Rucksack – I always try to extol the virtues of taking what you already have. I recently took a trip up into the loft (or attic) of my house to look through the camping equipment i used to use when i was younger. I was searching through the numerous rucksacks looking for anything that may be useful and i found my old day sack rolled up in the bottom of one of these rucksacks. I’ve had the daysack, a 35ltr Karrimor pack, for close to 15 years. I decided to make use of this ‘relic’ and take it with me on my little jaunts.

Sleeping Bag – I use my trusty Vango Ultralite 400 whenever i’m camping.  OK so i’m sponsored by Vango and i’m supposed to use this sleeping bag but i was using a similar bag before the sponsorship came along. Inside i have a Sea to Summit thermal liner for the colder weather to add a few degrees to the bag. I also pack my inflatable sleeping mat, but if i know i’m sleeping somewhere where i can sleep on foliage i leave it at home due to the size of it when it’s packed.

Bivi Bag – Recently i was very kindly sponsored by Alpkit. I love Alpkit products, especially the bivi bag they provided me with. Compared to my ex-army bivi bag i’d been using previously, it’s far more lightweight and actually more waterproof. It comes with a integrated netted stuff sack but i prefer to simply roll it up and drop it in the rucksack.

Poncho – I used to use a poncho and string it between 2 or 4 trees with a bit of paracord or some bungy cords. Now i use a tarp that came with my hammock. It’s lighter, has cord already built in and covers a large area which is great on those wetter days.

Cooking – I’ve perfected my fire lighting (flint and steel) skills in recent months and can get a fire going pretty quickly so i’ve eliminated the my stove from the kit list. I carry a pan from my Trangia set with the pan handle and use that or sticks to cook my food. My fire lighting kit consists of a flint and steel, some cotton wool pads (for bad weather) and a storm lighter (for really bad weather!). I also carry water with me in two 1ltr Sigg bottles.

First aid – Even if i’m away just over night i always carry a mini first aid kit just in case anything happens. I have a small cloth bag, in which i throw a couple of plasters, a bandage, some duct tape wrapped round a old 35mm film case, a tub of parecatmol and some Ibruprofen gel. I also carry Wemmi’s in the kit although they are not just used for first aid. It won’t help with any major disasters but for any sprains or minor cuts it’s great.

Camera – My camera is a Nikon D40 which gets the job done (perhaps after the exped i’ll upgrade – unless someone wants to donate a camera!). I also carry a fisheye lens and a small zoom lens. I don’t usually carry my camcorder to record footage as it just adds extra weight.

Other ‘bits and bobs’ – I always have my Blackberry so i can tweet which i keep in an Aquapac case. I also carry a 60gb iPod in an Aquapac case with my lovely new Sennheiser PMX 680′s. I generally don’t listen to music except when i’m in my sleeping bag, where it helps me to nod off. I carry a book with me at all times and a Moleskine notebook which doubles as my diary. Another handy tool is of course the headtorch; i usually don’t make camp until just before the sunsets so i need a torch to find my way around. Incase i can’t cook any food for any reason and for energy during the day i carry a couple of Mulebars. All this kit gets thrown into a small drysac so i don’t need to worry about my equipment in the weather.

My micro adventure kit

To try and help fight my restlessness i decided I needed to get out of the house and have a little ‘micro adventure’. I called up my friend Pye who, as always, was more than keen to head out overnight with just a few essentials.

I threw my kit into my old 35ltr rucksack, the same rucksack I’ve had throughout my childhood, which is still going strong today jumped in the car and headed off. We found a large wood and after 30 mins of walking through dense woodland we found the perfect area to pitch the tarp. We sat and chatted, gathered wood and lit a fire. We baked some damper bread in the embers of the fire and ate it with baked feta with chilli. I fell asleep to the sound of trees creaking in the wind and every now and again I’d hear a loud crack in the distance as a branch snapped in the strong wind.

And that was it. Morning came and we trekked back to the car and headed home. It wasn’t much but it was a break.

After arriving a little late, we reached the top well after our targeted time. After checking the map, we decided to make the short 2.5 mile dash across the open moorland. This wouldn’t have been a problem normally, but what we staring out over was a frozen ‘wonderland’. The snow was 3-4 foot deep in some places which slowed our progress down considerably. We, but especially me (due to the purposely overloaded pack), would sink through the snow after only a few steps, so much of the time was spent struggling to pull ourselves out on to more solid snow. We reached the woodland we intended to sleep in just before dark which gave us ample time to set up our shelters and hammocks.

The next day we set off once again for several hours of yet again more trekking through deep snow after a quick breakfast of sausages (cheers Pye) and a quick Q&A in front of the camera.

The route on the way back to the start point was a longer walk with a long slow accent to the top where we tucked into a well deserved lunch overlooking Manchester and Stockport. Then it was back to the arctic-esqe moorland for more difficult trekking through deep snow. We reached the descent just as the sun set, so spent the next hour navigating our way down a steep gorge over ice and rock – not the most safest of things to do but great fun!

