Whilst British backpackers may complain about our wet and often cold weather it does have one advantage. Once you can deal with the worst British weather you can deal with wet cold weather anywhere. I learned backpacking in the hills of the English Lake District, the Pennines and the Welsh hills and quickly realised that staying comfortable in wet cold conditions was essential for both enjoyment and safety. Having lived in the Scottish hills for nearly 20 years now I’ve had plenty of time to hone my wet weather skills. During that period I’ve tested much outdoor gear too and so have been able to discover what combinations work well together, what gear works best and how to use it most effectively.
With all this in mind I wrote a piece for Backpacking Light.com on lightweight backpacking in wet cold weather. It’s only available to subscribers, who can find it here.
Photo info: Lightweight backpackers in cold damp weather in the Western Highlands. Canon EOS 350D, Tamron 11-18 lens @18mm, f5.6@1/320, ISO 400, raw file converted to JPEG in Lightroom 2.
I recognise those chaps! And the chaps in the backpackinglight.com piece's photos too...
ReplyDeleteAgree with what you're saying about us Britpackers being ready for virtually anything the elements can toss at them anywhere else in the world...
Let's face it, if we weren't prepared to go out in wet & cold weather, we' wouldn't go walking.
But I'd still move to California tomorrow, if circumstances permitted!
You mean you'd swap Yorkshire for California!
ReplyDeleteSo long as I can take the beer with me, of course!
ReplyDeleteA great article Chris, I have been to California and would rather be in Yorkshire.
ReplyDeleteWe actually have fine beer in California. I sit here sipping a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale at this moment. One thing about California is that we have a choice of weather. In one hours time I can be out camping in a regional wilderness area - maybe foggy, rainy and cow pies, but remote from people. In two hours I can be on a coastal backpack, in four hours I can be snow camping at 11,000 feet, or in the summer, hiking past a volcano of the same elevation. In six hours I can be in the desert backpacking.Probably at this time of year, incredibly windy, but beautiful, and again, no people.
ReplyDeleteTimecheck, I've hiked and skied in the Sierra and it is magnificent. I've drunk Sierra Nevada beer as well and that's pretty good too.
ReplyDelete