REMF

Not much been going on this week. Okay, so that is a lie, there has been lots happening, but nothing vaguely related to this blog.

Paramo short gaiters arrived from Foothills. Part of my WHW AAR. Also part of this was the ordering of a pair of Goretex over-socks from Furtech. My feet don’t do well in Sealskinz socks – great for river-crossings, and for around the tent, but not for hiking in. Oversocks had been on my radar since some people, eg Dawn, had mentioned them.

I’ve been reading some more of Jon Vonhof’s “Fixing Your Feet” . There is a great section on solutions for feet problems…lots of solutions. Great – everyone is different, and there is no one solution. Something it takes time to realise.

A very nice woman has mailed me her … sorry … their BushBuddy woodburning stove, and I’ll be having a play with it over Christmas. I’ve given Honey Stove feedback to Bob, so it will be good to see them both side by side. He has certainly piqued my interest. I want to see how it all works – or doesn’t – in a moorland situation.

The StickPic arrived during the week. I had found that they were selling off ‘seconds’, so got a few dollars off. Which was nice. I hadn’t had the chance to try it out yet … well, I have, but you really don’t want to see late-night photos of me in my PJ’s waiting for the cold-drugs to wear off so that I can sleep. In case you don’t know what a StickPic is, here is George and Jason’s videos about it. I’m sure they can send John and Andy a typed transcript instead ;-)

Having had problems with my tv recorder, I finally cleared off all the recorded shows and re-formatted the hard drive. No longer will every activation of the device start up with a clip of Chris Townsend pitching his Akto! Och. But hopefully it means that the recorder will stop ‘forgetting’ to record programs. A very useful device, and has changed my viewing habits.

Cheated and painted the gun crew in a uniform expensive black cloth, and based up the demi-culverin.

And my new washing machine was delivered today. Hopefully the saga ends there. A tale of attempted DIY, poor online shops and poorer real-world shops.

Having caught the “Culture Show” special on Baz Luhrmann last night. Besides being another chance to see some great clips from his work, I was left pondering a quote of his: “we don’t have anything if we don’t have stories”. Even something as humble as a washing machine has a part to play in the epic.

So far, so good, and no leaks.

Triple S – Aye? Nae

It has been a funny old day.

The US presidential race ends at Manassas, where the British journalist noted that there was an American Civil War battle – actually, there was two battles fought on the site, which is sometimes referred to as Bull Run. Both pre-dated the emancipation proclamation made after Antietam/Sharpsburg later in 1862.

Speaking of American conflicts, Donald Trump got handed the keys to a nearby site of special scientific interest so that he can build homes and a golf course. There seems to be a very slight chance (i.e. one politician interviewed) that he will not destroy the dunes and the wildlife. BBC news link. Photos.

No doubt a certain zoo … oops, heelan’ safari … is planning to unleash the hounds sooner.

Mick and Gayle posted a video clip of the bad weather at The Kingshouse, and Glen Nevis campsite.

I collected my BackpackingLight.com goodie box from the local corner shop – good for Parcel Force to save me a cross-town journey (especially as the car battery is dead).

That book “Fixing your feet” by John Vonhof is massive! Sections on feet, footwear (hmm, why is it not feetwear?), prevention and treatment. Two wee tubs of BodyGlide, and a pair of possum fur gloves. I tried the gloves on and they were toasty. But I was in the house at the time, as I didn’t want to get them manky as I worked on the car.

And there was an email at work, asking if anyone wanted to visit the local landfill site. Like I said, it has been a funny old day.

Akto, an II

At the beginning of July, 2006, my Hilleberg Akto arrived. Last year I marked this with a post called: A Year With An Akto. So, what has happened in Year II? The only maintenance on the tent was the repair of a hole that appeared.

Kit

I pack the night before an early start, and find that laying my kit on the bed is a great aide memoir. I make piles of clothing to wear, carry and so-forth. Unlike what follows, which doesn't go into each nook and cranny of every pocket.

Footwear

My preference is still for the Scarpa ZG65 boots. I had swapped out the footbeds with the moulded superfeet. I use Nikwax cleaning products after brushing or washing off excess mud.

