The next adventure

After our very adventurous trip at the end of the year 2020 we have been waiting for the covid situation to get better and allow us a next trip to our future homeland.

Now we are ready and will be leaving on the 1st of October for the north.

We learned from our past trips and have been updating our gear. For instance, we bought a great 4-seasons tent from Hilleberg, that can be pitched completely without external gear. And we built a little terrasse for the roof top tent, where we can for instance store the diesel heater. Also, Ronald offered me the best Quilt possible. It is made for temperatures down to 20 degrees below zero. So, it is for the first time really a realistic possibility, that I won’t feel cold during the night.

This time we plan to really meet all our neighbours and invite them to over for a Raclette. To do so, Ronald constructed a wilderness Raclette oven.

With this nice construction we will be able to feed 20 people with molten Swiss Cheese.

But of course, that is not the only plan we have. We bought fantastic Brompton bikes and are planning to test them on the route from Loch Watenan to Wick and back.

Apart from that, I have been preparing myself mentally for a new encounter with the wild horses on our land. Last time I was really afraid, and the stallion might have noticed that, which lead to him behaving even more crazily. This time, I will try to not show any fear and I also bought a bear whistle, that might help with wild horses also. I will write an update on how that worked out…

But for the moment, we are getting together our gear because in the tomorrow we will leave around 5 in the morning to reach the ferry in Amsterdam in time.

One minor problem we might encounter before arriving in Scotland on Sunday: UK has seen some shortage in gas. Therefore we can’t be sure to find a place where we can fuel up while in England. But hey… it wouldn’t be our trip if it was not an adventurous one, would it? So, we will walk that bridge, when we arrive there….

Finally back to Scotland again

As Scotland eased its restrictions for entering the country, we finally are able to go back to Whaligoe without having to spend a 10-days in self-isolation. So we are preparing our next trip. As the weather seems to be better than last time, we will give it a another try with our pick-up to see, if we can make it this time without getting stuck again.

The last it looke somehow like after the recovery with tractor and cable winch:

This in turn means, we will again take the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle with a night on the sea. Time-wise it takes longer than to go through the tunnel, but hopefully less stressful.

The good thing about taking the car is, we can bring a lot of stuff with us such as a Raclette “oven” and have a real Swiss Raclette at the Loch. Plus, we will be trying out our new Brompton Bikes to test the route from Whaligoe to Wick.

As it currently seems, we have to conduct a PCR test two days after arrive. According to gov.uk a new test centre opend in Wick. We will try that out …

So, let’s hope the situation stays as it is and we are able to go to Whaligoe soon.

Securing the Back Window of our Hard Top with a Farrimond Friction Hitch

We have a Beltop Hard Top for our Toyota Hilux. Though we are quite happy with it, there was something we did not want to live with it.

So we fixed a minor nuisance of the back window of our hard top: having rain pouring into the pick up over our power jacks … We adjusted the back window with a Farrimond Friction Hitch. Check our video on how we did this.

I first saw this knot on a video from “Far North Bushcraft and Survival”. The knot presented there seems just as useful in the backwoods as for our car. Here it is:

Roof Top Extension

Last December we got ourselves an AutoTerm Diesel Heater for our tent or side awnings. However, we could not really use it for our roof top tent, as the pipe was so long, that practically all the heat was lost before getting into the tent. Therefore we created an extension at the rear of our tent to place the heater on it (amongst other stuff). Have a look at it at the video below.

We can even fit the extension with a tarp to have some rain protection on a quick stop.

Roof Top Extension with Tarp as Rain Shelter

A very basic installation and far from perfect setup – but it works …

Hiking Gear: MC-101 or SP-404A?

So first of all, what does a music gear have to do with hiking or trekking? As we are currently preparing for a longer hike, I created an spreadsheet with all the items we would need to pack along – including their individual weight. This list is divided into different sections with the most crucial sections at the top: Housing, Cooking, Transport, Clothes. The “luxury” items are more at the bottom. However, when reviewing this list, I realised after only being half-way through, that the total weight is about more than we actually wanted to carry. This left me in the situation that I would probably not be able to carry my Roland MC-707 along with my TR-8S along. So I thought, I would have to look for something lighter in my pack.

Here is what I really wanted to take along: a kind of sequencer with drums and samples. Ideally with only small power consumption. Powered by a USB-C power bank.

As I happen to already have the MC-707, I thought this to be a good excuse to finally get an SP-404. However, looking at its weight with 1200g I am not so sure, if that is a good idea. The MC-101 weights only 60% of the SP-404A. The downside, I would then have a device that is nearly identical to something I already have. On the other hand, I could use all my music (and samples) from the MC-707 (as long as I am using not more than 4 tracks).

Maybe, there are other cool devices out there. I must check. Until then, I have not decided yet. Time will tell.

Hiking Kilt

Today I did it – I actually ordered a kilt. Though not from scottish or gaelic descendance, I gave this a try as my trekking or walking trousers. In German language an ancient word for trousers is “Beinkleid“, which somehow could be translated to “a skirt for legs”. So I thought a kilt would just fit into that category.

And having read about the “Dress Act 1746” I certainly wanted to take the advantage of no longer to be “bound down to the unmanly dress of the Lowlander” (as quoted on Wikipedia) …

As soon as the kilt arrives (and if it fits) I will post an update.

Note: the picture in this post is taken as a screenshot from the web site at SportKilt and courtesy of SportKilt. It is the actual model I ordered. I hope they do not mind, me re-using their image here.

We made it – Plot acquired!

Today marked a milestone in our effort to move to Scotland. The contract was signed and we are the prowd owners of a plot at Loch Watenan!

View from our plit

The plot is on the east side of the Loch, but hidden from the street. An absolutely lovely view. And from the highest part we can even see the sea.

Loch Watenan from the South Side

Now we have to wait to get the paperwork finished and returned and prepare for our first trip to our future home.