Thursday 21 June 2012

The equipment I'll be taking for wild camping with my dog in the Lake District

I'm looking forward to my upcoming wild camp in the lake district with my dog.  Any followers of my blog will have seen him with me on a couple of my camps, but this will be a little different from the norm.  I have to really make sure I plan well for this trip as we will be far away from shops and shelter. 

I am going with my brother in law Sam.  We are planning to hammock on this trip.  We always take the same method of shelter whether it be tents, tarps n bivis, or in this case hammocks as it means we are both looking for the same kind of pitch.  The very nature of the lakes makes it difficult to find flat ground especially in the forest areas so a hammock should give us an easy time finding a pitch anywhere with trees.  Its always a good idea to be in a bivi bag as a last defense- it also adds another season to your sleeping bags warmth.  I'll be taking my bivi for all these reasons aswell as to have for an extra sleeping method if we find better spot out in the open.

Sorry for the poor quality photo, my son is always playing with the camera so I think he may have adjusted the settings.  Heres what I will be taking;


Top left to right in a rough typewriter fashion;

DD hammock
DD tarp
Lightweight bungees and titanium pegs
10m 5mm para cord.
Snugpak Jungle sleeping bag
Lightweight groundsheet
Backpack waterproof cover
British Army olive Bivi bag
Map
Compass
Buff scarf (multipurpose for rough weather)
Cap (for fine weather)
Lhoon (long titanium spoon thats great for eating out of boil in the bag meals)
MSR Titan cookpot (large gas can stored inside)
Firelighting gear
Coleman F1 Stove (very good lightweight stove)
British army bottle and mug
Titanium bottle (good for decanting)
First aid kit and whistle
Water bladder
Exped waterproof bag (for change of socks, boxers, and t shirts)
Work gloves (this is a new idea I am working on at the moment.  they are very lightweight, grippy and made of kevlar type material - so very protective)
Tesco torch (comes very highly reccomended on bushcraft sites, so I am giving it a try)
Victorinox farmer knife
Mora Knife (not a necessity but I don't like to be without it- its also lightweight)
Para cord and whistle wrist band.
Petzl Tactikka Torch
Cheap 8gb MP3 player  (lightweight, and no major problem if it gets broken)
Disposable foam earplugs ( another idea I am toying with- the wind and water of the lakes can keep you up at night if the weather is really harsh)
Small orange Exped waterproof bag (this bag has my name and address written on the inside, I keep my keys, wallet, and phone in it while I am out camping- the orange makes it hard to lose)
Toilet kit including alcohol spray, paper, and an MSR tent peg
Fake crocs (cost £5 and are a lot lighter then real ones)
Brasher walking pole (first time user, just want to see what the fuss is about)
Seat pad (makes lunch times comfortable)
Zippo hand warmer- this will act as a sort of water bottle at night as I am taking a thin sleepbag
Sunscreen sachets, alcohol hand wipes
Washkit bag which holds my toothbrush, paste, and deodrant aswell as most of my accessories shown in the pic.
Homemade ration packs, 1 for each day.  Its a lot of food, but I'm a big lad with a big appetite!

Things not shown; Waterproofs trousers and jacket.  Small UCO candle lantern- just for comfort in the evening, and the citronella keeps the mozzies away.

Karrimor Sabre 45

 As you can see from the pic above, I am pushing the boudaries of my Karrimore Sabre 45 a bit, but once the food goes down, it will all carry a lot better.   Before I go I will cover my bivi bag with a rubble sack to keep the rain out.

Homemade ration pack
 Homemade 'ration' (lol) pack above includes;

BITBag all day breakfast meal 
Cereal bars
Whey protien and oats bar
Bag of  macadamia nuts
Dried fruit snacks
Beef Jerky
Tuna light Lunch
Soup sachet
Freeze dried pouch meal
100g Pasta (cook seperatly and add to the pouch to bulk out the meal and boost the carb content for the next days walk).

Merrell Chameleon an Altberg Black Mountain Boots

The black leather boots shown above on the right are my Altberg Mountain boots.  They have been very tough to wear in and I have had some epic blisters from using them, but I am not about to give up on them yet as they really come into there own once you get off the paths.  From recent walks I realised that I need some more comfortable summer boots that are a bit lighter and a lot more breathable.  I like the look of these Merrell Chameleon Mid Evo boots, and they come highly reccomended by my brother in law.  I'll be taking both sets of boots with me and deciding on which to use when I see the weather, obviously I know this can change in an instant!

1 comment:

  1. ...awesome! ~ armed to the back teeth me thinks! ~ looking forward to your return journey! ~ blessings my friend!... ...xXx... ...Samantha...

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