Recently I have tried the TNF Hedgehog XCR trail shoes, swapping out the laces with those from my old Inov8 Terrocs. I picked up some blisters in Dartmoor and tightened up the lace fittings on return, no problem walking in last week, but picked up 1 1/2 blisters on the return as I had forgot to change out of the Sealskinz socks I was using as camp shoes.

My favourite pair of socks are a black & grey pair labelled "Ultimax", and have a spare pair of socks in my kit. I find that the Air Force X-socks make my feet smell.

Pack

I am still using the Osprey Atmos as pack of choice. In fact, for overnights to longer, it is a comfortable pack that handles what I throw at it. I could shave some weight off by using a smaller pack for short trips, but I can't afford it and just tighten the straps on the pack.

I bought a new Camelbak hydration sack during the year, and now use the insulated one. I might be imagining that it keeps the cold water colder.

Poles are still the PacerPoles. They are good at doing the job, and I break them down after hikes, and sometimes at night too, to stop the mechanism seizing.

Kitchen

On my last two trips, I took the MiniBullDesign Blackfly 3 meths stove. I never liked the open fire meths stoves as they seemed too uncontrollable to me. This small stove uses two ends of a wick to boil enough cold water for a brew in about 10 minutes. Slower than my Primus Micron, but I can merely refill the fuel bottle at the end of a trip. I cannot do that with gas. After about 4 days, the size of a gas canister starts making it viable again.

The mug/bowl combo from GSI is great, and I've been using the folding spoon instead of the folding spork (photos). I still have food to sort, and haven't had a serious attempt at freezer bag cooking. I have a cupboard of supplies, and just grab what I need.

Bob kindly sent me an AquaGear water filter to test (and I've still got the write-up to complete). This lives in the side pocket of a pack, and I use it to drink at a packs-off stop. I also fill the hydration bag from it.

Sleep Kit

My bag is still the Cumulus Ultralight 350. It does the job. I can unzip it and use it as a duvet. I slide the Insul Mat Max Thermo Lite down the inside of the pack. It is full length and I didn't find it cold when out in the low temperature. Having failed to replace it with an Exped, I might try next year's Thermarest release.

After seeing an Ajungilak Air Pillow in use, I upgraded from rolling up clothing into and around a stuff sack. Mine now lives in a small waterproof Exped stuffsack.

From the washing line I have rigged from ties in my tent, I can hang a small torch, as well as the more Alpkit powerful headtorch (I've not used the e+lite since the meet at Brecon last year). My pack stays at the foot end of the tent, kitchen outside in the porch, and fragile things safely up at the head end.

Clothing

With Sunday's purchase, my base layer is all merino wool. Shreddies, long-johns and longsleeve t-shirt.

Beyond that, my trousers are Paramo, meaning I can leave the waterproof overtrousers at home. Above that is a TNF fleece, and Montane primoloft lined windshirt. Buff and maybe a bonnet live in the pockets, along with liner gloves and Garmin Geko 201. In the top of my pack is a Montane Quickfire waterproof jacket.

I replaced my 'Ultimate' hat with a cammo one from Mackays, and sprayed it a couple of times with Nikwax waterproofing. The brim keeps the sun and rain off, and it folds into my pocket.

Housekeeping

The first aid kit, toilet bag and lotion & potions make up most of the rest of the kit. The small containers that I got this year allowed me to take various items like germolene and soap in smaller bottles.

Hiking

Last year finished with illness outside Killin, the pain returned and I got little hiking done as I was concerned that whatever it was would return. A trip to the physiotherapist ruled out a hernia. I got some short walks in, and bagged no further Munros until late Spring. In early summer, I was signed off with cellulitis. As it was still itchy and swollen, I wanted to keep pressure off it, so used that as an excuse not to get much done before a trip to Dartmoor in the summer.

So, in the last year, despite illness, I have hiked 132km (80 miles), spent 7 nights in my Akto, and bagged 1 Munro. Not as good as I could have been, but my motivation has been hit by concerns about another bout of pains. The main lesson this has raised is, whatever you do, don't say you go hiking, as the medicos seem to jump on that as the causes of illness. For the pain in my side, it was caused by my rucksack. I tried to explain to the doc that the pains started in my flat, before I went near my pack. And the infection in my leg was due to a tick (there weren't any) or a midge (ditto).

