Cwm Nantcol, Rhinog Fach and Y Llethr. Sun 21st Mar 2010

We had been looking forward to doing this walk but their had been some doubts whether it would happen given the lousy weather.
Sunday morning was glorious sunshine and not much cloud at all.
We drove into Cwm Nantcol and parked up at the end of the road at Maes-y-garnedd, a remote hill farm. The sign said £2 parking/ car which was paid at the farm house.

                                     The Flock. (less Teg who took the photo)
Setting off along a good track up Bwlch Drws-Ardudwy our spirits were high as the scenery on both sides of the valley is beautiful and somewhat rugged.
Behind us was the clear view of Moelfre.

                                       In front our goal. Rhinog Fach.

The path undulates and gets very boggy in parts but is mainly in good condition. When the path crosses the 350 metre contour keep a sharp lookout on the right hand side for a vertical track up a very steep mountain side. This can easily be missed in poor conditions.
Even in good conditions it can be mistaken for a stream, but once across the wall and on the path it becomes obvious.

The photo doesn't do the path any justice, it is very steep. This photo was taken about 3/4 of the way up and is looking straight down into the valley.
Once the near vertical levels out, the route is clear and there is some gradually rising ground ahead for the legs to recover and stop shaking.
We decided to have a 10 minute break here.

The route ahead was up the shoulder running NE/SE. This was a steady pull with no difficulties. We could feel the wind gathering momentum and one or two dark clouds were forming.
On reaching the 1st top, the northerly point, the wind was very fierce and you had to shout to be heard.

                                    Rhinog Fach summit from the northerly point of the ridge.

We made our way along the ridge where we came to a wall with the summit cairn above it. We stopped here just for a few minutes to take a photo and then we got off the top before we were blown off. I had to hold onto my cap or else it would have been down the valley.

                                          Rhinog Fach Summit cairn. With Moi adorning it! Ha.

Below the summit we found a sheltered spot and had lunch and then carefully made our way down to the col above Llyn Hywel. Great care has to be taken getting down here as it was a bit tricky with the wind and the rain. The slabs were very slippy.

                                                     The descent from the peak to the col.

View looking to the col with Llyn Hywel to the right and beyond is our next goal Y Llethr.

Again the track up to the skyline of Y Llethr is steep but not problamatic. The views across the valleys were becoming less and less as the cloud came in.
By the time we hit the snow which had accumulated against the wall at the top the visibility had deteriorated.

The wall was our guide to the summit cairn (if thats what you can call it). We didn't hang around as it was too cold and windy to admire anything. On reaching the cairn we struck WNW on pathless terrain until we reached the wall.
We knew that from here the route was a bit hit and miss as there was no definate path back to the start point, but there was enough open country to plot our own route.

We headed for some old mine workings and a sheepfold which were marked on the map. The terrain was rough heather and rocks and not that pleasant to walk on.
We followed a wall down into the valley bottom and crossed a stream where it wasn't too deep.

From here we followed a wall heading north which joined up with our initial path and from here it was an easy stroll back to the cars. Just as the heavens absolutely poured down.

The walk had been tough, but very enjoyable. It's a terrific area, quite rugged hills. We only saw 2 other people all day and its a backpackers paradise with lots of good water about.
We set off around 10 o'clock and we got back to the car at 4.30pm. We stopped for about 30/40 mins in total for lunch and coffee and to rejuvenate the legs after some of the steep pulls.
There is much more that can be done in this area, we will return soon maybe.

(More pics to follow)

Rhinog FWA 20th March 2010

Having checked Metcheck we decided to forsake Rhinog Fach until Sunday.
Today, Saturday, the mist was as predicted, low with quite heavy rain. Clearing late afternoon.
We drove to Llyn Tecwyn Isaf just off the A496 south of Harlech for a low level walk. Parking at SH 635 373.

The path led us south west up through the woods and then North to a small chapel at Llandecwyn. The views across Tremadog bay  to Portmeirion are stunning. 
There are many beautifully carved grave stones here and it's a credit to the local people.

