Trail Rations

Legolas: Lembas bread. One small bite will fill the stomach of a grown man.
Merry: How many did you eat?
Pippin: Four.

Over the weekend my six year old son and I did a nice long trail around Rotherfield Greys. Probably the last big chunk of geocaching I'll be able to get in before the sponsored walk next weekend. I figured this would be a good chance to test some energy bars that I plan to take on the walk to keep my energy levels up. Lembas bread would have been nice but being in the real world we had to make do with what we could find in a quick trip to our local supermarket. We tried a few different things and captured the opinions of both of us on the walk.

9 bar Original
Dad - Although it looked a bit like the scratchings at the bottom of a parrots cage I actually really like this one in terms of taste. Not sure about the energy levels and it went a bit guey / floppy on the long walk think the hemp is just a sales gimmick but I do remember a song by Cypress Hill that went into it's many medicinal uses so it can't be all bad - 6 / 10
Boy - I'm really proud of myself for not spitting this out I try not to do it these days as mummy told me off once - 1 / 10

Nature Valley Granola Bars
Dad - I really liked these, they come in a choice of three flavors the one with ginger one was the nicest and most refreshing. I did feel a bit more energetic after having a quick munch on these but it's a hard test to gauge in the wild. I didn't like so much that they were very crumbly and I ended up tipping a packet of crumbs in my mouth. 5 / 10
Boy - I liked the honey one but not the others so much, it's nice that there are two in each packet 5 / 10

Lucozade Gel
Dad - Yuck, this is disgusting it's got the consistancy of thick cream looks like wallpaper paste and tastes like glucose syrup with a hint of orange. My mouth felt like a desert, I felt a strong urge to wash this down with water and I couldn't bare to have much of it. However it is compact and probably packs a punch seeing the effect on the boy (He is actually glowing), I'll probably take some with me as backup - 2 / 10
Boy - AfterwefinishthiswalkcanwegotozoomaniacanwecanwecanwelookathowfastIcanrunweeee! - 11 / 10

Jordans frusli bar
Dad - This felt like a good middle ground, very tasty and kept it's shape well. Not sure about the energy but then as I say it's hard to gauge. I think we have a winner - 7 / 10
Boy - I really liked this one and had two just to make sure - 7 / 10

I'm still not 100 percent happy I have found the right energy bar / gel for me so I'm going to keep looking.

Some further reading:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1179890/Five-best--natural-energy-bars.html
http://www.freediettips.com/diet_energy_bar_review.htm
http://walking.about.com/od/snacks/tp/energybars.htm

New Kit

On Sunday the 18th of September I am doing the Chilterns 3 Peaks Challenge.
This is an 18 mile sponsored walk in aid of Iain Rennie Hospice at Home.
The route is along the Chilterns Ridgeway, from Princes Risborough to Ivinghoe.
The walk will include Whiteleaf Cross, Coombe Hill and Ivinghoe Beacon which are the "three peaks" if you feel the urge to sponsor me send me an email to dornorn@gmail.com and I'll forward the sponsorship link to you.

I've been doing loads of training for the event but as it draws near I can't help but think is it enough! I thought I would share with you some of the kit I'll be taking on the walk. I intend to do some geocaching where possible so a lot of this kit is geared towards that end and you might find it useful for long geocaching expeditions.Firstly there is the issue of power your phone and or GPS device is no good without it and generally there isn't a power outlet waiting for you in the wilderness. The solution I have got is The PowerMonkey Extreme! not as exotic as it sounds the it is made by a company called Power Traveller and is basically a rugidized battery capable of charging my GPS device 6 times it also has a solar panel that is surprisingly powerful and capable of topping up the charge in the GPS device or recharching the PowerMonkey Battery while it's not in use. It is an excellent piece of kit and I totally recommend it. I resisted the urge to take a portable DVD player with me although the unit is capable of running it ; )

Next there is water. I have mixed feelings about my solution for this. I would have liked to have got a handsfree camelpak hydration system that sits on your back and provides a hose to your mouth. This is perfect for a number of reasons it's hands free so you can hold your GPS your walking pole and have a drink all at the same time. Also it holds a huge amount of water and although that weighs a lot it is nicely distributed on your back. You can also put ICE in the reservior to cool you down on the walk. The problem with this solution was price, low end systems start at about £20 but all the advice is don't buy cheap for a number of good logical reasons such as cleanability, weight, reliability. The decent systems start from around £50 which was way above my budget. I may well get a hydration system one day but not this time.



So the solution I will be using for water is a straight forward boring old water bottle. I wanted something that was reliable, watertight, didn't leave a horrible taste in my mouth, light and practical. The best solution I found was a 32oz (1 litre) water bottle from a company call Nalgene. When it arrived I was uninspired but I have been using it every day since at home at work and out in the wild and now I wouldn't be parted from it, it's very safe to say I have fallen in love with the bottle so much so that I wrote to the customer services people at the company to give them ideas for a hydration system like hose that I could use with it. Seriously next time you look at one of those crappy £5 water bottles check out Nalgene on the internet spend a little more and you'll have a reliable water bottle for life! So many people have stopped me and asked me where did I get that wonderful bottle which I was honestly not expecting and makes me smile every time. Again excellent piece of kit and I totally recommend it. Be aware that you too may fall in love with it.


To more practical kit, blisters the bane of all walkers. After a fair bit of research I decided to get a blister kit which I haven't used yet but looks pretty handy I have also got two pairs of socks one a polypropylene thin liner sock that goes next to the skin the second is a more traditional hikers sock. The idea is the moisture from the feet is sucked out of the first sock layer into the next layer keeping feet dry and blister free. I also got a tub of petroleum jelly (vasoline) which is rubbed into the feet again to prevent water and rubbing. Lastly in the blister prevention area. I have my trusty gortex boots that have seen me alright for a long time. All in all it seems a robust solution to the blister issue but only the day will tell.


Finally once you have a load of kit you need something to carry it in! I wanted something lightweight and flexible that I wouldn't have to take on and off in order to access it's contents. Again after a lot of research I ended up with a Maxpedition Fatboy which is reviewed nicely here by a guy who seems to like knives a little bit too much! 


Well I'll let you know how it goes on the 18th wish me good luck!