Ultralight Hiking:
See also:
G4 Pack
Instructions Printable.doc
NEW
Della & I (combined age then 120) heading
off from Freney Lagoon on the second day of our walk across
All about light weight, ultra light hiking, backpacking, bushwalking, hunting, tracks, trails, adventures, gear, reviews…
I have been
hiking/hunting now for over sixty years, a little more slowly than I once did,
walking in the Victorian
This is a ‘work in progress’. I will be adding to it on a regular basis adding new photos, adventures, product/ideas, suggestions, etc. You should also look at HIKING ADVICE also a section of gear advice for my son written in 2011 WORLD TRAVEL KIT FOR SON. You can also see my older posts above, eg Hiking 2017. Hope you find something interesting.
PS: UPPER YARRA TRACK: I have recently created this site The Upper Yarra Walking Track Australia’s oldest (& best), an approx. 10-14 day walk with numerous resupply points, plentiful water and camping spots now extending from Moe railway Station @ 150 kilometres up the Latrobe, Tyers & Thomson River valleys, via Yallourn North, Erica & Walhalla, across the Baw Baw Plateau, along the Upper Thomson River, past the Yarra Falls & Mt Horsefall, along the Little Ada, Ada and Yarra valleys via Warburton to Lilydale Railway Station. Now, complete with Track Instructions
ULTRALIGHT HIKING BLOG:
The Ultralight Hiker on the
Dusky Track Fiordland 2017
27-12-2025: Vernix and the ‘aquatic ape’ hypothesis: https://www.stoneageherbalist.com/p/unexplained-biology-how-humans-are
23-12-2025: Stone Age thieves – definitely not a drive-by: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20241220-the-archaeological-mystery-of-stonehenges-long-lost-megaliths
21-12-2025: Making calls to satellite phones has been retricted, though most will not know. Because we have cause to use one (both a satellite phone and satellite messenger) This is deeply worrying for us. About a year ago Telstra decided you now have to have a new dedicated SIM for your sat phone (without telling us) or it will only be able to make one minute of calls. Previously we had a normal 3G SIM (which Telstra had installed) in ours. It worked both in and out fine for years. Now I discover that many other people (whom I can call with my sat phone) cannot call or message me back depending on who they have as their carrier. Unfortunately this applies to all my children. Similar diffculties arise with satellite messenger messaging.
I will
complain to the Minister of Communications about this situation (because it is
dangerous) but don’t expect anything to happen. Fortunately you seem to be able
to make outgoing calls and messages. It is just incoming which are affected.
You can imagine that this will create problems though in emergency situations
and require one to leave the satellite phone switched on for longer
unnecessarily (while the battery goes flat) or having to make more outgoing
calls when awaiting rescue/helicopters etc. I expect people will die as a result of this. Hopefully not me.
I was just about to make the switch from Telstra as I could have saved half my mobile phone cost by switching to Aldi or Boost both of which use pretty much the same (Teltra) network (though only Boost has all of the coverage) as well as much more free data – a saving of $300 per year for each of us when I noticed (in their fine print that the ’included service’ did not include calls to satellite phones. This did not just mean that you would be charged extra for them (what you would expect – and what used to happen). What it meant was that you would not be able to call or message them at all. Boost confirmed this. I checked this out with my son’s phone (Aldi) and found that he was completely unable to call or message my sat phone and had some difficulties with my Sat Messenger as well. You can see that this is true by scrolling down to ‘What’s Not Included’ eg here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0490/0896/7844/files/CIS_MOSC2134-22102025.pdf?v=1730060345
