I was standing on a damp, wind-scoured ridge in the Cairngorms last October when I watched a group of well-meaning hikers strip a patch of …
Foraging Rules, Legal and Ethical
April 2026
Planning Food by Weight and Calories, Not Meals
I once spent three days in the Cairngorms during a late September freeze, watching a group of well-meaning hikers slowly lose their morale because they …
The Complete Guide to Outdoor First Aid
I’ve spent twenty-two years watching people buy “emergency” kits that are little more than glorified sticker collections, all while ignoring the actual mechanics of a …
Eye Protection at Altitude and on Snow
I once watched a group of walkers, all well-equipped with expensive shells and proper boots, nearly walk right off a scree slope because they were …
Blisters Are a Fit Problem, Not a Sock Problem
I’ve seen enough people standing on a ridge in the Lake District, staring at a descent they can’t finish because their feet have turned into …
Layering: Three Layers, Adjusted Constantly
I remember a Tuesday in the Cairngorms back in 2014, standing on a ridge in a horizontal sleet that felt like it was trying to …
Fungi: Identification Is Not the Same as Edibility
I remember standing in a sodden patch of bracken near the Cairngorms back in ’14, watching a group of hikers hover over a bright orange …
When Gaiters Earn Their Place in the Pack
I remember a Tuesday in late November, somewhere on the edge of the Cairngorms, when a client’s “waterproof” gaiters decided they weren’t actually waterproof. We …
The Complete Guide to Water Outdoors
I remember a group I was leading in the Cairngorms back in 2014; we had plenty of streams, but because everyone was obsessed with carrying …
Why Your Gas Stove Fails at Two Degrees
I remember standing on a ridge in the Cairngorms back in 2014, my fingers so numb I could barely feel the threading on my stove, …