Re: TGO Challenge 2006: Judith & others


Runningfox wrote:
"Judith" <no.spam.for.goofif.please@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:76fp72daane4ekpc7a1g91nm9s0sgvfi2o@xxxxxxxxxx

My pack was quite comfortable after a couple of days and I think I
took the right clothes......
I took a Lowe Alpine Appalachian 55 + 15 which is superbly comfortable once
it's on my back - but fiendishly heavy to lift on. I've used it for years.
Like you I took one spare set of clothes which I wore at an enforced B&B in
Kingussie and at Tarfside - and my standard set of walking clothes I wore
all the time. John Towers held his nose when he walked past me at Montrose!

My cookset was adequate considering that I was mainly eating in pubs.
I took a Pocket Rocket, a 250 (I think) gas cannister.
I took an MSR Windpro stove and 3 x 250 gas cylinders because I was cooking
all the way across, except at the B&B in Kingussie and evening at Tarfside.
The Windpro sits on the ground so is more stable when using larger pans for
two people.

I was *shattered* at the end of day two. I had walked
for 12 hours on two consecutive days and was exhausted.
As a generakl rule I walk no more than nine hours a day or until 5 o'clock,
whichever comes first. I'm up at six in the morning and usually walking
before 7.30 - depending on how long it takes me to wipe the tent reasonably
dry before packing it. On some days we'd got the tent up by 3 pm so were
able to relax and cool our feet.

Any future long distance walking will be in much lighter footwear. I
used Brasher Hillmaster GTX boots. I am so glad I took my Teva Terra-Fi
sandals -
they were so comfy, especially when worn with Smartwool socks!
Brasher Hillmasters are about as light as you'll get - in boots. I also
carried sandals, but very lightweight ones (11 oz compared to my size 9½
Terra Fi's which are 23 oz). Apart from airing my feet around camp at night
sandals are ideal for wading rivers (there were a lot on my route) and dry
quite fast on the back of my sack. They cost £8 a couple of years ago in
British Home Stores and have travelled hundreds of miles.

I did post some maps home but I did not post any supplies up North in
advance.
I take only photo copies of maps on 14 sheets of A4 (28 pages on both sides)
which all fit into my Ortlieb map case. Anquet prints out my route on the
least number of pages. I dispose of each map when I've walked off the end
of it. I also print out the Foul Weather Alternatives which I keep separate
in my rucksack. This year I carried a GPS to make sure I never wandered off
the edge of the map!
I normally post three food parcels to strategic points en route - this year
to Cougie, Kingussie and Braemar.

I would buy Lithium Ion AA batteries for
my digital camera in advance.
I use a Lithium ion battery in my tiny camera. I believe it will take about
300 pictures before re-charging - but I never take that many.
Cheers,
Gordon.

I see that you all love the outdoors a lot. I thought I would share
with you something you might find very useful in the way of "first aid"
particularly in the area of blisters and insect bites and is easy to
carry. Below is a letter I have shared with family and friends over
here.

FROM: Ron Lewis

TO: Family and Friends


I would like to share some information with everyone that I believe you
will find very useful.

About four years ago, through a series of steps, I believe the Lord led
me to some discoveries of a first aid medicine already on the market
that does some pretty amazing things. It concerns a medicine product
that has been on store shelves for years with no one knowing what all
it is capable of doing. Two of the things it is capable of (concerning
blisters and bruises), I personally do not know of any medicine on the
market that can accomplish the same outcome. I have a friend who uses
it, who is a hemophiliac, who says she has never had minor cuts or
scrapes heal as quickly as with this product.

It is very reasonably priced and considering that a little goes a long
way - it is cheap. It is so versatile I do not leave home without it
in my pocket. The container it comes in is not really suitable for
putting in your pocket, so I bought a small container of Visine and
emptied it out and use it to carry with me.

After trying it out on family and friends for several years, I now feel
confident it will do all the things I have found it to do. And you may
feel free to pass it along to whomever you wish.

