Good News: Della: ‘My steady return to fitness: After 5 weeks of cardiac rehab and a couple of weeks of mainstream fitness training (on top of our usual daily walks), today I tackled my first real bushwalk in 5 months. We checked out part of the Avon River Walking Track in the balmy, albeit blustery […]
A friend recently sent me a copy of this splendid 1866 map of the County of Buln Buln, to the East of Melbourne. What a historic treasure it is! you can clearly see the route of what would later be ‘The Upper Yarra Track’ on it. This is what makes this fabulous walking track ‘Australia’s
Sambar deer do not have a voice. When they are wantonly murdered en masse with no regard to ethics or the law, the survivors cannot speak out. We have to be their voice. Understand this, I am not some namby-pamby greenie do-gooder. I have hunted deer in the Gippsland mountains for nigh on forty years,
The Pocket Shot might be a good choice if you want to add a bunny, pigeon or duck to your hiking menu and you have found perfecting your skill with a conventional sling too hard (See: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/how-to-make-a-sling/) ‘With up to 350 feet per second, equals 350 km/h, double to triple the airspeed of conventional slingshots
Naismith’s Rule ‘Is a rule of thumb that helps in the planning of a walking or hiking expedition by calculating how long it will take to walk the route, including the extra time taken when walking uphill. It was devised by William W. Naismith, a Scottish mountaineer, in 1892. A modern version of this rule
As you can see I have completed the first prototype of this project which I have long threatened. I learned a lot in the process, so that there will be substantial changes between where it is at now and the completed project. Still, you can see that it works. I created four ‘sleeves’ along the
Today my waterproof zippers arrived so I sewed them on (and they work a treat!) I also made up the small extra piece which can be used to close the tent up completely. This piece will weigh just less than 30 grams in silnylon on the completed tent bringing its total weight to approx 180
How do you cook a fish (or some falafels: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/he-hiked-with-a-falafel-in-his-hand/) and what to cook them in – and with what? A larger frypan lid will still fit a smaller pot to keep the steam in, etc. Suppose you have the excellent Toaks 900 ml Ultralight pot (the lightest of its size on the market) at
As you can see this pamphlet dates back to 1924 which gives some idea of how long people have been grappling with the idea of lightening their load on the trail: http://www.outdoors.org/articles/amc-outdoors/the-dawn-of-ultralight-backpacking/ The Whelen Forester Tents I talked about here http://www.theultralighthiker.com/col-townsend-whelens-forester-tent/ and here http://www.theultralighthiker.com/new-tyvek-forestertent-design/ date from about the same time. I must come back to that design (like so
A couple of days roaming the wilds looking at deer makes a pleasant break from farm fencing. My back and knee are still giving me trouble but the Meniers which has plagued me for the last fortnight seemed to have taken a holiday, so I wanted to get away. I may need another back operation
