Planet Rugby Forum

cubby boi wrote:

frillage wrote:

cubby boi wrote:Planning on hiking the Pembrokeshire coastal path in a couple of weeks time. Going to do it all in one go, wild camping near the path every night and am allocating two weeks for the job (188 miles with a lot of up and downing)

I'm generally fit, do the odd short hike, cycle, kayaking, climbing etc. I'm not planning on doing any training, just cracking on with it.

For those experienced at long distance hiking -am I mad, or does that all sound perfectly achievable?

Sure those 13.5 miles a day will be a real struggle chubby boy.

I'm unsure if this is a genuine response, or a continuation of the bitter and twisted Scots Lions shenanigans. Can someone confirm?

You can do 13.5 miles in a morning.

croyals wrote:

cubby boi wrote:

frillage wrote:

cubby boi wrote:Planning on hiking the Pembrokeshire coastal path in a couple of weeks time. Going to do it all in one go, wild camping near the path every night and am allocating two weeks for the job (188 miles with a lot of up and downing)

I'm generally fit, do the odd short hike, cycle, kayaking, climbing etc. I'm not planning on doing any training, just cracking on with it.

For those experienced at long distance hiking -am I mad, or does that all sound perfectly achievable?

Sure those 13.5 miles a day will be a real struggle chubby boy.

I'm unsure if this is a genuine response, or a continuation of the bitter and twisted Scots Lions shenanigans. Can someone confirm?

You can do 13.5 miles in a morning.

Thanks. The thing I'm worried about though is if I don't do any training, will my legs be knackered the following day, early on? Or will blisters be a problem? I think what I I'm getting at is that I could probably push myself to hike 30 miles on the first day if I wanted, but at what point am I risking the rest of the trip?

Also bear in mi d that I'll be wild camping and carrying a pack of around 12 KG. ..

cubby boi wrote:Also bear in mi d that I'll be wild camping and carrying a pack of around 12 KG. ..

12kg???
You sound a bit underpacked tbh.

cubby boi wrote:Also bear in mi d that I'll be wild camping and carrying a pack of around 12 KG. ..

You not taking anything with you then?

happyhooker wrote:

cubby boi wrote:Also bear in mi d that I'll be wild camping and carrying a pack of around 12 KG. ..

12kg???
You sound a bit underpacked tbh.

Well that's what I'm hoping to keep it to...
I'll be taking my terra nova jupiter bivi which is only 800g and my sleeping bag is about the same. My 50-60l pack is 1.3KG. I'll stay dressed if I get cold. I'm hoping I won't have to carry too much water or food at any one time as shops and toilets are relatively frequent. I'll defiantly be roughing it.

What would be a normal pack weight for this kind of trip then?

guy smiley wrote:

cubby boi wrote:
Thanks. The thing I'm worried about though is if I don't do any training, will my legs be knackered the following day, early on? Or will blisters be a problem? I think what I I'm getting at is that I could probably push myself to hike 30 miles on the first day if I wanted, but at what point am I risking the rest of the trip?

Just push as hard as you can. You'll walk yourself into fitness

Yeah, this is what I'm aim aiming for, I just don't know how big to start without any "warm up" hikes. If I can start at 13 miles without damaging myself then I'd hope to increase that throughout the trip and hopefully finish quicker?

guy smiley wrote:

cubby boi wrote:
Thanks. The thing I'm worried about though is if I don't do any training, will my legs be knackered the following day, early on? Or will blisters be a problem? I think what I I'm getting at is that I could probably push myself to hike 30 miles on the first day if I wanted, but at what point am I risking the rest of the trip?

Just push as hard as you can. You'll walk yourself into fitness

Guy beat me to it. You sound pretty fit already so you shouldn't have a problem. Do you have good boots that you've worn in and are comfortable in? New boots leading to blisters would be the only risk if you haven't done any training.

As for pack weight mine used to weigh about 12kg including a tent, sleeping bag, cooking gear and food for about 5 days. Since you don't need the cooking gear and food you should be able to travel relatively light.

cubby boi wrote:

happyhooker wrote:

cubby boi wrote:Also bear in mi d that I'll be wild camping and carrying a pack of around 12 KG. ..

12kg???
You sound a bit underpacked tbh.

