Friday 29 December 2006

Foot rot and wee men

Is it just me, but I'm using the weight of my tent as the cut-off weight for my footwear, as I browse the Net looking at boot reviews. I know my Scarpa Aus2 are heavy, but they're heavier than my Akto! Okay if you're walking in the rocks and need the protection.

Unpacked my down sleeping bag as it has been scrunched up for a week now. Watched the MCoS "Water hazards in the mountains" dvd last night. Good advice, and well-illustrated too. The 'before' and 'after' shots of a section of a river makes the point clearly that you need to take care.

I've spent time walking up and down river banks in the Spring and Autumn, looking for the safest place to cross. On one occasion, giving up in the failing light and camped out, crossing the river the next day as the light showed how dangerous the 'best' place to cross was that I'd found the night before. Don't let fatigue and the desire to stick to plans trick you into thinking that 'best' is 'safest'.

Read some of the "Gurkha Highlander" overnight. I like the comment from one of the squaddies, seeing Glen Feshie in the Cairngorms:
"This is very beautiful...Why don't people farm here? It looks good. There should be a village here."

Feshie/Geldie moor in Summer 2006.

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