Carrying on along a good path we came to the dam at the reservoir Llyn Tecwyn Uchaf. 


We followed the north shore and we couldn't help noticing the burnt hillside. Whether this was natural or just burning back we don't know. 

                                                  Fortunately we spotted a survivor.

At the end of the Llyn we entered the forestry and followed the track to Caen -y- Coed. On the way it was decided that sustenance was required and so a seating area was found in a soft part of the forestry.

From Caen-y-Coed we headed south and then south east to a farm called Llenyrch, from here we crossed a fence line and picked up the path at the side of a stream leading into Aron Prysor. As we reached the stream there was quite a large waterfall and with the amount of rain we had had during the night and morning it was in good spate.

The stream had to be crossed to follow the path up to the Llyn Trawsfynydd Dam. It was a little bit too deep for some of our flock who decided to try their luck further up and down stream. Some of us just waded through, wet feet and all and then had a good laugh at the others.

All safely across we followed the gorge up to the dam. Its a huge reservoir and we had a 10 minute break here to admire the surroundings.

The weather had picked up and it had stopped raining.

Some of the surrounding tops were clearing and it looked as though it would be a good onward walk.

From the dam we headed SW and picked up the trail at the side of a conduit, a small canal like structure taking water to the reservoir.

This continued for a mile until we reached the sump/sluice. 

 We crossed this with care as it was about 6ft deep and made our way north through farmland to pick up the minor road leading back to the start point.

This was a delightful walk, in an area we had never been to before. 

As the day improved the scenery just got better and better. We had started off in foul weather gear and we could have been in shorts at the end. 

We considered this route just as an FWA but it's worth expanding at some point in the future.

Some more photos can be seen HERE

Frustrating to say the least.

Tonight, instead of posting my trip to the Rhinogs as i should have done, i have been trying to get my head round Grough Routes. Having put the routes on the maps and filling in all the waypoints and points of interest i have lost it all. Am i annoyed! You bet.
Yes it's probably my fault, but i have not found it very user friendly. Well not to me anyway!
I have now given up until tomorrow before the screen goes through the square window..
I will hopefully post tomorrow on what turned out to be a fantastic trip. Brilliant area.

Lousy weather

Today saw the mizzy down low with poor visibility and fairly heavy rain. After looking at metcheck the forecast was poor until late afternoon.
The forecast for Sunday was decent.
An executive decision was made to do a FWA today and save Rhinog Fach until Sunday.
It was a good decision we have had a lovely days walk.
Not enough time at present to go through the route as Tea in the pub is calling.
Will post on Monday with both routes.

Cwm Nantcol

We are in Cwm Nantcol at present and the weather is fairly clear. The tops are visible but you will have to wait for the pics as i have forgot to bring the cable. The tops around Blaenau are clouded over so the forecast that rain is on the way looks correct.
Hopefully tomorrow it will still be ok, as we plan to get up Rhinnog Fach and Liethr during the Cwm Nantcol walk.
More to follow.

Gosforth Weekend

This weekend was our trip up to Sheila's mums, as we do every 2/3 weeks. It was also the inaugural trip for the new car.
After the highlights of a shopping trip to Whitehaven we went for a coffee to St Bees. We watched one chap, with fully laden rucksack, saying his farewells to what i presume were his parents as he sets off on his Coast to Coast adventure.
It brought back memories of the trip we did.

He did the usual wetting of the boots in the sea, and then with hugs all round he was off up the track to St Bees head. Hope it goes well for him.

The day was beautiful, with very clear visibility. I must say i have never seen the Isle of Man or the hills of Dumfries quite so sharp.

We decided to have a drive up to Wasdale head and take some photographs.

This is the new motor with Wast water and Great Gable behind.

Sheila and Mum at Wasdale Head Hotel.

Some more pics can be viewed HERE if any one is interested.

More phone issues.