Well that's what I'm hoping to keep it to...
I'll be taking my terra nova jupiter bivi which is only 800g and my sleeping bag is about the same. My 50-60l pack is 1.3KG. I'll stay dressed if I get cold. I'm hoping I won't have to carry too much water or food at any one time as shops and toilets are relatively frequent. I'll defiantly be roughing it.

What would be a normal pack weight for this kind of trip then?

You might want a bit of redundancy in that pack...

What if your sleeping bag gets wet? Is it down? Nice and light and packable, but when wet it's useless and you won't have much option to dry it en route, I presume? That's your biggest risk, straight up.

What if your boots get wet? They probably will at some point. Do you have a spare pair of *something*?

Stay dressed if you're cold. What if your gear is wet - see wet sleeping bag problem again.

How will you dry your gear in a bivy if it does chuck it down?

Sorry, but I do a lot of walking in Scotland (especially the West) and apart from the sodding midges at this time of year, the biggest issue is water ingress - into everything. My down bag is packed very carefully, but I need to be gettig into it naked or with guaranteed dry clothes if I'm doing a multi day.

Speaking of which, I haven't walked properly for about 6 months. Trip on Friday is a 4-bagger - a nice little warmer-upper on Saturday (1km ascent) and then a bit of a bitch on Sunday - 3 hills with 2.4km of ascent (start at bloody sea level) over 24km. Should be good fun, but I'm expecting to be shattered by the end of it. We're boating along the loch to get to the start point too... so much room for utter disaster at basically every turn

Thanks guys.

Yes, have good boots, well worn in.
That wasn't the whole list of stuff going with me, just showing that the gear I'm taking is generally light.
I'll have a lightweight stove, gas and will pick up food as I go once my initial rations have run out.
Will have a lightweight pair of flip flops in reserve.
hope to keep stuff dry inside lightweight waterproof rucksack liners.
Yeah rain will be a big problem with a bivy if I need to change, cook etc. But on the upside it's lightweight, tiny pack size, freestanding, warmer than a tent, setup is pretty much instantaneous and it only needs a tiny footprint - perfect for hiding out when wild camping, which isn't actually legal in Wales, unlike Scotland.

How many miles would you recommend limiting myself to on the first couple of days to break myself in?

PJM- sounds like a proper adventure

cubby boi wrote:Thanks guys.

Yes, have good boots, well worn in.
That wasn't the whole list of stuff going with me, just showing that the gear I'm taking is generally light.
I'll have a lightweight stove, gas and will pick up food as I go once my initial rations have run out.
Will have a lightweight pair of flip flops in reserve.
hope to keep stuff dry inside lightweight waterproof rucksack liners.
Yeah rain will be a big problem with a bivy if I need to change, cook etc. But on the upside it's lightweight, tiny pack size, freestanding, warmer than a tent, setup is pretty much instantaneous and it only needs a tiny footprint - perfect for hiding out when wild camping, which isn't actually legal in Wales, unlike Scotland.

How many miles would you recommend limiting myself to on the first couple of days to break myself in?

PJM- sounds like a proper adventure

Not sure why thought it was about lions, was the short distance that made me think you were a fat lad.

Don't aim for anything, walk amd rest at pace you are comfortable with (or the slowest in your group) even with basic fitness and uphill to deal with, 20 miles should be easy in a day. Do the same the next. Even if manage 17 the first and only 10 the second you are still ahead of target.
You will surprise yourself, barring injury once you have walked off the initial stiffness in the morning 15-20 miles should be a breeze and with long summer days and time taken enjoying the walk and views more should be easy if feel good.

If you are worried set yourself waypoints around 7-9 miles (if can find a pub close by them the perfect thing) lunch at the first and if hit the second early afternoon you head for the third, if feel shite take an early day, pint (and a steak pie) and steel yourself for next day.

frillage wrote:

cubby boi wrote:Thanks guys.

Yes, have good boots, well worn in.
That wasn't the whole list of stuff going with me, just showing that the gear I'm taking is generally light.
I'll have a lightweight stove, gas and will pick up food as I go once my initial rations have run out.
Will have a lightweight pair of flip flops in reserve.
hope to keep stuff dry inside lightweight waterproof rucksack liners.
Yeah rain will be a big problem with a bivy if I need to change, cook etc. But on the upside it's lightweight, tiny pack size, freestanding, warmer than a tent, setup is pretty much instantaneous and it only needs a tiny footprint - perfect for hiding out when wild camping, which isn't actually legal in Wales, unlike Scotland.

