loads of stuff in. I started to focus on what I packed and what I used with the three pile trick. After each outing I’d rank the items I used more than once, just once, and never. And found that the items in the never category were always stuff that I put in ‘just in case’ and I had the room for.  I also started looking at/and replacing items of kit. The first thing that went was the two person tent, I invested in a smaller, lighter weight one person shelter. Then the Trangia was replaced by a simple pot and cartridge gas stove, again lighter and less bulky. The synthetic sleeping bag was replaced by a warmer, lighter, less bulky down one.

The rucksack went from 65l to 55l, and again from 55l to 40l as I reduced the number of items, along with acquiring lighter and less bulky kit.  Some of the items I carry have more than one use, the tent peg trowel is a prime example, it hasn’t happened yet but I’ve not needed to dig a cat hole when my shelter is pitched. Shelters that pitch with trekking poles is another example.
The weight of the kit has dramatically reduced – initially I’d be shouldering over 15kg of stuff now my average is circa 5kg (excluding the climbing kit, obviously). And the weight reduction wasn’t just with the kit on my back, my heavy leather walking boots went to lighter fabric ones, and finally to trainers weighing just 330g a shoe.

I use an Excel spreadsheet to compile the kit that I’m planning to use, this keeps me disciplined as to what goes in the bag and ensures that nothing is forgotten. I also use it to tailor the kit to the trip – time of year, terrain, environment, etc. Experience counts for a lot too – knowing what you need against what you might come across is learnt from getting out there and doing it.

It also comes down to personal preference, and this is the deal breaker – there are those that won’t feel comfortable about leaving home without something or other, usually lots of somethings or others. If you feel the kit you pack needs a backup then pack something that works and won’t let you down. (If you can’t leave the house without a secondary stove packed because you’re paranoid about the primary one failing then you need help of another kind.)

Despite all this reduction in weight and bulk comfort doesn’t suffer, my kit it will keep me warm and dry, and I’ll get a comfortable night’s sleep. I could leave the stove out on summer trips but I like a hot drink in the morning – that’s my personal preference. It’s possible for me to reduce the load further but I’m happy with what I pack and carry. For now.

trailstar tarp-a-like

I have to thank fellow Backpackers Club member Darren Long for introducing me to this pitch. I own a BPL Duo Tarp and in the past to give good weather protection I've used a standard three sides to the ground pitch with the opening on the leeward side of the weather as shown below.

With this pitch there is a lack of privacy, it’s best to use a bivibag and sleep with your feet towards the entrance for maximum weather protection, and pitched this way gives enough room for two. In the past I've pitch the entrance with the cover of a wall – not the best view but it does prevent prying eyes.

However the pitch that Darren introduced me to goes one further and creates a smaller entrance and a beak giving more weather protection and better privacy. I've called this the Trailstar pitch after the MLD shelter as they are similar in shape as seen here.

Pitching is straightforward with the long edge at the back corners pegged first followed by the front. Take each corner and peg in line with the next tab in making sure the edges are tight. Fix a guy to the front middle tab and insert trekking pole under the tarp and guy out (with the Duo Tarp the pole sits under a tab). Then put intermediary pegs on the side and back edges. Take each of the corners and tie back to the peg on the side. Take your second trekking pole and set a riser at the rear to give a bit more room. Pitched like this there is plenty of room for one, headroom is good to at circa 120cm towards the entrance and with the entrance being sheltered you should be able to cook under cover. This was a test pitch and although easy enough to muster, I suggest having a few dry runs at it as I did find I needed to tweak it to get a decent enough tightness to the tarp. Incidentally Darren used bungee tie-outs which would help with this.

The instructions I have state that the wings on the sides can be re-positioned, along with the beak, to cover the entrance although I've not tried this yet but it looks a bit of a faff. On a recent meet Darren used an umbrella to block the entrance instead which is a simpler solution.

For those that are having trouble following the above there's a link here to a video using a DD 3x3m tarp, the method is the same but the shape is obviously different.

the outdoor show

The 2011 show was held in London for the first time, relocating from Birmingham NEC to ExCel in the docklands. And similar to other events (TFM and the Publishing Expo being another example) this was club sandwiched with the London Bike Show and the London International Boat Show.

