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Kit Advice

A few questions from two Canadian hikers, and first-time TGOCers (Plockton to Scurdie Ness):

1) What is the recommended insect repellent. We typically would use something with DEET over here, but have heard that the "Skin-So-Soft" works wonders for the midges over there.

2) Water purification - I have a ceramic pump filter, and a UV pen. I was planning on bringing both but have read some strings stating that some use nothing. Thoughts?

3) When my son and I did part of the SNT (Kirk Yetholm to Pitlochry) I wore hiking boots and brought a pair of camp/river fording shoes. It was convenient having a dry pair of shoes to wear some days and at night. I understand that this may be a luxury but wondered what others were doing.

Thanks for any advice you might have!!

JM

Re: Kit Advice

Hi JM and welcome to the Challenge!

I use Skin So Soft all the time at home because it works brilliantly for midges, but not on the Challenge because there aren't usually any. Too early in the year. I use DEET in more lethal places (recently got back from Costa Rica). Save the weight and take nothing.

I don't use a water purifier or filter of any sort but I am careful about taking water from fast flowing streams and avoiding ones where I can see a dead animal upstream. I carry 4 or 5 chlorine tablets in case I can't get reliable water as I approach the east coast (which is more heavily populated). In 5 crossings I have never had to use them. Again, save the weight.

The most important piece of advice really is to cut down on the weight you are carrying. When I did the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, I was shocked at the size of some people's packs.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy yourself!

Vanessa

Re: Kit Advice

Sorry, forgot shoes.

Most of us do something similar, but keep your camp shoes lightweight. I use Zuuks, used to use Crocks. I tent to ford rivers in my boots for support safety, as my feet are usually wet anyway.

Vanessa

Re: Kit Advice

Hello JM,
Great to have you come over, I hope to visit Canada one day and hike, must be wonderful.

I will be taking insect repellent, but not against midges. Ticks are my greatest fear. I'll use a spray with Citriodiol or Deet on the lower part of my legs, just to prevent them crawling up.

When it comes to water purifying, I haven't made up my mind yet. In about twenty visits to the HighlandsI have had one parasite giving me intestinal problems for months (then my doctor gave me a single pill and I was cured). I was thinking of taking the Life Straw bottle, but that does mean extra weight... What do you think?

For fording streams my favourites are Teva sandals. Relatively heavy but so great! The nice thing of good sandals like the Fi 4 is that you can walk distances in them, just to give your feet some air on days with a nice path, or in town.

Enjoy the preparations, hope to meet you on the hill!

Andre Hilhorst
Haarlem
The Netherlands

Re: Kit Advice

Hi JM

As Vanessa says, midges or other biting insects are not normally a problem in Scotland in May. I take a few individually wrapped insect repellent wipes, which are available from high street chemists. e.g. Boots. These will also work to repel ticks, which definitely are around at that time of year. To put your mind at rest, it is usually only possible to get them if you brush through long grass or heather, especially where deer numbers are high. Personally, I have only ever had one or two on the Challenge.

For all you pedants, they will only work if you take them out of the packet and wipe them on your skin.

Re: Kit Advice

Hi!
I use a Water-to-Go filter bottle for my drinking water, I don't tend to carry water during the day and this works for me. I use Aquamira drops in the water I collect in the evening for meals as my Jetboil Flash isn't designed to boil for ten minutes (in order to purify).
Yes, there will be a lot of folk out there throwing up their hands on horror, they drink straight from the streams, I know!! But I know several folk that have been caught out here in Scotland and I'm not taking the chance.
I don't take a repellant, the few midgies that there might be around won't be really biting that early in May...a little nibble perhaps.
Ticks, I have had a tent full of nymph ticks in Glen Affric, but as rule, seen few and had none attach. Stay out of long grass and heather, wear trousers and long sleeve tops, tuck in your socks or wear gaiters of you like. Check your skin regularly and remove with a tick remover asap.
I wear boots and carry wading/camp shoes, Keen Whisper sandals in my case. They have good toe protection for wading and are substantial enough to walk in if needed, I once had feet so swollen for the last two days of the Challenge I couldn't get my boots on...
Do what suits you

Re: Kit Advice

I had my first tick of the year last Monday. And, yes I know that it was still February.