Some pitches

And now, some pitches with the best all-round solo tent in existence. I store the fabric in its carry bag, and then put that inside an Exped compression bag. This lies across the rucksack, near the top. The peg bag and pole all fit into the supplied bag, and that goes inside the rucksack on the side opposite the hydration tube exit. When I pitch the tent, I make sure that no gust of wind can lift empty bags, so clip the compression bag to my rucksack, and put the empty tent bags into it as I am pitching the tent.

Happy trails.

Soddit

Or... Didn't get there, so came back again. Or... Nature gets Napoleonic. --- update later ... updated

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On Saturday the forecast was for intermittent showers. It looked variable, and had not changed when I looked again on Sunday morning. I packed for three days and headed out, stopping in Braemar for a shop and breakfast. In the gear shop, I bought a Patagonia merino wool long sleeved base layer in their sale (35 quid off) and wore it for the rest of the day: unlike the bacon roll from the Hungry Highlander, which lasted until the Linn of Dee car park.

Walking out, a bird of prey landed on a solitary tree, and young deer bounced around on their own in the valley and the plants shone in the cloud-focused sun. But these clouds came in and the 'shower' of heavy rain set the tone for the rest of the day. Plan H was to walk until the weather closed in. (maplink)

I sheltered at the Derry Lodge ford, and carried on, watching the clouds and not really wanting to spend three wet days in the Cairngorms. An hour later, I was further north up Glen Derry, and the rain came on as I reached the bridge. "Soddit", I thought, "there's a cracking pitch here, I may as well sit out the weather"

The rain stopped, the midges rose and I dosed the late afternoon away in my tent. I heard voices on the path and fought back my guilt, listening to the limited radio reception and reading about the poet William Cowper in the wee book of his poems I had grabbed as reading material.

A brew with my Blackfly3 meths stove, some more midge-spray, and I swapped one of the TNF Hedgehog laces with one of the laces that I had taken from my Inov8 Terrocs (in case you really, really want to know, it is the right shoe).

Up hill, along slope, down hill, and I was satisfied enough to swap out the other TNF shoe lace. At least I had achieved something. As the sun set below the mountains, I had my second "sod it" moment, and now with the midge-netting over my head, I broke camp and walked back to the car.

I had walked about 15km, spent about 6 hours in my tent and 4 hours walking. But more, I had reached the nadir where my head knows I can do something, so thinks it doesn't need to prove it by forcing the body to achieve the task. I think I am doing this for other people and not myself. I need to stop thinking about this.

Walking in the failing light, I stop thinking of these things as the trees closed in amongst me, and the primal fears of predator attack kicks in. My inbuilt jukebox starts to play a Creedence Clearwater Revival track, and I hum it back to the car and civilisation (speeding cars, pedestrians staggering in the road and news from Georgia).

Hedgehog Lacing

At the weekend, I had a bit of a problem with the laces of the TNF Hedgehog trail shoes. They kept coming loose.

Looking online, someone suggested that it was the round-section laces.

I have now copied the lock-lace from my Inov-8's and this site. I'll buy some flat laces if this doesn't work. I picked up some blisters on the outer sides of my feet - I reckon from the shoes working loose. Great grip on the shoes.

New Trail Shoes

Decided to buy a pair of trail shoes. Went for The North Face's Hedgehog GTX XCR. 15% discount in Tiso's on all TNF products. I'll try them out on Bennachie later in the week. Wowser.

Killer Crocs

Whoa, there was me just winding down for the night when I caught site of Sarah's crocs across on her blog. They allow those on the PCT? I suppose with hunters about (big assumption on my part), that having something that bright strapped to your pack makes sense.

Oh, and there's also her kit list too, which I'll peruse after the blobs have finished dancing in front of my eyes.

New Namches

I had problems with the Montrail Namches upper pinching at the toe, so I ordered the next size up (from Fast & Light). These were redelivered by the Post Office yesterday, and I've been wearing them round town this weekend. Hopefully I'll get up a hill with them next weekend.

Putting them on this morning, I noticed the colour co-ordination with the X-Socks Air Force 1. Purely accidental. The earlier, size 10 pair were the yellow/green colour.