The show at it’s previous location wasn’t of any interest to me, not least that I’ve always felt the exhibitors list wanting. And looking at this year list I wasn’t expecting much.

That said I’d been sent some complimentary tickets, Ben was over so it was a good excuse for a trip up to town. And across it, and out the other side; ExCel is the other side of the Isle of Dogs.

It was certainly busy and we wandered around looking at stands but not seeing very much, a friend who had visited the show earlier in the week bemoaned a ‘lack of gear and gadgity things…’ I can only agree.

I had an interesting chat with a couple on the Tick Awareness Stand, one of whom had contracted Lyme Disease from a tick bite. Changes in farming methods, and the increase in the number of people enjoying the outdoors has lead to an increase in the number of cases.

And on one other stand, someone committed the cardinal sin of not knowing the product they manufacture, even with a laptop connected to their website he wasn’t able to answer my question. I’ll spare them any blushes by not naming them. But suffice to state that if you manufacture freeze dried meals and have a stand at a show like this punters are going ask whether the food contains gluten or any of the other allergens. Not having an answer cost them a customer and any glowing reviews that I might have written.

For my part the small but cosy collection of stands at the BPC AGM is the best place for gear and gadgity things. Now if someone could persuade Henry Shires, Ron Bell and other cottage industry manufacturers to fly over with kitbags of their goodies then that would be, well, brilliant…

chilterns, walk for wildlife part two

Still some colour on the the trees

Saturday morning started with a lot of talk about gear. I had packed the Scarp1, and was kept busy answering a string of questions about the tent. This didn’t matter too much because the day’s mileage wasn’t going to be excessive, and we were expecting a few more to turn up. I also had a chance to chat with Grant about his Big Agnes bivi bag and Terra Nova tarp combo. The wind had given his set up a battering and we chatted about the ways that tarps can be pitched to withstand the elements. In this case the tarp wasn’t big enough to be pitched in my favoured bad weather configuration – the cave or pyramid. Not that it was crucial, as the Big Agnes he was using gave full protection to him and his kit.

It became clear that once we started to break camp, that black and grease Golite rucksacks were the most popular by far. In fact there were only two rucksacks that weren’t, out of a group of about twenty people.

Spot the Golite rucksack...

The Walk for Wildlife weekend is unique. The Warburg Nature Reserve allows the BPC to stay (exclusive to the club) and each attendee makes a donation towards the reserve. Better yet Anne has a sponsor who matches pound for pound what she raises.

And it was towards Warburg we walked. The previous week’s windy weather had stripped much of the leaves from the beech trees that the Chilterns are known for but there was still a burnished colour to the hills. The Chilterns are also known for Red Kites that were re-introduced very successfully here about twenty or so years ago. We hadn’t left the campsite when one of these most graceful creatures circled above our heads.

The route was a pleasant ramble through woodland and up and down hill, with the occasional trot along a valley. And there were plenty of Kites to see along the way.

Arriving late afternoon we found spots to pitch our tents between the trees. With foresight I could have packed my tarp and hammock instead of the Scarp1, next time for them then.

The quiet magic of the Reserve was shattered by the solitary chatter of someone’s radio, so I pointed out that we were on a nature reserve and myself and others wanted to enjoy the dusk as nature intended. With the radio off I cooked supper listening to robins, and then the owls as the light faded.

The nearest pub was two miles away but as I was feeling fit the four mile round trip didn’t deter. Besides what else was I going to do with the rest of the evening? So a bunch of us set off on mass, and returned a couple of hours later. After having convinced the locals that we weren’t mad for camping out at this time of year; it was for charity see.

The night passed with a sweeping soundtrack of foxes, owls, pheasants and other creatures calling out. At one point I had a dream that I was struggling to hang my food from a tree in a bear bag whilst the wildlife circled my tent.

