Some might go as far as to say Stovegate. Firstly, a bit of advice. Don't use the OMM as proving ground for a new stove and definitely not one using a fuel you've not used before...
Anyway, as the weather was always looking to be mild - wet and windy, yes, but also mild for the time of year - I decided it would be a good idea to try my solid full stove. At 13g it weighs less than a fuel block, which weighs in at a heady 14g. Each block is capable of a twelve minute burn to bring 750ml of water to the boil. Let me tell you now, learning that it doesn't quite do that at the midway camp at the OMM is not ideal. Cue one mildly tepid cuppa-soup - hence forth, to be known as 'the soup incident' - for the pair of us as a quick, not so warm you up after the finish of day one.
It got better from there. Neil fashioned an impromptu porch using my emergency string - never ever go camping without emergency string - and hay presto. We were able to shelter the stove from the conditions and fully boil 500ml of water almost effortlessly - albeit taking full on twelve minutes a pop. Okay there was a bit of finger crossing but from there it was hot food and drink all the way. With disaster averted there won't be any need for an inquiry into Stovegate....
Moving forward to today, my legs feel okay. My shoulders ache but I was expecting to feel a lot worse. Even managed a decent hour on the static bike in front of the telly. I'm still feeling a bit of the buzz from the weekend. I almost feel there's another mountain marathon in me....
ps and for the record I'd definitely consider solid fuel again. Maybe with a bit more testing beforehand next time - dammit, did I really just say 'next time'? It takes up so little space and weight it has to be worth it!
Anyway, as the weather was always looking to be mild - wet and windy, yes, but also mild for the time of year - I decided it would be a good idea to try my solid full stove. At 13g it weighs less than a fuel block, which weighs in at a heady 14g. Each block is capable of a twelve minute burn to bring 750ml of water to the boil. Let me tell you now, learning that it doesn't quite do that at the midway camp at the OMM is not ideal. Cue one mildly tepid cuppa-soup - hence forth, to be known as 'the soup incident' - for the pair of us as a quick, not so warm you up after the finish of day one.
It got better from there. Neil fashioned an impromptu porch using my emergency string - never ever go camping without emergency string - and hay presto. We were able to shelter the stove from the conditions and fully boil 500ml of water almost effortlessly - albeit taking full on twelve minutes a pop. Okay there was a bit of finger crossing but from there it was hot food and drink all the way. With disaster averted there won't be any need for an inquiry into Stovegate....
Moving forward to today, my legs feel okay. My shoulders ache but I was expecting to feel a lot worse. Even managed a decent hour on the static bike in front of the telly. I'm still feeling a bit of the buzz from the weekend. I almost feel there's another mountain marathon in me....
ps and for the record I'd definitely consider solid fuel again. Maybe with a bit more testing beforehand next time - dammit, did I really just say 'next time'? It takes up so little space and weight it has to be worth it!
No comments:
Post a Comment