On May 3rd, 1978, I walked over the Severn Bridge and followed the Offa's Dyke Path to Chepstow, completing 323 miles of my Land's End to John O'Groats walk. It was my 18th day out and it was already the longest walk I'd done and there was still nearly 1000 miles to go. I wrote about this walk last month in a post on the fortieth anniversary of setting off. I also wrote the following feature on the gear I used back then and what I'd use now for the Spring issue of The Great Outdoors, whose fortieth anniversary is also this year. I wasn't a photographer back then, something I now regret. It's the only long-distance walk for which I don't have pictures.
On April 16, 1978, I shouldered my pack and headed away from
Land’s End on the South West Coast Path.
1255 miles and 71 days later I reached John O’Groats and my first long
distance walk was over. I began the walk feeling nervous and agitated. It
seemed an enormous undertaking. The distance was incomprehensible. At the
finish I felt content and also sad. I didn’t want the journey to end. I knew
then that I would do many more long walks. I had found something I loved,
something that was deeply satisfying. I’d also learnt that reaching the end
wasn’t what the journey was about. It was about what happened along the way,
about the landscape, the wildlife, the walking every day, the camping out, the
immersion in nature. The whole experience in fact. I’d found too that what I
really relished were the wilder places. This was the walk on which I fell in
love with the Scottish Highlands.
I planned the walk with Ordnance Survey maps and a few walking
guidebooks – there weren’t many in those days. There were no guides at all to
an End-to-End walk and no internet for seeking advice. There were some long
distance paths but nothing like the number there are now. Along with half of the
South West Way I walked half of the Offa’s Dyke Path, the Pennine Way as far as
Hadrian’s Wall, and the then brand new West Highland Way (it wasn’t officially
opened until two years later). Away from those trails I linked footpaths,
tracks, and minor roads with occasional bits of cross-country. Sometimes I
trespassed when paths on maps weren’t there on the ground, more often when I
nipped over hedges or into copses for a hidden camp. Having hardly done any
wild camping in Scotland and having heard stories of gamekeepers with guns
throwing people off the land I was more concerned about there than England. The
access legislation that is such a boon now was a quarter of a century away. In
fact I although I wild camped almost every night, even in lowland England, I never
had any problems though I did always try and camp out of sight of roads and
buildings.
At the time of the walk I was working in an outdoor shop in
Manchester – the now long-gone YHA Adventure Centre – and so could choose gear
for the walk from a wide selection. Looking back there are a few changes I
could have made but overall the gear was good and performed well. The main
difference with today was that it was mostly much heavier. In some cases it was
less durable too despite the weight.
My pack was a capacious 80 litre Berghaus Cyclops Serac made
from tough thick Cordura. This had two huge side pockets, a single main
compartment and an internal frame. The last had only been around in Britain for
a few years. Just two years previously I’d been using an external frame pack
(and one of these features on the front cover of the first issue of The Great
Outdoors). I thought the internal frame would be more comfortable and stable
and so it proved. The Serac easily held all my gear plus a week’s food at times
and never gave me sore hips or shoulders. I liked it so much that four years
later I set off on the Pacific Crest Trail with a pack with the same back
system, the even bigger 100-litre Cyclops Scorpion.
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| The Ultimate Tramp at a snowy camp in Snowdonia the winter after the Walk |
My tent was an Ultimate Tramp, a tapered ridge tent with an
A-pole at the front. This was roomy and easy and quick to pitch. Hoop pole
tents were just coming in at the time but the lightest backpacking tents were
still ridge designs with rigid poles. Within a decade the Tramp would look
old-fashioned but after three decades it would look up-to-date again as using
trekking poles for tents meant ridges designs came back. I liked the Tramp very
much and it stood up to some wild weather. It didn’t last for long after the
walk though – the polyurethane coated flysheets of the day were not very
durable.
My sleeping bag was not a good choice. Concerned by stories
about down bags not lasting on long trips and how any dampness would ruin them
I took a bag from Ultimate filled with a synthetic called P3. It was a mummy
bag with a short top zip and designed for summer use. It wasn’t very warm to
begin with and by the finish it was as flat as a pancake. It was light and did
pack small but I spent too many nights sleeping in my clothes. I’ve taken a
down bag on every long walk since.