CGNP 19/05

1315. Back at car at Linn of Dee. Namche's did well, only problem i have is that i need the next size up. It's my footsize that is on the cusp. Worse case scenario is that i flog them used on ebay. Despite the rain, the X-socks were no more than damp. I'll wear my ZG65's for the Glenshee climb this afternoon. See how that goes. Sky lightening up, but still chucking it down. Final 2 Munros to do to complete Glenshee. But first, lunch and gearshop in Braemar.

Benn' 130507

1hr15mins round trip. No blog-stop on summit. Too damp. Ok, this is not a gear review - comprende?

Good grip on the Namches even on the damp stones and in the mud on the tracks. As good as the zg65s or terrocs. I'll need to loosen the lacing - something i should have done before setting out. If it had been a drier day, I would have stopped on the trail.

Buff via The Backpackers Club. Sunnydale sweatshirt via Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Bell' Buys

Here's the list from the Bellingham meet.

Footwear

X-Socks Air Force 1 (2 pairs) - this follows the Southern Upland Way, where my 1000 mile socks were my spare, and started to wear through.

Gehwol refreshing balm - I use this a lot, especially as it is similar to the fore-head anti-migraine rubs you buy in chemists.

These items were ordered from Backpackinglight.co.uk, and I asked them to take the order to Bellingham to save me on the postage (hmm, 10 hour round trip, and I save 3 quid, ach well, every little helps).

Cook System

White Box Alcohol Stove - I had a wee trangia, but was put off by the size of the meths container. I'd never really used it seriously, just a few times when I was in the TA for a very short period of time after this photo was taken. Hearing Bob's podcast and seeing his demonstration on Saturday hooked me in. I hope to try it out this weekend coming. (podcast, YouTube review, pdf manual)

Nalgene medium travel kit - this contains lots of wee bottles. I'll rephrase that for non-Scots readers: "this contains lots of small bottles." If I can break down the fuel into small containers, then I can take just what I need for the trip.

Aloksak (pack of various sizes) - to store items in. Not sure what yet, but I watched the Glen van Pleski "Lighten Up" dvd, and then had the opportunity to raid it for ideas. The main one being to only take what you need. Heck, I carry things like bug juice in the bottle it comes in, when I could decant it into something smaller. Ditto for toothpaste, etc. On the whole quite small, but put together with other things, the weight and bulk adds up. I'm lucky to be a wargamer, so I have lots of small ziplock bags around for tea bags, whitener, etc.

Cosy and windshield kit - to make a pot cosy out of. I've tried keeping food warm without one, but no joy, so I'll rig up a cosy for the weekend and give it a try. Good tips from Bob's demonstration. (link)

Drytech meals (two) from Expedition Foods - until I get the dehydrator in production, these are great treats. I seem to have eaten one for dinner on Saturday night. Hey ho.

Others

A small ultralite MSR packtowl (link) - folds down smaller than my mobile phone. Opens up to a useful size - about half the size of the PackTowl I've been using for over a year.

Alpkit tent pegs (link) - having tried them on Saturday night, I think I'll replace 6 of the Akto pegs with 6 of these 'tikes', and leave the original 4 'pins' for the lower corners (they have a hook to secure the base rings to).

The main idea then is only to take what I need. Why carry a box of 12 Bovril cubes when you're going away for a long weekend? Just take what you need. Same with food containers - I could decant some tinned food into the Aloksaks. or dehydrate tinned meals and then bag them. Lots of options, minimising bulk, minimising weight. Hours of endless fun, and who wants to rough it? Sod that, the outdoors are for living in, not suffering through.

Thoughts for next one

Okay, so I said I wasn't going to suggest modifications, but I've had a busy day, so sod it:

• A bring and buy - an idea lifted straight from wargames shows.
• DVD presentations, talks, etc - I'd certainly have paid a non-members fee to get in.

Great show, great first event, I'd love to attend another one that was as good as Saturday.

postSUW

Since returning from the Southern Upland Way, I've spend the week compiling the YouTube feeds and catching up with emails and action on OutdoorsMagic. The only ongoing problem with my feet are the wee toes, and then only the itch as dead skin is replaced.

As you may have gathered, something as big for me as a 2 week through-hike, is going to lead to some changes in approach and gear.