PS: Apparently you can cure this by transferring your satellite phone to Pivotel: https://www.pivotel.com.au/plans-iridium-satellite-phone-plans.html
20-12-2025: C’mon guys start wearing it. Oz has millions of bales of unsaleable wool: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20241210-how-ultra-traditional-tweed-found-a-new-fanbase
20-12-2025: Scientists who were surprised by carnivorous squirrels had just never been hunters (or very observant): https://redstate.com/wardclark/2024/12/18/scientists-stunned-by-vole-hunting-predatory-squirrels-n2183389
18-12-2025: Could be interesting: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-man-who-wanted-to-see-it-all
14-12-2025: The Little Star – a great little tent: If you are not into DIY. Also a great weight (390 grams in silnylon – even lighter in DCF which I eschew) and price (US$220 Dec 2024). What’s not to like? It is very like my Siligloo (but a little simpler). I have MLD‘s ‘big brother’ the Supamid which I can attest is well made and well thought out (but too heavy for me nowadays – though I carried it across Tasmania in 2011). It provided abundant shelter (for three) in wet, windy conditions there though (what it is designed for). The Little Star sets up with two trekking poles (as shown). Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/12/13/the-little-star-a-great-little-tent/
13-12-2025: Move over ‘Deep Thought’ – at last we may learn the answer: https://www.livescience.com/technology/computing/google-willow-quantum-computing-chip-solved-a-problem-the-best-supercomputer-taken-a-quadrillion-times-age-of-the-universe-to-crack
13-12-2025: Do you wonder why you hadn’t heard about Australian pymies? https://aussienationalistblog.com/2018/04/26/a-past-existence-of-australian-pygmies/
11-12-2025: Mt Darling - an Emerging Inferno: I have been visiting/exploring various parts of this vast Wilderness area over the years but mainly along the rivers and streams lower down (along the Wonnangatta/Moroka) as I prefer to camp by a stream rather than on a windy mountain-top but I have made several attempts over the years to wander out along the old (closed) road to Mt Darling which begins about fifty metres before Dimmicks Lookout (off the Howitt Rd above Tamboritha). It was (still) reasonably easy to walk out there ten years ago (in 2014). Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/12/11/mt-darling-an-emerging-inferno/
07-12-2025: A 90 second mud cake – worth a try? https://www.taste.com.au/food-news/magic-90-second-mug-cake-rises-minute/chfmymwo?utm_medium=nca&utm_source=newscomau_campaign=en_pos14&utm_content=taste
04-12-2025: More and more ancestors: https://www.yahoo.com/news/large-head-people-mysterious-form-063259322.html
04-12-2025: I see Attenborough has called for ‘Wind in the Willows’ to be banned as ‘misinformation' – apparently badgers don’t smoke pipes, wear slippers or use cudgels and boating is unknown among water rats.
02-12-2025: Never give up: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cde78p3zx5ro
01-12-2025: I suspect Elon Musk intends to be the first asteroid mining trillionaire: https://joannenova.com.au/2024/11/why-mars-because-the-first-trillionaires-might-be-mining-100-quadrillion-dollar-asteroids/
30-11-2024: What it’s like to be lost and alone: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/lost/
28-11-2024: I agree, ‘The Desert Column’ is the
greatest book ever to come out of
27-11-2024: Wilderness Exploration: I have always loved Shelley's poem 'Ozymandias' which showcases the futility of Pharaoh Rameses' efforts to secure his immortality. Many people these days are obsessed with mankind's (supposed) destruction of nature, an observation which I do not wholly disagree with, but nature has a way of coming roaring back, all but obliterating mankind's works.
