Archive for July 2009

Hard as nails

Posted by on July 16th 2009 in Blog on Blog, Rambling on...

There's something satisfying about wearing sensible footwear on rocky terrain. Maybe it's the confidence that a stubbed placement won't result in a blackened toenail being forced back through the metatarsals into the heel-unit, maybe it's the protection and support that they afford when negotiating the sharp stuff or just running down screes, or perhaps it's just the knowledge that they're not being used to carry around 3kg of grit or soaked-in water that would negate the weight-savings of wearing Jessiehiker plimsolls (for further enlightenment, see here and here).

Personally, I reckon it has much to do with loving the smell of napalm Nikwax in the morning.

 

Scarpa SLs - Humvees in a world of Snatch Land Rovers

Awesome pics

Posted by on July 13th 2009 in Astrostuff, Blog on Site, Pics

For those of us with interests in photography, vulcanology and astronomy, I've found a site that ticks all of the boxes.

Just click on the following pic to be transported there (in a digital rather than a literal sense):

© Stromboli online, photo by Dr. Marco Fulle

© Stromboli online, photo by Dr. Marco Fulle

My thanks go to Dr. Fulle for his approval of the use of this thumbnail photo on my blog.

Coniston Fells Wildcamping puzzler

Posted by on July 12th 2009 in Great Escapes, Just for fun, Lakes Escapes, Pics, Wildcamping

This weekend's wildie was excellent - a right mixed bag of varying terrain and changing weather. It'll be a few days before the write-up is ready for posting, so, to tide you over, here are a few shots of the two places where I pitched. As usual, there are no prizes for correctly identifying the locations, but it should be an interesting test of how well you think you know the fells around Coniston.

Friday evening at a tarn with no name:

 

looking East...

 

and looking West.

 

Saturday evening in the woods:

 

looking South...

 

and another from the water's edge:

 

Any takers?

Still Crazy After All These Years

Posted by on July 10th 2009 in Blast from the Past, Wildcamping

After several hours of frantic and fruitless searching for that one indispensable item of walking gear, I came to the conclusion that my 21st Century stealth-black Lowe Alpine Mountain Cap is destined never to be found.

All was not lost, however, as I'm a gear-hoarder of dubious repute. Off I went to the "saved for posterity" kit-bags and pulled out my original cap, still resplendent in a subtle 1980s colour-scheme:

 

 

I think even ptc* would be proud of this one!

Here we go again

Posted by on July 10th 2009 in Lakes Escapes, Weather, Wildcamping

A tarn with no name

Posted by on July 9th 2009 in Lakes Escapes, Wildcamping

That's where I'll be on Friday night, trying out the Argos Pro Action Hike Lite 1 Person Tent somewhere around the Coniston Fells, and following John Hee's "overnighting off the beaten track" ethos. Suffice to say that said tarn is in a place with a name that's bound to attract blog-hits from all sorts of dodgy characters 😯 .

As to where I'll be pitching on Saturday night, your guess is as good as mine. I'll just make it up as I go along, I reckon. There'll be no great mileage involved, as I'm not fully match-fit after the bad-back layup, but I'd much rather be knackered than stir-crazy.

So behave while I'm away, and don't forget to feed the cat...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

to the dog.

😈