Hiking, backpacking, trekking, mountaineering...

I've found on the past that Avon skin so soft doesn't seem to repel midges as such (maybe because they removed whatever chemical was repelling them in the old recipe), so hundreds of them still land on you. However, if you've been reasonably generous with the application then the midges that land basically seem to get caught in the oily layer it creates on your skin and drown in it. So in that respect it did kind of work, because not many of the midges that landed actually bit me! Did have to scrape off a layer of oily midges before getting in my sleeping bag though!

DEET works, but then for quite good reasons many people aren't keen to use it...

Have tried smidge but never in really bad midge conditions so can't comment for or against it personally.
 
Street said:
It doesn't seem to work for me either. I always get torn to pieces and react really badly to them as well so they itch for days. I was out climbing last weekend and stood belaying in a cloud of midges. The next day it looked like I had the plague as my face and legs
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Head higher lol. I was on yo-yo on Aonach Dubh and not a midge in sight.
 
DEET's quite nasty stuff isn't it? I have used Avon skin so soft on occasion, and it has worked, but if they've taken the good stuff out I don't want to risk it again.
Smidge seems to get the best reviews, but as ever there will always be people that stuff doesn't work on. The B vitamin supplement is interesting.
 
I don't think the Avon stuff had Deet in it, I think it might have been some essential oil, iirc. Various essential oils have insect repellent properties.

The Avon stuff seems to work for some people, but not for me, same with Smidge, I found it pretty ineffective.

I use Deet with all gear/clothing sprayed with permethrin, but my main concern is ticks.

When the midgies are thick though even Deet sometimes isn't enough, so it's out with the head net, cover up and pray for a bit of wind!

Uther said:
DEET's quite nasty stuff isn't it? I have used Avon skin so soft on occasion, and it has worked, but if they've taken the good stuff out I don't want to risk it again.
Smidge seems to get the best reviews, but as ever there will always be people that stuff doesn't work on. The B vitamin supplement is interesting.
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If you're going to try Deet don't touch anything until it properly dries on your skin as it's pretty good at melting things. Plastics, painted surfaces, mobile phones, watches, it'll even melt the seal on the bottle it comes in given the chance, so be careful how you carry it/store it.
 
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Has anyone found any good resources for finding routes in areas you're not familiar with?

Whenever i visit my parents in Spain i tend to go for a couple of runs around the roads down the coast. However when we've been out i often see lots of trails off up into the hills that i'd love to explore. Picture below of the fairly large expansive area.

I know i can use Strava to try and cobble something together but often when i do this locally i'll end up on poor tracks or missing some places which are recommended. It'd be great to be able to access routes that other people have done/recommend. Anyone know of websites where you could search for routes based on distance/location?

I did try looking on facebook to see if i could find any local running/hiking groups but none popped up.

yuKjmR2.png
 
Martynt74 said:
Has anyone found any good resources for finding routes in areas you're not familiar with?

Whenever i visit my parents in Spain i tend to go for a couple of runs around the roads down the coast. However when we've been out i often see lots of trails off up into the hills that i'd love to explore. Picture below of the fairly large expansive area.

I know i can use Strava to try and cobble something together but often when i do this locally i'll end up on poor tracks or missing some places which are recommended. It'd be great to be able to access routes that other people have done/recommend. Anyone know of websites where you could search for routes based on distance/location?

I did try looking on facebook to see if i could find any local running/hiking groups but none popped up.

yuKjmR2.png
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Komoot?
 
Haha yep, that is pretty much bang on. Nice one.

Would be nice if i could specify terrain/distance rather than just difficulty, but hopefully i can take some of the routes and mix them up.
 
Martynt74 said:
Haha yep, that is pretty much bang on. Nice one.

Would be nice if i could specify terrain/distance rather than just difficulty, but hopefully i can take some of the routes and mix them up.
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Been a while since I used it. But it's route planner is also good too. There's a few similar too, all trails?
 
Cheers. I’ve just found one called ViewRanger too. Hopefully between them all I can get a few decent routes.

Then to work out how to fit them all in along with a few decent length paddle board trips without completely abandoning my wife :D
 
In regards to midgies skin so soft is not too bad at all. I would recommend it midgies die on contact with it so your face can become a graveyard.
I am Scottish so I have had a few memorable moments once near Inverness and at Applecross sitting outside reading amid the midgies. I am fortunate I do not rash up or react badly to their bites so I have a tolerance. But amusing to see people look at me in disbelief like who is this man? What powers does he have? Is he the midgie whisperer?

