Hiking, backpacking, trekking, mountaineering...

[Jokester]

Guess it's a quick way back to the car at the end of the day.

 

[Minusorange]

Spec me a nice mid layer fleece that could also maybe be worn Autumn nights (understand it might be pushing) that isn't over £90 please guys

Found a Dare2b & a Sprayway fleece for £20 in clearance but I'm wondering their quality vs spending extra for something better

 

[Earth[Tera].bin]

So I convinced the girlfriend to come with me, packed up the car and headed for Galloway Forest and the Merrick (highest hill in Southern Uplands & Southern Scotland.
Great walk up the Merrick, found it tougher than Ben Venue and Ben Lomond but thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, on to find a campsite! There was an ever so slight breeze blowing south, so thought the south side of Loch Trool would be good. Off we go. Walked for 35 minutes or so, and found a good spot.
Dumped our stuff, and I went for a quick walk to see what was what. I came back three minutes later, my girlfriend was absolutely covered in midges.
Literally, all over.
We were both covered in Smidge but still they came. They then started on me. It was relentless. We stayed for around 10 minutes, but decided it just wasn't worth it and headed back to the car. We stopped a couple of times on the walk back to the car further from the loch but after 2 minutes the hoard had arrived.

I am covered in bites, as is she.

We could have stayed, but it wouldn't have been worth it and she was already looking pretty miserable. I think for my next attempt I'll seek some altitude.

Looking South West over Loch Enoch - which looks like a great place to camp! Nice sandy beaches.

Culsharg Bothy

It's this damn hot/wet weather that's bringing the midges out in hordes. Merrick isn't usually too bad, and 9/10 there's a decent breeze at the trig stone so you usually don't encounter them at the top.

I stay locally and had a spate were I would tab up Merrick doing the circular 15k. Once camped overnight at Loch Enoch. I did intend to swim over to the island but nearly drowned swimming across with all the gear lol, so camped away from island on a sandy spot.

It's surprisingly wide and deep at narrowest point to the Island

Morning mist.

 

[MichaelAwkward]

Awesome pics! What time of year was that?

 

[Earth[Tera].bin]

Awesome pics! What time of year was that?

It was mid June , 2016 I think. It was on the back of a Micoadventure Challenge by Alistair Humphrey - something along the lines of sleeping outdoors in a remote spot. Although I think he suggested in a bivvy bag and not a tent.

I miss those days, don't get out half as much these days.

 

[marin]

Climbed Merrick a few years ago - 1st attempt my brother & I were hit by a big storm at the Neive of the Spit and had to turn back, 2nd attempt got to the top with my brother and a friend, went back via Loch Enoch was a wild and lonely place.

 

[stockhausen]

An 80-year-old hiker who went missing for three days in the Yorkshire Dales has spoken at a press conference arranged in a bid to track him down. Harry Harvey spent three nights wild camping after becoming separated from a walking group between Gunnerside and Tan Hill, North Yorkshire, on Saturday.

A major search took place including police, the RAF and rescue dogs. He was spotted by a wildlife photographer on Tuesday morning, who saw him waving at her near Keld. Mr Harvey was about six miles (10km) from where he was last seen. He was then taken by Land Rover to the nearby Tan Hill Inn, where he was reunited with family and friends at the press conference. (LINK)

I hope someone bought him a drink (or two) at the nearby Tan Hill Inn

"Wild camping" at 80 - RESPECT!

 

[neoboy]

So with the weather now the way it is, would like to have the ability to make hot water on the long day hikes. Are the Jetboil things all they cracked up to be and worth the price tag?

Cooking stoves are generally quite cheap but I like the modular and compact design of these things.

 

[robj20]

So with the weather now the way it is, would like to have the ability to make hot water on the long day hikes. Are the Jetboil things all they cracked up to be and worth the price tag?

Cooking stoves are generally quite cheap but I like the modular and compact design of these things.

I take my MSR Dragonfly with me, never ever let me down, even at the top of Helvellyn in the worst snow storm I ever experienced a few years back. Still boiled water in a minute or two. It will run on any flammable liquid including diesel and cooking oil.

I haven't done any hiking this year at all, all my friends that I used to go with have packed it in so it's solo only now and it's hard to motivate myself to go.

 

[Martytoon]

So with the weather now the way it is, would like to have the ability to make hot water on the long day hikes. Are the Jetboil things all they cracked up to be and worth the price tag?

Cooking stoves are generally quite cheap but I like the modular and compact design of these things.

I thought about the Jetboil, but went for the MSR Pocket Rocket in the end. It boils 500ml of water in a few minutes - takes a bit longer in cold weather/windy conditions. It serves my needs nicely which is generally just boiling water plus occasional bacon sandwich. The burner and canister (100g) fit nicely into the 650ml pot which is shown in the photo. I have also got a plastic clip-on stand (cost £3) which fixes to the bottom of the canister to give a little more stability when using a frying pan.