How many miles would you recommend limiting myself to on the first couple of days to break myself in?

PJM- sounds like a proper adventure

Not sure why thought it was about lions, was the short distance that made me think you were a fat lad.

Don't aim for anything, walk amd rest at pace you are comfortable with (or the slowest in your group) even with basic fitness and uphill to deal with, 20 miles should be easy in a day. Do the same the next. Even if manage 17 the first and only 10 the second you are still ahead of target.
You will surprise yourself, barring injury once you have walked off the initial stiffness in the morning 15-20 miles should be a breeze and with long summer days and time taken enjoying the walk and views more should be easy if feel good.

If you are worried set yourself waypoints around 7-9 miles (if can find a pub close by them the perfect thing) lunch at the first and if hit the second early afternoon you head for the third, if feel shite take an early day, pint (and a steak pie) and steel yourself for next day.

Cheers. I guess I'm just worried as having not done a great deal of multi day, I won't know when to stop, to save myself. It's only because on a couple of odd occasions previously I've done a relatively strenuous hike one day, and the next, I've been in agony. Such as one I did a while back including crib Coch on Snowdon. I'm doing it on my own and just don't want to come home on day 2 with my tail between my legs feeling like death!
Guess ill just Crack on then and try to judge for myself. I want to challenge myself as much as poss, so if I can do it in a week rather than 2, then I will do!

The stuff you're talking about you could fit in a 35l pack.

I'd have redundancy packed in with all my clothing - a wet spell in a bivy will make life very uncomfortable very quickly.

I'd also always have a minimum of a day's rations and 2l of water. On a similar wilderness trip I once found that, despite planning, the shops were shut for 2 days solid.

Again, if you're bivvying, your spare shoes should be waterproof.

As an old training sergeant told me, any idiot can be uncomfortable

Going to be near Winchester for a few days in August - any recommendations on the best stretch of the South Downs way?

pjm1 wrote:

cubby boi wrote:

happyhooker wrote:

cubby boi wrote:Also bear in mi d that I'll be wild camping and carrying a pack of around 12 KG. ..

12kg???
You sound a bit underpacked tbh.

Well that's what I'm hoping to keep it to...
I'll be taking my terra nova jupiter bivi which is only 800g and my sleeping bag is about the same. My 50-60l pack is 1.3KG. I'll stay dressed if I get cold. I'm hoping I won't have to carry too much water or food at any one time as shops and toilets are relatively frequent. I'll defiantly be roughing it.

What would be a normal pack weight for this kind of trip then?

You might want a bit of redundancy in that pack...

What if your sleeping bag gets wet? Is it down? Nice and light and packable, but when wet it's useless and you won't have much option to dry it en route, I presume? That's your biggest risk, straight up.

What if your boots get wet? They probably will at some point. Do you have a spare pair of *something*?

Stay dressed if you're cold. What if your gear is wet - see wet sleeping bag problem again.

How will you dry your gear in a bivy if it does chuck it down?

Sorry, but I do a lot of walking in Scotland (especially the West) and apart from the sodding midges at this time of year, the biggest issue is water ingress - into everything. My down bag is packed very carefully, but I need to be gettig into it naked or with guaranteed dry clothes if I'm doing a multi day.

Speaking of which, I haven't walked properly for about 6 months. Trip on Friday is a 4-bagger - a nice little warmer-upper on Saturday (1km ascent) and then a bit of a bitch on Sunday - 3 hills with 2.4km of ascent (start at bloody sea level) over 24km. Should be good fun, but I'm expecting to be shattered by the end of it. We're boating along the loch to get to the start point too... so much room for utter disaster at basically every turn

It shouldn't be if you're waterproofing everything.

Just got back from 18 days trekking in Nepal. Great time, and I avoided the rain seeing as it was monsoon season. My legs are definitely getting late onset tired now I'm back though!

croyals wrote:Going to be near Winchester for a few days in August - any recommendations on the best stretch of the South Downs way?

