August TGO – Pacific Northwest Trail Gear & Sleeping Mats

In the latest TGO (August issue, just out) my backpacking column is about the gear I’ll be taking on the Pacific Northwest Trail, which I’ll start hiking in less than two weeks. I also review 15 sleeping mats, including several interesting new models. Outdoor beds are becoming more comfortable and lighter weight, which is excellent. Elsewhere in gear John Manning reviews 15 pairs of shorts while in his Lighten Up column Eddy Meecham looks at ukuleles for backpacking!

There’s much of interest in this issue – the first under the editorship of Emily Rodway. Cameron McNeish, now freed to be Editor-At-Large, has a new column and begins by discussing walking barefoot, which should provoke some reactions. Emily herself interviews Eric Robson about the enduring appeal of Alfred Wainwright. In Peaks of Experience, Andrew Terrill captures well the special joy of his first ever backpacking trip. Other articles include Ian Johnson on little-known Bretherdale in Northern England; Bernard Newman on returning to the hills after a climbing accident with a scramble up the magnificent Forcan Ridge on The Saddle in the Western Highlands; Ed Douglas on Welsh lichens expert Ray Woods and the need for protection for the “Celtic rainforest” and Cameron McNeish trekking in the desert mountains of Jordan. In his column Jim Perrin conjures up the ghost of Edward Abbey and dreams of direct action against the despoliation of the Rhinogydd in Wales by signposts, plaques, bridges and duckboards. That might provoke a response too.

Photo info: With the Shangri-La 1 tent and Caldera Cone stove in the Glen Affric hills. Canon EOS 350D, Canon 18-55 at 55mm, 1/800@f8, ISO 100, raw file converted to JPEG in Lightroom 3.