Below is a message i received from View Ranger digital mapping for mobiles support. As a number of people could be considering this option after the positive review in Feb TGO magazine i thought i would share the content. If you are not a techie like me, it might be helpful. (Thanks to View Ranger help guys)

You WILL need some sort of GPS (internal or external Bluetooth) for the phone to work with ViewRanger.
Phones with internal GPS (like the Nokia 5800) work perfectly fine.  It could be argued as a Bluetooth GPS costs more (on top of the cost of the phone) it will be more accurate, and battery life on the phone would also last longer (as it is not powering the GPS).  But you can buy a phone with internal GPS and still use a Bluetooth external GPS anyway.
Please see our documentation on Bluetooth GPS if you are considering buying one as there are things to watch out for.
http://shop.viewranger.com/article.php?category_id=120&article_id=60

Here is our compatible phone list;
http://www.viewranger.com/phonesupport.php

The Phone.

Well after many weeks of deliberation the phone i chose was the Samsung Omnia HD. So i went into town to purchase the said item and guess what. NOBODY sold it! Absolutely none of the big providers contract it or sell it.
I will have to choose another. I'm sick as a parrot.

Stoves test.

This post is round 2 of the which stove/which fuel saga that i started in an earlier post.
The stoves i have used for my tests are made by me except for 1 which is a Hi Gear meths burner.
Let me first say that i have carried out these tests solely for my own benefit and not for any commercial use.
None of the tests were carried out under lab type conditions or serious scrutiny. I didn't record water or ambient temperatures, but just for the record the tests were carried out in the evenings and the temperature was probably just above freezing. (feb 2010)


Basically, if the kit works and it boils 0.5L of cold water straight from the tap, in a reasonable time and i can get my kit weight down then that's what i want to know. I'm not too concerned if one was 5 seconds faster than the other. etc etc

The stoves shown above are, from left to right :-
A unpressurised coke can. A unpressurised aluminium wine bottle,  A pressurised Aluminium wine bottle and pan stand combined, The Hi Gear burner and the Esbit burner and pan stand. 

The weights of the stoves are again left to right:-  8gr, 30gr, 40gr, 57gr, 10gr.


I also made 2 windshields. A Cone type and a plain round type.

   The cone weight which also includes 2 tent pegs for pan support is 47gr.   The round wind shield is 27 gr.


Fuel costs. 0.5L of Methylated spirit cost me £1.00.
1 box of Genuine Esbit tablets. 20 tabs x 4gr. each cost me £2.80.




In all the meths burners, i filled them with 50ML of fuel and tested each one in turn, boiling the 0.5L of cold water with the cone shield and then the round shield.
The pressurised burners needed about 5ml of extra fuel to pre warm the burner to get the jets working properly.
What surprised me was just how similar the burn times were for the home made burners. 
Give or take 10/15  seconds each boiled the water in 6 minutes. Each burner then quickly ran out of fuel.
The Hi Gear burner boiled the water in 5.75 minutes and there was still fuel left which burned for another minute.


The round shield, using the same fuel load, just failed to boil the water prior to the fuel running out.  Except for the Hi Gear burner which boiled in 6.75 minutes. So i am adding on another 5ML of fuel for the round wind shield. 


With the Esbit tablets i upturned the meths burners and lit 2.0 tablets, then 3.0 tablets but the Esbits didn't boil the water until i put 4 tablets on and even then it was touch and go. It took just over 8 minutes to boil.
4.5 tabs is what i would use in the field.
The same results occurred for the burner and pot stand.


One thing that was very noticeable with the Esbit set up was the smell given off. With or without a windshield the smell was awful.  I'm not sure i could stand this.
Also i tried Esbit copies and these proved quite difficult to light. The Esbits lit very easily in comparison.


So, 
Meths burners.
0.5L meths weighs 455gr. (which includes the bottle).
With the cone shield i used 50ml, weight 45gr cost £0.10p
With the round shield i used 55ml, weight 50gr, cost £0.11p
From 0.5L bottle at best i can boil 10 lots of water.


Esbits,
1 box of Genuine Esbit tablets containing 20 x 4gr tablets weighs 80gr. The box is negligible.
The best i can achieved is 4.5 tablets per boil. weight 18gr, cost £0.63p
So to boil 10 lots of water with Esbits would weigh 180 gr and cost £6.30p


(If you took the equivalent weight in Esbits as Meths then you would be able to boil 25 lots of water for Esbits against 10 for meths. 


