Outer Hebrides Trail
Bucket List anyone? 180 miles on foot through the Outer Hebrides: 4:04: https://vimeo.com/140579736
Backpacking
Four Gram Fishing Handlines:
Found these 100 mm x 12 mm screw cap aluminium canisters in the shed. Room inside each for a few hooks, sinkers, spinners, a needle etc. So I have ditched the 15 gram dental floss, and my 10 gram BCB fishing kits. This Dyneema line will suit well enough for fishing, repairs, first aid etc.
Ultralight Pack:
It is quite difficult to buy a sub-600 gram pack (@55 litre) ‘off the shelf’ for reasonable money. I have tried a number over the years and would not carry anything else. The ‘list’ below is not exhaustive but intended as a good starting point: Gossamer Gear’s (now 54 litre http://gossamergear.com/g4-ultralight-backpack-all-bundle.html) ‘tried and true’ G4
Dyneema Braid:
Most fisherman already know this stuff is around and is replacing nylon monofilament, but you may not. I bought this .34mm lineit to make a method of securing my hearing aids against loss. (See: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/securing-hearing-aids/ & http://www.theultralighthiker.com/spots-hunting-adventures-mystery-river-3/) I may well restring my 10 gram handline with it, as its 50 lb breaking strength will
Woven Dyneema:
New fabric for hiking packs etc. This stuff should be ultra tough yet very light. It will be difficult to even cut it with a knife! So far these folks seem to be the first to make it into a pack, but I’m sure more will follow. I am hoping that it will also come
More Emergency Boats: The Tarp Boat:
This demonstration leads me more and more to the inescapable conclusion that it would be possible to make a canoe using a poncho as the skin. More about that later: http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/general-survival/improvised-tarp-boat/
Cotton Reels:
Did you realise the end caps come off Gutermann 100 metre thread reels (7 grams) so you can wrap the end of your thread around it… or that you can store a needle inside the reel? There is quite a wide choice of different threads for various purposes (including a transparent one). If stored in
Sale Common:
After we closed the shop at lunchtime we went across to Sale and spent the afternoon walking along some of its dozens of kilometres of amazing wetland walking paths which would take days to fully explore: Gippsland’s ‘Everglades’! What a gem, whose existence is almost certainly a secret to most people. You should give it
Securing Hearing Aids:
Having nearly lost one of my Siemens Aquaris Waterproof Hearing Aids during my recent walk (http://www.theultralighthiker.com/spots-hunting-adventures-mystery-river-3/) I have had some feedback from a reader who has managed over time to lose three of them, all covered by insurance at the time, but he has now been refused insurance, as the bastards do! Given that
Spot’s Hunting Adventures: Mystery River #3:
Despite having a cold developing, I decided to take a couple of days off from my weed spraying, fencing, tree planting, sheep husbandry etc and head back to the ‘Mystery River’. While I live I can yet journey on, one step after another – unlike my schoolboy friend, news of whose unpleasant death reached me