In answer to the queries:

Insect repellent - don't bother, not necessary

Water purification - I'm with the hard cases; as long as you're careful to select a fast running and well oxygenated source, it really is quite safe to drink directly from the burns. On any occasion when I've been caught out, it's because I've been lazy.

Shoes - Zuuks are the thing, weigh next to nothing and don't look as hideous as Crocs.

Colin

Re: Kit Advice

With 22 Challenge crossings I had never carried a water filter.

Until I picked up Giardia in 2015.
Deeply unpleasant.
Horrid, in fact.
Debilitating.

I still don't carry a filter.
It didn't kill me, and I made it across.
I am a little more careful than I used to be.

Re: Kit Advice

Do please use Zuuk for river crossings - if not what ?

Re: Kit Advice

Thanks so much to everybody for all of the great advice here!

We'll be the Canadians with the humongous packs in May. Stop and help if we look lost!!

Re: Kit Advice

Hi, and welcome. Insect repellent, Smidge, works great smells nice and doesn't contain DEET. Don't often need it but when you do it works really well.
Footwear - a spare pair of something light that dries easily and has a grippy sole, then you can wear them in the evenings, cross burns with them and even wear them for a few miles when you need a break from the heavier footwear. I've used a pair of Merrel Pacers the last few years (330g) but intend to take a pair of Inov-8 295s this year despite the extra 170g.
Water filtration - as stated, not needed if you are careful where you draw water from, but if spending days crossing agricultural land in the east, I prefer to have a filter with me in case I need it.

Re: Kit Advice

Thanks for the info, Kirsten!!

JM

Re: Kit Advice

I've heard a couple of reports of midges already being out enough to be a nuisance in Glen Etive. That's quite early, though it was beside a lochan. I don't bother with potions, but will be taking my usual weightless midge head net that simply fits over my cap.

Re: Kit Advice

OK ... a few thoughts from another many-times-Challenger (but not as many as Crawford or Sloman)

1) What is the recommended insect repellent. We typically would use something with DEET over here, but have heard that the "Skin-So-Soft" works wonders for the midges over there.

Yes, skin-so-soft works. Smidge is what the locals use. A cloud of tobacco smoke is effective too.

I never bother. I try to avoid going places where the midges go. I generally succeed. You soon get the hang of it, and being "midged" is part of the authentic Scottish experience.

Seriously, the wee beasties generally aren't out at Challenge time. I've only ever had one serious encounter with them, on my first Challenge in 2000, when I camped by a wee burn in a wood. In the morning, the fellas in the next tent woke up before me and got eaten alive. I heard their yelps, packed all my gear inside the tent, then collapsed and packed the tent as quickly as I could and hit the road. You can walk faster than they can fly, so I only had a few minutes' discomfort before I was clear of them.



2) Water purification - I have a ceramic pump filter, and a UV pen. I was planning on bringing both but have read some strings stating that some use nothing. Thoughts?

I always used to carry iodine purification tablets and used them religiously. Then they declared it illegal to sell them and said I had to buy chlorine instead. Only thing is, I react very badly to chlorine.

So I tried a UV pen steriliser, but within a day on the Challenge it stopped functioning. No idea why.

So I joined the mighty drink-straight-from-the-stream brigade.

No ill effects yet, though that may be more luck than judgement. However, you can make your own luck. Always take your water from a fast-flowing rocky bit; always draw from a side stream, NOT the stream you are following up; and always draw from uphill of the track, not downhill.

If it looks at all dodgy, leave well alone.

If it looks dodgy and you have no choice, unpack your stove and boil it.

