I have packed most of my kit now and taken a few snaps so I can talk about what I'm taking and why. Also I will mention why I chose a particular brand or item. I will start with my bag.
I have the Karrimor 75 Sabre with side pockets. I like big bags. I am not nor will I ever be a light weight hiker. I like being able to take heavy long lasting rugged equipment with me, also bulky items. This bag is well made, has all the space I will ever need, is well laid out and will last me a lifetime.
Next I shall talk about my sleeping and shelter arrangements. I have bought a DD travel hammock. I love the idea of sleeping in a hammock, I feel it offers much more flexibility and comfort compared with a bivi, and I have never liked tents. I am really looking forward to spending the night in this. I have an aussi hootchie. This was the first item I bought, before I had found the bushcraft UK website and done my research properly. I did not realise how much smaller it was compared to the other products on the market. I will have to chalk this one up to experience however. My sleeping bag is an ancient bag known as a Moon Bag. I believe it has shiny foil insulation inside. I am a cold person, I deal much better with cold than warmth and most times I use this bag, I end up sleeping on top of it as I am sweltering. Ideally I would like a lightweight blanket and underblanket, but there is nothing on the market at the moment and I have missed out on the bushcraft UK group buys for these items :(
My cooking gear consists of two zebra cooking pots. My old pots were a similar shape and design and these are the only quality pots I could get hold of. I also have the small 1L Kelly Kettle, I used to own one before and I have the adapter to turn it into a hobo stove too, so I can still cook where open fires are not allowed. I use the military style mug and water bottle mainly for their durability and the versitility of the mug. The mug fitting on the bottle is a great space saving design too. I have the lid and the handle for the mug to further its usefulness I do have the crusader cooker which slots under the mug too, but it is unnecessary where I can take the Kelly kettle. Finally I use a Katadyn Exstream water filter bottle, it is one which adds iodine to the water automatically. Ideally I would have a millbank bag to extend the life of the filter but with the current postal situation in the UK, I don't believe it will reach me tomorrow morning.
My food. This photo does not include the pack lunches I will make tomorrow morning or the fresh produce I will buy on the way (fruit and meat). The top left container in the photo is where I will store my meat for the journey, the top right container has a sauce I made for my rice. I will need to fry up my meat, add the sauce warm through and add to my rice. The middle left container has beans in it for Sunday's breakfast. The three liquid containers have olive oil for frying meat, red wine vinegar for deglazing my meat pan to add those lovely flavours to the sauce and the final bottle has milk for my coffee. I also have my own pepper mix and a salt and seaweed mix (NaCl and MSG in one flavour enhancing shot!) The final bag in the middle row contains green jasmine tea. The bottom left package is my bread for toast for breakfast on Sunday morning. Next I have three oat bars for snacks, a bag of rice and quinoa mixed to accompany the meat and sauce and finally a mix of coffee and sugar. The meat I will buy will be mincemeat for dinner, sausages and bacon for breakfast. I will also buy apples, banana's and what other vegetables are in season to accompany my meal.
For warm clothes, I have a gortex coat, a wool hat and a shemaghs. The shemagh can be used as a scarf, a bandana, a face wrap, a sling or a towel - and probably a few other things too!
My washbag contains a comb, some lip balm, a travel mirror, instructions for my filter water bottle, tooth picks, waterproof matches, soap, colloidal silver, tooth brush and paste, a dentistry mirror and a pit rok deoderant. My first aid kit and my sterile kit have been modified to reflect my abilities and the dangerous tools I am taking. I will also be carring a spark flint (mounted on a magnesium block for emergancy tinder).
The tools I will be taking with me are: A Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe as my main wood cutting/shaping tool, a laplander folding saw as a labour saving device for making large cuts, two knives, the smaller Colombia lock knife on my person (which for safety I will not use instead of my fixed blade except in an emergancy) with my flint so if I lose my bag I can still create sparks and a larger fixed mora frost knife for fine shaping and carving of wood that I am not skilled enough to do with my axe. The laplander saw was chosen for its reasonable price and high quality, the axe for its perfect general purpose weight and balance as well as build quality and the knife for its good blade and great price. I will also be taking a crook knife for carving.
The final photo shows my petyl xp headtorch, chosen for its battery life, exceptional light quality, ability to easily hook it to the waist and tough high quality build. The gloves are cowhide gloves which I find generally useful to have outdoors with me.
A few items I have not mentioned are my camera (a sony DSC-F828) , phone for emergancies, OS map and compass, GPS for emergancies (once I came across a hyperthermic couple out on the Black Mountains - the ability to give the rescue services their precise location very quickly probably saved their life- I wouldn't want to try to make that kind of call no matter how good my map reading skills in such difficult to navigate surroundings - they had no detectable heartbeat when we discovered them and due to the speed of their rescue they both made a good recovery.) I will also be taking some cash for fresh food and emergancies.
So, wish me luck, all thats left to do is to make four rounds of sandwiches for Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes, buy the fruit and meat and actually set off! The route is planned, the campsite has been scouted and I am ready and looking forward to it!
