An Easy Stroll from Dent

Just an easy stroll from Dent village up the dale before branching up Deepdale, followed by a return beside the River Dee back to the car. Spring has definitely sprung, it was almost warm when the sun shone!

The stepping stones across Deepdale Beck below Double Croft Farm weren't on today's route, good job they were very slippery!

No shortage of routes to take here.....but they all go the same way!

Another set of stepping stones across Deepdale Beck.........

.........thankfully this bridge has been built!

A patch of blue sky at last, a beautiful view down Deepdale. Sadly so many farms are derelict, Scow Farm in the middle distance empty but it still has a roof.

Back in Dentdale and this superb bridleway leads down to the River Dee, a few more weeks and it'll be full of Bluebells.

Back down the North side of the river and past the stepping stones seen earlier. From here it was only a short walk back to the car in Dent. 

TGO Challenge...My Gear List!

One month from now I'll be underway on my first TGO Challenge, and it would seem almost traditional to publish a gearlist so..... Although it's my first Challenge, I've backpacked for over 35 years. My gear choices have been arrived at via hard won experience, something no amount of money can buy. A few items are new, but most have stood the test of time. Lists and tables can be somewhat boring so rather than that, here's a series of images with captions. The total weight I plan on carrying is 6.15 kilos plus food and fuel, which shouldn't ever be more than 2.5 kilos. Therefore a total sac weight of under 9 kilos , that should ensure a comfortable carry.

This is the Osprey Exos 46, very comfortable for me and having features which I find useful, such as large hipbelt pockets, a good sized exterior zipped pocket and a floating lid with a large pocket.
If packed correctly there is no need to open the pack during the day, even to access the tent outer in poor weather.
Of course like most packs it isn't remotely waterproof, so I shall use a 35 lit Sea to Summit sac liner and a 4 lit Sea to Summit dry-bag for the lid pocket.
The total weight for these items is 1168g.

These are the items which will be worn almost all the time certainly when walking.
Underwear  is Rohan XStatic Briefs and Berghaus XStatic Polartec zip polo long sleeve shirt.
Trousers are Troll Omni's, amazingly light, windproof , big pockets, good cut and most important to me...easy to roll up to the knees. Out of the way of the wet and mud....lets your calf muscles breathe as well!
Mid-layer is a well used Mountain Hardwear 100 weight fleece with a handy zip pocket.
Footwear this trip will be Inov8 Terrocs, I've used Roclites recently but these are just as comfortable, especially when wet. I shall use Hilly Monoskin socks as I have done for years. Fantastic socks designed for fell-running very comfortable wet or dry, and they dry very quickly.
I'm not a huge fan of poles, but they are very handy for river crossings. I've replaced my 15 year old Leki's with a pair of Fizans, they don't seem much different to be honest.
I'll be wearing a Sunnto Vector, which has been very reliable and is handy for it's altimeter.
Total weight worn  1606g.

Here's my spare clothing, Rohan XStatic briefs, Icebreaker T, Helly long johns.
 2 pairs of Monoskin socks (I pair will be kept dry at all costs).
My warmwear for camp will be a Berghaus Infinity Lite, and my windproof the ubiquitous Montane Lightspeed.
To keep my camp socks dry, when my shoes are wet  Trekmates Goretex socks.
Total weight for this lot 887g.

And so to bed...your probably ready by now anyway!!
Mountain Hardwear Phantom 45 800 fill down nice and cosy, with a Neoair Xlite short.
In addition there is a pertex stuff sac and binliner which is a "ghetto Neoair inflator" light to!
Total weight for sleeping 769g.

The shelter I'll be using, is the Nordisk Telemark 1 LW, I won't take the supplied tentbag (in the image).
I always use a Brabantia binliner very durable and waterproof if required. I shall use the supplied pole/peg bag which is quite clever and very light. A polycro groundsheet will be used under the inner.
For some reason I've included a 3mm sitmat in this image, it should be elsewhere...
Total weight for shelter ( inc sitmat) 905g.

Hand and Headwear...2 x Inov8 "Buffs" and an Inov8 cap. Buffalo mitts are the answer to cold wet hands...waterproof gloves/mitts aren't in my experience. These are a new pair, my old ones are probably 20 years old and still going strong, but I thought I'd treat myself.
Weight 179g.

Kitchen items consist of, Caldera Cone in Titan mug/Measuring/Caddy see here . I have decided to use solid fuel rather than meths, therefore the Gramcracker "stove".  Pan is an Evernew 600ml and MYOG pot cosy,a Snowpeak titan spork.
Water for camp a 2.25lit Platy and a Traveltap bottle/filter means no worries in finding drinkable water.
2 x lighters, some tiny pan scrubs (and not shown an Alpkit 8lit drybag for food and a baby tin opener)
Total weight for kitchen 459g.

So called essential accessories, easy for wight to accumulate here, so be ruthless!
Top left - bottom right. Midge net. Black Diamond Ion Headtorch and spare Battery Aloksak, Tickets, Cards, Cash, Key.
Compass and small Ortleib mapcase, (Maps not shown, but 1:50000 cutdown will be carried )
Reading spec's, Lighter, Swiss Army Classic, Sunscreen, Sunglasses, Cuban ditty bag for all this!
Toothbrush/Toothpaste. Small Sponge Cloth (not shown) First Aid Kit, Ibbotson Trowel/Spare peg. Loo Paper and Hand Sanitiser (not shown)
All amounts to 518g.