For example,
along the eighty or so kilometres of the
25-11-2024: Can You Have the Best of Both Worlds? I can't imagine just how much ink and energy has been wasted on the conundrum, 'What's best as a camping option a tent or a hammock' (plus fly)? But you can indeed have the best of both worlds - as the saying goes. You can carry a tarp which can be used either for sleeping on the ground or sheltering in your hammock as you take to the trees to avoid rough ground or too much water - as I have had to do many times. One of the reasons I am still alive really. A word to the wise: I have encountered people who are not because they could not. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/11/24/can-you-have-the-best-of-both-worlds/
20-11-2024: Now this is interesting. Make a submission if you value your bush: https://engage.vic.gov.au/the-future-of-state-forests
18-11-2024: Let there be light: https://www.sciencealert.com/world-first-stem-cell-transplant-restores-vision-in-multiple-people?fbclid=IwY2xjawGjWPNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUscDtaxLjnJZFRjCnUb9pLBzXimwt1GbUc1h19JoRkD9LD2d1rMCLibog_aem_9P2hnRk-6vYzB8JN52mMTA
15-11-2024: The largest creature on earth discovered – and it’s not Donald Trump: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sea-creature-big-visible-space-044345061.html
12-11-2024: “Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, Chief nourisher in life's feast”. “Recent research shows users of sleeping pills appear to have lower levels of amyloid proteins in their cerebrospinal fluid, which washes the brain clean at night. But these medications come with side effects; they may also lull people into shallow bouts of sleep rather than deep sleep phases. Instead, to set yourself up for a good night's sleep, Zavecz suggests cutting out coffee late in the day, doing some exercise, avoiding screen time, and taking a hot shower before bed.” https://www.sciencealert.com/theres-a-critical-thing-we-can-do-to-keep-alzheimers-symptoms-at-bay
09-11-2024: A new use for TEGs. I am working on an ultralight device which allows me to charge my electronic devices on hiking trips: https://techxplore.com/news/2024-11-shelf-thermoelectric-generators-chemicals-aid.html
01-11-2024: At last an e-ink smart phone with a 6 day battery life: https://newatlas.com/mobile-technology/compact-e-ink-phone-mudita-kompakt/
29-10-2024: Who needs to buy hearing aids then? Just buy an expensive Apple phone instead. Coming soon to Android I hope: https://gizmodo.com/the-airpods-pro-2-finally-receive-its-hearing-health-features-2000516497
Yes: https://news.samsung.com/global/galaxy-buds-pro-effective-for-people-with-hearing-loss-study-reveals
25-10-2024: Kite racing is amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsfMblljCOw&t=17s
24-10-2024: An end to Ice Ages (and an explanation of their occurrence): “In about 120 million years we will finally cross the Sagittarius spiral arm. We will exit this Ice House with its periodic glacial ages and enter the next Hot House “ https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/10/23/its-a-mystery-to-me/
23-10-2024: Welcome to Star Wars: https://www.yahoo.com/news/anti-missile-laser-downed-100-091935787.html
22-10-2024: “Electrostatic motors are up to 80% more
efficient than conventional motors.” Where do I invest? https://www.c-motive.com/
20-10-2024: An incredible journey. Just goes to show that the great era of exploration is not yet done. A Solo Fiordland Traverse (if only I wasn’t so old): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9auUFK42N5o
19-10-2024: Ganesha Folding Gasifier Hobo Stove: I recently encountered this little delight. If you are in the market for a fuel stove which burns clean and won’t scorch the ground (and sets up in a jiffy) this may be the solution for you. It unfolds (out of its bag) from its flat-pack form in less than five seconds. Another few seconds can be spent tossing in some kindling – leaves and small twigs. Light,then keep on adding small sticks. It couldn’t be simpler. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/10/19/ganesha-folding-gasifier-hobo-stove/
18-10-2024: Curse you Nivea – I have been using the same hand and face cream for 50+ years but they have obviously changed its ingredients as nothing seems to want to dissolve the wrinkles any more.
14-10-2024: We may
yet learn whether Mallory and
14-10-2024: Elon Musk on Starship, “This the largest & most powerful flying object ever made at more than double the thrust of the Saturn V Moon rocket.” – yet they aughtit. Truly amazing , and uplifting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuUgLKK_S5k&t=904s
10-10-2024: And you thought you were old: https://www.sciencealert.com/microbes-found-alive-sealed-in-rock-for-2-billion-years?fbclid=IwY2xjawFzCbBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHd79uySJ3oYuAOhbjNN6mTNVzy0TN-W-svBRykULTDZgCYSvIMfroXeQkQ_aem_FqQ70ZyiGAvXI20bHlt3Wg
8-10-2024: The Fisher says ‘Hello’ again 200+ years after it went ‘extinct’: https://petapixel.com/2024/10/07/trail-camera-captures-rarely-seen-almost-extinct-pennslvania-fisher-animal/
4-10-2024: Get ready for another aurora: https://joannenova.com.au/2024/10/aurora-watch-sun-unleashes-biggest-flare-of-this-cycle-x9/
29-09-2024: Elon Musk really dares to dream. Though I doubt I will see a colony on Mars maybe he will: https://archive.is/HouV0
18-09-2024: Aussie
Life (and death). Vale our cousin Ken. Last weekend we travelled to the
Figure 1 Ken & Delma Jones c 1960
Our (Jones) family history in
(Our great great grandfather (William Davids’s own father -
another David) lived the entire C19th - all of it in the vicinity of the small
town of
Figure 2 William David Jones
Figure 3 Emily (Westbury) Jones
They had ten children one of whom,George Jones was our grandfather.
