“Awesome” is a wildly over-used word in the US, but the High Sierra Trail in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California really is just that. If you’re into hiking, camping or fishing and you want to trade in a cool, wet, midge-ridden summer for something hot, dry, bug-free and spectacular then you should seriously check… Continue reading The High Sierra Trail
Category: Camping and Outdoors
Camping in Death Valley
We paused as we heard the distinctive rattle of yet another Death Valley local warning us to stay away. It had been quiet in the cool of the early morning as we climbed, but the sun was now hot in the sky and the reptilian inhabitants were waking up all around the trail as we… Continue reading Camping in Death Valley
A Pilgrimage to Sandwood Bay
Very remote, often stormy, and always stunning, Sandwood is a broad sandy bay guarded on either end by sandstone cliffs hundreds of feet high which sits in the extreme and rather inaccessible NW corner of the Scottish mainland. Over the years it has acquired an almost mystical reputation as a place to visit, complete with the ghosts of drowned… Continue reading A Pilgrimage to Sandwood Bay
Boat camping in December
Being firmly towards the “bah humbug” end of the spectrum regarding Christmas I was already thinking of a trip west when Trevor phoned with pretty much the same idea – a couple of days boat fishing together combined with a bracing overnighter in a tent. I’ve never camped in the UK in December before so that would… Continue reading Boat camping in December
Boat camping in Sunart
Three days fishing and wild camping around the Fort of the Storms on Loch Sunart. It’s a lonely and beautiful spot to spend the night.
Etive shines
Etive is an wildly beautiful place (at times!), and it’s surprisingly unspoilt the upper loch is given how accessible it is from the central belt. Even if it was a fishless desert its upper reaches would attract anyone wanting to experience the beauty of raw nature and the almost complete silence that goes with no roads… Continue reading Etive shines
Kayaking Desolation Sound, British Columbia
OK, this post has nothing to do with angling, and I didn’t even take a rod with me to Canada, but we were out kayaking and backpacking in a landscape every bit as grand and far larger than our sea lochs. I’d spent time in Ontario a decade before, including several days canoeing, but BC… Continue reading Kayaking Desolation Sound, British Columbia
Mount Robson and Snowbird Pass
A few days of R&R and some substantial driving following our kayaking adventure in Desolation Sound, we kicked off a 4 day backpacking trip in the Berg Lake area of Mount Robson. Coming from the south and west, Mount Robson remains well hidden amongst other mountains until a turn in the road suddenly reveals this snow covered giant (it… Continue reading Mount Robson and Snowbird Pass
A little bit of everything on the sea lochs
…and that’s just the weather. Flat calm and warm sunshine one minute, followed by vicious squalls with heavy rain and sleet the next. Not quite what was forecast but certainly what we got when Trevor and I headed west for a couple of days on Etive and Sunart. Sort of summarises the fishing too! An… Continue reading A little bit of everything on the sea lochs
A Night Under the Stars
The end of September probably marks the end of easy camping in Scotland, not so much because of the cold (and it does get cold!), but the nights start to get too long for comfort. In any case I was happy to take the opportunity of a quiet overnight away under canvas, as it’s one… Continue reading A Night Under the Stars