From Winchester you can do the first leg of the SDW to Exon, roughly about 13 miles or so, once you cross over the M3 you climb up the south downs and it is a very pleasant walk though woodland, countryside, twee villages and farms. There are a few boozers enroute for refreshments although the Shoe Inn in Exon is worth having lunch/dinner in, lovely spot by the river and the village itself is lovely.

guy smiley wrote:

Newby1 wrote:Just got back from 18 days trekking in Nepal. Great time, and I avoided the rain seeing as it was monsoon season. My legs are definitely getting late onset tired now I'm back though!

How did you go? Get over the pass? And... no rain? really? I've seen photos of terrible flooding in Kathmandu. If you managed to miss that then I'm impressed and jealous

Pretty well, its the first big trek I've done in 8 years and first trek at all in 2!

I got to Thorong La pass fine. I got very bad headaches on the way back down to Muktinath though.

I woke up at 5 every morning to leave at 5.30 and arrive at the next place by 1pm. It rained every night and about half the afternoons, but only twice whilst I was walking!

danny_fitz wrote:

croyals wrote:Going to be near Winchester for a few days in August - any recommendations on the best stretch of the South Downs way?

From Winchester you can do the first leg of the SDW to Exon, roughly about 13 miles or so, once you cross over the M3 you climb up the south downs and it is a very pleasant walk though woodland, countryside, twee villages and farms. There are a few boozers enroute for refreshments although the Shoe Inn in Exon is worth having lunch/dinner in, lovely spot by the river and the village itself is lovely.

Sounds ideal, cheers.

guy smiley wrote:

Newby1 wrote:

guy smiley wrote:

Newby1 wrote:Just got back from 18 days trekking in Nepal. Great time, and I avoided the rain seeing as it was monsoon season. My legs are definitely getting late onset tired now I'm back though!

How did you go? Get over the pass? And... no rain? really? I've seen photos of terrible flooding in Kathmandu. If you managed to miss that then I'm impressed and jealous

Pretty well, its the first big trek I've done in 8 years and first trek at all in 2!

I got to Thorong La pass fine. I got very bad headaches on the way back down to Muktinath though.

I woke up at 5 every morning to leave at 5.30 and arrive at the next place by 1pm. It rained every night and about half the afternoons, but only twice whilst I was walking!

Niiiiice

you utter bastard.

That drag down to Muktinath is horrible, isn't it? I hated that... got up to the pass well enough but from there down was hell.

I had a plan ad kept to it. Kept the worst of the rain off me! One of the 2 days of rain was when I was supposed to be at Poon Hill. I trekked a double day from Ghasa to Ghorepani in order to get there a day early and had lovely views that day!

Its bad, and I think the altitude hit a little on the way down. Hardest 4 hours of the entire trek. I got in at 11.30 and crashed for several hours before resurfacing for my Dal Bhatt power.

croyals wrote:

danny_fitz wrote:

croyals wrote:Going to be near Winchester for a few days in August - any recommendations on the best stretch of the South Downs way?

From Winchester you can do the first leg of the SDW to Exon, roughly about 13 miles or so, once you cross over the M3 you climb up the south downs and it is a very pleasant walk though woodland, countryside, twee villages and farms. There are a few boozers enroute for refreshments although the Shoe Inn in Exon is worth having lunch/dinner in, lovely spot by the river and the village itself is lovely.

Sounds ideal, cheers.

of couse that 13 miles will only account for one of your mornings

Just moved back to RSA and doing lots of hiking in the Cape Mountains. There is a new route called Rim of Africa, 650km in 12 weeks, which can be hiked in stages or as a thru-hike. It's by arrangement only with limited places and leads through protected wilderness areas and private property. I did most of the Cederberg and Kouebokkeveld this winter. Definitely plan to do the thru hike in the next couple of years.

OptimisticJock wrote:

pjm1 wrote:

cubby boi wrote:

happyhooker wrote:

cubby boi wrote:Also bear in mi d that I'll be wild camping and carrying a pack of around 12 KG. ..

12kg???
You sound a bit underpacked tbh.

Well that's what I'm hoping to keep it to...
I'll be taking my terra nova jupiter bivi which is only 800g and my sleeping bag is about the same. My 50-60l pack is 1.3KG. I'll stay dressed if I get cold. I'm hoping I won't have to carry too much water or food at any one time as shops and toilets are relatively frequent. I'll defiantly be roughing it.

What would be a normal pack weight for this kind of trip then?

You might want a bit of redundancy in that pack...

What if your sleeping bag gets wet? Is it down? Nice and light and packable, but when wet it's useless and you won't have much option to dry it en route, I presume? That's your biggest risk, straight up.