The worst ever was down Glen Etive coming back off a route up Ben Starav. ******* hell. They were in my ears my eyes my nose. Huge swarm when back at the car trying to get the boots off and change clothes. Smallest midgies ever. My eyes were watering them out I was basically crying midgie tears. Had to pour water in my ears as the feeling of a ******* deep in your ear is torture.

Still for me clegs are the worst if you ever get caught by them. ******* pain.
 
VeNT said:
anyone used a alpkit numo?
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My GF has one. It's her first lightweight type sleeping mat and I've never used it so we're not able to compare it to any other mats really but she says it's comfortable. It's a bit slippery - if we're not able to find a flat pitch she'll end up sliding down to the bottom of the tent in the night. The edges of it are higher than the middle so there's no issues with sliding or rolling off the edge.
Unlike a lot of other manufacturers, AlpKit are not being generous with the quoted weights of their products. I just put it on the scale in it's stuff sack and it comes in at 347g (I think she has a repair patch for it somewhere which might not be in with it so that'll make up the extra 3g to the 350 quoted weight).
It packs down small and is still quite flexible when rolled so it would be easy to wedge into a bikepacking bag.
 
Martynt74 said:
Has anyone found any good resources for finding routes in areas you're not familiar with?
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https://www.walkingenglishman.com/

Interactive maps of areas based on distance and grade as well as regional lists etc. He provides GPX/google maps files for the rough route as well. Some common walks but often ones that are less well known. Never been let down with them though even if I've gone off track a few times :D

~edit~
Picture didn't load and I've just realised you are after trails in Spain. Sorry Ignore.
 
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touch said:
My GF has one. It's her first lightweight type sleeping mat and I've never used it so we're not able to compare it to any other mats really but she says it's comfortable. It's a bit slippery - if we're not able to find a flat pitch she'll end up sliding down to the bottom of the tent in the night. The edges of it are higher than the middle so there's no issues with sliding or rolling off the edge.
Unlike a lot of other manufacturers, AlpKit are not being generous with the quoted weights of their products. I just put it on the scale in it's stuff sack and it comes in at 347g (I think she has a repair patch for it somewhere which might not be in with it so that'll make up the extra 3g to the 350 quoted weight).
It packs down small and is still quite flexible when rolled so it would be easy to wedge into a bikepacking bag.
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Thanks.
I've just got to find a sleeping bag that's not over 60 quid and I'm sorted
 
Martynt74 said:
Cheers. I’ve just found one called ViewRanger too. Hopefully between them all I can get a few decent routes.

Then to work out how to fit them all in along with a few decent length paddle board trips without completely abandoning my wife :D
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VR development is stopped and premium map purchases are limited/stopped as well, though the app continues to work fine. Augmentra who developed VR were bought-out (AFAIK) and all the development is now going into Outdoor Active

https://www.outdooractive.com/en/

I'd avoided switching from VR as I have a decent amount of OS map tiles purchased and the reviews of OA aren't great but used OA in Cornwall/Devon last week for the first time as I didn't have the maps on VR. Worked well, no crashes when tracking a walk but doesn't quite have feature parity with VR yet.
 
ChrispyKarma said:
Walkhighlands.co.uk is a fantastic website and worth joining if you enjoy a hike.

I am not sure but I think this lad is the sites owner. Anyways a fine video of the CMD arete

https://youtu.be/XwPsttenaH0
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Wow, I'd love to do that on a clear day like that. Done it once a few years ago with three dogs but we were in the cloud most of the day. Really boggy up the CMD too:

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Do miss the mountains. Kids and COVID have kept me away from anything interesting for a long time. Although I'm doing the Lakeland 50 in 3 weeks so I'll see a few on that one if I make it to the end!
 
Dup said:
Wow, I'd love to do that on a clear day like that. Done it once a few years ago with three dogs but we were in the cloud most of the day. Really boggy up the CMD too:

Do miss the mountains. Kids and COVID have kept me away from anything interesting for a long time. Although I'm doing the Lakeland 50 in 3 weeks so I'll see a few on that one if I make it to the end!
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How are you feeling about the Lakeland 50? I've noticed you getting a decent chunk of volume in recently.

When i did Grizedale the other week i spent a little bit of time with a guy who'd done it a few times. He spoke about it being very tough, and then how the 100 had broken him and "was like doing the 50 four times". He'd tried it twice and the most he'd managed was 85.
 
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