Lightweight backpacking loadout

With any trip I go on I spend a lot of time planning what I'm going to take with me.  No one wants to be unprepared, especially in the Lake District.  The last time me and Sam (my brother in law) tried a wild camp in the lakes we were practically washed off the mountain.  The place flash flooded turning the 'path' we walked up into a waterfall, and turning the campsite we walked past into a no-mans land (bar one stranded tent...doh!).  No waterproofs, and carrying lots of heavy unnecessaries we gave up our 3 day hike after the first night.  Embarrassing to say the least, but it was like a baptism of fire for us.  As we carried all of our soaking wet gear down the mountain we were already talking about our return, and discussing what we would do differently next time.  That time has come, only this time, we are much more prepared.

Lightweight backpacking loadout from left to right (rough typewriter style).

Karrimor Sf Sabre 45 Backpack

Lamifold Explorer Map

British army bivi bag

Pacific Outdoor self inflating sleep mat

Lightweight single person groundsheet

Army Poncho (for sleeping under)

Sit mat (high comfort item that weighs next to nothing)

Sandals (great to get those boots off after a log day of hiking, also gives the feet and boots time to dry out).

50ltr rucksack rain cover

Mora Knife

12metres 550 paracord for hanging my tarp

5 metres 550 paracord for general purpose

Lightweight bungees

Water purification tabs and neutralisers

Boil in the bag meals, 2 breakfast, 2 dinner

250 grams of quick cook pasta to supplement my main meal

Snugpak jungle sleeping bag

MSR Titan kettle

Coleman F1 stove

Long titanium spoon 

250 gas canister and F1 pouch- all on top of trangia pouch

Toilet kit in ziplock bag, lighter, MSR blizzard peg trowel, tissues, alcohol gel

Fox whistle

Matches

First aid kit

Small backup torch

Wash kit

Homemade ration style pack lunch

90 patt army water bottle and mug

Petzl tactikka head torch

Brass Zippo Lighter

Leatherman Wave

Hand wipes

Snugpak small wash bag (used to organise small items)

Beef Jerky

High calorie flapjack bars

Mixed nuts and fruit

Things missing out of picture;

Waterproof trousers and jacket

Buff scarf

Scource 2L water bladder for backpack

A couple of chocolate bars for pudding after evening meal

Socks and pants

Compass...ironic that I can't find this.

My journey into the realms of lightweight backpacking.

With my trip to the lake district only days away, I decided to take the weight off my shoulders by buying some lightweight gear.  Due to the nature of UK bushcraft there is not much of a need for lightweight gear.  Many of my cooking pots and grills for camping in the woods are made of stainless steel, as I am rarely walking more then 3 miles to get to my chosen site weight is not an issue. 

Trekking up steep hills is no fun, but the views make it all worth while.  In order to get these views I knew I needed to shed as much weight from my pack as possible.  Aluminium is not ideal for use over a fire so I opted for titanium.  My favourite shop for this stuff is a family run business called  http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/ .  They were very helpful over the phone and keep good stock levels so I wasn't left waiting.

Pictured below is my lightweight cookware.  MSR Titan Kettle, Coleman F1 Lite stove (smaller then the MSR pocket rocket, and super powerful), Leatherman Wave (multitool that will double up as my pot grabber), Lhoon- or long spoon if you prefer (useful for boil in the bag meals), MSR Blizzard Peg (for use as a trowel as suggested in my iPOOD post).




Pictured above are my titanium tent pegs and ultralight groundsheet from backpackinglight.com, and my Pacific Outdoor oyl lite sleep mat.  Don't use the pegs for scale as they are tiny.  All of these were chosen for there small pack size.



 

Some interesting and useful sites you may like.

On a semi regular basis I will be building a small list of sites which I think people may like.  If anyone has any relevant, useful, or interesting sites they would like me to mention, please leave a comment in this post.  Many of the sites/blogs I will list are ones that I follow, if you stop by and like there page, please say hello from me!

In no particular order:

www.peakseekers.co.uk
Peakseekers is a must for anyone that is into walking, hiking, and backpacking.  It is mainly based around the UK, but Matt has been to Everest base camp and made a few appearances in Trail Magazine.  He is a great photographer and one of the nicest blokes you'll ever meet.  ....I know you will like this one.

www.gorges-smythe.blogspot.com
Mr Smythe describes himself as a purveyor of nostalgia, humour and social commentary- and I am quite happy to agree.  Gorges writing style is very engaging and because of this he has a loyal group of followers of which I am one.

www.hikingforum.co.uk
This is a new forum which I can see being popular in the near future.  It has a good layout without too many categories.  All it needs now is more people.  The site owner as well as the other members are very welcoming, and knowledgeable so please stop by. 

http://ashonthefire.typepad.com/
A new outdoor cookery blog that is already gaining popularity from the bushcraft crowd, and rightly so.  The photography is so good you can almost smell the smoke of the fire.  Like many a good outdoor blog it makes you want to get out there and do it for yourself and in the case of this blog I feel like getting a fire going and relaxing with a glass of merlot.

