I spent three years as a ranger watching people stare at a patch of disturbed mud, clutching expensive field guides like they were holy relics, …
Reading Tracks in Mud, Snow and Sand
Gps as a Second Opinion, Not a Guide
I remember standing on a featureless plateau in the Cairngorms, watching a group of hikers stare in panicked silence at a frozen handheld unit. The …
Warmth Comes From Under You, Not Over You
I remember sitting in a damp tent in the Cairngorms back in 2012, listening to the wind whip against the flysheet and realizing that my …
The Complete Guide to Waterproof Clothing
I remember standing on a ridge in the Cairngorms three years ago, watching a group of hikers freeze because they’d bought into the marketing hype …
Choosing a Shell: Hood and Cuffs Decide It
I remember standing on a ridge in the Cairngorms three years ago, watching a group of hikers huddle under what they thought were high-end shells, …
Finding Deer at Dawn Instead of Hoping
I was standing on a sodden ridge in the Cairngorms last November, the kind of damp cold that settles into your marrow and stays there, …
The Complete Guide to Walking Boots
I’ve spent twenty-two years watching people make the same mistake: they walk into a shop, see a shiny, high-tech boot with enough Gore-Tex to wrap …
Reproofing a Jacket Properly at Home
I was halfway up a scramble in the Cairngorms last October, caught in a sudden, sideways sleet that turned the granite into a skating rink, …
Condensation Is Not a Leak, and the Fix Is Different
I remember waking up on a ridge in the Cairngorms three years ago, shivering not because of the temperature, but because my sleeping bag felt …
Ground-nesting Birds and Why Paths Close
I remember standing on a ridge in the Cairngorms three years ago, wind coming in sideways and my boots feeling like lead, only to find …