Snowdonia Backpacking  

Equipment

I have yet to see a book or a website about backpacking that does not include an equipment list.  I always read them, too.  So, on the offchance someone might want to see mine, click on this link for My Gear List.

Backpacking equipment and other musings:
Right from the start in 1981, I read everything I could find in books and in specialist magazines such as TGO on the subject of backpacking, one aim of which, coupled with the experience I was starting to gain, was to refine and upgrade the gear I wore and carried.  As examples, my stiff and weighty ex-police wool trousers were replaced by lightweight, windproof and quick-drying walking trousers, while my smelly and temperamental Optimus stove was replaced by a clean and easy to use gas stove.

Almost every single thing I carry has been chosen with light weight in mind. Before you buy some gear you fancy in a shop, ask yourself if there is a lighter alternative.  For example, plastic flasks, plates and cutlery are lighter than the metal ones which are available, but even then some are lighter than others. Use one of the little bars of soap you find in hotels; look in Body Shop for tiny tubes of toothpaste. I weigh on kitchen scales the exact amount of muesli I will need, and I count out the number of spoonfulls of dried milk. Waitrose instant soups are slightly lighter than Batchelors Cup-a-Soups.  The tiniest penknife will cut just as well as a bigger one.  I have even removed the sewn-on labels from my rucksack and shortened the surplus ends of its straps.  Don't laugh when you hear tales about backpackers who drill holes in the handles of their spoons; these guys know where it's at, honestly!  Every individual bit of weight saved accumulates into a noticeable amount.

Why do some suppliers list tent features (or other items, such as stoves) without including any weights?   This should be one of the most important points!  Some of those that do list the weights do not stock any that I would regard as light, not by a long chalk.  It suggests to me that they have not seriously considered this side of things or, worse still, that it does not particularly concern them; after all, they will not be the ones carrying it.  Do remember that you will be.

Many years ago I used to go fishing, and it was said that a lot of the gadgets on sale in tackle shops were designed to catch anglers, not fish.  I do not think things are quite like that in walking stores and catalogues, but caution has to be applied.  Do you really need lightsticks, multi-tools, special bags and wallets?  Then there are sets of cookware, different sized pans that nest together and are sold complete with detachable handles and a storage bag.  Great, if you're going to be cooking gourmet meals and you have porters to carry everything.  All I want is one little pot to boil water in!  While you're looking, feel how much lighter the alluminium ones are compared to stainless steel; titanium is even lighter, but rather pricey.

Chores:
There is no doubt in my mind how much longer things take to do when you are camping wild.  Getting dressed or undressed inside a dog kennel-sized tent is a laborious procedure.  At home you stand in your kitchen with worktops, utensils, sink, taps and electric kettle all within easy reach, and in the bathroom too everything is at hand.  You do not have to unpack each item ready for use, balance it on uneven ground and then lever your tired body off the floor to clamber down to a stream and fill something with water, afterwards picking bits of grass and little insects out of it.  You do not have to drop purifying pills into water and wait for them to take effect, or slowly squeeze water through a filter.    Consequently, it takes me two hours between getting out of my sleeping bag and setting off with my rucksack each morning.

I recently read of someone whose "backpacking nightmare" is washing up pans and plates.  What washing up?  That is one reason I use freeze-dried dinner packs, they can be eaten directly from the foil bag.  My sum total for a day is a mug, a plastic microwave bowl and a spoon.  Here is my menu, which leaves me wanting for nothing else, except maybe a pint or two of beer!

Meals per day while walking:
Breakfast:  1/2 pint energy drink (from powder), 3oz muesli with mixed in sugar, 1/2 pint milk (from
          powder), 1/2 pint black coffer with sweetener.
Lunch:  Cup-a-Soup, energy bar, 2/3 Yorkie bar.
Dinner:  1/2 pint energy drink, freeze-dried dinner pack, energy bar.
Supper:  remainder of Yorkie bar.
Additionally, I drink at least 3.5 pints of water during the day.

Clothing:
Over the years I have gradually upgraded my walking clothing, to the extent that almost everything is now of good quality synthetic materials.  I am a fan of the oft-quoted layer system, although with the exertion of walking just my microfleece shirt is sufficient on my top half, and maybe my fleece hat; my rucksack keeps my back warm and shields it from breezes.  It is only when I stop for breaks or camping that I need to add my fleece pull-on and/or insulated jacket.  My thermal underwear is rarely used other than as sleepwear on colder nights, and my mittens are the least used item of all.

I don't often encounter other walkers in the hills, but when I do, the majority of them are wearing big, stiff and weighty-looking GoreTex jackets, however mild and gentle the the weather conditions might be.  I can only assume that, having paid large sums of money for them, they feel obliged to use them.

Sleep:
In my youth I could "die" for 9 or 10 hours at a time, but over the years I have become a lighter sleeper.  In a tiny nylon tent, often on uneven or slightly sloping ground and in the bag for 10 to 11 hours at a time (work it out: dark at 8, read with a lantern till 9...) I tend to drift in and out of sleep all night.  You hear the wind in the grass, you hear any running water, from a nearby trickle to a faraway roar, rain hammers on the flysheet, distant aeroplanes drone past.  Then there are the noises you cannot define (made by sheep, probably), that leave you laying there with the hairs raised on the back of your neck. 

It took me some years to realise that much of my sleeplesness was due to the mug of coffee I used to drink after my dinner, and cutting it out has made a big improvement.

Equipment list:
Click here if you want to see My Gear List.


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