We were feeling the need to perfect our double hammocking skills as preparation for yet another wilderness trip. As we often hike in Fiordland NZ where it is apt to rain on average an inch a day and it can be difficult anyway to find a level spot for a tent, it is well to […]
Making calls to satellite phones has been restricted, though most will not know. Because we have cause to use one (both a satellite phone and satellite messenger) This is deeply worrying for us. About a year ago Telstra decided you now have to have a new dedicated SIM for your sat phone (without telling us)
O, the enchantments of Fiordland: Time and again I have been drawn back to this lush green Eden questing after one of these surviving prehistoric giants, which though sundered from their ancient homeland in the vast boreal forests of the North, still linger there today. For me it is a tale which began when I
If you are not into DIY. Also a great weight (390 grams in silnylon – even lighter in DCF which I eschew) and price (US$220 Dec 2024). What’s not to like? It is very like my Siligloo (but a little simpler). I have MLD‘s ‘big brother’ the Supamid which I can attest is well made
I have always loved Shelley’s poem ‘Ozymandias’ which showcases the futility of Pharaoh Rameses’ efforts to secure his immortality. Many people these days are obsessed with mankind’s (supposed) destruction of nature, an observation which I do not wholly disagree with, but nature has a way of coming roaring back, all but obliterating mankind’s works. For
I guess every hunter dreams of some secluded valley where it feels like you are the first person to have ever trod – at least where the deer are as plentiful and tame as rabbits and there is no competition from other hunters. Where you can arrive at your camp after a couple of day’s
I can’t imagine just how much ink and energy has been wasted on the conundrum, ‘What’s best as a camping option a tent or a hammock’ (plus fly)? But you can indeed have the best of both worlds – as the saying goes. You can carry a tarp which can be used either for sleeping
I guess you realise I have been haunting this wonderful valley for decades, but now that I am over half way though my eighth decade I suppose I will be doing such big tough trips less than I used to. However I was up there for a few days a couple of weeks ago. I
It is easy to make an ultralight alcohol stove which will boil water (instructions here and here – and in the comments below) but a bit more difficult to make one which will simmer. Many of my recipes require that the food simmers for 10 minutes or so (usually to soften lentils etc). I guess
I recently modified my Waratah Quilt and Zpacks Quilt so that they would better fit me, would be easier to enter and exit, and in the case of the Waratah be fractionally lighter as well. I found Kam Snaps to be just the trick for these mods. As I said in that post I will
