The one problem with writing gear reviews is that the durability question can’t be answered on a first test, only with months of use. So, reporting on a couple of pairs of 1000 Mile Socks, which claim obviously, to last 1000 miles, is a little difficult. I have never had a pair of […]

    Friday 18th January was not the ideal day to be visiting anywhere on public transport. With most of the UK blanketed in snow at the moment I winced at the thought of travelling up to London by train but happily, Network South East seemed for once to be in full working order, it […]

    Do you want to be part of ‘Balancing on Blue’, my 2012 Appalachian Trail thru-hike book? I’m looking for eager contributors who are willing to share some experiences. You don’t need a degree in writing, just have something to say. Preferably you walked the trail in 2012 but any year is acceptable. In […]

It’s all about weight isn’t it? The pursuit of buoyancy, the borderline paranoia of excess grams, fixations of featherlike fantasies and loads so light we daren’t upset them with surplus poundage.   Some thru-hikers pack out stuff that weighs too much. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and we all have our own reasons but […]

One December I was out with some friends on my local hills, the South Downs. They’re not huge, topping out at around 1000 feet. They are beautiful in their own right and that is why I make regular jaunts up there. The walk in question is a yearly tradition between mates, a fifteen miler stopping […]

This shows what could be one of my favourite photos of the year (although it was taken last year but lets not split hairs). It has also spurred me on to fulfil one of my new year resolutions – to get out more with the camera and work on my photography. After all, I can’t […]

2013 has the makings of being a great year for the website. My Appalachian Trail thru-hike account – ‘Balancing on Blue’ has been delayed a little, I hope to release my latest book sometime in the summer but for the foreseeable future I shall be concentrating on blogging. So, what’s in store? Lots, LOTS of […]

  Well not exactly but not far off, read on . . . Rab has announced that it intends to use Hydrophobic down in some of its products and will release details in the New Year. I hate getting into the science of stuff but for those of us not in the know, when down […]