Ideally, don't let yourself get so thirsty that you have no choice but to drink from a dodgy-looking water source!



3) When my son and I did part of the SNT (Kirk Yetholm to Pitlochry) I wore hiking boots and brought a pair of camp/river fording shoes. It was convenient having a dry pair of shoes to wear some days and at night. I understand that this may be a luxury but wondered what others were doing.

Some years I walk in boots, some years I walk in trail shoes.

Always I carry Teva walking sandals, which I use for (a) river crossings; (b) camp and bothy wear; and (c) any lengthy bit of tarmac I need to walk.



I agree with the others that pack weight is a key consideration ... up to a point. You're going to be in the hills for two weeks, and if you're not comfortable it's gonna get pretty miserable pretty quickly. So a couple of extra kilos in order to have a few of the comforts that matter to you is probably worth carrying. 20 extra kilos isn't. So, for instance, I always insist on having fresh socks every day, and a couple of spare pairs so I can change into dry socks after any encounter with that peculiarly Scottish phenomenon, "water masquerading as dry land" (it's different from bog ... you'll know when you've encountered it!)

Lots of people think I'm mad carrying five or six pairs of socks, when they make do with three socks for the entire crossing and rotate which one isn't being worn. I think they're the made ones, and we agree to differ. Kit choice is a very personal thing.


Anyway, welcome to the Challenge, and may the sun always shine on your endeavours, but not so much as to dry up all your water sources ...


Re: Kit Advice

1) What is the recommended insect repellent?

I carry some Sawyer bug spray with picaridin. I was told by Sawyer that it works against midges. But I didn't use it last year on my first challenge. Not sure if I will bring it again this year. Link

2) Water purification - I have a ceramic pump filter, and a UV pen. I was planning on bringing both but have read some strings stating that some use nothing. Thoughts?

I know most of these challenge vets just drink straight from the source, and it would probably be fine. But, I figure that coming from the US that there could be some bacteria I'm just not used to, so I carry a sawyer squeeze filter (about $30). 3oz and peace of mind for me. Link (No, I don't work for Sawyer, haha)

3) When my son and I did part of the SNT (Kirk Yetholm to Pitlochry) I wore hiking boots and brought a pair of camp/river fording shoes. It was convenient having a dry pair of shoes to wear some days and at night. I understand that this may be a luxury but wondered what others were doing.

I carry crocs (I know, hideous looking) but they work and have a strap on the back if used for river crossings.

Hope this helps!

Brian

Re: Kit Advice

Brian. You've been here. You know the scoop.

1 You don't need insect repellent. Unless you're looking to keep yrslef pure and sweet during a session at Braemar/Callater Lodge/Tarfside.

2 Water purification is your own choice. The majority drink straight up, no ice (oxygenationed source). It's yr call. I guess the only unfamiliar bacteria would be those coming from Mar-el-Lago. Melania, if you're reading this, blink twice. We can help.

3 Carrying additional footware simply to cross watercourses is, in my opinion, a total waste of time/effort/weight. You want to spend ten minutes every time you cross a stream? Go for it, babes. You worry that your feet may get wet/ Hah! Our skin is waterproof, last time I checked. It's your call - but many of us go for light-weight/no-goretex/trail-running shoes that do the biz.

If, however, you wear an absurdly long red tie, fixed against the wind by double-sided tape, then you may wish to, ah, consider your options ...

Click here for the horror . . .

Re: Kit Advice

Correction: listen to Humphrey!

Also, I didn't say I use my crocs for river crossings, just that if you do they have a strap on the back. I do enjoy them as camp shoes though, so I'm willing to carry the extra weight.

Don't get me started on the national embarrassment that is Trump. Hopefully he'll be in jail for treason soon.

Re: Kit Advice

Hahaha!!!

Thanks again everybody, both for the sound advice, and for the entertaining commentary!!

See you all in May!