the art of packing a rucksack

After ages of wrestling with Scarp1, I've finally found a way of getting it into it's stuff sack so that it fits happily in the outside pocket of my Golite Peak - sweet! I was able to get all the kit I needed plus four days food in that diminutive rucksack. To be fair the roll top didn't have much of a top to roll but since everything was in dry bags it didn't matter.

Not only that, the only difference between what I packed and what I would have taken on the Challenge, was a spare pair of underpants.

tgo challenge 2010 - reprive

I pulled out of the Challenge a few weeks back as I wasn't going to be able to take the required amount of time off to take part.

The good news is that I've got Thursday and Friday off, so that I can use my ticket. The plan is to walk a bit of the West Highland Way, although I've already done this route, and may be bag Ben Lomond.

The thing about this trip is that the last time I ventured out along the WHW, only a couple of years back, I did it in boots and carrying a Gregory Z55 rucksack. This time I'll be wearing my trusty Terrocs and using a Golite Peak; a 40l 'day' pack! My kit has changed and evolved but the most important thing is the knowledge that I've gained since then. As someone once put it, 'The more you know, the less you carry.'

I wonder who I'll bump into at the station tomorrow evening?

tgo challenge 2010 - uncertainty

Sometimes good fortune is tempered by choice.

I've landed myself a temporary contract working for a large publishing company in central London. This is a good move for me careerwise, and I need the money.

At the interview, end of last week, the role was stated as a minimum of two months contract but due to the workload and strict deadlines they won't allow me to take time off for the Challenge. However on offering the work they aren't going to commit to the full period - just yet.

An email could be winging it's way to Roger at the end of the week... or not.

tgo challenge 2010 - kit dilemma

The dilemma comes from having too many choices...

The Scarp1 was bought as a solo backpack shelter, with the Challenge in mind. However its pack size is at odds with the size/type of rucksacks that I own due to the support poles at either end. It's just too long a bundle. I wrote to Henry Shires and asked whether the poles could be removed and he stated that the central two poles can be left out being attached by velcro, and there were slits for the corner ones. He also mentioned that he didn't think it was worth the effort. Having tinkered around with this, I can only agree.

One solution would be to buy another rucksack, and I'm considering the 2010 Golite Jam. The Golite Peak has served me well over the last few months, so the Jam, the bigger brother of the Peak seems a natural choice.

Another alternative is to resort to my tried and tested shelter, the Golite Hut2. With this in mind I've seam sealed it for added weatherproofing. The benefits of using Jabba (the Hut, geddit?!) are that it pitches with the trekking poles that I'll be using, and I'll be packing a bivibag, which will be useful should I find myself taking shelter in a bothy or similar. And, of course, the much smaller pack size of a single skin shelter.

The more I deliberate the more I like the more flexible approach of using Jabba...

tgo challenge 2010

I used Grough Route to plot the route we'll be taking. I've not used mapping software before so cant comment on how it compares with other systems but I found it fairly straightforward to use once I'd got the hang of it. One thing I'd change is the wording used to name a route, in the software a route is tagged not named. But that's a minor point and at only £1.50 per month who's to grumble.

The route has been vetted and returned with a few comments as expected. Our route is a simple low level one starting at Shiel Bridge and ending at St Cyrus, so I didn't expect to get much feedback, which was indeed the case.

Training walks are being done, along with a few overnighters to test kit. Kit choice is on going - I've revamped my list at least ten times now, weighed up the pro's and con's of my various cooking systems and shelters, but am still undecided.

Train tickets have been bought and transport to the start sorted thanks to Philip Werner.

Menu planning and dehydrating meals is going ahead. Food parcels will need to be created and shipped.

And my physio says my right knee is looking up to the task but the exercises still need to be done.

Roll on the 12th May.

multimat adventure long

Not willing to give up the comfort of the NeoAir I took a chunk of Karrimat along on my last trip, originally it was to go under my feet but the bothy floor was that cold that I ended up with the mat under the mattress, and used my rucksack as a foot rest.