• The large pack of unused waterproofs
• Bulky food
• Repowering mobile phone
• Length of tent pole sections

Called FastAndLight and ordered a pair of Montrail Namches. As the call was on Skype, I had a good chat with Craig, and ordered a more modern lighter waterproof jacket too. I'll be back for the trousers when the 2007 stock comes in at the end of May. He told me about a diet, and I ordered the book, "The Paleo Diet for Athletes" from Amazon, as I already had a couple of dehydrator recipe books on order.

I went with the previously mentioned Insul mat, and Stef/BG is adding it to his order. Also 'won' from eBay a new USB charge-head for my phone to replace the broken one. I noticed that GadgetsQuick sell a charge head for my phone that looks like it may fit the rotary charger that I had given away to a mate. She doesn't use it, and has will look it out (I may need to repay the tub of ice cream that was the original price).

The length of the Akto's tent pole sections, 440mm, prevents the pole/peg bag fitting anywhere else on the Osprey Atmos pack except in the main compartment. A smaller length will allow the pole/peg bag to stay in an outer pocket (i.e. one of the zipped 'side' pockets). The aim is to be able to pitch the tent quickly as soon as I stop, and that means not having to faff around with rummaging inside the main compartment.

After searching the OM forum, I went to Fibraplex.com and ordered their Akto poles, asking if they can shorten the section lengths. I'll see what happens.

I haven't been in a gear shop in 3 weeks.

Found the new WayMerks website, and emailed the creator to congratulate him on his idea, and tell him of the 3 empty kists.

Went to see the Aberdeen Students' Show "The Invasion of the Doric Snatchers" [link]. First one I've seen, and I was impressed at the professionalism of the production. A tail of superheroes and supervillains in Aberdeen, it was novel to see that the sidekick was the main character. Being mainly in Doric, it took me a couple of goes before I got the Lisa Lane name-gag. For example:

• Hello, you look nice, what's you're name?
• Lisa Lane
• Sorry for asking, I'll just go then.

Getting in the mood for Bellingham by listening to Bob's preview podcast.

Oh, emailed CamelBak about my invention. Doubt anything will come of it. I'm probably the last person in the world to figure this one out.

If anyone thinks this is overkill, well, I am looking forward to the summer, and another coast to coast (or maybe two).

Monday Holiday

Local holiday here in Aberdeen. Woohoo. Rolled out of bed. Ouch ouch. Showered, didn't shave, shoulder healed nicely after being ripped in the sun when I only had a t-shirt on under the rucksack straps. Ouch ouch. Breakfasted. Gosh, lost 8 kilos; 17 pounds; 1.25 stone. Ouch ouch. put on the The Outdoors Station Podzines from The Outdoors Show and treated feet. Ouch ouch. Sooth. Started to order some gear. Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh.

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Ronald Turnbull's interview was good, many relevant snippets (e.g. pacing and eating). I'll be ordering his book on Ben MacDui when it comes out, by Millrace Books. I'm taken by the chap who took his service revolver with him on a hike to forage for food. I wonder if I can get a titanium Webley from anywhere?

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All the interviews were courtesy of Andy Howell's hard work. Good chap.

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Ordered 2 pairs of Air Force One X-Socks, and some more refreshing foot balm from BackpackingLight.co.uk.

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Weird Darren had ordered some of Agropharm's insect repellant, so will be good to hear wheat he got and how it worked out. Sounds interesting.

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Ordered a dehydrator from QVC (the shopping channel) for £32 inc postage. Thanks to Bearded Git for pointing that one out to me.

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University shooting being reported in Blacksburg, Virginia. Numbers of dead being increased as news comes in. Insert your own expletive.

26,000 students on campus, says the web. I keep failing to grasp the size of these places. As ever, my sympathy to the families involved. A lockdown on start of student year, and now this.

SUW 14.1845

Lauder. I said, LAUDER. Another dainty town that just needs a sign to the centre. Hint: head towards the clock instead of the police station. Young chap in grocers liked the Osprey pack, he'd been on some training courses and along some arretes. The boss takes an interest in my boots. "Total overkill for the SUW." I must say that I name-dropped in that Paddy Dillon may agree, but i couldn't guarantee the weather, nor trust my favourite terrocs to a 212 mile trek carrying 10 days of food plus kit - approx 20kg all in. I got blisters on the WHW in trail shoes, and blisters on the SUW in boots. Life goes on. Finished snack, off to tab along for another couple of hours before retiring to the AktoCave.