What if your boots get wet? They probably will at some point. Do you have a spare pair of *something*?

Stay dressed if you're cold. What if your gear is wet - see wet sleeping bag problem again.

How will you dry your gear in a bivy if it does chuck it down?

Sorry, but I do a lot of walking in Scotland (especially the West) and apart from the sodding midges at this time of year, the biggest issue is water ingress - into everything. My down bag is packed very carefully, but I need to be gettig into it naked or with guaranteed dry clothes if I'm doing a multi day.

Speaking of which, I haven't walked properly for about 6 months. Trip on Friday is a 4-bagger - a nice little warmer-upper on Saturday (1km ascent) and then a bit of a bitch on Sunday - 3 hills with 2.4km of ascent (start at bloody sea level) over 24km. Should be good fun, but I'm expecting to be shattered by the end of it. We're boating along the loch to get to the start point too... so much room for utter disaster at basically every turn

It shouldn't be if you're waterproofing everything.

So what happens when you're sweating like a rapist inside your fully waterproofed clothes? And said clothes are what you'll be sleeping in? What about if you fall when crossing a river - will waterproofed clothes help then?

I've topped boots too many times and also woken up to find somehow, some water had found its way into my tent and soaked the corner of my sleeping bag. It's amazing how quickly that leads to the whole sodding thing getting damp.

If you can 100% guarantee that your kit will stay dry then great and more power to you. I'd rather take a spare set (or two) of clothes and shoes, just in case. And for multiday, I just don't see the benefits of down over a good synthetic bag - yes, you're using up more space, but down's just not worth the risk if you 100% have to have a warm sleeping bag, night after night.

Dry bags are easy to puncture as well, let's not forget - riskier in winter with crampons and axes, but still all too easy at any time.

Edited to add: all packed for our 3 day trip tomorrow. Boat and outboard loaded into car and nearly have all the kit in too. Just waiting for the last of the gear to dry properly before taking it off the radiator tomorrow morning.

Hope I remember and don't just rush out, leaving my socks, climbing trousers and top on the heater!

Well that adventure was pretty sodding difficult. Outboard died, so we had to row 8km back at the end with all of our gear.

The walk itself was fine (if long: nearly a 15 hour day on day 2) but if only it had just been a "walk". Unroped climbs of up to 15m per pitch (which were described as "steep scrambles) and a host of dynamic moves required on the less exposed bits to boot.

Shat myself a bit on the 3km ridge walk too - next time I think I might just opt for a nice steady (long) walk!

BlackMac wrote:Heading off on the West Highland Way tomorrow. did it many moons ago but this time I am taking the good lady with me. TBF she has put in far more training than myself so I will probably be dawdling along in her wake. Weather looks fair for the whole week so that will be half the battle

Had an absolutely fabulous week. We must be among the handful of people who have walked the entirety of the WHW in continual 25 degree sunshine. You forget how utterly spectacular the west coast of Scotland can be.
I did also forget how brutal the last 6 mile stretch of Loch Lomond is.

Fcuk you BM. When I did it two years back it pished down bar about 5 minutes. And the first time I did it we had about 30 mins of sun.

Anyway... done some god hikes on my travels this year.. overland track in tazzie, Abel Tasman, quarry trail and inca trail in Peru. Looking to do the O in Patagonia in September if the authorities will let us (currently a lot of snow) and Kilimanjaro in Feb to look forward to.

HKCJ wrote:Fcuk you BM. When I did it two years back it pished down bar about 5 minutes. And the first time I did it we had about 30 mins of sun.

Anyway... done some god hikes on my travels this year.. overland track in tazzie, Abel Tasman, quarry trail and inca trail in Peru. Looking to do the O in Patagonia in September if the authorities will let us (currently a lot of snow) and Kilimanjaro in Feb to look forward to.

30 mins of summer, you lucky, lucky bastard, you were there for the whole of summer.

pjm1 wrote:

OptimisticJock wrote:

pjm1 wrote:

cubby boi wrote:

happyhooker wrote: ]
12kg???
You sound a bit underpacked tbh.

Well that's what I'm hoping to keep it to...
I'll be taking my terra nova jupiter bivi which is only 800g and my sleeping bag is about the same. My 50-60l pack is 1.3KG. I'll stay dressed if I get cold. I'm hoping I won't have to carry too much water or food at any one time as shops and toilets are relatively frequent. I'll defiantly be roughing it.

