Munros and Other Walks

The one area of long distance walking that I still struggle with is to have a decent lunch to eat during the different walking days. It's okay if I manage to pass by a small village or town where I can grab a bite to eat, but on more remote walks I tend to not eat very well during the day. I usually try and get by with either snacks like protein bars, nuts or fruit. To combat this I got a small flask as a birthday present a couple of years ago. I decided that this can be used to prepare some hot food that can be stored in my bf ready to eat during the day. I decided to carry out a couple of experiments to see how well this would work. Rice and Sausage 80g quick cook rice Cured sausage Dried vegetables.  Half a stock cube This is quite simple. I boiled up 190ml of water in my stove and poured it into the flask with the rice and the dried vegtatables. I shook the flask a little to mix the contents and I then left it for 4 hours. Once the contents had absorbed the water I chopped up s...

Forclaz Trekking Trousers Review Until my walk up Beinn an Lochain I had used the same walking trousers for the best part of fifteen years. However, stepping over a large stone I heard something rip and when I looked down there was a gaping hole down the inside leg of my trousers. I made do with a pair of waterproof trousers over the ripped ones and still managed to complete my walk, but I knew that a visit to an outdoors store would be in order.  In the past I have a used many different hiking trousers, including the ones that zip off a the legs. In my youth I would have gone for one of these as to purchase both shorts and trousers would have cost too much. However, zips tend to get stuck or fail at some point so you end up trekking with trousers with half closed zips. This time I had decided to go to Decathlon, my kids had got outdoor gear and despite their attempts to destroy the clothes, it had held up well. The most important aspects of buying new trousers were, light, ha...

The Easing of the Lockdown  For the last 12 weeks we haven't been in our car other than to go to the shops or other essential runs. The kids hadn't been in the car at all, so it felt like a novelty as we took our first drive as a whole family since March. The drive only lasted 5 minutes so there was little time for complaints to be raised about who sat next to who. In fact the original plan was to take a walk at Cathkin Braes but this was changed at the last minute to Fernbrae, the only reason for this is that many of the family hadn't visited this place yet. Location and History  The Start Fernbrae is situated in Fernhill, Rutherglen right next to the school by the same name. The Meadows is an expansive green space that is actually located at the foot of Cathkin Braes. In fact you can see the Cathkin wind turbine situated just above the Meadows. As you walk around and your thinking that the layout reminds you of a golf course then you wouldn't be far wrong. In fact ...

I had made some oat bars a couple of years ago ahead of my West Highland Way trip. This is a variation on that, and of all the recipes that are out there on the Internet. Ingredients 220g Porridge Oats 40g Chopped Apricots 40g Chopped mixed nuts 10g flaxseed 50ml Oat Milk 1 dsp Biscoff spread  1tsp Coca Powder 1 banana Pinch of Cinnamon  This is a very simple recipe and one that can be put together in less than 10 minutes. Put all the ingredients into a large bowl. I had broken up the nuts into smaller pieces and had mashed the banana beforehand. The reason for using these ingredients was that they were in the cupboard. If apricots weren't available then I would have used apples or any other fruit.  Ingredients  Chopped Nuts I had originally planned for 100ml of oat milk but put half in to check for consistency. It was a good move as the mixture had that sticky look to it with just 50ml. Ready for Mixing  The secret ingredient in this version of an oat bar recip...

Free Solo Review I remember years ago being asked to go to the cinema by a friend. The film we ended up seeing was Touching the Void. I swear that I had completely soaked my shirt watching the film, through sheer and utter terror of what was happening to the two unfortunate climbers. As they say history repeats itself as I'm once again enthralled and feeling the tension as the climax of Free Solo starts to take hold. This is despite the fact I already know how the story is going to end.   This documentary follow Alex Hunnold as he attempts to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The term free soloing meaning climbing without safety ropes. Now this type of climbing isn't new however, this wall happens to be 1000 m high. The free solo event of the film takes place during the last 20 minutes of the movie. The film does a good job of building up the challenges of tackling such a challenging climb, which seems impossible in certain sections.  The structure of the do...