Using Sherpa Van means that I don’t have to worry too much about paring down the kit list or buying the lightest equipment. Much of what I will carry on a daily basis is already in my pack and used every week on training walks. Sherpa will carry all my changes of clothing and the little luxuries that you look forward to when you get to the Bu0026amp;B.
In my pack or on my person
| Qty. | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterproof gloves | Not breathable unfortunately so they do get a bit sweaty – I only tend to need these if its really cold, windy and rainy. Otherwise my hands get warm very quickly and stay that way |
| 1 | Warm hat | Most of your body heat escapes through your head, especially all you baldies, so hypothermia is more likely without suitable headgear. I often carry a spare one in a waterproof carrier along with a balaclava) |
| 1 | Waterproof Jacket | The Regatta Packaway I bought recently to reduce weight in the pack is not a patch on my Berghaus, but it is much lighter and packs away to almost nothing. |
| 1 | Waterproof Overtrousers | Again, Regatta Packaway, these are great; light, compact and easy to put on over boots as they are zipped all the way to the thigh. I keep them unzipped for quick access when it starts raining |
| 1 | Gaiters | Initially I just bought some ankle gaiters, but they were less than useless, so upgraded to full calf length. These help to keep the water out of the top of your boots and significantly increase the water resistance of your footwear. |
| 1 | Survival shelter | Outdoor Designs standard 2 man bothy, great for when its raining at lunch time, but also helps establish a safe temperature environment in really bad conditions. |
| 1 | Whistle | Almost nothing to this whistle, the wife said “no one will hear that on the hills”, so I demonstrated it in the house and nearly broke the good crystal my Mum bought us as a wedding present. |
| 1 | Dark chocolate bar | Emergency sustenance, because lets face it Kendal Mint Cake tastes like shit. Dark chocolate has more of the stuff that you need at this stage than milk chocolate (apparently). |
| 1 | First aid kit | Mainly band-aid and blister plaster (although I’ve never had a blister on my feet yet since I started walking), see full list below. |
| 1 | Pen knife | Very small Swiss army knife, mainly “just in case” but has been called on to cut stuff on occasion. |
| 1 | Spare laces | Never used these, except that time I lost Meg’s lead and had to improvise a lace into a lead to get her across roads etc. |
| 1 | Head torch | I try to avoid walking after dark and have never camped, so this was really a better safe than sorry acquisition. |
| 1 | Super absorbent towel | Never go travelling without a towel! This gets used on most walks, mainly at the end for washing my face, which is normally covered in dried sweat and thus very salty, also useful for drying Meg. It sometimes even gets washed between the latter and former uses 🙂 |
| 1 | Waterproof liner | This is basically a large ziplock waterproof bag for protecting items of clothing in my pack. Although my Berghaus Freeflow III has a rain cover, it still seems that in bad weather everything inside get wet. |
| 2 | Shopping carrier bags | I started carrying these after a very wet weekend in the Lakes, when many rivers were in spate and crossing stones were submerged. When used with two elastic bands, these act as a barrier to most of the water when worn on the boots. |
| 2 | Elastic bands | For the carrier bag river crossing method described above |
| 1 | Mobile phone | Although you can rarely get a signal in the hills, this may still be useful. SMS text messages require significantly less signal than a call, so even when a call is impossible, a text message may still get through. Also my phone is an MP3 player – very handy. |
| 1 | PDA | My GPS and Sat Nav, holds the route for the day and tracks my progress, including speed and altitude. |
| 1 | PDA spare battery | In watertight baggie with other spare batteries (headtorch u0026amp; battery extender). Doubles the life of my PDA for GPS purposes. |
| 1 | PDA battery extender | The battery extender actually tops up my PDA battery, so in theory it should never run flat. |
| 1 | Camera | My Fuji F11, the perfect digital camera for walking. Its very small, very light, huge battery life (500 shots), special outdoor shooting mode and is ready to take pics in 1.1 secs from switching it on. |
| 1 | Sunglasses | Just cheap ones. Glare causes headaches and can seriously ruin your day, it can be even worse in Winter with snow on the ground. |
| 1 | Sunhat | Keep the sun off my neck. I hate suncream, so rarely use it. It just feels nasty on my skin, so the hat is a must to avoid lobster impressions. |
| 1 | Face cloth | Normally tied to one of the shoulder straps of my pack, its handy for wiping off sweat during the summer months. |
| 1 | Spare PDA CF GPS card | I am a real belt and braces person, and managed to pick up a cheap spare GPS card for the PDA, in case my primary one goes phut! |
| 1 | Waterproof map case | In case PDA goes phut |
| 1 | Map of the day | In case PDA goes phut |
| 1 | Small notebook u0026amp; pen | I generally find it easier to keep my journal in paper format, although I am experimenting with the PDA. This is generally done in the pub at the end of the walk or in the Bu0026amp;B at the end of the night. |
| 1 | Walking pole | I use a single Brasher anti-shock which is cheap, light and fits my hand nicely. I did experiment with a Leki for a while, but ended up with the only blister I have ever had while walking – on my hand! |
| 1 | 1000 mile liner socks | Kept in the waterproof liner, these socks are double skinned and prevent blisters. As I have never had a blister I absolutely swear by these things and always wear them when walking. |
| 1 | Hiking socks | Kept in the waterproof liner as emergency backup for soaked feet. Wet feet blister so much more easily than dry feet. |
| 1 | Toilet roll in watertight baggie | Just in case I ever get caught short in the open, it weighs nothing and is therefore worth more than its weight in gold. |
| 1 | Plastic bag u0026amp; ziplock bag | Carrying wet stuff if required and for protecting small items |