CATBELLS WILD CAMP

Last minute decision over the BH weekend to head up to Keswick & spend the night on Catbells.
Weather forecast good with some overnight rain expected but apart from that reasonably clear skies.

Headed off on the M6 on Sunday afternoon & encountered zero traffic - from J36 to J40 I pretty much had the motorway to myself.

Arrived at Nichol End at about 530pm & parked up on the roadside next to the start of the footpath through the woods that leads to the start of the Catbells summit footpath.

A steady climb up to a nice flat grassy plateau on Skelgill Bank & a decent spot to pitch was found - views both sides for sunset & sunrise.

As forecast the sky was reasonably clear for sunset & sunrise - it rained in the night but had cleared by the morning. Arising to the first hints of red coming from the fells on the opposite side of Derwentwater, I left the tent & headed for Catbells summit before heading back down, striking camp & heading for a full English at Rambles cafe in Keswick.

All the kit stood up well though the weather/wind didn't really test it.
Kit taken was:
Wild Country Zephyros 2
Mammut UL Alpine bag
Peak Oyl mat
Osprey Exos 36
Rab Ultralight jacket
Berghaus Mera-Peak jacket (not used)
Mammut Mercury GTX boots

BENEATH TRYFAN - 1st MARCH 2014

Unfortunately the forecast snow didn't materialise at valley level for the trip to Snowdonia at the weekend, there was however a good covering on the tops which were shrouded in low moving cloud for the majority of the weekend.
Camp was made at the foot of Tryfan with glorious views up and down the Ogwen valley.

A nice steady walk up the gulley at the foot of Tryfan from camp as far as the snow covered scramble onto the ridge. Conditions and a lack of proper equipment halted us at this point and we re-traced our steps back to camp. Weather conditions ranged from sun to rain to sleet to snow to wind - typical mountain weather but quite warm while we were moving.

Tea consisted of chicken and mushroom casserole with rice washed down with rather too much Morgan's spiced!

Bed time was clear starry skies which soon deteriorated to high winds and rain which battered the tent all night - not that I knew anything about it due to a Captain Morgan induced sleep!

Sunday morning weather was not much better and we headed back at lunchtime.

All the kit stood up well to the variations in the weather and the TQ3 was outstanding in the gusts.

More testing required on the rest of the kit over the coming months………..

HOPING FOR SNOW….

Checked the forecast & it's looking good for some snow on the Snowdon range for this weekend.
Kit checked, packed & loaded ready for a weekend wild camp trip, using Capel Curig as the base for an ascent on Moel Siabod. It was hoped to ascend Tryfan but this has been discounted due to the forecast conditions & a lack of suitable mountaineering equipment!
Hopefully there will be some views of a snow covered Snowdon Massif & surrounding peaks.
Pictures & report to follow next week……….

FIRST TRIP TO THE LAKES 2014

A poor forecast for last weekend but we headed north to the Lakes anyway for the first trip out of 2014.
An overnight stop booked at the Churchill Hotel in Ambleside which was ideally located in the centre of town with good evening entertainment and a comfy room.
Follow this link to the hotels page: CHURCHILL INN, AMBLESIDE
Woke to torrential rain on Sunday morning but we decided to brave it and pushed north for Keswick after breakfast…..passing Grasmere the rain stopped and the sun came out, the rest of the day was dry and sunny but also windy and bitterly cold. The North Face Shaffle proved its worth!

BUTTERMERE TRIP - AUGUST 2013

All packed up & ready for a three day trip to Buttermere on Sunday.
A no car trip - train to Windermere then taking the 555 bus up to Keswick, then on to Buttermere for a few days.
All the kit has packed into the Osprey Exos 46, North Face Terra 45 & North Face Terra 30.
Impressed with the Exos - will be excellent for solo trips with the Zephyros.
Weight in each pack seems good & distributed evenly…..

WILD COUNTRY ZEPHYROS 2 MODS

Just done a couple of mods to the Zeph to enhance the stability & make life easier.
Dyneema V shape guys front & rear with Lineloks & gold Dyneema side guys. While I was at it I pitched the TQ & Dyneema'd the guys on that as well. I also had enough Dyneema left off the 30 metres to put some loops on the TQ's pegs!
Dyneema in 2mm was from eBay at £15.99 for 30 metres - loads of colours available
Link: eBay 2mm Dyneema rope
Lineloks also off ebay - I needed 12 loks for both tents for £3.49
Link: eBay Lineloks

VAUDE TERRAQUATTRO 3P

Well after much deliberation I decided to sell the Ortik. The main reason was that I wanted something a little lighter & not quite as "bright" for any wild camps needing a little more space that also pitched all as one (the Ortik was inner first with quite a few time consuming poles).
The Ortik, while a fantastic tent, also seemed a little overkill for our UK three season use - let's hope the new owner will give it the use it deserves. Got back what I paid for it so happy with that & put the funds onto the new purchase.....
After spending some time looking, deciding, changing minds & re-deciding I finally went for the Vaude Terraquattro 3p, based on the legendary Mark II.
The cost was a major factor & while the tent tips the scales at 3.5kg it wont be an issue when split between the two of us. Also like the pole system with the elastic suspension system & how easy it easy to pitch.
So the Terraquattro arrived 24hrs after ordering & was up in the garden that evening.....
First impressions:
Pitched in 5mins without instructions
Easy to peg out & tension
Nice roomy interior
Reasonable vestibule space (x2)
Built quality seems good but nowhere near to the Ortik standard
Good compressed packsize with poles separate