Travel Tap

Another essential piece of kit has just arrived - having walked in the Highlands for years, upon running out of water I've always taken some from high streams and springs and have never had a problem.  But because a lot of my route this time is not at particularly high altitude and after reading the second comment on this thread I decided to take precautions.  I bought this:

It's called the Travel Tap, and it means you can basically drink water from anywhere (except the sea) and it will be safe to drink!  Great little piece of kit - am a bit reluctant to try it out in the Thames though!

Chiswick to Richmond

Have been making the most of the brilliant weather today with a spot of 'training' if you could call it that.  I've put a full walk report on the walkhighlands website, but here are some photo highlights:

 

 

What great weather

Feel like I should be making the most of the brilliant weather and getting out in the hills, but being stuck in London at the moment the options are limited, though watch this space later today... Regardless, would walking in baking sunshine without masses of midges really be a fair representation of what I'm going to endure in August?  I think not!

Regardless, working in this weather does have some advantages if you're a musician:

Knoydart

On my walk I'm going to visit some really brilliant parts of Scotland, and one of these is the Knoydart peninsula.  These days Knoydart has a formidable reputation amongst hillwalkers as it is quite inaccessible, uninhabited (with the exception of one settlement) and the mountains themselves are big and rocky.  Knoydart hasn't always been so empty though - prior to the Highland Clearances of the mid 19th Century there were up to 1000 people living on the peninsula, many of whom either chose to emigrate or were forced off their land.

Knoydart is an area I have been desperate to visit for several years, and the hill that most excites me is Ladhar Bheinn (for reasons that the pictures on this blog sum up pretty well).  Ladhar Bheinn (hill of the hoof) is not only the most westerly munro (3000ft Scottish mountain) on the mainland, but is also one of the furthest from a public road, and normally people wishing to climb it have either got to walk huge distances over rough terrain just to get to it's foot, or make use of a boat across Loch Hourn or Loch Nevis.  I'll be coming into the area over the mountains above Glen Dessary to the South East known as the 'Rough Bounds of Knoydart', the highest and most prominent of which is called Sgurr na Ciche (peak of the breast).

New toy

The GPS arrived today so we went out on a little excursion to try it out.  Not sure that you could quite call this training day 1 though...

It's brilliant.  Exactly what I need for the Epic Stravaig when my own senses are not completely reliable. 

We had a bit of fun with the tracking feature to try it out

 

Although the height tracker went a bit haywire - must be something to do with being in a built up area

Kit items

Have spent today researching some of the various kit items that I may need to buy, mainly in the IT department.  After looking into ways of keeping my smartphone charged on the go and deeming it not really feasable (15 hours of direct sunlight to charge by solar panel - not likely in August in the Highlands; the various AA battery chargers, though really cheap, from what I've read online not really effective), I've come around to the idea that getting a cheap handset with a really long battery life (eg. LG A100) is a safer plan. 

I've also ordered a GPS unit as a back up for my navigational skills when the going gets tough.  The principal features I wanted in addition to robustness and weather hardiness to withstand the elements were an onscreen display of OS 1:50000 maps with position, the option of running it on AA batteries (as there will be lots of time between potential mains recharges), and a unit which didn't necessarily require to be connected to the computer in order for routes to be programmed.  After lots of thought I opted for the Satmap Active 10.  Now to wait for it to arrive so I can play with my new toy!

The Challenge

This Summer I am going to brave the Scottish weather and midges and attempt to walk from the Highland Boundary Fault at Aberfoyle to Cape Wrath at the North Western tip of the British Mainland in aid of Cancer Research UK.  I don't want to do it by the shortest, quickest or easiest route, but via as many mountain tops as the weather will allow me to.  I plan to set off at the end of July and hope to be at the finish line by the end of August.  Over the coming weeks as I plan my trip, watch this space for updates of my plans, training, and how to donate to the cause.