Now that the weekend is over i have no other overnight training trips until i leave. The leaving date is coming around very quickly and the next couple of weeks will be a desperate search for a bit more funding and the last couple of bits of equipment.

This saturday i will be heading to the Lakes for a full day first aid course which has very kindly been donated to me by the guys over at Fieldskills. Hopefully there won’t be any call to use what they teach me but it certainly helps to have the skills handy.

With only a few weeks until i leave i’ve been stepping up the amount of training i’m doing for the expedition. Training is of course essential for an expedition but it can get rather boring seeing the same old sights day in, day out. I’ve been looking at different ways to train that would ‘spice’ things up a little. Here are a few things i came up with.

- Walk the Pennine Way. I quite fancy walking the Pennine Way, well, part of it. The last section of the route goes through the Peak District, which is a short drive from my house. The route take me straight through the center of some of the wilder parts of the peak district.

- Kayak/ Canoe in the Highlands. I love the Scottish Highlands. To me, there is no better place to train than the highlands, specifically the west highlands. It’s always been a dream of mine to find a canoe or kayak, pack my tent, sleeping bag and some food and head off for a few days exploring various lochs and islands up the coast.

- Bivvy Bag challenge. I came across the 84km Bivvy Challenge website a few months ago and promised myself i would do it before i leave. The idea is to start from your house and head out for 48 hours, covering a distance of 84km, sleeping in a Bivvy and finishing back at your start point.

- The Disused Railway. I’ve noticed, when i’m out training on my bike,  an old disused railway track. I don’t know where it goes or how long it takes but i like the idea of grabbing my pack, a couple of days of food and just setting off walking.

- Do Nothing. I know it may sound a little strange but i had the idea of doing nothing as part of my training. To be precise, i’d head out to a patch of woodland or moorland, pitch my tent and stay there for 48 hours. No iPod, no book, no contact with the outside world, nothing. Just me, my camera(s) and a notebook.

Why don’t you let me know if you have an idea for something i could do as part of my training.

The key to Micro Adventures is to pack light. This doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy overly expensive, ultra light kit. You can simply use whatever you have lying around at home but focus on taking the bare minimum.
Below is my kit list for a weekend Micro Adventure.

Rucksack

I decided on a 40 litre rucksack as I thought “if it doesn’t fit in, I don’t need it!” So don’t be concerned about buying a huge and expensive bag. Just go with what you already have!

Sleeping bag

I use a simple synthetic sleeping bag that I can squash down in a compression sack. I should really fork out for a down filled bag but I’m a skinflint so I make do with what I have! During the warmer months I use a Vango Ultralite 400 (around £60) and during the colder months I use my Mountain Equipment Starlight III (between £80 and £90).
If you decide to fork out a little more money for a down bag then I’d go for perhaps the Marmot Never Winter 2009 which retails at £140 for the summer months and the Rab Atlas 750 (£180) for winter.

Bivi Bag

There are expensive ones on the market such as the Rab Storm Bivi, which sells for around £60, but I bought a military Bivi for about 30 quid from the local army surplus store, which is perfectly fine for my needs. Water-resistant, breathable, and adds a little extra warmth on a cold night

Poncho

The poncho was suggested to me a few months ago by a friend who told me how versatile it is. When I looked a little unconvinced he took me to a patch of woodland and turned it into a shelter in less than 5 minutes with the help of a bit of paracord. As well as a shelter, the poncho, when worn in the proper manner, covers you and your pack at the same time, keeping your kit dry. I bought my poncho for £20 but alternatively you could try the ShellTA from Furtech which costs £50 and can be used as a Poncho, for a shelter but also as a Bivi Bag.

Cooking

If it looks like a weekend of rain I’ll pack my trusty Trangia stove. I have the Trangia 27-5 UL, which costs £50 – £60 (I take out one of the pans to reduce weight further) to cook on and eat out off, but this also means carrying fuel too which adds to the weight. So, if I can get away with it, I’ll just take a pan from the Trangia set and a lighter or fire steel and cook my meals over an open fire.
Some people feel that the Trangia is a little bulky so you could go for many people’s favourite the MSR Whisperlite (£75) coupled with MSR Titan Mini Cookset (£85).

Clothing

When I go on my little Micro Adventures I take the bare minimum of clothes. I usually take what I have on my back, which consists of a baselayer, a midlayer and a waterproof. I wear lightweight trousers which will dry quickly if I get wet and if I’m expecting bad weather I’ll pack a down jacket, gloves, hat and waterproof trousers.

Other bits and pieces I take that aren’t necessary include – a camera, Moleskine notebook, bushcraft knife, head torch, Ipod, Blackberry (or any phone) and my trusty Freeloader Pro Solar Charger.

You can follow my adventures via twitter where i will be tweeting every now and again and perhaps sharing some pictures too. Each tweet will (hopefully) show my position so can track my progress.

As Chris McCandless put it, ‘I know walk into the wild’….(well sort of).