This is my choice of rainwear, Berghaus Extreme Paclite Smock, plenty breathable for me and a superb hood. This smock is a classic example of less is better. Golite Reed overtrousers, these don't have zips on the legs. But taking shoes on and off isn't a problem, and is far less effort than folk think. Very breathable and very light!
Total weight 380g.

It could be argued that nothing in this image is actually necessary! However I will be on holiday so I shall be taking.....
A Kobo and Aloksak, Samsung Galaxy S2 phone and Aloksak, earphones and spare battery for phone.
My camera a Lumix LX3, its Lowepro case, 2 x spare batteries and a Gorilla Pod.
Also not shown a plug charger which fits phone and Kobo, for a top-up of power.
Weight of all this unnecessary electronics a shocking 839g!

Lastly this little fella, he's been on all my travels and treks over the last 15years.
It wouldn't be the same without him.
I don't care how heavy he is...he's going!!
(27g)

So there we have it, seems a huge amount of stuff when you have to write it out, but it's not much when it's on my back and that's the important thing. Sadly a lot of this gear is no longer made, but thats the way of the world  Perhaps it'll give some folk some ideas, all comments/criticism welcome. I'm not a Super Ultralight kinda guy, but I do believe you don't need that much kit to enjoy a long walk. You do however need the knowledge and fitness to make a little work for YOU!!

Kentmere Reservoir

Todays wander was in the Kentmere valley, including a circuit of the Reservoir. My old mate Bill was out with me today, we had a good natter and catch up as we walked. We were plagued by the dense polluted air which has been featured on the news. The photos are very poor I'm afraid but serve as a memory jogger for me if nothing else!

Having parked near Long Houses we followed the road to the church. I always think it's a gaunt looking building.

Splendid sign for eggs...Rhode Island Reds?

Beyond Hartrigg Farm the tarmac turns to rough track on the way to the reservoir. We had lunch here at Reservoir Cottage looking across to the quarries on the other side of the valley.

Looking back from the Northern end of the reservoir as we made an anti-clockwise circuit.

The only clear picture of the day...small falls on the infant River Kent.

Walking back down the East side of Kentmere we passed the quarries opposite Reservoir Cottage. I first visited these quarries on a school geology trip from The Lakes School when I was 12 years old...much tapping by hammers was done as I remember!

Leaving the head of the valley behind, these old pines always make me look back....

Over to the Western Dales on the BMW

Today was my first "proper" ride on "my new to me" motorbike. The forecast was slightly wrong, the cold air had rolled further west than they'd promised! So I modified my route as I went along...often the best of days anyway. My original plan was to go over to Teesdale, one of my favourite areas.So quiet compared to the Lakes. However at Kirkby Stephen the temperature had dropped dramatically so I headed South towards Mallerstang......

Pendragon Castle once one of many homes of Lady Anne Clifford is always worth a photo and a visit, sadly it's out of bounds at the moment due to dangerous masonry.

Having ridden up the Mallerstang valley, I turned East towards Hawes then onto the Buttertubs Pass. Clearly there's going to be some sort of bike race this year! It's good to see Yorkshire welcoming Le Tour.

I stopped on Abbotside common before dropping down into Swaledale. The cloud was down on Great Shunner Fell and it was dammed cold.

The temperature had risen a bit as I rode down Swaledale, this is typical Swaledale scenery. Kisdon is the hill in the background.

Back over to Askrigg in Wensleydale and up to Bainbridge. The river had lots of water in it, good for a bit of hydro power via the Archimedes screw, seen in the background here

The weather looked better to the South and West so I headed over to Ingleton from Hawes and made a detour vi Clapham Station to get a view into Bowland from the highpoint of the Keasden Road.
I returned home crossing the Lune valley and the Capernwray zig-zags.
The bikes great, and so was the day.

Goodbye BMW GS.....Hello F800s

Its a strange thing but as I tend to own my motorcycles for a long time I kinda become attached to them. They're mainly used for touring and exploring near and far, so they have lots of memories.
However all good things must come to an end and today was that day....

So after over 8 years I've finally decided it's time for a change.
Here's the GS on the Island of Luing a few years ago, just for old times sake.

The new adventure starts here, a different bike...infact a different style of bike.
I'm really looking forward to getting out and exploring lots of new places, and of course having fun.
Which is what owning a bike is all about!

Carrying Meths!

Although in general I prefer using solid fuel with my Caldera Cone, I do sometimes use meths with a 12-10 stove. As mentioned in the comments of a previous post I don't like the taint of meths, so I use the method below for transporting the fuel.

I'm probably not the first person to come up with this solution.
This is a very old 500ml Platypus, well past it's best for drinking water, but still gives good service transporting meths.
It weights 19g empty with the pullcap shown, (salvaged from a soft drinks bottle) I like the match as well!
So durable, light, cheap and takes up less space as you use your fuel...what's not to like!?

MYOG Caddy for Caldera Cone

I bought a Caldera Cone last year, its a great piece of kit. However the supplied Caddy is a bulky old thing. The theory is that you can use the caddy as a "bowl" and the lid as a "mug". I've tried this and I don't like it, in particular the threads are difficult to clean. I also like...no love my old MSR Titan mug. So thinking cap on....I came up with this.

Here we see the comparison in size between the "proper" caddy and the MSR Titan mug and cut down plastic container. (Originally from Asda (Walmart) I think) It is a perfect interference fit.

There is a weight penalty to pay for this smaller caddy, it weighs 3g more! So thats not to bad then. Plus you get a handy measuring bowl to, and no awkward threads to clean.
As I use the Caldera Cone with an Evernew pan thats my bowl anyway.But best of all I can still have my brew in my Titan mug.