Outside Online

The August issue of TGO is all about islands. The magazine opens with a splendid double-page photo of  Mangersta on the Isle of Lewis by Eilidh Cameron. Hanna Lindon looks at eight British ones, from Rum to the Scilly Isles. Helen Iles revisits Ynys Enlli  (Bardsey Island) for seal watching and star shooting. Alastair  MacDonald showcases some of Scotland's west coast

 

Wildfires are dangerous, destructive, and terrifying. We all know that. When one comes close to your home it all becomes much more real though.  This has just happened with wildfires where I live, one coming just eight kilometres from our house. The fires raged for four days before being declared over. All the local roads were closed. There are many other isolated dwellings in the area. The

 

 The terrain gets toughMidday on June 26, 2005 and I set off on the GR20 long-distance path in Corsica with Cameron McNeish. It was a mistake. Not hiking the GR20 or being with Cameron. The noon start. Straight from the Scottish Highlands we felt the heat instantly. The sun was blazing down from an unreal blue sky. From the little town of Calenzana the trail climbed through sun burnt fields

 

 A short video from OTS, to go along with my last post.

 Last week I was down south in Liverpool for the annual Outdoor Trade Show. I've been attending such shows for many decades in many places and after a while they all blend together, the venues interchangeable - cavernous, echoing, harshly lit, windowless  halls populated by a myriad stands promoting outdoor gear of every sort. The ambience is about as far away from the actual outdoors

Rainbow over Loch AlvieI wasn’t expecting rainbows to dominate a walk over Geal-charn Mor in the Monadh Liath hills. I thought it would be Brew Dog’s disastrous ‘Lost Forest’ tree-planting exercise that has resulted in long deer fences across the hills and masses of the new trees dying (see this Parkswatch Scotland post) that occupied my thoughts. However the weather took control with a series of

The theme of the July issue of TGO is summer skills and adventure. In keeping with this Kirsty Pallas and I review three pairs of hiking sandals each. Also in the gear pages Lara Dunn and Peter Macfarlane review three day packs apiece, Steph Wetherell tries four pairs of trekking poles, and David Lintern tests the Cotopaxi Tarak 20L pack and Kapai 3L hip pack. Summer skills come courtesy of

 A comparison of  three pots & two stoves.  

At the borderOn May 30 1985, excited and nervous, I was at the US/Canada border ready to begin the Continental Divide Trail, a 3100 mile walk that would take me from the snowbound Northern Rockies to the deserts of New Mexico and a finish at the border with Mexico. The Chinese Wall, Bob Marshall Wilderness, MontanaEn route I encountered deep snow, searing heat, floods, droughts, forest fires,

 In Upland Ian Crofton takes a broad sweep through the British hills from the North Downs to the Cairngorms. Along the way he skilfully weaves together personal and family stories, prehistory and history, literature, art, geology, nature and more in a glorious mix of everything the hills have to offer. As his journey progresses we meet a cast of characters – painters, poets, mountaineers,

  Video of the walk described in my last post.

Sgor GaoithThe long dry spell is over. Rain is falling heavily. Just a few days ago I was striding across the crisp, crunchy, dusty Moine Mhor – the Great Moss, a vast normally boggy upland – astonished at the dryness. The day before I had marvelled at the shrunken River Feshie. That will change now. I’d set off down Glen Feshie on a sunny afternoon, though with thin clouds spreading overhead.

 Three stove systems compared.

Loch AvonBack in March I camped by the Feith Buidhe (yellow bog-stream) on the Cairngorm Plateau and went up Ben Macdui (see this post). I had planned on walking to where the Feith Buidhe crashes over the cliffs at the head of the Loch Avon Basin, one of my favourite places in the Cairngorms. However I didn’t have snowshoes or skis and the snow was deep enough to make walking slow and arduous so

 A video of last week's camp on the Cairngorm Plateau and visit to Carn Etchachan. A post on the trip with still photos will follow in the next day or so. 

Transferring gas between canisters before a trip. It's now approaching two years since I wrote about this and I still have many almost empty canisters. I need to do more! And recycle more empty ones.