There are several product brands with the same main active ingredient
and I would assume they all would have a similar effect. However, I
personally have tested only one product containing this ingredient and
it was under Kroger's store brand label (less expensive than other
products), but again I would assume they are all similar. It is a 12
hour nasal decongestant (get the squeeze bottle not the spray), that
contains the active ingredient: Oxymetazoline hydrochloride.
Other brands besides Kroger's 12 hour nasal spray that contain
Oxymetazoline are: Afrin, 12 Hour Nostrilla, Duration 12 Hour,
Neo-Synephrine 12 Hour, Vicks Sinex 12-Hour. (Get the squeeze bottle,
not the mist pump)
Listed below are the things I have found it will do: (None of them are
for the purpose for which the product is on the shelf)

Relieve the itch of mosquito bites.

Relieve the pain, redness and swelling of spider and other insect bites
or stings.

Relieve the pain from first and second degree burns and if used
properly, can keep the skin from blistering. (Should be a must have
for the kitchen)

If a blister is already raised from a burn or friction (as in raking
leaves without gloves), used properly, it will make the blister shrink
and totally disappear.

Applied at the time of blunt trauma to the skin, it will greatly reduce
or even keep the skin from bruising.

It speeds the healing and takes the sting out of paper cuts and hang
nails.

It takes the itching and redness out of minor skin "irritation
rashes".

It helps relieve the pain and speed the healing of sunburns and
allergic skin reactions to the sun.

I am not making any claims of "facts" - only passing along the
observations of what myself and others have found to work for us after
several years of use.

After years of testing it on many things and using it quite
extensively, I have found it to be a very safe product. However
caution should always be observed for possible side effects when using
prescription or over the counter medicines - some of which I list
below along with the applications I have found to be effective.




DO NOT USE ON SEVERE WOUNDS OR SEVERE BURNS UNTIL TESTING CAN BE DONE
IN THAT REGARD

MOST EFFECTIVE AND FEWER APPLICATIONS NEEDED WHEN APPLIED AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE AFTER PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED.

Always use caution when using any product on children under 2 years old
and sparingly on children 2 to 6 years old.

Probably best to avoid using if pregnant or breast feeding or at least
use sparingly to achieve acceptable relief.

For mosquito bites: apply 1 or 2 drops to affected area and massage
into the skin until it no longer feels wet. Repeat process one more
time. This should be all that is needed.

For other insect bites or stings: 3 to 5 applications, 45 minutes apart
may be needed to have affected area totally clear up. (Meaning area
starts to look normal again not just that the pain or itching has
stopped)

For minor burns that may or may not cause a blister: Apply as above as
soon as possible after problem has occurred. Apply 4 or 5 time 45
minutes apart (even though there may no longer be pain after the first
application, continue to apply to help keep blister from forming). If
blister is already raised (but is unbroken) from a burn or friction (as
in raking leaves without gloves) continue to apply as above every 45
minute to an hour until blister disappears. (Note: after about one and
a half to two weeks, most likely after getting out of the bath or
shower, the area of the blister will turn a grayish white and peel
right off)

May also be used to avoid having a bruise: When suffering a blunt blow
to a part of the body (such as banging your shin on something) that you
would expect to see a bruise there later, as quick as possible apply
liquid to the area to reduce or block bruising. (Will not do any good
after a bruise has already formed)

To speed the healing and take the sting out of paper cuts and hang
nails: Apply 2 or 3 times a day

To take the itching and redness out of skin "irritation rashes":
Wet the affected area with nose spray and massage into the skin until
it no longer feels wet. Repeat process one more time.

Also works well for women for chaffing under the Bra line.

Concerning sunburns and allergic skin reactions to the sun: Apply 3 to
4 times a day to speed healing.

Caution: In regards to sunburns - I have not used this on large
areas of the body. So, until someone more knowledgeable than me can
show it is OK, it would probably be best to just treat the most severe
areas, such as shoulders or knees or the tops of the feet.



Ronald L. Lewis/Acworth,GA/USA

.