Outdoors
Haute Route Pyrenees 2019: background and gear
Updated 2019-07-12 to reflect my final setup on the eve of my hike. My next thru-hike for 2019 will be a crossing of the Pyrenees from Atlantic to Mediterranean via the Haute Route. Here’s a little background on this hike, and some provisional thoughts about gear. Contents * What is
Electronics for lightweight and ultralight backpacking
This article was last updated on 31 March 2019. “Nothing that uses a battery can be relied upon in the wild.” This is something we hear from time to time, but how true is it? What level of electronic gadgetry is necessary or appropriate in the outdoors? The purpose of
The Decaying Alps: climate change and glacial retreat in the Playground of Europe
As outdoor writers and photographers, it’s time for us to be honest about the realities of environmental destruction – and how these realities affect the mountain landscapes we love. This feature was first published in On Landscape, October 2017 Think of an image depicting the Swiss Alps. Chances are, you’
The Cape Wrath Trail(ish) in winter(ish) – a very brief account
In February 2019, I hiked 299 miles from Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath, the north-westernmost point of mainland Britain, mostly following the Cape Wrath Trail. Here’s how it went, plus a few photos. Folks looking for a comprehensive trip report may be disappointed this time. I’m a professional
Why go offline on the Cape Wrath Trail – and how?
Originality thrives in seclusion free of outside influences beating upon us to cripple the creative mind. Be alone. That is the secret of invention. Be alone. That is when ideas are born. —Nikola Tesla For some years, I’ve been aware that I can’t think properly when my mind
The winter Cape Wrath Trail gear list
After months of preparation, I have a near-final gear list for next month’s winter Cape Wrath Trail attempt. Here are a few thoughts on the gear I’ve selected and why. Trigger warning: this is not an ultralight gear list! General gear considerations For information on the trip’s
Skills guide: Modernise your mountain navigation
Are you still taking those frayed old OS maps out on the hill? Ever find yourself not quite lost, but momentarily misplaced and wishing you had some way of pinpointing your exact location? It could be time to bring your nav skills into the 21st century. This skills guide was
The Cape Wrath Trail in winter: seeking silence in the Scottish Highlands
Time to announce my big winter project for early 2019. More: * Gear list on Lighterpack * Why go offline – and how? * Resupply plan It’s time to talk about a project I’ve been planning for a while. You may have seen hints on social media or in my newsletter about
The solastalgia of mountaineering
I’d last been up there ten years before. The landscape looked very different then, the snowfields more extensive, the light a purer white. I returned a decade wiser, weighed down with knowledge of what humanity was doing to these mountains that I loved, and so my sunset from the
New Sidetracked digital feature: No Borders
My latest digital feature for Sidetracked magazine is special – an essay on life and death, mountains and war, lightning and ethereal beauty. I believe it’s some of the best writing I’ve created in 2018, and you can read it now at sidetracked.com/mercantour-traverse/. All mountains have something