Some Meter on Feet

American Bushman asked what my thoughts were on foot care. Although not an expert, here's what works for me:

Naked feet: keep toenails clipped and hard skin smoothed. I use a rubbing device from the supermarket as they didn't have any pumice stones. I get dry, hard skin on my right outer heal, and so would tend to get blisters there.

Socks: chose carefully. I use a mix of different brands. If using "Sealskinz" waterproof socks, I'd recommend liner socks. Choose your socks with the same care that you chose your boots or shoes.

Footwear: the Inov-8 Terrocs have never given me blisters, however those were not the pair that I wore on the WHW (where I did end up with blisters). I've reverted to boots, and have had no problems with the Scarpa ZG65's. I think the most important advice is to get a proper boot fitting. Even after you have researched the products available, and what you want from the footwear (rather than what the seller thinks you want).

Care and attention: dry your feet regularly. If you feel a blister start to develop, stop and treat it. I'm too much of a wimp to use the hot pin method, and go for the clean scissors and snip. Germolene is my antiseptic cream of choice, but I'm not a trained medic, so won't give out advice here (not with the current 'blame culture'). Keep your first aid kit sorted, replacing used supplies. I use a waterproof first aid bag, mine came from BPL.co.uk - I know that any old drysack would have done, but I always tell trail-mates where they will find my first aid kit in my pack. Just in case.

Pre-treatment: I put vaseline on my feet if I'm going out for a trek, then pull on my socks. Normally because my 'official' creams are stowed in my back the night before. I have a drybag with my 'remedies' - foot creams, lip balm, sunlotion, jungle juice. The Gehwol foot creams from BPL.co.uk are the pre-treatment and the post-treatment "refreshing balm" - in all honesty, I use the latter more often (unless I'm on a multiday hike, the vaseline lasts long enough so I don't use the footcream). As I suffer from migraines, I found that the refreshing menthol balm works well on my forehead and helps ease away pains, in the same way as products like 4head. Again, I'm no expert, but it works for me when the weather makes me feel tingly.

Proper Planning Prevents P...poor Performance.

Any athletes foot will get treated before I go out. I did once carry some talc for it, but these days I just leave it in my car kit (when I remember).

Another thing that might help is hydration. I use a Camelbak system and make sure I drink regularly. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

I also use the 'smart foot' moulded insoles in my boots (but not my Terrocs)

Is this an "Oh dear" too?

Am I sad in the fact that it is snowing outside, which gives me an excuse to wear my Scarpa ZG65's to work. As they're the dark coloured ones, they go quite well with my dark "George at Asda" suit. Bounding up the stairs from the 1st floor to the class on the 6th (honest).


Got some photos of from the 6th floor window of a snow-covered Aberdeen. Only the phone-camera, so probably won't turn out well, but I'll add them below when I get home.

24 hour flew

Breakfast of coffee and porridge the left bothy at 9am. I was outside all packed when I remembered that I hadn't signed the bothy book. I made the terrible decision to just crack on rather than step over and disturb the bodies in the bothy. Walking towards Derry Lodge, I pass an Akto pitched in the trees. I feel slightly guilty for choosing a warm bothy instead of a spacious tent.

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Luibeg Bridge.
Been walking for an hour and a half. Spotted another tent, some big orange TNF affair above the Derry Fords. Saw 2 deer, young ones, about 10m away - I wouldn't have seen them but they started moving. Only saw one small unspecified black bird. Heavy shower, light rain continuous. Nothing to see above low cloud. Speckled snow on the hills. River is in spate, which may cause me a problem in Glen Dee, as the map shows the path intersecting a number of streams.


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Got to the start of the Lairig Ghru. Was passed by 2 climbers who'd camped out last night and were heading up one of the ridges (if the weather was okay). Saw a few deer grazing on Creagan nan Gabhar, but nothing else. Had a fine view of the hills below the low cloud, highlighted by the snow. Like a living Wainwright sketch. Bod an Deamhain pictured above. Before I turned south down Glen Dee, one of the guys from last night (and his dog) came bounding up from Corrour Bothy. So, I wasn't the first out, and I hadn't even noticed that there was only one dog in the bothy that morning.