What would be a normal pack weight for this kind of trip then?

You might want a bit of redundancy in that pack...

What if your sleeping bag gets wet? Is it down? Nice and light and packable, but when wet it's useless and you won't have much option to dry it en route, I presume? That's your biggest risk, straight up.

What if your boots get wet? They probably will at some point. Do you have a spare pair of *something*?

Stay dressed if you're cold. What if your gear is wet - see wet sleeping bag problem again.

How will you dry your gear in a bivy if it does chuck it down?

Sorry, but I do a lot of walking in Scotland (especially the West) and apart from the sodding midges at this time of year, the biggest issue is water ingress - into everything. My down bag is packed very carefully, but I need to be gettig into it naked or with guaranteed dry clothes if I'm doing a multi day.

Speaking of which, I haven't walked properly for about 6 months. Trip on Friday is a 4-bagger - a nice little warmer-upper on Saturday (1km ascent) and then a bit of a bitch on Sunday - 3 hills with 2.4km of ascent (start at bloody sea level) over 24km. Should be good fun, but I'm expecting to be shattered by the end of it. We're boating along the loch to get to the start point too... so much room for utter disaster at basically every turn

It shouldn't be if you're waterproofing everything.

So what happens when you're sweating like a rapist inside your fully waterproofed clothes? And said clothes are what you'll be sleeping in? What about if you fall when crossing a river - will waterproofed clothes help then?

I've topped boots too many times and also woken up to find somehow, some water had found its way into my tent and soaked the corner of my sleeping bag. It's amazing how quickly that leads to the whole sodding thing getting damp.

If you can 100% guarantee that your kit will stay dry then great and more power to you. I'd rather take a spare set (or two) of clothes and shoes, just in case. And for multiday, I just don't see the benefits of down over a good synthetic bag - yes, you're using up more space, but down's just not worth the risk if you 100% have to have a warm sleeping bag, night after night.

Dry bags are easy to puncture as well, let's not forget - riskier in winter with crampons and axes, but still all too easy at any time.

Edited to add: all packed for our 3 day trip tomorrow. Boat and outboard loaded into car and nearly have all the kit in too. Just waiting for the last of the gear to dry properly before taking it off the radiator tomorrow morning.

Hope I remember and don't just rush out, leaving my socks, climbing trousers and top on the heater!

chill out sweet cheeks, I purposefully highlighted the part about getting in everywhere. Nobody mentioned cutting about in Gary goretex all day you dafty

In that case I have genuinely no idea what you're talking about. You either make your gear properly waterproof and sweat buckets or you have problems with water ingress when it pours. No magic bullet sadly.

I prefer getting a bit wet from the rain and then having the chance to dry out when it stops (e.g. In May) but we're all different.

Hence my issue with down bags (yes I have one!)

pjm1 wrote:In that case I have genuinely no idea what you're talking about. You either make your gear properly waterproof and sweat buckets or you have problems with water ingress when it pours. No magic bullet sadly.

I prefer getting a bit wet from the rain and then having the chance to dry out when it stops (e.g. In May) but we're all different.

Hence my issue with down bags (yes I have one!)

Huh? There's kit out there that keeps you utterly dry if a touch sweaty in a monsoon. We're talking in the UK here. It doesn't need to be that pricey if you shop around and don't mind last year's styles.

And what's your problem with down bags. If you have a decent bivvy and pack and know how to bag things up, your sleeping bag should never get wet.

You're doing this wrong.

happyhooker wrote:

pjm1 wrote:In that case I have genuinely no idea what you're talking about. You either make your gear properly waterproof and sweat buckets or you have problems with water ingress when it pours. No magic bullet sadly.

I prefer getting a bit wet from the rain and then having the chance to dry out when it stops (e.g. In May) but we're all different.

Hence my issue with down bags (yes I have one!)

Huh? There's kit out there that keeps you utterly dry if a touch sweaty in a monsoon. We're talking in the UK here. It doesn't need to be that pricey if you shop around and don't mind last year's styles.

And what's your problem with down bags. If you have a decent bivvy and pack and know how to bag things up, your sleeping bag should never get wet.

You're doing this wrong.