I’d learnt that the train service that I came up on was being replaced with buses. So being close to Henley on Thames I checked whether the service via Twyford to Reading, and back to Richmond from there was running. I was in luck, so Sunday morning I bailed out along the Oxfordshire Way to Henley; a stroke of luck. As I headed along the way I got offered my second lift of the weekend, so thanks to Roger I was able to catch the first train out of Henley. And I got back to Richmond before lunch.

chilterns, walk for wildlife part one

The Oxfordshire Way

Friday morning, 10.30

“Jane has sent me an email about a trip to the Chilterns, shall we go?” I asked. “I can’t I’ve got 100 hours of reading to do… for this essay I’ve got to get in before Christmas. Why don’t you go on your own if you want to..”

11.00

Kit compiled. and I’m in the kitchen sorting food, needed a few more cereal bars but otherwise I was ready to stroll.

12.00

I’ve had lunch and I said my goodbyes, and was on my way to Marylebone to catch the 14.23 to Saunderton in the Chilterns.

14.30

Arrive Marylebone… the next train was at 15.23 so I took a train to High Wycombe having been told that there was a bus to Radnage from there.

15.20

Found bus station in High Wycombe and discovered that bus goes at 17.40. I returned to the rail station to catch the train to Saunderton, that was due in at 16.07.

16.15

I set off from the station and headed across fields to find the village. The weather had closed in and a drenching drizzle accompanied me all the way. Low cloud meant that it was getting dark earlier than it was meant to, so the head torch I’d dug out of my bag whilst on the train was put on. Despite the weather and the lack of light my navigation was spot on. Until, that was, I reached the end of a single track road and spotted a sign post that stated, Radnage 1/2 mile. I checked the map and the road did seem to lead to the village. After about twenty minutes there was no sign of the village, and the map didn’t seem to match what I could make out as I went along; buildings and road junctions that shouldn’t have been there. Whilst re-checking the map a white van pulled up along side and the driver asked whether I was looking for the Crown. This took me aback but I said, “yes”. “Ah,” he said,”Are you meeting some people there?” Again on the back foot, I told him I was as it was a club trip. He told me I was heading in the wrong direction and that the sign post at the single track had been twisted to point in the wrong way! He offered, and I took a lift from him. On the way to the pub he explained he’d had a chat with those in the pub and having been told that others were on the way he put two and two together when he saw me. American backpackers would call that trail magic I guess. Anyway I was due a break having just missed the train earlier.

18.00

In the Crown I caught up with Anne and Chris, had a drink and met some club members that I’d not met before. It also gave me the opportunity to dry out and wait for the rain to stop before heading to the camp site to pitch my tent and have supper.

19.30

I was back in the pub, obviously…

backpackers club agm

I'll be arrived in Bath some time Friday evening, later than originally expected due to new job!

I'll be putting the Bush Buddy Ultra in the kit bag along with the Scarp1. I was going to bring along the Mountain Hardware Helion2 but as we'll have Harry I'll be putting up the Hex3.

I'm also thinking of bringing along kit to demo steam baking. And of course some kit to sell.

Requests for bringing my DJ rig down have been studiously ignored. I don't think Saturday evening is really the best time for a hardcore mix of trance and jazz vibes. Besides I've been told that gigs in this area attract far too much attention from the local DS.

Rumour on the circuit is that there is a fair amount of horse going around...

vale of pewsey

“There doesn’t seem to be much of a distance between the two campsites,” Ramblin’ Jay enquired of the BPC new members meet. Which was true but what she didn’t know was this area of Wiltshire is studded with tumuli and other ancient remains that are connected by a network of paths, tracks and trails. Enough to make up several weekends walking in fact.

The weather on the run up to the weekend was poor and I ditched the idea of packing the Bush Buddy as I doubted that I'd find any fuel dry enough to use. Although I did pack the tarp as I’d found a set up that would give the best weather protection from a rectangle of green nylon and a couple of trekking poles.

Tarp pitched at Wilcot

Friday night's pitch was a very sheltered spot and I pitched the tarp facing a wall but I didn’t need the extra coverage. We sat out side watching the stars slowly disappear behind the encroaching cloud until we felt spots of rain that had us diving for cover. The rain was short lived and the cloud passed leaving a clear sky with tumbling temperatures and rivers of condensation running down the tarp. Not that it mattered I was comfortably cocooned in my sleeping/bivi bag combo.

