Phew! When I first set out on the Southern Upland Way in August 2021, I had intended to wild camp with a hammock all the way. The problem was the weight and size of the pack, which resulted in too much loading on my feet and also my shoulders and neck.
I realised my mistakes early on and cut my trip short, to go home and reconsider my backpacking kit selection, footwear, etc.
I managed to cut my pack weight IN HALF by going back to first principles (of cutting out the "nice-to-haves" and the "maybe-I'll-need-this"), reverting to a lightweight tent for accommodation and leaving a load of stuff at home. I also needed to review my footwear selection.
My pack weight went from 30 pounds (plus) to 15 pounds, which INCLUDED everything, even food. I'm delighted and more importantly I'm CONFIDENT that this walk is now well within my capabilities. I may decide to complete the walk in 2 episodes, simply because my son wants to walk the eastern section of 89 miles with me later this year. This leaves the middle section of about 57 miles for me to complete now. This is a short walk for me, so maybe I'll walk on - it depends.
If you have any questions about my kit selection, I'd be happy to answer your queries. Just post a comment in the section below.
The Southern Upland Way proved to be a little bit tougher than I thought it would be, but I reckon I've got the measure of it now and look forward to going back.
#Southernuplandway #backpacking #wildcamping
Many of my videos contain music composed by David Fesliyan Studios, free for download and use non-commercially. A special thank you therefore to David (a thoroughly nice guy) at https://www.fesliyanstudios.com for background music.
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