Well sorted out the mystery of the cheque for the Challenge being cashed. Dave has the paper work, we are on the Challenge good and proper. That is such good news, cheered me up after the shock yesterday.

Spent sometime getting my gear together for tomorrow (now minus sleeping bag, rucksack, spare clothes and waterproofs) my current base weight is 4 kilos.

Basically that is the following:

Folding plate

Liv Down Smock

MSR Titanium mug

Backpackinglight.com Titanium spoon

Life Venture XL Trek Towel

Mountain Cap

Sunglasses

Extremities Balaclava

3/4 length Therm-a-rest

Lifesystems Midge/Mosquito Head Net

First Aid kit

Rab Survival Zone Bivy Bag

Tiolet trowel

250 gas cartridge

"Bob tarp"

Jetboil

Wash kit

Inflatable travel pillow

Bothy bag

30 litre dry bag 

So I should come in below the 10 kilo base weight that I'm aiming for.

Definitely 2 kilos to add for the rucksack and sleeping bag (I think it will come in under that). And about 1.5 kilos for the waterproofs and spare clothes (hopefully). Psychologically it will mean alot to be under the target. Now to work on loosing that gut.

So with a busy Saturday, and the rain with a hint of thunder and lightening I wasn't able to get out and do the long walk round Ceasar's Camp I had planned on Sunday.
We did pop round and drop off a present for a friends daughter who had turned 18 in the week. Which ended up us being offered to join them in their roast dinner (which was really good, Kate even cleared her plate). But afterwards Kate ended up weighing herself on their scales (sworn to secrecy on her weight - sorry). Then the big mistake happened, I weighed myself. I hadn't done this in years. I've avoided it and gone on appearance. I've always thought I was in the 15 stone region, and for the Challenge I'd have to loose about a stone. I'm way off the mark. 16 stone folks!!!! I now have to loose more than a stone, now I think it has to be 2 stone. Is this going to be mission impossible? I hope not, but feeling pretty bad about my weight today.
Still tomorrow should cheer me up picking up my new gear.

Apparently this is meant to have been fixed by Thames Water. Well it sure looks like they have done a good job. This happens whenever we have any rainfall. I believe that the houses there have also been flooded.

But what gets me, this happened mid week as well, was even worse than today. The council came out, and what did they do? Put up flood warning signs!!

 

UPDATE: It's Sunday and after some heavy rain, with thunder and lightening thrown in for good measure. The road is even worse, it must be a good foot or more deep the water. And the homes affected have made crude attempts to keep the water out. Once more the highways agency was called out. Oh and did nothing. You have to feel for those having to suffer this. As I drove past the 3 or 4 homes creating waves of water, you could see the house owners standing watching in their wellies.

Spoke to Bob today, originally to do with something un-outdoors related. But ended up on the subject of the Challenge.

Bob now has in the Lightwave, Golite, Gregory and OMM packs for me to look at next week. I just need to get the gear out and ready to take with me to try the packs out with for capacity and fit. And I got the impression that Bob liked the Lightwave packs a lot. Well ok, he said he liked them alot.

I'm really looking forward to a) getting my stuff, and b) looking at the rucksacks. It's starting to look like Christmas has come early

 

Bob also mentioned that Mallaig looks like it maybe a very popular start point this year. Which means the TGO Challenge route vetters may be asking people to use alternative starting places. Which reminds me I think Andy has a list of the start points and their pro's and cons, I must email him and ask for them soon.

 

We couldn't discuss routes yet as I don't know it myself! But I will know it in a weeks time when I visit Dave for the planning meeting.

 

Bob has also got "Hostile Habitats" now, which he is getting Rose to read. Apparently Rose is better at remembering information than Bob. Sounds like Rose is smarter than Bob to me  (sorry Bob couldn't resist that - only joking, unless Rose is reading this, oh I'm in deep do do anyway you look at it)

 

Checked my bank statement today and the cheque written for the challenge has been cashed. Which I thought was only done if you were on the Challenge. But the last I heard was that we were high on the reserves list.

Found it on the table in the conservatory!!

 

I flippin looked there, I'm sure of it. I know I did.

