Kielder v Hammocks

It was a back to basics, everything Kielder had to throw at us against tarp/hammock and two very unprepared blokes!

Back in civilisation again...! Last night went pretty well though, even with the 4 degrees cold overnight. We got up there about 5ish I think and found a decent spot hidden away in the forest in a little clearing. Car parked nicely off the road so it wouldn't be seen too much.

Got the tarps n hammocks setup, little groundsheet in the middle to make a bit of an area to sit and have our food. Learned our lessons from canoeing and got all the sleeping bit sorted first; so roll mat in the bottom of the hammock for insulation, sleeping bag inside (and unzipped), thermals inside ready for getting changed... So with all that sorted we got on to ration packs for tea.

They turned out to be a lot better than I think both of us imagined!! Even good in places. Chicken Tikka and rice was really good, the second curry portion of Curried Lamb on top of it didn't taste quite so good. But still definitely edible. Main courses over with we started on Pud. After a quick wash out of the mess tins Fruit Dumplings and Custard and Treacle Pudding finished us off. Fruit Dumpings were awesome... I'd live on those alone for a few days! Nice cup of coffee was all that we needed to close off a very satisfying (yet suprising) meal.

Now came bedtime.. Getting in the hammock was a job and a half by itself. Absolutely pitch black in the woods, getting inside a hammock & mosi net into a sleeping bag. Not one of the easiest things I've ever done. Got settled while Michael laughed at me, then I repaid the favour while he got in his. He had the insight of wisdom though and got in the sleeping bag first which seemed lot's easier. Took a while to get off to sleep.

I was awake 3-4 times so not too bad for a first attempt, got pretty damn cold during the night (weather said down to 4 degrees!) Every time you slipped a little off the roll mat underneath you'd get cold through the sleeping bag. Michael was up about the same, did have to get out and redo his hammock at one point because it was too high at one end. Slept till about 7:30 so obviously not too uncomfortable. Very different way to sleep which will take some getting used to, but loads more comfortable than the floor!! :o)

Got all packed up in the morning, had a cuppa coffee for breakfast before heading back down home. All in all a pretty successful trip out. We survied what Keilder had, and this was probably the coldest we'll ever really come up against for a while anyways. Would be nice to do it in Scotland and get a fire going too. Next time....

Hammock Test

So we're off to test out the hammocks on Saturday night and travelling really light as a test to what we need and what we can live without. When I say travelling light it started off as a tarp, hammock, sleepingbag and a knife... It's grown a bit since then when we actually got down to packing things - now added some food (always handy), a stove (another handy item), an axe (not quite so essential but worth having), first aid kit which will be in the car, some clothes! So as it turns out we're not quite as light as we first planned. But still a hell of a lot lighter than the canoe trip!

And that's the point of this one (and other trips between now and spring). We need to get a very well packed, well stocked but down to only essentials for the next leg of the Great Glen. Ration packs are being tested too as a light, simple alternative (maybe!). Mess tins instead of pans and plates/bowls. Just a spoon instead of knife/fork/spoon.

Who knows, maybe we'll think it's better to have more kit - possibly we've still got too much! Only one way to find out really. And it's only 1 night......

What's next?

Well being relatively warm/calm weather paddlers at this stage we've pretty much resigned to the fact that the next big canoe trip is going to be spring 2009 now. Hopefully we'll get a couple of day-trips out somewhere just to keep us going. Maybe Kielder again....

So in the meantime we're thinking about improving our wild camping skills, in particular;

• How to get everything setup and taken down a bit quicker
• Travelling a LOT lighter
• Finding a more comfortable way to sleep (ie. not on the ground)

We have some hammocks bought already (bargain from DD Hammocks) and planning on giving army rations a shot. Could be a Crocodile Dundee moment (You could live on it but....). Worth giving a go once as it would really make the food side of what we took last time loads lighter and easier to carry. Also cutting down on the tent now that we've got hammocks and tarps which will save some weight, and things like the axe which was hardly used, grilliput not used, smaller change of clothes etc etc.

Looking for somewhere to do one-nighters wild camping to get better at it all and learn a bit more about what we really do need and what we can do without. First trip soon and travelling ultra light. Should have an idea what is a MUST and what is a LIKE TO HAVE after that. No doubt we'll not take something that is majorly important but it's only one night!

Pictures of our trip...

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/itgod1/GreatGlenCanoeTrip#

How far did we actually go then?

Thu PM, Banavie - Camp 1 (just inside Loch Lochy) : 7.5 miles
Fri AM, Camp 1 - Camp 1.5 (the long paddle) : 4.5 miles
Fri PM, Round to Camp 2 (almost at Laggan) : 2 miles
Sat AM, Camp 2 - Laggan Locks : 3 miles

Total distance : 17 miles

Doesn't really seem that far now, but it definitely felt like it at the time! Shows what a slight tail wind did for us on the Thursday afternoon. Either that or we were just broken after one days paddling. Possibly a bit of both I guess.

Back Home

Ended up not sleeping out in the open last night, went up to get in to bed and there was a decent sized spider sat on the edge of the sleeping bag. Not quite ready for that just yet!! So got back in the tent and the tarp just kept everything dry overnight. Still a bit uncomfortable in the tent on the floor, need to get some hammocks or think of a new way of sleeping for next time.