Therefore, the weight is considerably less using Esbits rather than Methylated spirit on a like for like basis, but the cost is significantly more. And then there is the awful smell.
If i had to cook in the tent porch then Esbits would not be considered. 
If i was able to cook away from the tent then Esbits are the way to go if the cost isn't too prohibitive.
But Esbits take around 30% longer to boil water than Methylated spirit.
Choices/Choices.


My Choice.
I am going to take the Cone windshield. Weight  47gr.
I am going to take the unpressurised coke can burner. Weight  8gr. (no warming up fuel needed)
I am going to use a combination of fuels i will take 0.5L Methylated spirit. and 2 box's of Esbits. Weight 160 gr.
In total thats enough fuel for 19 lots of water.  ( If you take 7 minutes as an average boil time then 7mins  X 19 =133 mins of cooking in total.


How long will that last? 
Well that depends on too many variables to put in this post. Anybody interested can work that out themselves.


Total kit weight.  670 gr. divided between 2 of us is 335gr. each and the weight will reduce after every meal/brew etc.

Good Weekend

Back now from our survival birthday weekend.
After a very bleak start driving over Corney fell in a complete blizzard the weekend weather decided not to follow the dire forecast predicted. Saturday was supposed to be poor visibility, it was as bright as a button with fabulous views.
Anybody who ventured up onto the tops on saturday would have had a great time.
We decided to stay low level due to the hangovers and then go for a late lunch. We picked a walk along the river in Eskdale and then up to Stanley Force waterfall.
We tried to get over the stepping stones on the way back to the bar at Boot house, but i am afraid we were just too wobbly.
Thankfully i managed to hold the camera steady for a few scenic photo's during the weekend.

Stoves epic.

Following on from October 19th post. I cannot believe it was so far back.
I have been making some new burners and testing out how they work. I have completely discounted using a gas burner this year as the lightest set up is around the 200 gram mark and it would mean i needed a new pot to store it in. I am not going to buy new gear so thats out.
I am now down to the Esbits and Meths. I am putting my findings together and will post my thoughts early next week.
This weekend i am on a double birthday bash and an anniversary bash so thats the weekend gone again.
Fortunately its up in the Lakes but i doubt that much walking will be taking place, except to the Loo of course.
Never know, might meet Mr Sloman in one of the hostelries?  A bearded bloke with a belly carrying a settee, shouldn't be hard to spot.

Niche market

I went into Manchester yesterday to check out phones and to buy a pair of Goretex or similar socks for Sheila.
Just on the socks front i asked in the following stores, Blacks, Ellis Brigham, TNF, Millets, Nevis sport, Sweat shop, Up and running, Evans cycles, Nomad and the Cotswold shop. None of them sold waterproof socks apart from the not waterproof Seal Skinz.

Talking to a very interested chap in Cotswold, he wanted to know why i wanted Goretex socks. So after explaining that we only hike wearing shoes, ie Inov8 etc with a thin sock and a slightly thicker sock on top then depending on the weather a waterproof sock he was impressed, i think, that this way was in his opinion, "different".
We went through the pro's and con's of boots and eventually he said to me. Well, you are a Niche walker and we don't cater for niche markets. Sorry.

So all you guys who walk in shoes, please take a bow because your different.

And i will search the web for a pair, or if anybody knows where i can get a pair of size 5-6 that would be great. TIA.

Phone Joy!

This made me laugh so thought i would share it.

I"VE BEEN ON HOLD FOR 45 MINUTES!!!!!

Ogden circular walk

Saturday we headed off to Ogden near Newhay. We planned to do a circular walk from the small car park adjacent to Ogden reservoir at Grid ref SD 952 122. It was a nice day, not much sun though. We set off east following the track on the south side of the reservoirs and then took a right at Cold Greave and headed for the pub on the Ripponden road at Grid ref SD 977 119.

