View from Oban Bothy

View from Oban Bothy

Thursday 21 February 2019

A night with a Madwoman. And a gear test.

It was all a bit last minute. I needed to get out for some serious brain-straightening peace and quiet, plus I had some new(ish) kit to test out.

I packed my rucksack and travelled by train to Edale, alighting in the late afternoon. I scuttled up Grindsbrook Clough in the failing light and once at the top, headed east (East is good) along the edges to a nice little spot by Madwoman's Stones.

It was dark by the time I was putting the tent up, but the sky was clear and the moon was shining brightly - and it was damned cold. I grabbed a couple of litres of water from the trickling stream at Jaggers Clough and got my tea on the go

My Plan, given the lovely clear skies, was to spend a bit of time taking photographs by moonlight. The Plan, like so many plans, failed. By the time I'd eaten and sorted my kit out it had clouded over. And then it started to rain. And then it got very windy. VERY windy.

Ho hum.

I was checking some new kit out: a NeoAir X-Therm, a down-filled balaclave (for sleeping in) and down-filled socks.

The socks and balaclava all came from AliExpress for around £15 each.


Balaclava: 85gms, Down socks: 105gms


All this kit worked superbly well, I spent a very warm and cosy night in spite of the horribly cold conditions. I was so warm that I had to unzip my sleeping bag and remove the balaclava during the night.


 My wind-battered Akto

Leave no trace




 My water source at Jaggers Clough....a bit peaty!
Jaggers Clough

 Descent into Edale

Next morning I headed down by Ringing Roger, back into Edale for my train home.

Good bits:
a) All the kit I took out for testing worked well
b) I had a nice overnighter.

Bad bits:
a) I forgot to take a compass (tsk).
b) I've decided that my Caldera Cone meths stove really isn't up to winter camping trips.
c) I missed my intended train home 'cos of phone call...so I had to drink filter coffee in the cafe by the station....so it wasn't ALL bad!

5 comments:

  1. Nice on John. Have you ever considered double poling the atko? It is supposed to add stability in high winds!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't, but to be honest I find the Akto pretty stable in rough conditions.

      Delete
  2. Hmmm like the look of the kit John. Which stove would you use for winter camping?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've got a Vango gas stove, very similar to the Pocket Rocket, which works quite well when it's cool. In the 'proper' cold I'd probably get away with the same stove but I'd more likely use my Optimus Nova.

      Delete
  3. The tent looks to be see-through from the photo - could be a bit embarrassing? Well done for getting out like this so early in the year.

    ReplyDelete

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