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/
One of my favourite online shops.  A small family run business that is friendly and customer driven.  It gets a special mention here due to some recent purchases I made from it.  I recently upgraded many of my camping metalware for some lightweight titanium stuff so I can travel further without my pack weighing me down.  Delivery was next day, and I recieved two attempts  to call me (I missed both unfortunatly) to check my order had arrived safely.  Good quality products, and user friendly site which I will no doubt be using again.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/
One of the best bushcraft forums you will find.  Lots of very active members keep the chat going.  A real community spirit coupled with a friendly vibe make this a great place to visit if you have any bushcraft, camping, or foraging related questions.

http://www.ravenlore.co.uk/index.html
This website in my opinion is as good as it gets.  The man is a legend that needs no introduction to anyone in the bushcraft community.

http://kepisbushcraft.webs.com/
An outstanding blog with an emphasis on family getting out and doing stuff together.  It was one of the inspirations for me starting my blog as I look forward to the day I can take my son out with me to teach him the things that matter in life.

http://huntergathercook.typepad.com/
It seems this guy spent some time living in a tree house and wrote a book about it- whats not to like?  This is a great site for anybody that wants to get into foraging or self sufficiency.  Packed with useful informations and great photography.
***Thats all for now folks, I can see this post getting very big in the future***

Spring dog walk by the local lakes

Here are some pics of a nature reserve very close to the house I grew up. They used to be gravel pits many years ago.

I didn't trust my weight on these steps!

Beutiful day.

Deserted train carriage we used to play in.



A happy spaniel.



My new Crusader mug lid.

I recently bought an aluminium crusader mug lid from laundich1 from  http://www.bushcraftuk.com/ forum.  The quality is outstanding, and it reduces boil times dramaticaly.  This is it in action;

Also, I have figured out the ultimate meths solution for the stove (not a red bull stove).  My mod is cheap, super easy, and non permenent.  I'll be posting it up here when I can get some better photos.  WATCH THIS SPACE.

Walk in the woods

Heres just a few pics taken from my walk in the woods today.  I picked a small bunch of 'jack by the hedge' ready for dinner tonight.



King Alfred Cakes




Jack by the Hedge





1 man and his dog.



Cranberry Bannock Bread

I fancied a bit of bannock today, so here is the recipe I used:

1 cup flour
Half hand full of flaked almonds
A bit less then half hand full of dried cranberries
Milk (mix until doughnut consistency)
Demerera sugar sprinkled on both sides to caramelize.

Olive oil in pan.

I like using the trangia as it is good practice for the field.

Mix ingredients with a knife

Plenty of oil in the pan, get it nice and hot.

Add the mixture and use knife to flatten. 

Use knife to press the mixture flat. Tip: wipe the knife clean and add a bit of oil to it to stop the mixture sticking so much.

Flip the bannock over, add a bit of sugar.

Flip it a few times and make sure there is a bit of sugar each side to contact the pan and caramelize.



Add honey or maple syrup to taste.

 Enjoy!

Food for free

This is like the foragers bible.  It is surprising how much food there is in the countryside, you just need to know what to look for.  This book is starting to find its way into my rucksack quite often.

Some of the gear I carry.

This is just a small selection of the gear I carry on a trip depending on what I'm doing and where I'm going.

These go with me on every camp as they are bombproof and reliable.

A small selection of some of my torches.

Sweedish army Trangia along with a civvy version.  I have upgraded the army one with a smaller trangia burner, and the civvy one with a Tatonka burner. 

Trangia stoves with all there components



Primus and sigg fuel bottles of various sizes



First wild camp with my dog

My Mrs has the flu, my son has the flu, my brother in law has the flu.  So I did what any man in this zombie apocalypse would do- I grabbed my rucksack and my dog and went camping for the night!  I went to one of my favourite spots that had a car park nearby.  This is the first time I have been out the night with my dog Bruno so I needed a safety net if he was playing up all night.  Anyone that knows him knows he is crazy.  Energizer bunny crazy.  So when we got to the woods I set up camp and took him for a walk in an attempt to burn off some energy.  It worked, and I managed to get at least 6 hrs sleep.  He woke me up a few times as various animals were scratching around in the bushes, owls barking (yes owls bark!- scares the hell out of me every time).  But he stayed put, and was a very welcome guest.  Its fair to say that he will be featuring in many more camp photos.

Burning off some energy

Relaxing by the fire (sorry for the crap quality)



Got this mat on ebay brand new and sealed for a bargain £20

  

 

For all the kit junkies out there.  This is most of the kit I used



Ashes scattered, and rubbish taken with me- you wouldn't even know I was there.