We closed our eyes as we passed the pub just in case we may have been tempted to go in. We turned left and headed up the road to the footpath to Readycon dean reservoir.

We followed this track east passing the reservoir which was still frozen. The wind was bitting.
 Just as we rounded the end of the reservoir we noticed a large flock of noisy geese overhead going north.

At the point where the path meets the Huddersfield road we took a left and in a few minutes joined up with the Pennine way at Grid ref SE 002 122.

The track up to White Hill 466m, Grid ref SD 990 131, was a real quagmire in places, typical of the Pennine way. The views from here were good in all directions.

We could now see the mast at Windy hill which was our stopping place for lunch. Grid Ref SD 980 143.

The amount of rubbish people had dumped here was a real disappointment. There were TV's, tyres, furniture, general household rubbish. Obviously our recycling policy doesn't agree with everybody. Such a mess.

We didn't stop here for lunch but carried on a little further until we found some shelter from the wind.
From here we set off down Tunshill "green" lane and turned off at Grid ref SD 951 132 to Ogden reservoir and back to the car.

We  had a really good walk, not too far, only around 8.5/9 miles but my back was feeling ok and that was the main thing.

Valentines day

Well Valentines day is here again so i've done the right thing and been out and bought Sheila a new bag and a belt.

The hoover is working fine now!

Which Blogging phone?

I need the help of you guys who have mobile blogged for ages and are familiar with the good and bad points of the latest gizmo's.
We are due a phone upgrade in April and as we don't currently blog on the go, we thought we would give it a go this time.

We have quite a bit of Apple tech so the iphone is our 1st thought. However, we believe it's not the best to take on treks as you cannot switch batteries and the GPS is not that great either.

We were thinking that one piece of kit could do everything ie,  phone, camera, blog and GPS but we are sceptical that this is the right way to proceed. Jack of all trades but master of none.

Any help and advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Bleng Forest Limp.

After a painful drive up to Gosforth Cumbria on thursday night, it was nice that the weather forecasters had got it wrong with their prediction for Friday. It was a lovely day with sharp views through the Wasdale Valley to Great Gable. There seemed to be still snow hanging about at around the 800m mark.
I unfortunately was still in a bad way and was struggling to get about.
So bad that we never even went out Friday night for a gargleblaster or 2.

I slept on the floor and on saturday morning i woke with a little less pain and a bit more movement in the back and left leg. I was determined we should try and get out after lunch for a bit of a stroll.

Sheila just wanted us to have a drive round to Wastwater and take a few pictures as she didn't think i was up to walking any distance. I on the other hand wanted to see if a walk would loosen me up. Kill or cure so to speak.
We drove to the car park in Blengdale and set our sights on reaching the top of the track as it exits to open country on the east side. The views are usually good from there.

I limped my way up the track and found that the cure was winning. Well i was feeling no worse put it like that.

It's a great walk through the forest and a really good way of entering the Lake Districts higher fells. (but don't tell anybody) From here you are away from the tourist spots and there are numerous mountains within easy reach, like Seatallon, Haycock, Red Pike, Scoat Fell and further on the Pillar range and you probably won't meet a soul.

The river Bleng opposite.

Photo's to  the right and below, coming out of  Bleng forest on the eastern edge, views of Seatallon (R) of Sheila's head and Haycock behind (L).

Not much snow about now as the temperatures during the day had reach the dizzy heights of 8 degrees! Shorts weather!

As we made our way back to the car the late sun was pouring through the trees and made the forest look quite eerie. We saw only one deer and a  couple of people all afternoon.
I made it back to the car feeling far better than i did when i set off and looking forward to a couple of pain killing beers later in the Gosforth Hall Inn.

About an hour after we got back, incredibly, from being in wonderful sunshine, the mist came down and visibility closed in to about 100 yards.
It stayed this way for the rest of saturday and until we left for home today.

What a PAIN

How unlucky can i be. Went into the garden to bring in some logs, slipped on the snow and ice and slipped a disc in my back. After a couple of days lying down doing nothing i can now get up and write this. It's still very painful but hopefully if i keep taking the tablets, as the saying goes, i will be able to manage a short walk on saturday. Great!

