Last weekend, we decided to get a bit of practice at sleeping out… This also meant we didn’t have to walk so far in a single hit, so Étienne was able to join us!

Check out a YouTube video of the weekend here…

We drove out to just past Dartmeet on Dartmoor, and hiked down valley from the car park, under Sharp Tor and out to Mel Tor. From there we stomped down the steep hill from the Tor, into the decidious woods beside the river and along to Luckey Tor. We were intending to camp here, until we came across a large sign saying “No Camping or Fires”. We’d liked the look of Mel Tor as we walked past it, so we decided to stomp back up the hill and camp there. This turned out to be a real test for Étienne, who was carrying a big rucksack for the first time! To his credit though, he made it back up the hill and was rewarded with being able to play his Nintendo whilst we made dinner and set up the tent.

We had a good opportunity to test out some of the gear we’ve bought for when we go away in July. Our tiny, little lightweight MSR Pocket Rocket gas stove worked brilliantly - as long as you can get it out of the wind. It’s also pretty noisy if you have to turn it up to full blast (which you shouldn’t have to do if it’s shielded from the wind). Coupled with boil-in-the-bag meals and some instant drinks, we fed ourselves quickly and simply and with the minimum of washing up.

Whilst Étienne and Gaëlle slept in my little 2 man tent, I had the dubious pleasure of testing out one of our Rab Survival Zone bivvy bags. Thankfully it was an absolutely beautiful evening… the sky was crystal clear and the stars twinkled perfectly all night. With no cloud cover it was pretty cold, and I woke with condensation on the inside of the bivvy bag. It was nothing serious though, and obviously in warmer climes would be even less of an issue. All in all, I had one of the most stunning overnight experiences I’ve had in the outdoors.

After breakfast the next morning, we had time for some bouldering. We set Étienne four boulder problems and he got stuck right into figuring them out. Before now, Étienne had never really taken to climbing or bouldering, he was willing to give it a go but didn’t have a real passion for it. This little session seemed to change him completely though. He loved being set little challenges to work out and was really stubborn about completing them all! It turned out to be his favourite part of the whole trip.

Check out a YouTube video of the weekend here…