Last weekend part one: gear

Last weekend I went with some members of the Dutch Naturfreunde for a hike. The goal was the hike 25 km a day and to sleep in the open air.

When I got at the starting point I soon found out that I was the only one who used a daypack for this overnighter.

I used a Vaude Allalin 24 as pack, not the most suited pack but this is the one I got.

To sleep I used a Dutch army bivi bag, witch is great, its made of Gore-Tex so it breaths very well. But the major down side is it weight more than a kilo!! I have a Coleman 2 person tent that weighs less. I'm looking to replace the bivibag with a Alpkit Hunka or a homemade.
Inside the bivibag i used a Lafuma warm and light 600 down bag. The sleeping bag is excellent. I have used this bag at the Fjallraven Classic in 2008 and last year on the Hadangarvidda and count less weekend trips and never waked up because I was cold. Inside the sleeping bag I using a poly cotton sleeping bag liner. I will replace this liner very soon for a silk one. And I slept on my short Neo Air. Under neat my Neo Air I used a closed cell foam mat because I'm afraid to puncture my Neo air. I sound stupid I know. The closed cell foam mat is also nice luxury during breaks so I'm willing to carry it with me.

For footwear I used my Inov8 330 terrocs. Which were great. The only downside was that my feet goy really hot and I got a heat rash on my left feet. I blame the socks not the shoes. I will try different socks next time and I hope the rash was a one time event. The Inov8 are really comfy and this was the first time I walked great distance in them.
Clothing, I was wearing noting special cheap zip off trousers and a merino wool base layer. When I got windy or colder I used my soft-shell jacket.

Biesbosch Trip report

The last weekend of May some me and some friends went for a canoe trip to the Biesbosch.



"The Biesbosch is one of the largest national parks of the Netherlands and one of the last freshwater tide areas in Europe. The Biesbosch consists of a rather large network of rivers and smaller and larger creeks with islands. The vegetation is mostly willow forests, although wet grasslands and fields of reed are common as well. The Biesbosch is an important wetland area for waterfowl and has a rich flora and fauna. It is especially important for migrating geese". Thank you wikipedia!

But we didn't go for the geese migration but we went for the beavers. Hmm that sounds kind of wrong. We did spot some beavers but every time we went for the camera the beavers disappeared.


This is the best picture of a beaver we got.

But thankfully we say a lot of proof that they where realy there.


A great benefit of a canoe is that you can take a lot of gear and you don’t need to carry it on your back. So after a long day of paddling there where some nice cold beers and a nice bottle of wine to accompany the dinner. Later around the campfire there was a some Beerenburg.

The next day it was time to paddle home.

The Biesbosch is nice national park with al lot of small creeks and I definitely will go back someday.

Little update.

Time flies when your are have fun. It has been more then a month ago since my last post. I have been busy with work and study, but I also have found some time for a little escape to Monschau (Germany)and enjoyed a short holiday over there. And I have planned a little trip for this weekend.

And least but not last I bought some new gear, a soft-shell jacket and trousers, a neo air sleeping matt (with arrived the day I came home for my trip to Germany). I will post a little review when I have used them a bit more.

My woodstove project is currently on hold but I have been working on a old axe.

I will be writing about it here over the next few days or weeks.

Cheers

Woodgas stove

Being Dutch you don't going to spend nearly 70 euro's for a Bushcooker or even 115 dollars (CAD) for a Bushbuddy that is in fact just a wood burning stove (I know it more fuel efficient than a normal woodstove). Even when after purchase the fuel will be free for ever!

So I decided to make my own stove form some old cans. The internet is full with manuels on how to build a stove like a Bushbuddy or a Bushcooker. Google it and you will find it. So I did.

To cut the crap, I suspect mine isn’t that good, it was more a wood smoker, the complete garden disappeared in a big cloud of smoke. So I will modify it and try again.

Pictures will follow after the smoke is gone!!!

Btw if you are to lazy to Google here is a good link

Happy Easter !

Getting in shape.

My desk job is killing me! So today after work I decide to go for a run. The only exercise I get on my job is walking for my car to my desk, about 150 meters and from my desk to the coffee machine, about 25 meters. The walk to the coffee machine I will make every half-hour at least twice. I must admin I'm a coffee junkie.

But after work I went for a run it wasn't that far about 6,5 km and it took a very long time when I was home again but it felt good.

My "Powersong" during running.

I especially like the line "It was a chat-up line built not to impress
More a sleazy remark on her whorish dress " It's genius!!

Some gear to test.

Thanks to Hendrik from Hiking in Finland I will get the opportunity to test the Optimus Crux Lite Solo Cook Kit. I'm looking forward to test the stove and I will be curious how it will compare with my current gas stove the Markill Hotshot.

From the top of the Mountain to the bottom of the swap

Last weekend I decide to go for a walk in the Ooijpolder. Polder is the Dutch word for land reclamation; according to Wikipedia we claimed 1/5 of our country form the sea. Or like the English saying: God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland. But in the Ooijpolder we decide to give some land back to the river and we have give God a change to make something of it. And he did the Ooijpolder is nice natural landscape with a lot of wildlife.

High water in the Waal

A ship and some Przewalski horses

Some geese

A close-up.

After 20 pictures the battery of my camera died. So this must be it. But I will definitely go back this spring when the water is low and the signs of spring can be seen and maybe search for some wild foods.