Figure 4 George Jones – in Boer War uniform.
George married Pauline Sanlaville, daughter of
Figure 5 c 1924 Pauline Sanlaville with son, Basil Jones
Figure 6 Marius Sanlaville & daughter Alice (plus Basil again).
Figure 7 Emmeline (Mills) Sanlaville & daughter Pauline Sanlaville.
(Besides Basil) George and Pauline had three other children, Emmeline, Ken & Lawrence. Altogether these four (Jones) children produced 19 cousins between 1930 and 1962: Emmeline 6, Ken 5, Lawrence 3 and Basil 5 - of whom 14 are still living (September 2024), though our average age must be around 80 years. Many (often from faraway) made the effort to attend Ken’s ‘send off’.
Figure 8 c 1917 Ken, Lawrence (centre) and Emmeline Jones
We 19 cousins alone no doubt have currently over 100 living descendents, so William David Jones and his wife Emily have well and truly contributed handsomely to the population (and development) of Australia – that is without considering the many descendents of their other nine children!
Funerals are sad affairs and I am not ashamed to admit I shed a tear or more for Ken. Though he was 88 he will be missed, and should have lived much longer. However he lived a long, productive and adventurous life. It was a time to share our grief with Delma and reacquaint ourselves with their two sons and to get to know three very handsome grandsons who will proudly carry his name and legacy on into the future. Farewell Ken.
17-09-2024: Life after ‘death’, “In humans, white blood cells die between 60 and 86 hours after organismal death. In mice, skeletal muscle cells can be regrown after 14 days postmortem, while fibroblast cells from sheep and goats can be cultured up to a month or so postmortem.” https://theconversation.com/biobots-arise-from-the-cells-of-dead-organisms-pushing-the-boundaries-of-life-death-and-medicine-238176
30-08-2024: A Gibbo Memory: Recently I drove to Corryong and back to scan a heap of photos and documents which had been collected by my (late) first cousin which had become the property of his son on his death. It turned out there were 614 family photos and about 200 family documents - quite a trove, so as you might imagine it took some time to copy them. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/08/28/a-gibbo-memory/
28-08-2024: 60th
Reunion: On the weekend we traveled to Morisset (&
Below: Steve & Della Jones (spouse), Ross & Evelyn Tipper (spouse), Evelyn (Wallwork) Ashcroft (teacher).
Jim Simmonds & Willy Chow far left.
My old house at
27-08-2024: Hunting the Wonnangatta Again: I guess you realise I have been haunting this wonderful valley for decades, but now that I am over half way though my eighth decade I suppose I will be doing such big tough trips less than I used to. However I was up there for a few days a couple of weeks ago. I did not venture quite so high up as I used to do though, mainly because I had a bad cold. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/08/27/hunting-the-wonnangatta-again/
27-08-2024: I would love to own a new one: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/25/style/volkswagen-beetle-mexico/index.html
27-08-2024: Good question: If the Big Bang wasn’t the first thing ever, what caused it? https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/big-bang-first-thing-cause/
25-08-2024: Do you need this enzyme (yet): https://scitechdaily.com/rewiring-the-aging-brain-key-enzyme-could-be-the-secret-to-sharper-memory-in-old-age/
22-08-2024: Apocryphal sightings: the tin-foil hat brigade. Miraculously I managed to snap a pic of one of these elusive creatures in Churchill last week. Where are all the mobile pohone snaps of ghosts, demons, yetis etc?
16-08-2024: The mystery of Kaspar Hauser persists: https://www.sciencealert.com/dna-from-lost-european-prince-solves-a-200-year-old-conspiracy
11-08-2024: Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone. I had a lovely day with the family. Three quarters of a century. Who would have believed it? I have recently been helping organize a 60th reunion of our high school graduating class which has made me understand just how lucky I am to have survived the vicissitudes of life so lightly whilst others of my cohort have sadly succumbed. But as Della said, I am still constantly planning various ‘adventures’ as if I was still 20, though it takes a little longer to complete an eight hour walk (for example) than it once did.
