Walker, Packrafter, Ponderer
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve last updated this site, although thats not to say there has been nothing of note to report. We’ve moved house – about as far west as you can get in Scotland, but around the same latitude, to the outskirts of a small tight knit relatively remote community that…
Continue ReadingFor years charity shops, market stalls, oil rigs and recommendations have been my library, countless books, many of them of rather dubious quality have been consumed in various quantities at various times. Now and then I would come across a “keeper” those ones have traveled with me, first one box then two growing to half…
Continue ReadingDay 16 Up slightly later today, a poor night’s sleep – I think it’s the cup of tea I had at 3 o’clock – caffeine now seems to be having a much greater effect these last few days – too much clean living. About 20 minutes paddling down river I came across two big rafts,…
Continue ReadingDay 11 Not too much progress today – woke up at 06:00 – rain and totally fogged in, so went back to sleep until 07.30 when the rain had stopped, but still very foggy. Got up for breakfast at 09.30. 10.00 looked like the sun might burn off the low cloud – closed back in…
Continue ReadingDay 6 Straight up the mountain in front of me, a beautifully climbing ridgeline all the way, it was a steep pull up but views were incredible. Headed along the summit ridge to the top before a quick break. While I was sitting there admiring the view, I noticed a small pile of slate gathered…
Continue ReadingIn August I completed a 360-mile, 23 day, solo wander through the Gates of the Arctic National Park. From the Nunamiat village of Anaktuvuk Pass, packrafting down grade 2&3 white water rivers, across mountains where views of endless summits fade into distant haze, and over daunting mountain passes to the Inupiat village of Ambler on…
Continue ReadingI completed my first 24 hour race the other weekend, two 2-man teams, in a mixed mode race, hill running, mountain biking, orienteering and kayaking.Inveragh Peninsula, on the West coast of Ireland was the race location, the next peninsular down from the race’s usual location, the Dingle Peninsula. The Dingle 24 hour Adventure Race is…
Continue ReadingGlen Isla is a glen I always drive past on my way somewhere, I’ve never really considered it in it’s own right, as a proper glen with it’s winding river and phalanx of low lying hills. I was flicking through maps online – searching for lines of blue where I wasn’t going to have to…
Continue ReadingI’m tired, absolutely bone weary, 20 odd days non-stop of 100 mile an hour early in the morning to late in the evening maximum effort – driven by that white man’s work ethic that’s bought us to the edge of the abyss that we now find ourselves on. I should know better – I sat…
Continue ReadingSo I’ve been practising unintentionally falling out off my raft midway through grade 2/3 low volume white water. The first time it happened it was totally unexpected, two boulders converging to a narrow throughway I had no hope of making, the wrong route on a small drop. Ending upside down in the cold peaty water…
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