Clearly the NeoAir wasn’t up to the task, and the piece of Karrimat I owned wasn’t long enough to provide cover for the feet as well as the mattress. So I dredged the internet for a solution and what I found was the Multimat Adventure Long, a CCF mat. The stated weight was 215g so along with the weight of the NeoAir at 244g I had a combined weight of 459g. Only 73g heavier than the Multimat Super Compact Light 25 for a full length, more comfortable sleeping solution.

Incidentally the SC25 has an R rating of 3.8 against the 2.5 of the NeoAir, so I’d forgo the comfort of the NeoAir if the conditions dictate. After all there’s no point in having an uber comfortable mattress if I’m kept awake all night by the heat leeching out of my body; I’ve already earned that badge. That said I expect the NeoAir/Adventure Long combo to cope with most situations, now will I need this for Scotland in May I wonder?

so starts another decade

A change in my working circumstances late last year means I have a more flexible approach to how I work so I plan to get out more. Expect more gear reviews and trips then - the TGO Challenge being my main focus at this point. There's talk about a summer trip to the Pyrenees so I'll be bending Andy Howell's ear about his visits. And I've always fancied the idea of seeing raindeer in Lapland and the Northern Lights so perhaps I may get to meet up with Hendrik.

I'll be at the Backpackers Club AGM which is being held in the south west this year, and I hope that the lightweight gear festival continues to held along side. It's a good opportunity to see gear that you can only oggle online, and to speak to the likes of Bob and Rose at BPL UK, Mark at Ultralightoutdoorgear and Kenny and Co at Alpkit even if you're not a member.

Hope to see you there or out on the trail. A happy new year to you all.

tgo challenge - round up

The fat brown envelope arrived from Roger.

What's interesting about it is that it includes the names, location, how many challenges the lucky participants have done, and their age.

Scanning through the list many names jump out; Christine Roche, editor of the BPC's newsletter, Darren Christie, and Geoff Gafford. All three I've spent time on the trail with so I'm looking forward to catching up with them along the way. Alan Sloman, Phil @ Doodlecat and Martin Banfield (phreerunner) are outdoor bloggers that I've gotten to know. Alan and Phil's antics in the challenge are legendary - if they'll allow me to state that - and I'm looking forward to being a whitness to whatever they get up to next year. George Griffin, another blogger I've gotten to know, had a run of bad luck with his last few applications but has been given a chance to make up for it and is also down on the list.

And then there's Colin Ibbotson and Shirley Worrell. I've been following Colin's radical approach to kit with interest on Andy Howell's website. (Andy didn't make the first cut but is 18th on the waiting list so is almost certain to fnd his way on.) Shirl did a series of Podcast on this years Challenge that kept a smile on my face as I communted to and from work. Shirl has just finished posting her experiences on the Challenge on her blog, where you can also download the podcasts too. Essential reading for a never before Challenger like myself.

From across the pond, Philip Werner @ sectionhiker.com has secured a space and who I've gotten to know over the summer, so it will be good to met in an actual rather than virtually sense.

Also from the US Henry Shires deserves a mention, Henry is one of the US cottage industry manufacturers of tarp tents. I ordered one of the newly modified Scarp 1 tents from him last night, which I plan to use on the crossing. I hope to meet him somewhere along the way and perhaps if he'll allow do a 60 second interview with him.

tgo challenge 2010

I've received an email from Roger Smith confirming that Liam and I have been successful with our application. I've just sent him a text with the news and his reply was - Oh fuck LOL. Probably because he now knows that he owes me the thirty quid fee.

Time to buy that copy of Scottish hill tracks then.

And I've spoken Darren as he spotted that I'd got a place, as has he.

tgo challenge 2010

The application form is sitting on my desk at work in an addressed envelope with a cheque for £30.00 enclosed and a two page résumé of my backpacking skills and achievements.

All that’s required, apart from a stamp, is Liam’s part of the application and his entry fee.

Over the last couple of years I’ve enjoyed listening to Bob Cartwright’s TGO Challenge podcasts so when Liam floated the idea at the last BPC London pub meet I said, “…Erm, yeah, well could do I suppose.” The thought of block booking two weeks leave required a little more consideration than a spontaneous answer at the time. With the consideration done the application was duly completed, and will be sent. What happens next is in the hands of the selectors.