Golite Pinnacle, first impressions

The Golite Pinnacle is a frameless large volume (75l) pack, which was released a little over 12 months ago. I had been looking for a lightweight frameless pack that would serve both as a day pack as well as for lightweight trips. Whilst you may say that a 75 litre pack is a little large for a day pack, the compaktor system and side straps enable it to be reduced to a much smaller profile. In essence there are 2 hooks and 2 loops of cord at the base of the pack which enable the base of the pack to be narrowed somewhat. Thereby making it both a large volume pack as well as being useful for short peak bagging trips from the base camp.

So far I have only used it for a number of day trips and I have been impressed with the weight (710 gm on my scales) the comfort of the hip belt, the support provided by the included foam back panel, the ease with which you can access the side pockets which hold 1 litre Nalgene bottles with ease as well there is a large back pocket which enables you to access the items required during the day easily. The pack is well made with its dyneema fabric and reinforced stitching where required.

I look forward to using this pack over longer trips in the coming months.

Summer sojourn: we are about to embark on an extended trip during summer and we will report back as we can.

The photo shows an 2.4 m * 1.5 m Integral Designs tarp and bivy.

Information on forests in Denmark

Stef has asked about information on Denmark in English , I have provided some information here which may be of interest to others as well

There are many forests in Denmark where a family could go . The best place to obtain information would be the Tourist Information centres who I have always found very helpful and you will find many brochures in English as well as other languages, especially German.

The Visit Denmark site is perhaps the best general starting point.

With regard to the forests, there are some English pamphlets for various forests and these can be found here We can recommend Jægersborg Deer Park (see our earlier blog) as well as the white chalk cliffs of Møns Klint and closer to Copenhagen Stevns Klint (see our earlier blog). Stevns Klint is accessible from Rødvig Railway station, an approx 2 hour trip from Copenhagen.

Getting around in Denmark on the public transport system is easy and the system is reliable. Using Rejseplanen (available in English here) you can find the times for buses and trains for most cities, towns and hamlets in Denmark.

Finding where places are can be a problem, so we suggest you use the internet mapping system known as krak.dk, whilst not in English if you select the tab labeled Kort and type the name of the township into the Postnr./By space in most case that will give a map of the area. However, Google Earth is also an alternative.

The Danish Weather Service forecasts are available in English, they provide a 5 day outlook for all regions.

We hope that this information is helpful

Children in the forest

On the western side of Copenhagen there are a number of forests, which were established as part of the urban planning of the city which can be easily accessed using the public transport system, especially the trains.

Today I was able to spend some time wandering around Hareskovene, located to the west of Copenhagen and accessible by train from Copenhagen. The forest consists of a number of lakes, wooded areas, trails, fire places, shelters and even a primitive over night camping place. However, more than anything else it was a pleasure to hear the laughter of many happy children enjoying the forest. There is a culture in Denmark of taking school groups (ages 2 and above) to the forest where they are allowed to play and experience the outdoors. Hearing the children playing reminded me of the book titled Last Child in the Woods, written by Richard Louv, which highlights the challenges in the US society of encouraging children to experience the outdoors. Here in Denmark as in other places there is a tradition of taking children into the outdoors and encouraging them to explore, we are also aware of other educational systems in countries such as Scotland and England looking at how they can incorporate these outdoor experiences into the childs schooling. Let us hope that these activities can be continued.

If you are interested in obtaining information about state forests and walking in Denmark (Vandreture i Statsskovene) then we recommend a visit to the web site Vandretursfoldere where you will find information on many state forest walks in Denmark.


Note: for an alternative view of Richard Louv's book you may like to look at this article.

Our favourite place

Whilst visiting the Trossachs I came across a sign with this quote on it which summarised our feelings towards the our outdoor experiences.

All the wild world is beautiful, and it matters but little where we go, to highlands or lowlands, woods or plains, on the sea or land or down among the crystals of waves or high in a balloon in the sky; through all the climates, hot or cold, storms and calms, everywhere and always we are in God's eternal beauty and love. So universally true is this, the spot where we chance to be always seems the best

John Muir 1890


We would be interested to know the origins of this quote.

The Trossachs, Scotland

I have been visiting family in Scotland and have had the opportunity to do some day walks in the area, particularly along the Rob Roy Way, a 126 km trail running from Drymen in the south to Pitlorchy. The trail meanders along old forestry roads and footpaths and provides a variety of scenery. Today I headed north from Aberfoyle, once the end of the railway from Glasgow, this quiet hamlet is the centre of the Forestry service area and has a number of hotels and eating places. I can recommend the Forth Inn as a place to visit for a meal.

Back to the trail, the trail climbs steadily once it leaves the main street in Aberfoyle and eventually follows the around the north side of the local golf course with its magnificent views of Ben Lomond. Throughout this section of the trail you see the evidence of forestry work and the many plantations. The trail climbs gently through the forest before exiting onto the open grazing plains of the Menteith Hills. The Menteith Hills provide a pleasant walk with many views of the surroundings including the Lake of Menteith.

















I can recommend a visit to this area. Whilst in the UK I have also taken the chance to stock up on some gear that is not readily available elsewhere thanks Rose and Bob, I look forward to reporting back on my silk body clothing and Pinnacle pack.

Drivvejen

Had the opportunity to travel to Jylland in the last couple of days and as a result we were able to spend some time on the Drivvejen, which is a part of the North Sea Trail. Drivvejen starts at Thyborøn and finishes on the Danish German border at Sæd Grænse south of Tønder. The trail is approximately 200 km in length and is a collection of drove ways, some of which were originally established around 800 AD. The trail visits many important historical and geographical places along the way including Ribe, the oldest town in Denmark which was an important market place in the beginning of the eighth century. We hiked only a small section of the trail in the vicinity of Tønder and specifically visited Ribe and Råbjerg Plantage.

The weather has been dry and warm so we were able to explore the many different set ups of our Black Diamond Beta Light. Shown here is one of our favorites which we call star gazing.

Bush Buddy

We have owned a BushBuddy Ultra for a while and have always thought that it is ideal for places where there is an abundant supply of firewood, especially along the coast. The stove weighs 150 gms and fits snugly into our Backpackinglight 1100 ml pot but will also slip inside a MSR 0.85 litre pot with about a cm of the stove protruding above the pot.
We used the stove this past weekend on the Österlenleden. The stove lived up to all its claims of burning efficiently with the design allowing continuing refuelling from the fuel sources available, in our case small pine cones which provided a hot fire and almost ash free residue. Given our proximity to ample supplies of driftwood we were able to keep it burning longer than we would have been able to with a gas stove.

One of the benefits of the stove is also its warming glow that it can provide at night, though this also means that it is difficult to use in confined surroundings.