Well, there’s a surprise

A couple of things I wasn’t expecting, a good thing and an unfortunate thing.

I’ve been packing my, er, pack oddly enough, being the day before ‘the off’. My pack is a Golite Pinnacle, which I bought specifically for this type of trip. I used it just four weeks ago on my trip to the Borders with no problems, although I have found it’s difficult to keep the hip belt where I think it is intended to be because of my shape. I have an unusually narrow waist which is not helpful.

My kit list has changed very slightly since the Borders trip. I’m now using a Jetboil Flash which is a more compact and a lighter system than my Campingaz Twister with gas and two Snowpeak tins. I’m not carrying the Travel Tap which is bulky as well as difficult for me, as a wimpy female, to use. This is replaced with a Platty Soft bottle and some water treatment drops, lightweight and less bulky. I’ve also trimmed my wash kit slightly and decided not to take insect repellent as I rarely have a problem, although I am carrying my midge head net.

My sleeping bag did not seem adequate in the Borders and having panic bought another, a kind fellow blogger advised me differently and offered to lend me a spare bag. I gratefully took the advice, returned the new bag and accepted the offer of a bag loan. This bag is definitely better than mine, but is slightly bulkier to pack, so is obviously taking up a bit of the space I’ve vacated with other kit changes.

However, I was not expecting to find that I could not now fit it all into the Pinnacle. How strange and a little frustrating! I decided to try my trusty Karrimor Wildcat pack and low and behold, it all fits. Because I have changed a lot of my kit since the last time I used this pack and the general weight of my kit is down, this feels lighter than it used to, so I think I shall be happy to carry it, despite having wanted to go lightweight.

The nice surprise also includes weighty issues. I while ago, I had concluded that it was not only my pack that needed to shed a few pounds, but it would be good if I did too. However, nothing much was happening on that front, I was at least relieved it wasn’t going in the wrong direction. After the Borders trip, I discovered I’d lost five pounds, woo hoo! I did put on a pound after my return, but I think that was re-hydration and it wasn’t joined by any friends. I was pleased to discover today that I’ve lost another two pounds! Now that’s a nice surprise. I suspect there may be a little more loss over the next two weeks, I’m expecting my trousers to be a little too big by the time I get to Montrose.

Result.