Late last night I was browsing the web, and thought I know I'll go and see what Andy Howell has been upto recently. So off I clicked to his blog (http://www.andyhowell.info/trek-blog/). Naturally Andy has commented on recent events as I have, and I think Andy has covered it a hell of a lot better. What surprised me is that Andy has blogged about this little blog of mine. I was like "wow!", it is such an honour to be mentioned. I certainly wasn't expecting this to happen. But maybe with a bit of hindsight I should of expected it, especially having asked Andy for some feedback.  Even after reading Andy's words several times, I'm still not sure if he is being complementary or not. I like to think he is.

I've managed to get the following books to aid in my planning for the TGO Challenge (even though Dave has already done the route).

Hostile Habitats - first heard about this in TGO, and then a mention of it on the TGO Challenge Message Board. This should (if I manage to remember any of it) help me to get more out of my crossing. It deals with the Scottish landscape, how it was formed, the wildlife, and plants.
Scottish Hill Tracks - Andy Howell mentions this on his blog as being recommended by Chris Townsend. So I won't repeat what Andy has already said on this book (go look on there and stop being lazy).

At a later date I'll post some feedback on the books. Seems only fair that I read them first before commenting.

Any further recommendations of books to get hold of to help with the planning or enrich the experience of the crossing please post a comment.

Yesterday two youngsters (aged 18 and 23) were found dead 20 minutes from the car park on the Cairngorms, they had been ice climbing at Coire an t-Sneachda - the Corrie of the Snows, on the way back caught by 120 mph winds and deep snow.
Naturally the OM message board has been discussing the subject. The usual postings of condolence are there, but then you get the armchair critic making ridiculous statements that are clearly aimed at causing an argument and score the opening points.
What happened is a tragedy whichever way you look at it. If by looking at the events we can learn and a life gets saved, then something good will of come out of this. But you then have the argument about when the appropriate time is to have that discussion. I tend in this case to say the right time is now, because the winter season is upon us, and more people potentially could be in similar situations. It may appear to be insensitive to the families of the deceased but I'm sure they would not want others to go through the same, and it certainly is not meant to be that way. My main fear is that if the subject was discussed now, some, not all, would not be able to discuss it from a factual point of view, and would have to argue from which ever camp they fall in and make it personal. Trying to come out on top, on something that is not a contest.
Why am I even mentioning this on my blog, and not just leaving the thing alone? Well having been to the Cairngorms a couple of times in winter conditions now (the only times I have been to Scotland), and the fact the route Dave has done for the TGO Challenge crosses the Cairngorms. It kind of comes as a reminder of how dangerous this sport is that we take part in is, the human cost in those lost, and those left behind to grieve. The place I considered a playground suddenly changes to one of sorrow for others. It makes you think also is this too high a cost to pay? I know I will be back out on the hills when I get a chance, and maybe that is my answer to the question.

Today copies of "Collins Wild Guide to Mushrooms & Toadstools" arrived as did "Hostile Habitats: Scotland's Mountain Environment". I can see my weekend walks with the dogs getting longer as I try and identify fungi I can take home and eat. May have to do one of those guided fungi forays also at some point.

I'll say more about "Hostile Habitats" at another time.

This weekend was spent walking the dogs with friends and me being on call on Saturday.
Saturday Mark came round, and saw us walking the dogs at Caesar’s Camp outside Aldershot. I will be taking the dogs here more often at weekends as part of the training. Even though compared with elsewhere the hill is small, it is still the hilliest place locally to walk the dogs, and I can simulate here some of the conditions I will come across it Scotland. I also like walking here because on a good day you can actually see London. And this Saturday was a great day to walk at Caesar’s Camp, it was a perfect winters day, sun out, not too cold, and blue skies.
Mark was also treated to a demo of the XBox360 which I think impressed him with the quality of the graphics.
Sunday was a walk with Kate and our friend Julie round Fleet Pond. Well that isn't exactly true, we don't actually go round the Pond or down to the pond itself. A more accurate description would be we walked next to Fleet Pond.