Bright yellow closed cell foam Karrimats were the standard mats
in the 1970s. They insulated well but weren’t very comfortable and also very
bulky. The latter meant I strapped mine outside the pack. At the time there was
no other choice – the first Therm-A-Rest inflatable mat had appeared in the USA
but not yet crossed the Atlantic.
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| The Trangia I used on the walk |
Stove choice was determined by fuel. Finding gas canisters
everywhere was unlikely and I didn’t want the mess of paraffin or the
volatility of petrol so that left meths and the Trangia system. This was quite heavy
and bulky but it did work well and finding fuel wasn’t a problem. Durability
was superb. Indeed I still have the stove and it’s still in good condition.
Heavy boots were standard wear for backpacking in the 1970s
and I hadn’t yet discovered the relief of lightweight footwear so I wore Scarpa
Bronzos, hefty semi-stiff one piece leather boots with a three-quarter length
shank and a Vibram sole. They easily lasted the walk but did give me sore feet
and the occasional blister, especially in hot weather and when road walking.
I’d only wear such boots on snowy mountains now.
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| Berghaus Mistral Jacket - image courtesy of Berghaus |
My waterproof jacket was made from a new seemingly magical
material called Gore-Tex. The Berghaus Mistral jacket had welded seams and
patch pockets. It was longer than most modern waterproofs, which was an
advantage. This was the first version of Gore-Tex, which was very breathable
but also eventually leaked when contaminated with body oils. My jacket lasted
the walk but failed the following autumn. I was still impressed though. Early
on in the walk I wore it over my wet polycotton jacket and was astonished when
I took the Mistral off to find that this had dried out through the Gore-Tex.
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| The Rohan Pampas Jacket & Strider Breeches in use after the walk |
The jacket I wore most on the walk was a Rohan Pampas
double-layer windproof one made from polycotton. Rohan and polycotton were both
very new then and many people thought such fabric was too light for serious
use. They were wrong. The jacket lasted the trip and is still going.
Rohan also provided my legwear in the form of breeches
called Striders made from stretch nylon. They’d be called softshell now but
that name hadn’t been invented then.
Fleece and lightweight synthetic fills were still many years
away so to keep warm I took a thick wool shirt and a Helly-Hansen fibre-pile
jacket. My base layer was a synthetic Damart vest.
Whilst state-of-the-art at the time this gear was heavy and
bulky compared to todays. My basic pack weight without food and fuel was around
30lbs/14kg. Silnylon, Dyneema, titanium, fleece, Pertex and other ultralight
materials that we take for granted today didn’t exist back then. Today my pack
would weigh less than half that. Here’s what I’d choose for the same walk now.
Most of these items were used on my last two long-distance walks (some on my
last three).
Pack
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| ULA Catalyst |
Gear is not only lighter than 40 years ago but also more
compact so I wouldn’t need as big a pack. My choice would be the ULA Catalyst,
which I used on my Yosemite Valley to Death Valley walk and found excellent. It
weighs 1.4kg, well under half the weight of the Serac, which weighed over 2kg.
The Catalyst has an internal frame, a padded back, a wide padded hipbelt and
big mesh pockets. On paper its 75 litre capacity doesn’t look much smaller than
the Serac’s 80 litres. However the main compartment is only 42 litres, the rest
of the capacity being in the pockets, while the Serac’s main compartment was
about 80 litres. I’ve also found ULA’s litres on the small side compared to
other makers. I’d say 60 litres was a more accurate capacity for the Catalyst.
Shelter
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| Trailstar |
Instead of a tent I’d take a shaped tarp – the Mountain Laurel
Designs Trailstar. This can pitched with trekking poles and is very roomy for
one. It’s also very stable. I used it on my Scottish Watershed walk and it
coped with some severe storms. It only weighs 482 grams without pegs, a
groundsheet or mesh inner. For April and May I’d just take a Luxe Tyvek
groundsheet weighing 142 grams, making a total weight with pegs of 801 grams.