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Headed down to Glen Dee, and, apart from crossing some streams that were in spate, and the driving rain, there wasn't much else. Some good work has been done on the path (photo taken looking north):

Elsewhere, the work had been submerged by water, or hadn't started. It must take the teams years to do a stretch like this, and their efforts are much appreciated. Got to White Bridge just after 3pm.
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10 to 5 on Saturday, and the GPS says 24.5km (15 miles) tabbed since yesterday, and it's not even 5 o'clock. Hence the title. Heavens still falling. Getting changed out of wet gear in car park toilets. I'll need to apply Nikwax to the Salomon gloves, as they started frothing. I'll also need to organise the names of waypoints - I've too many in the Cairngorms and they are starting to cause me problems when I come to pick them out of the list.

Boots did well, but I can feel some dampness in the socks - checked later and no blisters. I don't know what the expectation is for Gore-Tex XCR, but the boots were getting rained on from above, and having to cope with ankle-deep puddles and streams.

Found it difficult to get the e+Lite comfortable on my forehead, but it was handy to have. I didn't get the feeling of losing my peripheral vision like I did with the Tikka. But I found that to get the torch low enough to see what was in front of me, it started to shine off my nose.

New leggings were warm, without feeling over-warm in the bothy. Car thermometer read 3'c, but I didn't feel it on my legs - though I was wearing overtrousers as well as Montane Terras.

Clearing the Cobwebs

Bag packed last night - almost as much as for the WHW. Extra clothes just in case. MWIS says that the wind will die down to 20/25mph for trekking on Saturday. Staying low, not going out of the glens, just up Glen Lui and back down Glen Dee in the Cairngorm National Park. Test out the new Scarpa ZG65s.

I seem to be the only one happy about the gusting winds just now - I want to see how the Akto copes. I'll find some shelter in Glen Lui and stop out overnight. If too bad, I'll see what's going on in Bob Scott's Bothy instead.

Fought off the urge to go out to the nearby gear shops in my lunchbreak. I must be coming down with something! Got some marking to do, then one more class, some paperwork and offski for an all-too infrequent trek in the wilds. Woo hoo.

Gear 9: Scarpa ZG65 XCR

Well, no surprise when the reconnaissance visit turned into a purchase. By my inaccurate bathroom scales, the pair of size 45's weighs in at 1.6kg. Coy Starnes at BackpackGearTest weighed a size 45.5 pair at 1.45kg in 2005.

The US site has better pictures of the boot. The colour is the dark version, "Anthracite", they call it. Gore-tex XCR lined, with vibram soles.

The gent in the shop measured and checked my feet, listened to what I was going to trek with them, and came up with recommendations. By this stage, I'd been round 3 other shops in Aberdeen, and looked at what was on offer. The only other one that tempted me was the Brasher Supalite.

At home, I finally managed to fish out the superfeet from the old Scarpa SL's and install them in the ZG65's. A couple of podcasts later, I had finished an extended walk around the block in them. Nice and comfortable. I'll wear them on urban treks to get them worn in.

January Sales

Ah well, how quickly the break flew by. Didn't get a chance for walking on the island (weather, family duties, sleeping). Swinging by work today (email account locked out, so hope I still have a job to go back to).

Decided to get a pair of Munro-bagging boots for 07, a good excuse to trail around the gear shops in Aberdeen. See if any of the local OMers have left me anything. With my usual timing, TGO will probably have a review of lightweight boots in next month's issue ;-)

No boot preferences, just something as comfy as my Terrocs and lighter than my Akto. I'll keep saying to myself that today is a recon visit. Honest.

Ploughed through my 18 months of TGO and Trail, "Backpacker's Handbook" and OutdoorsMagic. Nothing definitive. Not keen on buying footwear over the Net as I can't try them on first. Also not happy about trying out things in shop and then going online to get a cheaper deal. If online shops want to set up a fitting service, no problem, but I don't like using 'real world' shops for that purpose. Yup, I'm a mug, but an honest one (blame my Teuchter upbringing for that).