Met a couple of walkers who were camped about 200 yards down the beach to us. They came along asking if we had a tin opener and some 'booze' they could buy from us. Seemed a bit odd at the time. But the next day while I was getting that car and Michael was waiting at Laggan they came past and explained they'd walked from Lands End and were heading to John O'Groats; it was day 70 for them!!! Makes our 3 day canoe trip look pretty tame.

Got up in the morning and packed everything together after pancakes and coffee for breakfast. Just a short 2-3 mile paddle up to Laggan then need to sort out getting up to Fort Augustus to get the car. Looking at the map we definitely were too ambitous thinking we'd make it that far! We made good time across to Laggan from Camp 2, about 1.5 hrs.

At Laggan by 10:45, we went up to the loch reception and found there was a bus due at 11am heading to Fort Augustus. Quickly got a few things together and I ran up to the road, just before giving up the bus came along. Got to the car, headed back for Michael who'd managed to blag a canoe trolley from someone and had all the gear up next to the car park.

Headed back to Fort William for Michael's car and grabbed some food at the pub before heading back down. Long 5hr drive back home but chilling out and starting to ache quite badly now! Great trip, very tired..... when we going back?

A long day

Sat at Camp 2 with a nice warm fire going, full from tea and all setup for bed. But we definitely were not this content earlier.

Had our breakfast this morning after a decent sleep, got the canoe set to go and headed out up the loch. We picked a spot that looked an achievable distance for lunch. It turned out to be a hell of a long way, we think about 5 miles in one go. We were both really struggling by the end, backs hurting like mad and shoulders seized up. Very glad to get out the canoe! Had some soup for lunch and a little fire to cheer ourselves up. Feeling much better we headed back out to find camp early and have a good rest.

Got here about 4pm, covered we think about 6-7 miles. I'm sleeping in the canoe tonight pulled up on the bank under the tarp. Hopefully more comfortable than the ground in the tent. Heading to Laggan tomorrow where we're calling it a day, no point killing ourselves to reach Fort Augustus.

Goodnight!

Are we nearly there yet?

No... But we made it to where we were aiming for. About 1 mile in to Loch Lochy at Camp1. Covered about 9 mile from Fort William through Moy Bridge and one hell of a portage at Gairlochy Locks to get in to Lochy. Had to carry bags and canoe roughly 1km!! Got all setup and made it round the corner in to the loch so we felt properly out in the wild.

Had some corned beef hash for tea and a cappucino each (this really can't be called roughing it). Tarp up, fire going and just sat watching it get dark. Michael's on the vodka n cokes. Off to bed soon for a long day tomorrow.

Official Naming

Poll has finished and the results are in....

In joint 3rd is 'The Aquaholics' and 'Big Rubber'. But winning the poll, and the official name of the canoe is....

THE GREEN PEARL!

Test Run at QEII Lake

So we got up to the QEII this afternoon after all. The rain kind of settled down to almost stopping so out we ventured. Got the fins on the bottom of the canoe and the new paddles to try, as well as check it out with all the bags strapped front and back too.

All looking good, apart from the flock of geese trying to eat Michael at first. Got out on the lake paddles much better and whether the fins were making a difference or it was the paddles (or our ever increasing skill... hrmm) certainly seemed to be heading much straighter. Out we went about 1/3 of the way up the lake with relative ease really, canoe sitting nicely and the bags not weighing us down too much. Then the rain picked up a bit more... and a bit more.... and some more after that! We got turned round heading back to the car just in time for the proper onslaught of the rain and wind in our faces. I quickly found the downside to being sat at the front! Arms starting to ache a bit which doesn't give masses of confidence for a 3 day trip, wind and rain beating down and the lake getting choppy. But we still made it back in one piece, even keeping a pretty good pace too.

Made a quick dash for the ramp to get back out and I figured that I'd learn about jumping out the canoe in to cold water so the bottom didn't get scraped. Think that scared Michael a bit as it wobbled a fair amount, but I still stand by that he got the easier option; I got wet feet after all !!

Canoe got dragged out and the bags packed away quickly at a strangely satisfying (soaking) mini-trip out. Everything works well. Hopefully the weather next week won't be quite as bad as this time but at least we've paddled in what was miserable weather and came out the other end wet but OK.

Back home a got out of all the wet gear, next time I'm wearing the waterproof trousers for sure! Shoes drying out so that'll be a good test for how long they take.

Bring on the Great Glen!!!!!!

Weather....?

Today was going to be a test run at QE2 lake but at the moment the weather is seriously making that unlikely... don't think it's stopped raining since yesterday lunchtime'ish. Aparently it's supposed to be clearing later but really doesn't look like it. Drier day tomorrow hopefully.

And speaking of weather, Fort William was basking in sunshine yesterday and is today! Damn!! 17 degrees up there for the weekend. Ah well... checked for Thurs - Sat next week and at least it looks like it might be not as wet as it first seemed; just light showers and cloud, and the wind is moving round to blow from the West again which will be handy!

Got all our kit sorted now so just need to grab food before we head up there Thurs morning. More on the test run this weekend (if we make it) later.