09-08-2024: You Ripper: Euripides – what other treasures are hiding out there?: https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2024/08/02/new-fragments-of-euripides-discovered/
05-08-2024: Karahan
Tepe may be even more astonishing than Gobelki Tepe which revealed so much
about ‘neolithic’ civilization: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karahan_Tepe
03-08-2024: Quilt Modification and Comparison: I recently modified my Waratah Quilt and Zpacks Quilt so that they would better fit me, would be easier to enter and exit, and in the case of the Waratah be fractionally lighter as well.
I found Kam Snaps to be just the trick for these mods. As I said in that post I will be finding many many more uses for these wonderful gadgets.
These mods are amongst the easiest 'sewing' projects you could undertake, so they might be a good place to start before you launch into making your own tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, (hiking) clothes etc as I have done. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/08/02/quilt-modification-and-comparison/
03-08-2024: Never thought I would say it but ‘Well done ABC’: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-02/deer-hunters-game-meat/103974062?
31-07-2024:
Converting a Sleeping Bag Into a Quilt: There is much debate about which is
better, a sleeping bag or a quilt? But why not have both? In most cases it is
easy to convert your old bag so you can use it as a quilt. I just did this with
my old Montbell bag - and it works a treat. The conversion cost maybe $1 and
weighed 3 grams! It took only a few minutes. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/07/31/converting-a-sleeping-bag-into-a-quilt/
28-07-2024: Kam Snaps: If you are into DIY (as you should be unless you want to be a perpetual victim/pauper) then it's about time you discovered these wonderful plastic gadgets, an amazing (ultralight) improvement on the traditional press-stud. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/07/28/kam-snaps/
19-07-2024: The last of the few turns 105: https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2024/07/happy-birthday-to-the-last-of-the-battle-of-britain-pilots-group-captain-john-paddy-hemingway-dfc.html
15-07-2024: An Ideal Cheap Pillow: While we are on the topic of sleeping (which we are), I have also really ‘lashed out’ and added an excellent $2 pillow to my sleeping arrangements from Aliexpress.
I should add that I have modified my Waratah Quilt so it is a little lighter and easier to enter and exit. It is already delightfully warm and comfortable. I am very happy with it on those sub-zero nights.
I buy half a dozen of these pillows at a time as they are not outstandingly robust though I have used one for dozens and dozens of nights whilst I have burst much more expensive pillows in less time. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/07/13/an-ideal-cheap-pillow/
14-07-2024: XTherm or Bust: So, as you know I bit the bullet and bought myself a new Thermarest XTherm at 440 grams for its standard 6′ model. Though I definitely did not ‘need’ a new pad I wanted to see whether I could reduce size/volume in my pack – and I was just curious whether the improvement in the Nxt range from 2 1/2′ to 3″ thickness really did make a significant (enough) difference to comfort. Besides, ‘you can’t take it with you’. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/07/13/xtherm-or-bust/
14-07-2024: Do snakes like to drink milk? Interesting speculation: https://www.stoneageherbalist.com/p/can-snakes-drink-milk
13-07-2024: Thank goodness for erythromycin! I have had this respiratory infection (non stop/off and on?) since I was on The Everest Base Camp Trek back in November, but one hour after I started this stuff I am on the mend. A second ‘Thank Goodness’ to Dr Google (whom some doctors doubt): https://www.verywellhealth.com/antibiotics-for-pneumonia-5185264
11-07-2024: New Samsung must-haves – whatever happened to using phones to make calls? https://www.news.com.au/checkout/tech/gadgets/samsung-unpacked-july-2024-everything-announced/news-story/4d2dfd2401263f4bd0f640a5b2aade12
11-07-2024: A
conservation success story in
09-07-2024: Hard to believe this is happening: https://www.frontpagemag.com/biden-admin-to-kill-470000-owls-to-save-the-owls/
