Thursday 8 May 2008

Trip Preparations for the Black Mountains

I decided a few days ago that I would pack in advance of the night before the trip - unlike before. My packing procedure for Buttermere had some striking similarities to Chaos Theory and having learned my lesson last time, I knew it would take longer than I ever allow.

I gathered the last minute items and began packing things bit by bit. I got to the stage where I now had the core items in (tent, sleeping bag, roll mat etc) and I did a test lift. WHAT! - how can it be so heavy? It felt almost as heavy as it did on that Friday morning in Buttermere, and I had yet to pack food, water, and spare clothes! Luckily, I was so confused by the shear weight at this early stage in the packing that I just had to unpack it, then there it was - A 2.5KG barbell weight I had stuck in the bottom weeks ago trying to simulate different weight conditions! Little twerp!

I picked myself up off the floor from laughter and got on with the job in hand - trying to rescue any semblance of packing professionalism! Needless to say my decision to bring two cans of strong Merrydown Cider is being tabled (in my head) because the extra weight is noticeable. Whats more, I'm a little disappointed that my pack doesn't feel that much lighter than before - at least not as much as I imagined. I guess I'm in denial and I'm fast regretting not shelling out for that Golite Quest pack and Alpkit sleeping bag but it just wasn't an option this time around.

in between my main meal of Beanfeast (I had a little change of plan on my food situation since the last trip, where I pigged out on snickers bars and flapjacksSpag bol flavour). I'm not going into the Beanfeast thing right now but all I can ask is that you reserve judgement until I can argue my case!

On this trip 'm trying:

Snacks - Homeade chocolate chip flapjacks.
Lunch Day 1 - Noodles.
Main Mean Day 1 - Fresh filled pasta shells with sun dried tomatoes and grated Parmesan for the topping.
Breakfast Day 2 - Quick oats, where I've combined two packets to make a larger portion and added milk powder and muscavado sugar to the dry mix, ready for re-hydrating with boiling water. I've tried it at home and its not bad.
Lunch Day 2 - Pot mash (I know, I'm going to regret this decision).
Main Meal Day 2 - Pub grub and a pint!

All of these should be easy to prepare on the hill and in fact all of the hot meals merely require a small amount of hot water for success. Paul and I will be trialing our Orikaso dinner sets on this trip so no doubt I'll have a thing or two to say about those when we get back.

I'm a little nervous about my new Brasher boots on this trip. I've walked around 8 miles in them so far and they have been comfy but very warm - The Goretex lining is seeing to that. I'm hoping my extortionately expensive walking socks will put pay to any blisters but Paul has promised to bring the magic plasters just in case!

As before, I'll be posting (hopefully more regularly than last trip) on the blog from my mobile phone. I'm not bringing my DSLR so it will be the trusty Casio Exilim again for pics and video. I'm aiming for some video this time so maybe I'll have a few clips on the post trip report - who knows? After the trip I shall be reviewing the ALPKIT Gamma head torch, the Orikaso Solo Dinner Set, Brasher Trailmaster GTX boots and the Minibulldesign Blackfly 3 alcohol stove.

Check back tomorrow for some live trip updates.....or choose life and don't!

"To the hills....."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

I edit the brasher blog, and saw your post today.

Hope the boots and socks work well for you, (and the Pot Mash on Day 2!! You must give us the recipe ;-)

Will check back for updates, please let us know how you get on.

cheers and best wishes,

Mike.

Marcus said...

Hi Mike,

I hope they do too as I'm sure you can imagine. I'm dreading the pot mash and even today I'm thinking of an alternative! Its one of these 'just add water' types and the only flavour available in my local supermarket was Tuna and Sweetcorn! Might revert back to Beanfeast at this rate!

I'll post a review of the boots on my return if that's any help?

Regards
Marcus

Anonymous said...

I'm looking forward to learning from your mistakes!!

Onward!

Marcus said...

Hi Ron,

The question is will I ever learn from my own mistakes! Note to self: lugging two cans of cider around for an evening treat isn't worth it!