Recently I bought a couple of cheap approx 40 litre packs from Amazon for less than US20 each. I thought these would be a good recommendation to someone who wanted to begin hiking on a small budget. The first thing you need after all is something to comfortably and reliably carry your stuff in. I …
Fancy a sauna in the back country? I thought I had pretty much sorted out Bathtime on the Trail with that post as well as The APC and the Sponge Bath and Keeping Clean on the Trail & etc, but the ingenious Tim Tinker has now come along with a modification of my Hiking Desalinater …
Many people may not know that the famous C19th Wonnangatta Station was ‘serviced’ by a pack track up the true right bank of that river (ie the right bank facing downstream) along which all its supplies came (including even a large piano). No doubt other sections still exist below the Moroka Junction, but this post …
Available now on Kickstarter the new Unihertz Jelly (Star) phone for US$169ea (or US$310 for two). I have been using the Jelly 2 for a couple of years now and found it just great. I will be ordering this new model because of the (much) improved camera. From 16 Megapixels to 48! Wow! Huge! I …
When I am filling the kettle to make the morning coffee I usually happen to glance out the kitchen window just to see what wonders the day has in store for me. There are always some, a number of which you have been a party to over the years, such as this secretive rabbit which …
Packrafting the Thomson River, Gippsland #1: This is probably the best weekend trip in Victoria. It may be mid-winter now but soon you should be planning your wonderful spring/summer trips – and this should be one of them! You start this just downstream of the historic Brunton’s Bridge where the road of the same name …
I’m sure most of you are familiar with the best-selling young adult’s story ‘Hatchet’ by Gary Paulsen, which spawned the film Cry in the Wild and a heap of sequels. I guess it was inspired by the classic Heinlein SF ‘Tunnel in the Sky’ which if you have not read, do – withal it may …
A centre line is the best idea when using any tarp rather than just trying to tension the tarp back towards the tree against its own weight which is all too likely to damage it or tear out the grommet or tie-out. You will also want to secure the line to the tree/s quickly and …
Some folks are just downright suicidal, and sometimes I am one of them! In 2009 I had conceived a plan to be the first person (I think) to canoe the mighty remote Seaforth River in Fiordland NZ (14 years ago today!). I had a brand-new Alpacka ‘Fjord Explorer’ packraft (https://alpackarafts.com/product/fjord-explorer/) courtesy of Kevin Rudd’s bushfire …
This has to be one of those great hiking myths like whether you need to filter/purify your drinking water. (in most cases, No, but if you want to, consider this post: Trouble With Water Filters). Folks are convinced that the moisture (nasties?) in their breath will ruin the inside of their hiking mat so they …