 

[Street]

So with the weather now the way it is, would like to have the ability to make hot water on the long day hikes. Are the Jetboil things all they cracked up to be and worth the price tag?

Cooking stoves are generally quite cheap but I like the modular and compact design of these things.

I love my Jetboil. It does one thing, but it does it well! I went for the Minimo and for the size and weight of it, it's fantastic. Just don't let your mate use one of his pans on it as it ended up melting the burner.

 

[neoboy]

Thanks for the info chaps, I'm pretty poor with everything going on right now so was just looking at their basic Jetboil Zip model for £65 which is already pretty pricey for me.

There's a lot of cheap Vango type burners for around £15 and whatever pot I get, but if I get a better quality one like MSR Pocket Rocket (£30ish) and a good pot, then Jetboil price isn't that far off and it's a neat system that packs into itself. Would I also have to use their pricey gas canisters or they are all the same, like the cheaper Coleman ones?

I'm going to be passing Peak District on Friday and will get a chance to spend a good half a day there as well. Never been there before, any must see/walk spots around there to get me started with the area?

 

[Street]

Would I also have to use their pricey gas canisters or they are all the same, like the cheaper Coleman ones?

I just use what ever is cheapest at the time.

 

[touch]

There's a few Jetboil copies around for much cheaper prices.
PlanetX have a 'Jobsworth' branded one for £30 and Alpkit do one that they call the BruKit for £45.
I don't know how these compare to genuine Jetboils but we've got the PlanetX one and it's pretty good.

 

[neoboy]

I just use what ever is cheapest at the time.

Guess that answers that and they are all standard screw size

 

[Eddie]

nvm

 

[FloppyPoppy]

Hey everyone!

My Kazbek trip planned this year was put on hold due to the C word and is now re scheduled for September next year. I am still buying bits of kit and finding the whole mountaineering thing more and more fascinating every day. Im planning to go to Scotland and take a guided trip up Ben Nevis during the winter mainly to build confidence in the equipment i am buying and the extra training will go a long way.

I wasn't happy with the mammut boots i bought (Magic guide high GTX B3s) They seemed very uncomfortable in several spots mainly across the bridge of my foot so i have put them aside as a spare pair or will consider selling them maybe. Lesson learnt on buying boots before trying them on. I went around to a few shops trying on different shoes and tried the La Sportiva G5s on and found them to be absolutely comfortable and they are quite the upgrade so after rooting around i managed to find some at a price i was happy to pay ( wasn't paying the £600 some places wanted )

very very happy with these boots! However i was hoping somebody could clarify for me exactly how crampons should sit / fit as im noticing my crampons don't seem to be right for some reason unless i am mis understanding how they are support to fit

Crampons are Black diamond cyborg pro ( the ones with the modular toe spike/s

Image #1 Below : My concern here is that the boot seems very narrow inside the crampon

Image #2 below : my concern here is that the boot seems to be sitting high inside the crampon shortly after the toes.

Following two pictures are just different angles in case any of you smart people can figure out what is wrong here.

Thanks for any advice

 

[Griffo]

There's a few Jetboil copies around for much cheaper prices.
PlanetX have a 'Jobsworth' branded one for £30 and Alpkit do one that they call the BruKit for £45.
I don't know how these compare to genuine Jetboils but we've got the PlanetX one and it's pretty good.

How does it do with frying pans and larger pots? I was talking on the Jetboil topic with a far more experienced friend and he suggested (and I'll probably explain this badly) the flame on the Jetboil types is quite concentrated so excellent for boiling water, but for proper cooking will be more likely to scorch as the heat is concentrated in the middle and we don't generally take 3kg cast iron pans.

That convinced me to go with the above mentioned knock-off Vango type burner, after having used a meths Trangia for years (and very few trips). It has a fairly wide flamey bit so hoping it'll be good for cooking.

 

[touch]

How does it do with frying pans and larger pots? I was talking on the Jetboil topic with a far more experienced friend and he suggested (and I'll probably explain this badly) the flame on the Jetboil types is quite concentrated so excellent for boiling water, but for proper cooking will be more likely to scorch as the heat is concentrated in the middle and we don't generally take 3kg cast iron pans.

I've never used it for anything other than boiling water but I image your friend could well be correct. It does come with a pan support for using other pans with it (the included pot is very tall and narrow and would be useless as a frying pan) but it's a neat, compact system and it kinda defeats the purpose to carry other pans around with it. I have other pot/pan sets which pack up neatly with my 'pocket rocket' style burner inside so if I wanted to do some proper cooking I would just take that set instead.

 

[Griffo]

Cheers, makes sense