Packrafting the River Nairn OR Carlos Castaneda as Self Help for the Recently Redundant
Before I left corporate work I experienced some anxiety that after 15 years my job may have become a larger part of my identity than I had acknowledged, that I might miss some aspect of it when it was gone. Two months out these fears seem to have been unfounded. It is incredibly liberating to […]
Tour de Cairngorms Bikepacking Trip
In late May I spent four days cycling around the Cairngorms with my friend Donald. This ride has been on my radar for many years but I have never actually allocated the time to it. What better opportunity than now, as a redundant man? Conditions were perfect, warm, sunny and with river levels so low I was […]
Packraft Camp at Whiteness Head – March’s Outdoor Sleep
I’m now at 25 months of sleeping outdoors at least once a month. One might imagine that it would get easier after two years, but I still experience an inbuilt resistance to leaving my warm house and comfortable bed for the dark unknown. Even when my logical mind knows that I am bound for a pleasant […]
Fear of the Dark: February’s Outdoor Sleep
Fear of the dark is a fundamental part of the human condition, dating back millions of years to when we were hominids on the African savannah, sleeping alongside nocturnal hunters capable of snatching us from our nest and dragging us, screaming, into the night. The nature of our fear of the dark has evolved with us. […]
Glen Feshie Hammock Camp: December’s Outdoor Sleep
Here we are at the start of another year. I have resolved to make 2017 a year of writing. This blog will be updated at least fortnightly and I am going to complete two longer projects, a non-fiction book that I started back in 2014 and a short e-book on my 2016 mountaineering trip to […]
Outdoor sleeping catchup March to July
Back in February I completed a year of sleeping outdoors at least once per month. I have continued the habit and have now notched up 17 months straight. Here’s a quick catchup. March – otter watching at a small and secret loch Secret loch Re-reading Barry Lopez’s accounts in ‘Arctic Dreams’ of the Eskimo’s amazing […]
February’s outdoor sleep – 12 in a row, challenge complete
After dinner on the 26th of February I felt inclined to settle down with a well earned drink. But it wasn’t to be, for the weather was settled and I was running out of time to complete my year of outdoor sleeping. I quickly packed my bag, drove a short distance and started climbing up the snowy […]
2015 Monthly Outdoor Sleeping: August
My last night of camping in Canada was the 31st of July. This left August’s outdoor sleep outstanding, and much as I enjoy the outdoors, after a fortnight straight of camping I was ready to spend a bit of time in my house. But time, as ever, was short. After two weekends of settled living, there […]
2015 Outdoor Sleeping: June
Bikepacking test run I’ve always been a big fan of combining mountain biking and overnight trips. At first I would suffer an uncomfortable time carrying a pack, then I graduated to panniers. Panniers are great when you’re moving, but they make the bike extremely unwieldy when pushing uphill, through bog or across rivers. I became […]
This Green Winter Bivvy is a Sign of Things To Come
This month I have a bit of climate chat for you. As you can see from the accompanying photo of my ice-encrusted bivvy bag, my January sleep was chilly but not particularly wintery. Not only is there no snow at my bivvy spot, there is barely a scrap of the white stuff to be seen […]
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