Spent some of my spare time (don't tell Kate this, I tell her I'm rushed off my feet) looking at the TGO Challenge message board. It is recommended as a very good source of information on the challenge. I'd also been warned that they don't tolerate fools easily on there either.
What a friendly and tolerant place (shame I can not add an ironic emphasis on that). I recognised one or two names that post regularly on the OM forums, but many are new names to me. And it was some of these new names that come across as such a friendly lot, that they make you think twice about ever wanting to post on the message board, and definitely not wanting to meet them on the challenge itself. These flamers have put me off the idea of posting on the message board, and if I have any questions I will most likely approach people that I know.

Had such a fright this evening, I thought my whole prep for the TGO Challenge was out the window.

It all started when I got home from work, and Kate wasn't able to find the car key for the Nissan Bluebird. Unfortunately we only have the one key for the Bluebird. If the key was lost that would mean the car would have to be scraped, as getting new locks done would cost more than the car is worth. We looked everywhere, and nothing. I ended up having to drop Kate off for her head massage leaving her to walk home. Now don't get the wrong impression I couldn't pick her up as the boys and I were off to see Casino Royale, the new Bond movie.

Not having the second car would mean I would be unable to visit Bob, and wouldn't be able to get to Dave's for the planning meeting. And I was looking at also having to get Bob to post my gear to me. It was looking that already my plans where going out of the window.

So we get to Basingstoke, park the car, and walk to the cinema. Josh turns round and says he knows where the car key is. It was in his jacket pocket!!! In the cinema I had to sneak a call to Kate to let her know the key had been found. I didn't want her to spend the evening stil hunting for the key and worrying about it.

Saturday will see a spare key being cut, and placed in a safe place.

But I'm just relieved that everything is back on. Phew that was a close call.

My gas stove of choice is the Jetboil (http://www.jetboil.com/). I've had one since they first came out. I love it, I take it on walks with me instead of a flask, take it backpacking and car camping.
One of the main advantages for me is that it is a complete unit. In theory you don't need anything else, although I do tend to take a mug with me to drink from. And the speed you can boil water, wow! I did time it when I first got the Jetboil and found that it was quicker than the stated times at boiling the water! Of course as the gas canister runs down the pressure drops and you do get longer boiling times. But this is the same with all gas canister based stoves. I can't really comment on how much more efficient the Jetboil is in it's fuel consumption as I haven't even tried measuring it. Frankly I don't have that much spare time on my hands despite popular opinion.
It will, to be honest take something pretty amazing for me to move away from using a Jetboil.
One thing that I just don't see me using or moving to is a meths stove (aka the pepsi can type) or solid fuel ones. They just take tooo long to boil water. I used a solid fuel one once, years ago now, to boil water for a cuppa on the beach. It took ages, I could of driven home, had a cuppa there and got back in the time it took to boil the water.
As I said above have the Jetboil means I don't need any extra pots and pans. But I have that option to be able to take them if I take the adaptor I have for it. But seeing as I'm going lightweight I won't be doing this.
But I will be taking my current favourite mug, which I got at the OM Meet in September, which is a MSR Titanium Mug (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product115.asp). This has replaced the plastic TGO thermal mug I have. I some how prefer drinking from the MSR mug; it's an expensive preference, as the TGO mug only cost a fiver. Not sure on weight difference. I'll have to weigh them and compare, which should be an interesting exercise when I'm bored of living ^__^
At that OM Meet in September (I bet Kate is glad Bob doesn't go to every OM Meet) I also bought a BPL.Com Long Handled Titanium Spoon  (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product103.asp), which is fantastic to use with the Jetboil. Which presents me with the problem of choosing between that and my Lifeventure
Titanium Knife, Fork and Spoon Set (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product21.asp). I'm leaning at the mo towards the spoon, but this may change.
Call me weird but I like eating off a plate, although at a push I could slum it and eat out of the Jetboil Cup or a pot. So this bit of kit that I use is fantastic, the Flatworld Folding Dish (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product23.asp). The inventor and owner of the company has been on the BBC Two Dragons Den, has been interviewed for a podcast or two by Bob. A versatile bit of kit and weighs next to nothing, I love it.
The next bit of kit I have in my kitchen for backpacking is a recent addition, and awaiting pick up (getting same time as I get the sleeping bag), and that is the MSR
Mug Mate (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product135.asp). I've gone with this instead of my Jetboil coffee press for a couple of reasons. One to save on washing up, so I can make a coffee or tea without having to wash up the Jetboil before cooking. Secondly I don't need to make that much coffee or tea. The Jetboil accessory is great for making coffee for a couple of people, and for me making enough for one with it is too much hassle. The reason I've gone for something like this is so I have real coffee on the walk, or tea. Several people have now mentioned that the actual bag of a tea bag is not biodegradable. So if I want tea I will need to use tea leafs (I'll go into this in more detail in a later entry).
And the final bit of my kitchen is a homemade washing up bowl! Basically all it is, is the bottom of a 5 litre bottle of water (cost less than a pound). I'll post a picture later. Only draw back is that it doesn't fold down, so will have to have stuff in it in the rucksack. But weight is next to nothing, and will make cleaning of stuff easier and also washing in the morning.

