I remember a group I led back in 2014, somewhere on the edge of the Cairngorms, when the mist rolled in thick and the temperature …
Cutting Pack Weight Without Cutting Safety
Hypothermia Starts With Bad Decisions, Not Shivering
I remember a Tuesday in late October, somewhere on the edge of the Cairngorms, when the wind didn’t just blow; it bit. I was leading …
Poles: Locking Mechanism Over Everything
I’ve spent enough time on scree slopes in the Cairngorms to know that most gear advice is just expensive noise. You’ll see shops pushing carbon-fiber …
The Complete Guide to Eating and Drinking Outdoors
I once spent three hours on a ridge in the Cairngorms watching a group of well-equipped walkers descend into a very preventable kind of misery, …
Keeping Kit Dry Inside the Pack
I’ve spent enough nights in a sodden tent, listening to the rain hammer against the flysheet while my spare socks felt like cold sponges, to …
The Complete Guide to Looking After Your Feet
I remember a Tuesday in the Cairngorms, about six years ago, when the wind was gusting at forty knots and the rain was coming in …
Packing a Rucksack So the Weight Sits Right
I once spent four hours in a horizontal downpour on the Skiddaw ridge, watching a client struggle to find his waterproof shell because he’d shoved …
A Small Pond Is the Single Best Thing You Can Add
I spent three years as a ranger watching people try to “improve” nature by forcing it into a shape that didn’t work, and a garden …
When Someone Goes Down Two Hours From the Car
I remember standing on a scree slope in the Cairngorms, watching a perfectly capable walker try to “power through” a grade-two sprain because they didn’t …
A Garden That Actually Supports Wildlife
I spent years as a ranger watching people try to “save nature” by buying expensive, plastic-heavy bird feeders and decorative stone hotels that end up …