Gear

Footwear
A fair chunk of this trail is wet underfoot. As a result (and because it was what I had anyway) I favoured light shoes over heavy boots with no Goretex. 

Over time I’ve come to the conclusion that quick drying is better than trying to stay dry, which in a place like Scotland (or NZ) is a completely futile exercise. After a while you just give up and go with it. Any section that’s easy and dry then becomes a bonus.

I used La Sportiva Boulder X shoes. By the end of this trail they were pretty much trashed with dangerously smooth soles and the uppers were full of holes which helped drainage, but also lead to small stones accumulating under the balls of my feet. 

However for $120 I have worn them in great comfort over 2300km of trail between February and October this year, plus day to day usage. So no complaints from me.

Into these I put my usual inner sole combination: Noene for shock absorbtion and Superfeet Green for comfort and familiarity. These are a well worn combo. When I replace them I’ll move up to Superfeet Orange if I can find them when I need them.

If I was doing it again I’d go for a solid trail runner. And in particular I’d want one with a good fast lacing system so that the period of putting on wet shoes is kept to the minimum. I’m trying out some Salomon trail runners now and love their lacing system.

Tent
Tarptent Contrail (750g with 9 pegs). This is the second long hike this summer with this tent. I’ve been using it for a little over a year. As in Iceland I was very glad to have the five big stakes I bought in Kathmandu. Bug netting is beyond essential, and this tent does it well. I use it with a single fixed length pole of 115cm which works fine for me.

Backpack
This will be my last hike with a ULA Catalyst. It’s been fine but simply does not last long enough for an expensive pack. This is not due just to the abuse I throw at it. Partly it is due to poor design and choice of materials. It’s done me fine for a couple of years, and has some good features, but I would expect much more longevity for the money.

Cooking
I carried two stoves and was very glad of that due to poor availability of fuel. I have a Trail Designs Caldera Cone (alcohol, tablets and wood) and an MSR Superfly gas stove with an aluminium wind shield. Both of these worked really well when used. More and more I relied on gas, which was easier to get.

I used a Evernew 900ml titanium pot, a 500ml titanium cup, titanium spoon and an Opinel knife. I also bought a pack of three small light plastic containers for butter etc. Very handy.

Clothing
Conditions were never very hot or very cold, but often wet and sometime windy. I used lots of layers, which I tuned as required. My lower layers were Icebreaker Merino wool with an OR Goretex Pro shell outer (top and bottom). 

When dry and cool I used a Sherpa softshell jacket. My trekking pants and shorts are both Sherpa softshell. Very happy with these. 

I wore about 4 pairs of socks in rotation, and one more for nighttime use only. Light and quick drying socks are better here than heavier warmer socks. Some were synthetic and some wool. For preference I’d like ones that are easy and quick to take on and off. I wore out and threw away two pairs of socks.

Once again my Mont-Bell ultralight down jacket with hood was a winner.

Poles
Two Helinox poles. One snapped on the last day unfortunately. Both had had problems with the internal string tensioning system, which meant I had to tape them with duct tape. But very light at 150g each and they did a fantastic job as usual.

Sleeping
Exped -1C bag. About 800g. Small piece (0.5m square) of closed cell foam. 3/4 length Thermarest ultralite mattress. Did the business.

Technology
iPod touch, iPod nano, GPS, Camera, Kindle. And the means to power and recharge these. Of these the Kindle and GPS were mission critical. I will be upgrading the touch to an iPhone 5s shortly to provide a backup GPS and better maps.

Other
Hygiene, first aid and pharmacy. Spare batteries and a repair kit. Spare ziplock bags. Lots of small Exped drybags. One big tough garbage bag to line the entire backpack.