Camera Gear

For the long distance hiker who enjoys quality photography carrying a camera can become a chore, I love to use a Dslr but the size and weight becomes a problem, There are a few smallish Dslr's on the market but if you want the best image quality then the lenses themselves are very heavy, I purchased a Fujifilm XM1 for my hiking and so far have been happy with its size and IQ, OK so its not a pocket-able camera, I wanted a camera with a reasonable sensor size and density and one which i may add lenses to in the future, I would have preferred the XE2 but that is out of my budget, The sensors are basically the same in both, Carrying it where it is accessible becomes the next problem, I am a fan of Think Tank products, Excellent quality and well thought out and engineered, I purchased the 'Think Tank Mirrorless Mover 10', its a small bag that the Fuji fits snuggly into but has enough room where i can leave the lens hood on the standard lens, It has compartments on either side for batteries or a cell phone and has a pocket on the front where a rain cover is stored and again room for extras, Inside there is a pocket in the top for spare memory cards and the inside has a  nice and soft material as well as a movable divider is you want one, The bag comes with a shoulder strap and a belt loop which fits nicely on the waist strap of my back pack or even the chest strap if you prefer it that way, The top flap has a magnetic catch and overall feel very well made and worth the near $50. I use Think Tank cases for my Dslr and big lenses when traveling and can highly recommend them

Dave

Boots Feet Boots Feet

 I would think THE most important thing that you need to succesfully cover long distances is a good pair of well fitting boots, Peoples feet are like their finger prints, Everybodies are different, Without going to great expense and getting custom made boots you will have to try on a lots of different makes and sizes, Over the years i have used Northface, Lowe, Salomom, Merrells and Columbia, I have to say that out of the box the columbia were soooo comfortable, But and there is always a but they did not last long, All the Merrells i have had have been very good and great value, I have had a couple of pairs of Northface and both were good but my feet seem to like Salomons, Last year i purchased a pair of their X Ultra Gore-tex Mid Hiking shoes, I got them from Campmor which is a great on line shop, Their service and prices are also excellent, I could not find them cheaper anywhere, Since receiveing the boots i have put around 700 miles on them, mainly on trails near my home along with some road walking and even shopping, They still look very good and are extremely comfortable, I have never had a blister or even a hot spot even walking nearly 17 miles in a day, I knew that before i go on the Camino De Santiago i would probably need a new pair and that it would again be Salomon, I viewed their website and suddenly i had that feeling when you see a pretty girl across the bar, Love at first sight in the form of their Wings Sky GTX 2, In orange and black they looked awesome, I looked everywhere for a better price as the $250 was out of my budget by around 50%, Nothing, Everywhere was the same, Not a penny less, Then i had all but given up when just before Xmas i was on Amazon when i noticed these at around $180, Wow now how can i get the money together quickly?, I went to the bottom of the page to read the reviews where i noticed a small tab with a code on it, I put the boots into my cart and entered the code in the promotions box and bang another 25% off so now $130, SOLD, I have only managed to walk around the house in them until today when i hiked a trail on the MST which was a little over 11 miles, The boots were fine, No hotspots or blisters, A word of warning is that they seem a tad big for their size whereas my other salomons are bang on for their size, I ordered the new boots half a size bigger and when they arrived i thought that they would be too big but after todays walk i think that they will be fine, Like when you put your backpack on you adjust the straps to how you want it to fit so you do with the boots, I walked about 40 mins before stopping and readjusting them tighter, This seemed fine my feet were locked in place but about a mile before the end my right foot felt tight, I guess my foot had swollen a bit so i loosened the laces a tad and all was well, When you walk 'listen' to your feet, If you feel the boots are too tight or too loose readjust them, If you are getting a hotspot stop and let your feet rest and breathe, the last thing you want is a blister, Miserable things that can be stopped if you are proactive, I used my ultra light Smartsocks and had no problems, No liner or 'grease', I would highly recommend Salomons to anybody but remember whats good for my feet may not be for yours,

 The boots have very good grip, Are much lighter than other boots i have tried and have a small skirt at the back of the ankle to stop stones etc dropping in, There is a locking clip around ankle height that grip your laces which is a great feature,Well thought out and you can feel the quality

Dave

Happy New Year

A little belated but i would like to wish everybody a very Happy New Year, 2014 is going to be a memorable one for me, The clock is ticking to my departure date in April, The flights are booked and i have already booked a nights stay in the Pyrennes to help break the first days walk up, Two reasons for this, Firstly no need to kill myself on my first and hardest day and secondly i want to get some nice landscape/sunrise shots so will be hoping for some good weather, I will continue to blog up until i leave and give some reviews on walking/hiking gear that i am using, I purchased a new pair of boots for the journey and these will need to be broken in before hand so i will be getting out for some long walks and will report back on how they are performing

All the very best for now

Dave

3rd December-Donation day

I had notification last week from The Cancer Research Foundation that any donations made on 3rd Dec will be matched dollar for dollar, So donate a $10 and they will match it so in essence you have given $20, Pledge $50 and end up with $100, This has to be a no brainer,

Pre Walk

I mentioned in a previous blog that i was getting a pain in the arch of my right foot, Luckily for me my wife has had a broken toe and has been seeing a foot surgeon, On one of the visits i mentioned this to him and asked if he thought it was Plantar fasciitis, I have some new inserts in my walking boots to help support the arch, He asked if i had exercised before walking and of course the answer was no,He gave me a sheet showing 3 things to do, One was to stand infront of a wall, Put your hands on the wall and keep your legs straight and push forward which will stretch your tendons, Next was to get a towel and holding in both hands put your foot arch in the middle and pull back on the towel, The last and most effective for me was to get a can out of your cupboard and put it on the floor, Roll your foot over the can using the arch, I did this for a few days and no aches and pains since, Simple really, You always see athletes exercise before a race so why not a walker/hiker?