Saturday got off to a leisurely start despite the pre sunrise up farmyard cacophony of cockerels. Introductions and greetings were exchanged over breakfast and coffee. And several ideas for routes were proposed and debated. Two loose groups set off in differing directions with these breaking down into smaller groups as the morning progressed.

On the Wansdyke Path, West Woods

Ramblin’ Jay, Mark, Steve and I splintered from the group we started out with and headed on to pick up the ridge that ran from east to west along the northern edge of the vale. We loped over rolling down land in bright but breezy sunshine, stopping for a break in a small depression on the side of the chalk escarpment. I used the break to eat a home made gluten free pork pie and to flick the remaining moisture off my tarp and into the breeze.

The southern edge of the Marlborough Downs

At Adam's Grave on the Pewsey Downs Nature Reserve we headed south to Honey Street on the Kennet and Avon canal and in doing so the white horse on the hill side revealed itself as we retreated to the pub.

One of the many white horses

At the pub Mark and I discovered that a book we both owned had had a big influence us when we were much younger and was instrumental in getting me backpacking. The book was Derrick Booth’s The Backpackers Handbook. Even more bizarre was the fact that Mark, a fellow blogger, had written about the book and Derrick had contacted him. Here’s Mark’s post on the subject.

From the pub it was a easy ramble along the towpath to Wilcot. The sun was beaming and in the shelter of the vale it was hot enough to strip off the legs and walk in shorts to the campsite. Unlike the previous nights site this was more open and I was a bit concerned about my kit being on view under the tarp. Due to the prevailing wind the open end was facing across the site to the road which didn’t help. I cooked and chatted to others as they floated by and had a snooze before heading to the pub.

The following morning started grey and threatened rain. Ramblin’ Jay and I opted to take what was meant to be the most direct route back to the car. Along the canal, over a bridge and along the White Horse Trail north.

Ramblin 'Jay on the way

Everything was going to plan including the increasing dampness of the day until we headed up on another ridge near Oare and somehow we managed to drift slightly off route going further to the east than we needed to. We handrailed a fence and then a forest enclosure heading north, with the rain and clag reducing visibility and adding to the challenge. All way marking and signs of any footpath vanished so we dropped down across a meadow and located a path running along the edge of another enclosure. At the junction of this path and a track there was a OS map planning application that indicated that we had found our way back to the White Horse Trail and highlighted the dog leg diversion that we’d managed to take in doing so.

Before leaving Wilcot David Topley (the weekend’s organiser) had mentioned that the final leg of the route back to our starting point was through a field of maize that was head high and difficult to pass through. When we arrived at the field and we took one look and didn’t even bother. We circumnavigated the field, which in itself wasn’t without problems as we had several barbed wire fences to get over/under.

An enjoyable weekend where I made some new acquaintances, caught up with some old ones, and tried out some kit.

normal service will be resumed

My blogging has taken the backseat over the last few weeks mostly due to stuff going on in my personal life; Some good things have happened and some not so good ones too.

The shenanigans around the house sale and purchase have finally finished and we have the date of 18th November for the move – hurray!

The ongoing issue around contact with my son is steadily improving and I spent four days with him last week. In the past, any time we had together was always put to good use, going to museums and the alike. So it was a joy just to spend time doing mundane every days things with him that I’ve not had the opportunity to do before. Although this time was nearly hijacked by the very people that are responsible for ensuring that he gets time with me. Go figure.

On the work front, El Bow the Iberian Archer, has paid a visit and I’ll be leaving at the end of this month. Not the best timing. I briefly toyed with the idea of doing the Pennine Way until Dave Mycroft pointed out that even with parts of it paved canoeing across some of the boggy bits (of which there’ll be many more of than say in September) will be required. Unless we get a stunning couple of weeks of deep freeze which is unlikely in this age of global warming.

Despite all this I still managed to fit in some backpacking and I’ve two trips to write up; The Vale of Pewsey BPC meet and the 1066 Country Walk weekend.