Why using a down bag? Get a hollow synthetic fibre that will stay warm when wet in a worse case situation. Could be a life saver.

happyhooker wrote:

pjm1 wrote:In that case I have genuinely no idea what you're talking about. You either make your gear properly waterproof and sweat buckets or you have problems with water ingress when it pours. No magic bullet sadly.

I prefer getting a bit wet from the rain and then having the chance to dry out when it stops (e.g. In May) but we're all different.

Hence my issue with down bags (yes I have one!)

Huh? There's kit out there that keeps you utterly dry if a touch sweaty in a monsoon. We're talking in the UK here. It doesn't need to be that pricey if you shop around and don't mind last year's styles.

And what's your problem with down bags. If you have a decent bivvy and pack and know how to bag things up, your sleeping bag should never get wet.

You're doing this wrong.

I know this is par for this particular forum but there's a serious lack of comprehension (or simply bothering to read) here. The bold bit is my whole point - when doing fairly serious exertion (400+ cals/hr) in our typical climate you either keep the rain out and a bucket load of sweat in, or you compromise in terms of waterproofing and go for something far more breathable but far lower HH (e.g. Rab's vapourise).

Cubby was originally asking about taking virtually no spare gear and having a down bag, hence the reason I was trying (and clearly failing) to explain that with limited spare gear he risks being rather damp when he gets into his bag.

I have a cheap synthetic bag which would be my bag of choice for serious multi day where I'm carrying everything (ie not returning to fixed tent location) - just because it's more reliable, albeit a load bigger in the pack.

HTH?

I'm planning on doing Ben Nevis in May. Will I need crampons/ice axe? I know it's required in winter.

Zakar wrote:I'm planning on doing Ben Nevis in May. Will I need crampons/ice axe? I know it's required in winter.

Not if you're doing the tourist path.

happyhooker wrote:

Zakar wrote:I'm planning on doing Ben Nevis in May. Will I need crampons/ice axe? I know it's required in winter.

Not if you're doing the tourist path.

How hard is the North Face?

Zakar wrote:

happyhooker wrote:

Zakar wrote:I'm planning on doing Ben Nevis in May. Will I need crampons/ice axe? I know it's required in winter.

Not if you're doing the tourist path.

How hard is the North Face?

Not sure in may tbh. I've only ever done it in midwinter.

Unfortunately the Otter trail in SA is fully booked for when we want to go so we will be doing the Fannie Botha (fnar fnar) and possibly Fish Canyon. Any boredies done these?

HKCJ wrote:Unfortunately the Otter trail in SA is fully booked for when we want to go so we will be doing the Fannie Botha (fnar fnar) and possibly Fish Canyon. Any boredies done these?

Have been to Fish River Canyon although I have not done the trek along the bottom. From what I understand it is only open to very limited numbers each season so you need to book early.

Looks epic

happyhooker wrote:

Zakar wrote:

happyhooker wrote:

Zakar wrote:I'm planning on doing Ben Nevis in May. Will I need crampons/ice axe? I know it's required in winter.

Not if you're doing the tourist path.

How hard is the North Face?

Not sure in may tbh. I've only ever done it in midwinter.

Fair enough. Might just do the pony track if there is going to be snow and ice around.

Zakar wrote:

happyhooker wrote:

Zakar wrote:I'm planning on doing Ben Nevis in May. Will I need crampons/ice axe? I know it's required in winter.

Not if you're doing the tourist path.

How hard is the North Face?

Totally depends on your route and whether you take a difficult gully or an easy one! There are heaps of routes up that side of the Ben, from the Ledge route (easier), Tower ridge (Diff climb and gear recommended) or a very nice ascent via Carn Mor Dearg (one of my faves). The latter takes you away from the Ben and up its neighbour. Having only done this in winter, I can't say what it'll be like in May, but bear in mind it's basically a 40-odd degree slope all the way up to the ridge (about 400m of vertical) and if you slip, you'll be approaching some fair speed by the time your head brains itself on the rocks at the bottom. On that basis, I'd take walking crampons, ice axe and usual safety stuff. Once you summit CMD and head along the arete to the backside of the Ben, the snow (even at that time of year) can be pretty deep. Having said that, the approach up the Ben from the arete is just a rounded hump so very safe and benign - it's just a drag up that final 100m or so.

Far better than the tourist trail which is everything I dislike about walking!