A wet weekend exploring.

As another week drew to a close, the subject of what to do at the weekend was rumbling around the house. As it turned out, the weather was pretty grim and so Saturday morning started out with a movie (The Goonies, which is still awesome) with the kids on the sofa. The afternoon was spent gathering wood from a friends house, trying (and failing) to get their off road buggy to stay running and playing around on their mini moto and with their dogs. Sunday promised more of the same mixed weather, so I planned on setting out early to hunt for some new wild camping spots.

Dry weather greeted me when I first stepped out the door but after several miles the rain began to fall in earnest. My Keela Ventile smock did a fine job of keeping the rain off, the rain beading nicely on the fabric and the hood hoop giving a nice balance of shelter and visibility. I’ve not used Ventile before and I was surprised by the way it reacts to the weather, with the fibres swelling and the garment becoming stiffer to shed the rain. As its first outing in the rain I was generally pleased with how it performed, I did find the inside quite damp but I think that was due to the heavy exercise. I know a Gore-tex or Event jacket would have struggled to cope with that level of persistent rain and exercise so I’m giving it some slack here. I never felt wet though as the dual layer helped separate my fleece from the outer. Temperature regulation was good, plenty of zips to open when hot and close when cold. Ultimately, I didn’t buy this jacket for serious walking but rather for those wet days around camp and I’m confident it would cope admirably with that. Being Ventile it should keep the sparks off easier than a man-made fibre and also keep me warm when I need it.  More on the smock later once it’s been through some more tests. 

An hours walk into the hills and I’m at the place where I think there might be some potentially camping spots, sure enough I find some nice flat areas with a great feel and plenty of cover nearby. I explore off the paths for a good while, working my way back towards home and I’ll be back at some point with some gear for an overnight visit. The rain was still falling and I have my waterproof trousers on as well as a wool hat due to dropping temperatures. As my dad always said ‘any fool can be uncomfortable’ so I tend to pack more than I think I need and that way I’ve got some options to stay comfortable. My Fjallraven backpack has more than enough room for all my extra clothing needs, a bottle of water and a waterproof cover that works well.

Back on the paths I work my way towards home, enjoying the quiet woods, spotting deer and birds as I head home. I feel annoyed whenever I hear groups of road cyclists shouting and a loan runner shouting at his dogs, it seems at odds with the peace of the woods. The adverse weather is keeping most people in doors so I had the trails mainly to myself, just a few dog walkers and my own thoughts to keep me company. After 3.5 hours I’m home with a cup of tea and the smell of roast chicken cooking for Sunday lunch, perfect.