Dave

Who are you?

This is something that has gone through my mind many times, You are out on a trail, A long way from anywhere and you have an accident, You have left your wallet with details in your car and you are found unconscious, Who are you, How does that person get in touch with your family, What if you have allergies to meds etc, Last night i was looking through backpacker magazine when i found Road ID, Simple but very effective, basically a bracelet with all your info on it, I ordered one straight away, What i liked about the site was that you could design your bracelet and it showed it then and there, Lots of colors available and not expensive, It could be a life saver

Layers

People have been dressing in layers since time began, Vest/shirt/sweater/jacket and yet when it comes to hiking i still see people either cold or sweating, Its not rocket science, Take off when hot and put on when cold, I spend a lot of my time outdoors as a nature photographer so comfort is very important to me, If i am cold i will not be enjoying what i am doing and then the concentration goes and you may as well pack it in, I have shot in every kind of weather from the tropical jungles to the arctic circle, every environment needs a different type of clothing to stay comfortable, Winter is here and now is the time to really get it right if you are out on the trails especially if you are in wilderness areas, I only walk the local trails but still if i want to stay healthy i need to dress appropriately, Here is what i am currently using for walks up to 16 miles a day

Base layer
I am using a tee shirt from REI, They are very comfortable and wick tany sweat away that may form and keep you dry, They are polartec so although very light are also warm, Long sleeves or short works just as well, If i knew i would be walking very slow or taking longer breaks or the temperatures were bitter then i would choose a long sleeve over the short,

Mid Layer
The next layer could either be a light fleece, A good walking shirt or a soft shell, This is a lightweight fleece from Eddie Bauer, Very light and warm, I find that once i have walked 20 minutes and my core temperature is up i can take off the upper layers and walk in this and the base layer and stay comfortable until i stop and then put a top layer on

Loft LayerWhen starting out on a cold morning i wear a 'loft' layer, This comprises of a very lightweight puffer type jacket, These are not cheap but if you look in the sales you can pick them up around $100, When i say light they are featherweight and pack extremely small which is essential on a long hike, Every ounce counts at the end of the day, The lighter your pack the easier it is on your knees and feet, Again this is from Eddie Bauer, I have had it a year and it gets used a lot, even out shopping on those days where the wind bites,

Top layer/shell
Rain will bring its own problems, Firstly you will need a good jacket, I have tried the cheaper ones and they just dont cut it, Great for doing the shopping but i ended up with bad condensation which will make your other layers wet and then you get cold, You need a jacket that 'breathes' , A lot of jackets say they do but some breathe better than others, I have been using a Northface Guides jacket which has been pretty good, Not as light as i would have liked but has done the job, You will get condensation form inside but far better then some of the cheaper models i have tried, Today i hope to have taken that up a notch, Eddie Bauer have kindly donated a jacket for my Camino walk in April, Not just any jacket but a top of the range light shell, The model is a Rainier, Very light but tried and tested by some of the top mountaineers, I will be giving it a good workout over the winter, It gets the highest rating for waterproof and breathability, Sounds just the job,

 Thank you Eddie Bauer, I have purchased there clothing for the past 5 years and have always been impressed, I would not use anything that i was not happy with just because it was free, I try to buy Eddie Bauers First Ascent range which is their top of the line gear and have never failed to have been impressed, You can see that i like to purchase Eddie Bauer gear but you can get excellent clothing from The Northface and REI to name but 2

So that's my day to day hiking clothing, I have not yet needed to wear long johns even though i have walked in minus temperatures, As long as you keep moving and the blood keeps flowing i have been warm, I have used long johns in previous years when out in sub zero temperatures doing photography, I have some Cableas expedition under garments and they are great ,but far to warm for general hiking, If it does get cold on my legs i can always add my waterproof trousers. One thing to remember when shopping for layers is not to get them too small and tight, You need to have some air between each layer , Your body heat will warm the air between the layers and will keep you warm, if the layers are too tight there will be no air and you will get cold, If you are unsure if certain clothing is suitable make sure you see the words wicking and breathable, Some companies use the expression 'Technical Clothing'
The main thing is to know when you are getting (too) hot and to remove a layer before you really start sweating and when you stop add a layer to stay warm-easy
Obviously if you are out in the cold you need to keep your hands and head warm, Most of your body heat will be lost through your head, I use Under Armour cold gear liner gloves which are a perfect combination of warmth and thickness when using trekking poles, Cold weather head gear goes to Spyder for a wooly hat with a small peak, If its raining then an under armour peaked cap with the jacket hood up does the trick if keeping my face dry

Dave