Just heard that 2 guys from Yorkshire have fell on Great Gable, one dead and one seriously injured. I feel for the families.

So Sad

So sad, yesterday i drove up to Seathwaite in the Duddon valley for the funeral of a local legend which took place at Seathwaite church. It was very moving. But my thoughts on this event are private and not for printing here.
What i want to say though is, how magnificent the mountains looked on my way there. As you approach J36 on the M6 the mountains were so clear and looked so near. The white tops set against a cold crystal clear blue sky was just a joy.

When you drive through Lowick and look right, the magnificent view of the Coniston fells comes into view. Its always a good panorama but today was just so clear every feature of the mountain and the ridge was just jaw dropping. I had to stop and have a few minutes starring across. The Langdales were also clear and looked to have so much more snow on them than the Coniston fells. The snow on Coniston was thin and this was what made all the features stand out. In contrast the Langdales just looked like a christmas cake.

Pushing on i came down the long descent to Grizebeck and  the view across the Duddon estuary to Black Combe and White Combe was equally beautiful.
Driving up the Duddon Valley to me is always a pleasure and it feels just like i am getting closer to home. I have never lived in the Duddon but it is one of my favourite places in the world. I have been going there for 30 years and have many friends there. I just love the people and the way of life. Its my escape.

As you approach the village of Seathwaite the fells beyond jumped out at me. Grey Frier and the ridge across to Brim Fell, Dow Crag and down to White Pike just stunning today. The sun shone strongly and although it had that soft covering of snow on the ground it was a splendid day. The church was bathed in  the warm rays of a full sun.

It could have been easy to forget the real reason why i was there today. I was there to say goodbye to an old friend and to show support to the family who are great friends of ours.
It was a lovely day and he won't be forgotten.
RIP. TH. 1924 -2010

Lightweight Stoves?

I was sorting out the loft and came across some old copies of TGO mag. Flicking through June 1981 i saw this add for LIGHTWEIGHT EQUIPMENT, how times have changed. LOL

CLOUDVEIL KOVEN JACKET

I recently bought this new jacket, because it looked a quality product and it fitted well. I needed a lighter weight jacket for 3 season use as my dependable Paramo adventure is a little too heavy and bulky to be a permanent fixture in all seasons.
Cloudveil are somewhat unknown in the UK although they have been going from around the late 90's. They are an American company based in the well named place, Jackson Hole. They design and manufacture Hiking, Skiing, Climbing, Fishing gear as well as other outdoor activity gear.




The Koven Jacket i bought is a medium size and it weighs in at 460gr. and it folds away small.

The main features are:-
Drop down storm sealing hood (not wired)
Hidden storm sealing collar cinch
Bonded draft flap with lined chin guard
Adjustable storm sealing hem
Laminated cuff tabs
Dual slider pit zips
Chest pocket & oversized hand warmer pockets
Internal stretch mesh pockets
Fully seam sealed
Bonded and sewn YKK® water-resistant zippers.


The material (copied from the website), Cloudburst™ Stretch is a high denier, high-tech fabric offering extreme breathability and maximum comfort. Exceptionally high resistance to water pressure means protection against even the heaviest precipitation conditions. Two-way mechanical stretch enhances freedom of movement and maintains a soft and supple feel. Features a 100 wash super durable DWR. 100% nylon, 20,000 mmH2O /20,000 g/m2/24 hour, 45 x 45 denier, 115 g/m2.


I gave it a testing yesterday and it proved itself to be a capable weather proofer.  For my body frame, the fit is as good as i require with slightly long sleeves which i like. When its raining i would rather pull the sleeves down over my hands and secure the tabs than wear gloves.

