Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar on the GR5 Through The Alps in 2018Recent years have seen an upsurge in tents designed to be pitched with trekking poles. This isn’t a new idea however. I’ve...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/07/twenty-five-years-of-trekking-pole.html
Not an ultralight load! Ready for the High Sierra section of the PCT in 1982 with 21 days food plus snow and ice gear.I've done an interview for Ultralight Outdoor Gear which you can read here. I...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/07/interview-on-long-distance-walking-for.html
Wayfayrers Vegan Breakfast in pot, coffee bag brewing in cup. Noodles packet from dinner the night before.On long-distance walks I buy food along the way rather than send food parcels. There are ...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/07/what-i-ate-on-cape-wrath-trail.html
An Garbh-choireSometimes plans don’t quite work out. Sometimes they don’t work out at all. Knowing recovery from a forthcoming hand operation would keep me off the hills for at least a couple...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/07/a-forced-change-of-plan-and-walk-in.html
In the August issue of The Great Outdoors I review six backpacking stoves, Alex Roddie reviews six two-person tents, and Fiona Russell and John Manning review a pair of budget sleeping bags apiec...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/07/a-look-at-august-issue-of-great-outdoors.html
Two little videos from my recent camp in Gleann Eanaich
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/07/two-little-videos-from-my-recent-camp.html
The midge season is well under way in the Scottish Highlands. Trying to avoid these tiny winged horrors now becomes a major factor in outdoor trips until the autumn. Camp high in a breeze, avoid ...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/07/a-wonderful-new-midge-net.html
Camp in Gleann EanaichOn a trip with Tony Hobbs back in February I was blasted out of Gleann Eanaich by fierce winds, ending up camping down in the shelter of the forest. Over four months l...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/07/an-interesting-visit-to-loch-eanaich.html
Coire an t-Sneachda, July 2, 2024Yesterday I went for a walk in the Cairngorms with @Steve72Outdoors and Mel. The weather was wet and windy and cold – more like November than July. We walked in...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/07/thoughts-on-general-election-after.html
A solitary rowan growing out of a boulder in An Caorann Mor between Loch Cluanie and Glen AffricThe Cape Wrath Trail, most of which I walked a few weeks ago, is mainly a low level route. There ar...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/where-are-trees-thinking-about.html
Loch Etchachan from the North Ridge of Cairn GormTwo weeks after I was battered by hail and snow in the Cairngorms I had the opposite problem on my next venture onto the tops. Heat! Too muc...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/a-hot-june-day-in-cairngorms.html
Architectural styleThe Exhibition Centre where the Outdoor Trade Show is held (see last post) is in the heart of Liverpool's renovated docklands and on the banks of the Mersey. Walk out of the sh...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/after-show-urban-stravaig-around.html
Back home from a five day trip to Liverpool for the annual Outdoor Trade Show, which I attended on behalf of The Great Outdoors magazine. Two days on trains - three each way and all on time (just...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/pictures-from-exhibition-outdoor-show.html
Along the Allt GranndaMy Cape Wrath Trail walk started in sunshine and ended in rain, wind and cold that had me stopping three or four days from the end. There’s no set route. Start in Fort Wil...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/my-cape-wrath-trail-walk.html
The July issue of The Great Outdoors is available now. I just have a couple of reviews in this issue - a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy XCover 7, and a water bottle, the SilverAnt Ultralight Tita...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/a-look-at-july-issue-of-great-outdoors.html
Glen Feshie in the Cairngorms, October 2023Yesterday I recorded a podcast with John D. Burns about the Cairngorms. We covered the weather, the funicular, Glen Feshie, beavers, salmon, grouse moor...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/podcast-on-cairngorms-with-john-d-burns.html
Squalls streaking across the Lairig GhruA week ago I lay in my tent wondering whether to continue my Cape Wrath Trail (CWT) walk. I was just three or four days from the finish. But the forecast w...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/june-cold-in-cairngorms-and-why-i-was.html
Evening light over the River GarrySorting through the photos I took on the Cape Wrath Trail I noticed that a large number feature clouds, mist, and skyscapes, a result of the weather I experience...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/clouds-mist-on-cape-wrath-trail-some.html
A fascinating book on the history of British outdoor clothing is due out this autumn. The authors Henry Iddon and Max Leonard are seeking funds on Kickstarter to meet the costs of publishing.&nbs...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/kickstarter-fund-raiser-for-mountain.html
One of the main joys with long-distance walking for me is camping in wild and beautiful places. There are many opportunites for this on the Cape Wrath Trail and on my recent walk I had fourteen n...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/camps-along-cape-wrath-trail.html
On the Cape Wrath Trail.Since writing the piece below on heat exchanger (HX) pots I've spent 19 days on the Cape Wrath Trail (story to come) using the Jetboil Stash HX Pot and the Soto Windmaster...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/06/update-from-cape-wrath-trail-heat.html
Pack packed, gear sorted, train tickets bought. In a few days I'll be setting off on the Cape Wrath Trail, making my way from Fort William to Cape Wrath through the NW Highlands.I've though...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/05/the-cape-wrath-trail.html
Jetboil Stash pot & stoveHeat exchangers are corrugated fins or vanes on the base of a pot that capture heat that would otherwise be lost to the air and up the sides of the pot and transfer i...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/05/why-ive-changed-camping-pots-look-at.html
Some years spring creeps in so gradually it’s hard to say when it has begun. This year spring has arrived with startling speed. One day the end of winter was still dragging on. The next the sun...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/05/spring-arrives-ryvoan-pass-meall.html
Approach and retreatRoe deer are a common sight in the fields in front of our house. Sometimes they wander into the garden. Usually they just amble around browsing, entering and leaving the garde...
http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2024/05/approach-and-retreat-roe-deer-are.html