Bob emailed me earlier today to say that my Rab sleeping bag had arrived. Almost wish I hadn't said I'd pick it up now, as it would be nice knowing I'll have it tomorrow. But still another 10 days or so before I get it. But then I will also get to talk kit and look over rucksacks again. I'm looking forward to that.

I've been in the process of moving to using a tarp and bivvy as my first choice for backpacking, for about 6 months now. And now plan to use this combination on the TGO Challenge next year.

I have used a bivvy before; my very first ever wild camp was using a borrowed bivvy bag on the Black Mountain some 4 years ago now. And that was the best ever sleep I have ever had. If I remember correctly the stove I used back then was also borrowed from the same person. There was a breeze in the night, but otherwise the weather was fine for using a bivvy. Whether I would be so keen if the weather had been worse I don't know. But as a first time it couldn't of been more perfect.

In this short period of transition I have now built up a collection of tarps! (I know very sad.)

My first tarp I got was the Golite Tarp 2 (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product128.asp). I've used this on a backpacking trip in the Lakes, and also as a shelter from a thunder storm while watching the Farnborough Airshow. I did find this to be too big for one person to use as a solo tarp, at the Airshow I had three adults and 3 large dogs under it. So plenty of living space available. This tarp has been tested in adverse conditions, i.e. the thunderstorm, and also in a strong wind in the Lakes, and performed really well. And I do like it a lot, and it would be my first choice if Bob hadn't gone and designed his own brand of tarps. I have to admit for guy lines I used some tent ones bought from Millets with the plastic adjusters, and avoided using too many knots.

It was when Bob announced he had the "Bob tarp" or the Backpackinglight.co.uk Solo Tarp as he prefers to call it (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product156.asp), I thought of getting one. The theory being I would use the Golite Tarp 2 when out with friends on walks or if/when I take my son wild camping, and a smaller tarp for when out by myself. I've not had chance to use the tarp yet in anger on a trip, but I have taken it out on walks with the dogs to play around with.

Bob advise "to seam seal the inside of the 'lifter' patches under tension before use in heavy rain, as this is the only area where seepage may occur.", which I still have to get round to doing. It's on my list of things to do.

My final tarp was a gift from a friend. Dawn has been reviewing her gear lately and decided she would not be using her Golite Cave 1 Tarp any more (http://www.golite.com/products/NS_proddetail.asp?number=SH6000), so she very generously gave me hers, and a 2 man Henry Shires Tarp Tent (that needs a minor repair). I've not had chance to play with this at all yet, so can't really give any feed back on it at this point.

With the tarps I use my own bivvy bag now, I no longer need to borrow. The one I got was the Rab Survival Zone (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product58.asp), and was lucky enough to have got the last pertex one that Bob had in stock. I went for this one as it had been getting good feedback on the OM forums, and was a good price (i.e. under my £50 price limit). Some bivvy bags can be as much as a tent in price, and have hoops etc. And at the higher prices I feel you may as well buy a tent, as there also tends to be not much of a weight difference either. Plus if using a tarp one of these more "complicated" bivvy bags is pointless and not worth the extra cost.

I've used the Survival Zone two or three times now, and have been more than happy with it's performance, and not experienced any condensation yet. This maybe because I was using it in optimum weather conditions (i.e. slight breeze). But none the less my experience so far has been a positive one.

My major quandary for the TGO Challenge is which tarp to use the "Bob Tarp" or the Golite Cave 1? Both have their advantages and their disadvantages. I'll play with them more over the winter and see how I get on and blog my findings here.