The hood closures work very well but it took me a few tries before i mastered the closure properly. You have to zip the jacket up 3/4's the way, pull the hood over your head, then find the hood draw cords which are located in the fleece collar. Pull both cords down and they lock the hood at the desired tension. Then fully zip up the jacket. 
When i wore the hood without a cap the hood didn't move when the head turned but when a cap/hat is worn the hood turns with the head. 
Although the test day was not very windy the hood kept out the elements. I did find having a cap on compensated for not having a wired hood. 
The hood edges have been reinforced by having more material, this does give the edge some support.

There are good pit zips and they are two way operating. I found them very useful on hill climbs. I kept them open for most of the  day and they didn't let water in. The other good point about the sleeves is that when you reach up as in the photo the jacket body remains in situ, it doesn't rise up.


The hand warmer pockets are a good size but the chest pocket i think, is a little on the small size. You cannot get an os map in it thats for sure, and like loads of similar jackets the actual pocket gets covered by your rucksack strap anyway. WHY DO DESIGNERS KEEP DOING THIS. DO THEY NOT HIKE?
On the inside there is a small mesh pocket for your phone or GPS.


I kept my waterproofs on all day. That's the jacket and a pair of Rab event overtrousers. When i removed them at the car, i had no sign of any water ingress. There was obviously some dampness caused through exertion but not wetness. So far so good. I now just need to assess the jacket in a prolonged downpour to be sure, but the initial signs are that it's a good buy. 


The only cons i can think off at this time is that it doesn't drop down at the tail to cover your rear end although it isn't a short jacket in any case.

Walking on snow and ice

Has anybody tried these snow and ice grips over this cold spell. They look intersting and at £15 a pair from Ellis Brigham they must be worth considering, not just for hiking but for more serious stuff like getting to the pub and back. They are very quick and easy to fit over both shoes or boots. They are from a company called Yaktrax.

BG

Hi BG.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, hope you find a few things of interest and would welcome any comments.

The Weekend in Gosforth Cumbria

Friday night and Saturday morning it hammered it down. I lay in bed listening to the rain bashing the windows and the wind howling. By the time we had got up the rain had eased a little but it was still blowy and quite nippy.
The tops were nowhere to be seen again as they were shrouded in low cloud.
We had a drive into Whitehaven and it was very quiet. Its usually a bustling little place but not today. We drove on to St Bees and a brew in Hartley's tea shop. The sea was enormous, the waves huge and the walkway was getting a good drenching. People were running along trying to dodge the spray over the top while others were taking photographs. We watched from the warmth of the cafe. We are not daft.

Sunday, still low cloud but a much calmer day. Quite warm. We decided to go for a walk/stroll through Bleng forest and back which was really good. It made a change to be out walking. There was still some ice about but the majority had thawed.
There was plenty of people about taking dogs for a walk etc and the odd hiker. Good for him. I don't mean "odd" strange i mean "odd" just the one or two.
It was a shame that we had to drive back today as walking the lower fells would have been a delight with the weather being reasonable, but thats life and there will be other times.

We had some new waterproofs to test out this weekend but we didn't get a proper chance. It will have to wait till next time.

As we sped home we were disappointed that Winter hill and Rivington Pike were bathed in sunshine and clear blue sky's having spent the weekend seeing nothing but mist. Typical, we should have stayed at home!

Cumbria Weekend

We have driven up to the Lakes today. The weather is lousy. Low cloud and its raining believe it or not. Well there's a surprise. We went to the Greyhound at Grizebeck for lunch and to our horror it was shut. It doesn't open until 6.00pm!!! Great.

We got to Gosforth and the weather was a little better. Just drizzle but still low cloud. Temperature a sweltering 7 degrees. Shorts and tee shirt weather.

Going to the Gosforth Hall for a beer tonight. We might as well get wet inside as well as out. Cheers.

