having been cooped up in dublin since september, i decided to do a bit of wombling about for the xmas holidays, as payment for surviving the "big city" 
i thought, if its ok with you guys, i would make a little thread about it here.
recently, i was rewarded for various mess-ups by the grant people. i was refused a grant last year on a mistaken technicality. i cleared up their mistake during the summer, so they resubmitted my application. i got my grant, and also full back pay for last year too! yippy!!
so i now have enough money to get all the fun kit to supply my trips i could want!! i dont want to go abroad, as i want to have a reasonably hassle-free time of it. so i decided that my womble whould be just up and around my local mountain, ben bulben.
here it is in summer.
http://www.lookaroundireland.com/scenicinteractive/benbulben.htm
its not too tough. a lot of cliffs, but not too boggy on the top. the only problem i could have is with water. there is not a lot of good streams up there, and so far, its been a surprisingly dry winter in the northwest of ireland. so far. the temperature will of course be low, above zero would be balmy.
anyway, i had decided on a rough plan. go bum around a mountain. i then went and spent a lot of money on shiny new things. marmot sleeping bag, two sets of HH thermals, a thermarest, new gaiters. a new compass and head torch. new, nicely laminated maps.
here is most of my kit. i was seeing how well my new toys pack up.
the thermarest is HEAVY, but sooo cosy. i am keeping my old foam mat to stop my bivy bag getting punctured though. (any ideas of a good, lightweight alternitive for this is welcome)
so, i had my new shiny kit. i was telling a friend of mine, Seosamh, about it, and he was all, "what you getting tooled up for"? so i told him i was going wombles. he thought it was a great idea, and invited himself along, not having a clue what he was getting himself in for. lol. he is a way good friend of mine, and far too nice a guy for me to refuse, so I just accepted that i am going to have to keep things nice and safe for him. no problem. means i will be buying him a new sleeping bag for xmas though, as i dont want him freezing to death.
next thing Seosamh says is, "will we bring Nathan along"? nathan is my younger brother. he is 20, and a bit of a weapons freak. i say, "ok, as long as he leaves all weapons behind. that includes the compound bow, and the machete." this is ireland after all. the only thing there is to hunt up our mountains are the sheep. and they are so stupid you could just walk up to them and pick them up.
Seosamh talks to him (i dont really talk to my brother much. we rub each other up the wrong way. we are fine so long as we are not alone together. when we are, the tempers flare. not a good thing, as neither of us is small. yes, pity my poor long-suffering mother. )
so thats where we are at now. i am having to think for three, and am writing up a kit list of stuff for them to bring. it will be a bivy only affair, which will be novel, as i am the only experienced bivyer. do you remember your first experiences of a bivy bag? sleeping so exposed in the winter? it will be.... an adventure for them, thats for sure!! i am also the only one who can navigate, so i will probably give them a crash course on navigation on the trip. a great skill to have. the route i have chosen is an easy enough one, that allows us to go real slow. it could all be done at a forced march in one day, but i am giving us two days, with a clear option of a second night out, descending on the third morning, if the lads want. the route ensures reasonable shelter (location considered) for our camps, and best odds at having water local to our camps. i also have allowed for escape routes.
so thats where i am at with our little trip. i will update the thread with news, and a load of pics from the trip.
all feedback welcome. any ideas on kit is also very welcome.
Tim.
i thought, if its ok with you guys, i would make a little thread about it here.
recently, i was rewarded for various mess-ups by the grant people. i was refused a grant last year on a mistaken technicality. i cleared up their mistake during the summer, so they resubmitted my application. i got my grant, and also full back pay for last year too! yippy!!
so i now have enough money to get all the fun kit to supply my trips i could want!! i dont want to go abroad, as i want to have a reasonably hassle-free time of it. so i decided that my womble whould be just up and around my local mountain, ben bulben.
here it is in summer.
http://www.lookaroundireland.com/scenicinteractive/benbulben.htm
its not too tough. a lot of cliffs, but not too boggy on the top. the only problem i could have is with water. there is not a lot of good streams up there, and so far, its been a surprisingly dry winter in the northwest of ireland. so far. the temperature will of course be low, above zero would be balmy.
anyway, i had decided on a rough plan. go bum around a mountain. i then went and spent a lot of money on shiny new things. marmot sleeping bag, two sets of HH thermals, a thermarest, new gaiters. a new compass and head torch. new, nicely laminated maps.
here is most of my kit. i was seeing how well my new toys pack up.
the thermarest is HEAVY, but sooo cosy. i am keeping my old foam mat to stop my bivy bag getting punctured though. (any ideas of a good, lightweight alternitive for this is welcome)
so, i had my new shiny kit. i was telling a friend of mine, Seosamh, about it, and he was all, "what you getting tooled up for"? so i told him i was going wombles. he thought it was a great idea, and invited himself along, not having a clue what he was getting himself in for. lol. he is a way good friend of mine, and far too nice a guy for me to refuse, so I just accepted that i am going to have to keep things nice and safe for him. no problem. means i will be buying him a new sleeping bag for xmas though, as i dont want him freezing to death.
next thing Seosamh says is, "will we bring Nathan along"? nathan is my younger brother. he is 20, and a bit of a weapons freak. i say, "ok, as long as he leaves all weapons behind. that includes the compound bow, and the machete." this is ireland after all. the only thing there is to hunt up our mountains are the sheep. and they are so stupid you could just walk up to them and pick them up.
Seosamh talks to him (i dont really talk to my brother much. we rub each other up the wrong way. we are fine so long as we are not alone together. when we are, the tempers flare. not a good thing, as neither of us is small. yes, pity my poor long-suffering mother.
)so thats where we are at now. i am having to think for three, and am writing up a kit list of stuff for them to bring. it will be a bivy only affair, which will be novel, as i am the only experienced bivyer. do you remember your first experiences of a bivy bag? sleeping so exposed in the winter? it will be.... an adventure for them, thats for sure!! i am also the only one who can navigate, so i will probably give them a crash course on navigation on the trip. a great skill to have. the route i have chosen is an easy enough one, that allows us to go real slow. it could all be done at a forced march in one day, but i am giving us two days, with a clear option of a second night out, descending on the third morning, if the lads want. the route ensures reasonable shelter (location considered) for our camps, and best odds at having water local to our camps. i also have allowed for escape routes.
so thats where i am at with our little trip. i will update the thread with news, and a load of pics from the trip.
all feedback welcome. any ideas on kit is also very welcome.
Tim.