I'm going to close this entry with a quote from Bob. Who sums up things perfectly on his site when he says "Using a tarp with a bivvy bag is a great way to see more of the outdoors and feel 'part' of your environment", I've certainly experienced that already, and hope that I can repeat that experience on the TGO Challenge.

Way back in August Kate said I could apply to go on the TGO Challenge for May 2007.

It was early September when I got a call from Dave asking me about the route I was going to do, to which I responded that I hadn't even given it a thought at that point. Dave then asked me if I wanted to do the TGO Challenge with him, and that he had already worked out most of the route. I was really taken aback with how much Dave had already done in planning. It also felt like a great honour I was being asked by Dave to do the crossing with him. Dave does have a lot of friends, especially in the outdoors world, who are more experienced than I on backpacking etc. I get on well with Dave and I consider him a good friend, so it was a no brainer to say yes. I didn't need any other convincing, but Dave said we may stand a better chance of getting on the TGO Challenge is we are applying as a team instead of individually. Well I'm up for anything that increases our chances of getting selected.

Once TGO came out with the application form, I have to admit I was not as timely as I liked in getting my filled in form to Dave to send off. Home life had been very "interesting" around that time, well it had been for nearly a year and a half to truthful. But around this time even more so. But I got the form off to Dave eventually (which he commented on in his blog).

It is then a waiting game from then to find out if you are on or not.

Since saying yes Kate has had second thoughts and is worried how she would cope if I got on the TGO Challenge, and started praying I didn't make it on the list.

In September there was an OutdoorsMagic (http://www.outdoorsmagic.com) Meet up in the Lakes. Which once it was confirmed that Bob from Backpackinglight.co.uk (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk) was attending with some of his stock, I made plans to attend. This was a chance for me to see some of the lightweight rucksacks in the flesh and to pick Bob's brains on the tarps, rucksacks etc.

I got to the campsite late on the Friday, and ended up camping in a separate field from all the other OMers there. The Saturday I had planned to go for a walk, but ended spending the day looking at gear and chewing the fat over with Dave and Bob at the campsite. Still this was a very productive day for me, as I got to try some potential rucksacks, learnt some useful knots, got to see some of the other options lightweight tent wise to a tarp and discuss gear for the crossing. I even ended up being interviewed for the podcast of the meet Bob was doing!

Looking at the TGO Challenge website (http://www.tgochallenge.co.uk/), they were reporting that 370 people had applied for the 300 places, so they would be drawing for places.

During the waiting I'd been talking to some that I know that had been on the TGO Challenge previously and completed it successfully, Roger Smith had been calling them to chase up their applications.

While waiting I decide to order my sleeping bag for the TGO Challenge, after talking things over with Bob (he is great for independent advice and not wanting to flog you stuff that you don't need etc), we settled on the Rab Quantum Endurance 400, which is rated to about -7. Bob gave me a really good deal on the bag. I also managed to get Bob to reserve me one of the new Petzl e+Lite, which was another pre-order special from Bob costing £5 less than the RRP (did I say that Bob has some great offers on his site?). After months of dithering I finally decided to get a silk sleeping bag liner as well. Plus there are some other small pieces I ordered as well from Bob. So any saving I had on the bag has very quickly been spent ^__^ .

Which brings us to two weeks ago. Out of the blue I get a call from Dave. We haven't made the 300. It looked as if Kate's prayers had been answered. I was gutted, I really did feel that my world had ended and there was little hope. The TGO Challenge had come to mean that much to me. It had become that light at the end of the tunnel, something to aim for, to help me get through the "interesting" times at home.

After a couple of days contemplating doom and gloom, I decided that I would go to Scotland for a week next May anyway and get some experience of Scotland at that time of year. I gave Dave a call and suggested this and he was up for it as well.

A few days later Dave calls again. We were first and second on the reserves list. Which means we stand a very good chance to get on the TGO Challenge. So I booked my holiday for next May, which my boss approved straight away, and Dave and I have a planning weekend arranged for the start of December.

The other news Dave had was he was going to do a daily progress update as we did the crossing that would appear on the OM website and also possibly the TGO one. On the back of this is something else possibly being arranged that I can't go into details about now, but will if it comes off.