I’ve managed to pimp my audio arrangement thanks to some button pushing by Ben, I discovered that that the crossovers on the speakers was between the mid/tweeter units and the bass units. Why have the power amp driving the bass unit when I can harness it’s muscle to drive the mid range and tweeter instead? So I dropped Massive Attack’s Protection in the tray and had a listen to the first minute of the first track. I then powered down, swapped the leads, and replayed the track. The bass was leaner but the detail in the mid and treble was greater, and noticeably so. Sweet.

the ridgeway part2

I awoke at 4am and watched the rising sun colour the sky; with a full bladder and still being half asleep it didn’t occur to me to find my camera and capture the moment. And when the sun finally struck the silnylon it began to heat up it was time to rise and have breakfast.

Continuing with my ultra lightweight experiment I dropped the usual dish of muesli for breakfast and went for a couple of cereal bars instead. The thinking behind this was that I’d save the weight of fuel used for heating the milk that I’d eat it with, and that of the milk or milk powder that I would be carrying. And there’s no washing up to be done which is an added bonus. Unfortunately I started to run out of steam with in an hour of starting the walk so some refining of this approach is required (read as need to eat three cereal bars!)

Poppies on field edge

From the campsite we dropped down to Bennett End to pick up Grange Farm Road which we followed until reaching Crowell Wood and despite still being early in the day the shelter of the wood was welcome. Over the other side of Crowell Hill we pulled off the path for a quick breather and the view from the field where we stopped across the Vale of Aylesbury was quite expansive. Dropping down the hill we picked up the Ridgeway Path and followed this north east past the Chinnor chalk pits and onto the Midshires Way at Hempton Wainhill which we followed into Bledlow.

Ridgeway waymark

A lunch stop was taken at the Lions of Bledlow where some of the party sampled the small but perfectly kept brews. Back on the Midshires Way we rejoined the Ridgeway at Thickthorne Wood, We crossed wild unkempt meadows on the way up to Lodge Hill where wild strawberries, grasses and orchid grew in abundance, whilst pairs of Marbled Whites, Blue Damsel Fly and Spotted Burnetts (seven spotted, I think) flitted across the hill. Brian and I were very much enthralled by this place and vainly tried to stalk the butterflies with our cameras. At least the orchids kept still!

Wild orchids

We left the Ridgeway and headed south over the last hill of the day to pick up the Chiltern Way back into Radnage. On the way into the village I spotted an owl on the telegraph wire but fumbling map and camera it flew off before I had a chance to take a snap.

Despite the threat of heavy weather the day passed dry and sunny. It was good to get out and meet up with Chris and Anne, and catch up with Brian and Jill again. And meet a couple of new, to me at any rate, club members.

the ridgeway re-visited part 1

The forecast for the weekend didn’t look promising; hot and humid, and thunderstorms. Never one to shirk a challenge I stuffed enough kit in a 35l rucksack and set of for Radnage late Saturday afternoon to meet up with other Backpack club members.

On a way up a detour off the M40 was made to Marlow for a supplies stop and a wander. Marlow is a pretty little Thames riverside place that appears to be a piece of displaced west London, like someone’s taken a chunk of Chiswick (Turnham Green Terrace?) and moved it up stream.

Penny and I timed our arrival at the campsite with the only downpour of the weekend. The downpour didn’t last and we found ourselves a flattish pitch near to the others.

Despite having the car I opted to leave all the car camping kit at home; I wanted to see whether I could get all the stuff needed for an ultra lightweight trip in the Berghaus 640. The short answer was just about. There was just enough space to squeeze in an evening meal but I’d have even less had I filled the platy that I’d also packed. So to answer my my own recent musings on what size rucksack I should be looking at; something with a capacity of 40 to 45l is the answer. That’s not say that the Berghaus won’t get used, in the bag was a two person shelter and groundsheet, so for bivi only or bivi/tarp summer trips it should be fine.

A pleasant evening was had in the Crown Inn where we exchanged stories about the trips we’d done, characters we’d met whilst thunder rumbled harmlessly in the distance.

backpackers club london pub meet

Pub meet this evening at the Founders Arms, Bankside, I'll be there from 18.30 so drop me a line if you're planning on popping by. Details here.