 The June issue of The Great Outdoors is out now. My contribution is a review of the new improved (it really is) Jetboil Flash 1.0L Cooking System. Also in the Gear pages Fiona Russell reviews the OMM Kamleika Jacket, Lara Dunn and Peter Macfarlane review five pairs of hiking shoes and two budget daypacks each, and Kirsty Pallas and Peter Macfarlane review two pairs of underwear each.In the

The 'nifty fifty' view, taken at 51mm equivalent (34mm APS-C)How much do photos show a landscape as it actually appeared, that would look the same to someone else standing in the same spot?  I don’t mean the same colours, the same light, the same sky,  of course. They change all the time. I mean the perspective, the relationship between different parts of the image. If there’s a tree in

The Akto on Stob Coire Easain on the Munros & Tops walk, 1996Thirty years ago I was planning my next long-distance walk, a round of all the Munros and Tops (3000 foot+ mountains in the Scottish Highlands). On previous multi-month walks I hadn’t been too concerned about the weight of my load, though it was always a consideration. They had all been end-to-end linear walks though where the route

 A little video of the walk described in my last post.

Coire na Ciste is a long narrow V-shaped corrie on the north side of Cairn Gorm. Until 2005 it was part of the Cairngorm ski area and had chairlifts, drag lifts and a lodge. The runs down its steep sides were some of the most challenging at the resort. I can remember coming down it as a novice Nordic skier in the 1980s and swearing never to do so again I found it so terrifying! In 2005 the Coire

Light Hiking – Tarp Shelters A good tarp is both lighter and cheaper than the even the lightest of tents and has a number of advantages that make it much more attractive to light backpackers. [...] This Article Light Hiking – Tarp Shelters is an original article from OFFGRID Survival If it is appearing on any other site but OFFGRID Survival, that site does not have our permission to use our copyrighted content!

Light Hiking – Tarp Shelters A good tarp is both lighter and cheaper than the even the lightest of tents and has a number of advantages that make it much more attractive to light backpackers. [...] This Article Light Hiking – Tarp Shelters is an original article from OFFGRID Survival If it is appearing on any other site but OFFGRID Survival, that site does not have our permission to use our copyrighted content!

Buying a Survival Backpack: Military & Tactical vs Hiking & Hunting Backpacks A breakdown of the best survival backpacks. What to look for, what features to choose, and what style suits your situation. [...] This Article Buying a Survival Backpack: Military & Tactical vs Hiking & Hunting Backpacks is an original article from OFFGRID Survival If it is appearing on any other site but OFFGRID Survival, that site does not have our permission to use our copyrighted content!

Buying a Survival Backpack: Military & Tactical vs Hiking & Hunting Backpacks A breakdown of the best survival backpacks. What to look for, what features to choose, and what style suits your situation. [...] This Article Buying a Survival Backpack: Military & Tactical vs Hiking & Hunting Backpacks is an original article from OFFGRID Survival If it is appearing on any other site but OFFGRID Survival, that site does not have our permission to use our copyrighted content!

Kelvin 36 Urban Ultra-Tool Review The Kelvin 36 is a compact tool, unlike any other on the market, and features tools that you won't find in most traditional multitools. [...] This Article Kelvin 36 Urban Ultra-Tool Review is an original article from OFFGRID Survival If it is appearing on any other site but OFFGRID Survival, that site does not have our permission to use our copyrighted content!

Kelvin 36 Urban Ultra-Tool Review The Kelvin 36 is a compact tool, unlike any other on the market, and features tools that you won't find in most traditional multitools. [...] This Article Kelvin 36 Urban Ultra-Tool Review is an original article from OFFGRID Survival If it is appearing on any other site but OFFGRID Survival, that site does not have our permission to use our copyrighted content!

Survival Tarp Shelters: Why A Tarp is one of the Best Things you Can Carry With little more than a bit of paracord and a tarp, you can quickly set up an improvised shelter that will keep you warm and dry. [...] This Article Survival Tarp Shelters: Why A Tarp is one of the Best Things you Can Carry is an original article from OFFGRID Survival If it is appearing on any other site but OFFGRID Survival, that site does not have our permission to use our copyrighted content!

Survival Tarp Shelters: Why A Tarp is one of the Best Things you Can Carry With little more than a bit of paracord and a tarp, you can quickly set up an improvised shelter that will keep you warm and dry. [...] This Article Survival Tarp Shelters: Why A Tarp is one of the Best Things you Can Carry is an original article from OFFGRID Survival If it is appearing on any other site but OFFGRID Survival, that site does not have our permission to use our copyrighted content!