On successive weekends lately we found time to drive to Woods Point for a counter lunch. Woods Point is one of those last surviving towns in the Victorian mountains. For us it is a 280 km round trip from our front gate to Woods Point and approx 6 hours’ driving. However it is one of […]
In this post I thought I would pull together my ‘adventures’ with making my own tents/shelters over the years. My experience has evolved from utilising simple tarps/ponchos as shelters to creating a variety of tent ‘prototypes’ in Tyvek often followed by a lighter silnylon model (which I then take up the bush to try out).
(Correction: 17!) I just finished making this pair of US Size 9 ultralight camp shoes for my Dusky track walk which I start on Monday. They are made from 3.6oz/yd2 Dyneema fabric. Together with a pair of down socks from https://goosefeetgear.com/products/down-socks/ (approx 50 grams per pair), I should have nice dry, warm feet at the
It is such a nuisance arriving at your destination and not having your favourite knife available for those simple tasks like peeling an apple, opening a box, cutting a rope etc. It is also awkward to have to post your knife ahead for pick-up or buy one then throw it away or post it back
We made good time (and enjoyed ourselves) on our ‘training walk’ circuit from Lukla-Surte-Chauikharka-Lukla and on our first day Lukla-Benkar. But disaster can strike anyone/anywhere. What happened wasn’t really disaster and didn’t ruin our trip but it certainly had that potential. We decided to split the day’s walk from Benkar to Namche in two, remembering
During May (2026) we returned to the EBC for our fourth (and probably last – due to our age) visit. This time we were (not unexpectedly) much slower than we had been in years’ past. I don’t think you should allow such slowness or a level of fitness to put you off what should otherwise
If you have trouble putting your hiking shoes on (as I do due to age, arthritis, back injury etc) no doubt you need an ultralight shoe horn. I sometimes use my toilet trowel but this purpose-built item probably works better/more comfortably. This Shoe Doctor 17cm/17 grams Shoe Horn works very well and is available from
Fire lighting is a profound ‘secret’ which if you do not master, you might come to a time when you do not survive at all because of your ignorance. Take the time and patience to learn to be its master. Prometheus the Titan has a lot to answer for – but Boy, have we ever
If you have never tried out an alcohol stove (or made one yourself) you should really try this. All you need is a sharp blade a a pair of scissors and an empty can. You will be surprised how well it works. You should also read this post: Fuel Follies. Then if you take a
Of course you know what this is; it’s a very silly empty fuel container which you can see weighs 5.1 oz or 147 grams. Lots of unwise hikers lug these stupid things around! Let’s look at it another way. A lightweight bottle to carry alcohol (meths) in might weigh 10-20 grams. My lightest burner weighs