Instep Crampons

As we all know the weather has been somewhat restrictive so i put the old brainbox to work on a solution to the ice dancing that we in particular have been doing.
Crampons are easy enough to come by but they are not what you want when out for a walk on the moors or similar terrains.
They are far too big, clumsy and can be quite expensive.
What i needed was a small pair of spikes that would fit in the instep of my boot and aid walking without sliding. I also wanted something light and would easily fit into a daypack.
So the task was to design and make a pair, that wouldn't cost the earth, could be made in a day and use bog standard DIY store materials. The only thing is a garage or workshop is required and obviously some decent tools.
Tools:-
On the tools front i used a hacksaw, flat file, small round file, 1.5mm drill bit, a 6mm drill bit, a power drill,a vice, a blowlamp, pliers and a hammer. I also already had a aerosol of silver car wheel spray so i used that as well.
Sizes:-
The material used is 55mm x 3mm thick plate purchased from a local store.
The length was cut to 130mm which includes the spike length, but this was to suit my boots, other boots would be different.
The spike length is 20mm.
The strapping retainers are just std washers made from aluminium.

The retaining straps are standard pieces and can be purchased from outdoor shops or DIY stores.
I am pleased the way they turned out and initial trials have proved they are effective.
They weight 340gr the pair including the straps. They are going to be made a little lighter as i am going to drill some more holes to the flat body of the crampon.

You just watch, it will thaw now and i probably will have to wait a while to test them in anger.

Anyway here are some photographs of the end result.

New Shoes!

Sheila has been out and bought a new pair of walking shoes. She picked Inov-8 roclite 282 '09s. We thought that seeing it's a decent day with plenty of snow on the ground that we could give them a bit of a testing. I also wanted to see how the Golite fly trails coped as well.
Neither shoe has a waterproof membrane, which is the way we prefer it. We walked through deep drifted snow and compacted snow and both shoes performed well. Surprisingly they didn't get too wet and when we took them off they didn't need excessive drying out.

Neither shoe had a problem with grip on the snow although on sheet ice they didn't grip too well as you would expect.

Trip retraced

The day before yesterday we decided to retrace our walk of the 2nd Jan. That day we could hardly see anything, so with the day dawning cold and clear the photo's will be of a better quality. The views were spectacular and we were surprised just how few people we saw. (More pics in gallery)

A bad day? No!

We are snowed in today. All public transport terminated. Sheila was told to get off the bus as it was going no further. That was at 6.15am . She had to walk back home. Looks like we will have to go for a walk. Yes!

Memoirs of a Serial Hiller

Memoirs of a serial Hiller is the title of a book written by a good friend of mine who's name is Alan Butterworth. I spent all my working life in the general company of Alan and he is the complete raconteur and wit. Without the pranks, sarcasm, poems, plays etc my working days would have been very ordinary. We have many hiking tales, far too many to recount here and now. But maybe i will at some time in the future.

His book, as can be read in the article on the photograph attached, is about his hiking adventures of a witty nature and is a must read if you are an outdoor enthusiast. My claim to fame in all this is that i made the front cover of the book.
( Photo far left). This photograph, although the quality here is poor due to it being scanned from a newspaper, is myself on top of a mountain in Iceland at midnight. We were there this night to watch the sun disappear below the horizon and then moments later reappear, dawning a new day. A fantastic event which i will never forget.

My thanks go to Alan for putting me up front in the book and for all the memories i have of hikes we have completed. May there be more to come.
The book, now in its 2nd edition can be purchased at  www.amazon.co.uk.

Winter in the Pennine foothills

We woke today with it snowing heavily and due to the recent number of late nights we decided to go for a walk in the Pennine foothills between Oldham and Rochdale. The lanes up onto the moorlands were very icy underfoot and with the new snow on top led to some spectacular ice dancing.
The snow was good fun and at times we couldn't see much in front of us. As we got higher the conditions deteriorated as the mist came in and we could hardly tell the land from the sky. It doesn't make for good photography but i have put a folder in the picture gallery if you fancy being bored for 5 minutes.
We headed up to Tandle hill as the views from the top are usually stunning with panoramas across to Jodrell bank telescope, Holme Moss, Winter hill, Oldham, Rochdale and Manchester.
Today though this was hidden from view as the snow storm was obliterating everything.
From the top of Tandle Hill we headed off towards the Rochdale canal at Boarshaw which was basically our path back home.
It has been a fantastic day of good snow and reasonable temperatures. It was great to be out in the snow again and look forward to the next trip.