For June I’d add a mesh inner in case of midges for a total of 1.15kg, which is
still very light. The Ultimate Tramp weighed 2kg.
Sleeping bag
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| PHD Sleep System |
Rather than a single sleeping bag I’d use the down filled
PHD Sleep System that I took on the Yosemite Valley to Death Valley walk as
this would cover the wide temperature variations likely between April and June.
The lightest sleep system consisting of the Ultra K sleeping bag, Ultra K
filler bag, Wafer jacket, Wafer K trousers and Wafer K socks weighs 1.015kg.
I’d start out with the complete set but would send home the filler bag,
trousers and socks as the nights became warmer, finishing with a weight of just
524 grams. I used this system on the Yosemite Valley to Death Valley walk and
it coped easily with temperatures down to -7.5C.
Sleeping mat
For much greater comfort and much lower bulk and weight than
a closed cell foam mat I’d take the Therm-A-Rest NeoAir Xlite S airbed. I used
this on the Scottish Watershed and Yosemite-Death Valley walks and found it
comfortable.
Stove & pots
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| Trail Designs Ti-Tri |
On my last three long-distance walks I’ve used the Trail
Designs Classic Ti-Tri stove and my now 27 year old Evernew and MSR 0.9 and 0.7
litre titanium pots and that’s what I’d take on a Land’s End to John O’Groats
walk. Together this unit weighs 476 grams, and that includes two spoons. The
Trangia 27 weighed 795 grams. Like the Trangia the Ti-Tri runs on meths (it can
also be used with solid fuel tablets and wood) and has an effective
windshield/pot support. The burner, made from old drinks cans, is ultralight.
Footwear
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| Altra Lone Peak 3.5 |
I can’t imagine wearing heavy boots like the 2.25kg Scarpa
Bronzos on a walk like this now. Indeed I wouldn’t wear boots at all. Instead
I’d opt for trail shoes and, for warmer weather, sandals. Currently the shoes
would be the Altra Lone Peak 3.5 Mesh, which weigh 622 grams, and sandals the Teva
Terra-Float Universal, which weigh 462 grams and which I wore for most of the
Yosemite to Death Valley walk, giving a total weight of 1.08 kg, just under
half the weight of the Bronzos. My feet would be much more comfortable!
Waterproofs
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| Jottnar Hymir |
There are many good waterproofs today that weigh
considerably less than the 570 gram Mistral, not that that was particularly
heavy. My choice would be the 350 gram Jottnar Hymir, made from very breathable
Polartec Neoshell. I like the smock design and the fabric feels durable, which
is needed on a three month walk where there could be a great deal of rain.
Windproof
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| Montane Lite-speed |
As on other walks I’d expect a windproof top to be my most
worn garment. The double-layer Rohan Pampas jacket I wore in 1978 weighs 750
grams, which seems extraordinarily heavy now. Today I’d go for the Montane
Lite-speed, made from Pertex Quantum, which weighs 156 grams, and which I used
on the Scottish Watershed walk. The Lite-speed has pockets and a hood and rolls
up into a tiny bundle.
Warmwear
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| Berghaus VapourLight HyperTherm Hoody |
The down-filled Wafer jacket from the PHD Sleep System would
be my main warmwear in camp. For walking in chilly weather I’d take the Berghaus
VapourLight HyperTherm Hoody, which only weighs 224 grams yet is as warm as a
much heavier fleece. I used these two jackets on the Yosemite-Death Valley walk
and the combination was excellent.
Trekking poles
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| Dual-Lock Pacerpoles |
Back in 1978 trekking poles didn’t exist. I can’t imagine
doing a long walk without them now. As on all my long walks for many years
these would be Pacerpoles, now the new Dual-Lock model, which weighs 590 grams.
Navigation
In 1978 there really wasn’t any choice – it was OS maps and
a compass. GPS wasn’t even dreamt of. I’d still take map and compass today but
I’d also have OS mapping on my smartphone with the ViewRanger app, which I’ve
used on my last three long-distance walks.