05-07-2024: Woohoo! Bring it on: https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientists-reverse-alzheimers-synapse-damage-130029639.html
05-07-2024: If your school is not quite cutting it for your bright kid, maybe try this? https://brilliant.org/home/
05-07-2024: Piltdown Man Anyone? Another interesting archaeological fake: https://ahotcupofjoe.net/2017/11/fuente-magna-bowl-not-cuneiform-not-sumerian/
04-07-2024:
Absolutely the Lightest Sleeping Pad Inflator: The Pad
Pal weighs only 9 grams, costs a mere US$48 (July 2024) and will pump your
pad up in a little over 30 seconds. This tiny device will revolutionise
how you inflate your sleeping pad. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/07/04/absolutely-the-lightest-sleeping-pad-inflator/
30-06-2024 A noble profession: https://ruralhistoria.com/2024/06/04/from-dark-alleys-to-the-cities-the-rat-catchers-of-britain/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0EnIDIWQlVnOswG8pseJEcwaBNFsNxR70UBC42ever0m1cr_KXrYFsS2g_aem_Ui5fLvkWHVp7P6N5r7lHGQ#google_vignette
30-06-2024 Lessons from Aesop: https://notthebee.com/takes/the-aesops-fable-that-affluent-white-female-liberals-completely-forgot-to-read
29-06-2024: Kinetic Log Splitter: My son-in-law alerted me to the reality that there is another quite different type of splitter which does not use hydraulics. The hydraulic splitter (even when new) would just refuse a really tough billet of wood which I could hammer away with my (manual) block buster and split by hand.
This 'kinetic' type of splitter utilises the energy of a flywheel which can repeatedly hit the billet of wood until it splits. It claims an 18 tonne 'punch' at the outset anyway, so you don't often have to give the block a second hit but if you need to. The machine is amazingly quick. I could never have swung a block buster as fast as this. The hydraulic one was ponderously slow in comparison. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/06/29/kinetic-log-splitter/
28-06-2024 The times they are a’changing - get ready to be a prepper: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/odds-are-high-youre-going-need-your-survival-supplies-next-few-years
27-06-2024: Just wonderful: Strandbeest Evolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C97kMKwZ2-g&t=46s
23-06-2024: Don’t ditch your sat phone or sat messenger just yet: https://www.androidauthority.com/smartphone-satellite-connectivity-3295162/
21-06-2024: This nova will be interesting to see. Must watch for it - I doubt I will still be around in 80 years to see it next time: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/once-in-a-lifetime-cosmic-explosion-nova-nasa-what-to-know/
21-06-2024: Allan Savory, the champion of grazing on how to save the world from desertification, a far more pressing problem than ‘global warming’: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/06/17/planet-earth-is-dying-and-not-because-of-fossil-fuels-with-allan-savory-part-1/
15-06-2024: Lewis & Clark’s dog Seaman: https://lewis-clark.org/people/seaman/seamans-fate/
15-06-2024: The new ‘Route 66’: https://www.tradetrucks.com.au/outback-way-to-become-australias-route-66/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1PNtzK9-V3LEd1kbEVPT4CrGQED0DHhYDCiMFYc86Eh0KFoK33Y0so0dg_aem_AUtUBCx9iz-kFI6-D2RBwgFz7kYBjqMdxNWlJSBqxu5UWCXIiM0NpEeLe20yGP6uvAVqfesChq6lhnh-5sL9z3v4
15-06-2024: The sign
says it all. Help save us from National Parks:
14-06-2024: ‘Castle
Law’. Coming ‘soon’ to Qld. Needed even more in Vic: https://nickdametto.com/legislation-moved-to-adopt-castle-law-in-queensland
05-06-2024: Things You Find: We visited the
My cousin Brian had pulled this strange object out of the ground where we/they used to live in Tenambit (Maitland) when he was circa 8 years old. At the time it had a calf tied to it with a rope.
At first he thought it was a rusty piece of pipe (as you would expect - you can still see the hammer marks on it where it was driven into the ground) then he noticed the sight attached to it and realised it was a gun barrel. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/06/04/things-you-find/
04-06-2024: Ultralight Head Gear: A 1970s
However, not very much weight of insulation is needed to keep your head warm. Anyway a cold head will cause all sorts of problems – and misery.
I certainly find that if my head is cold the rest of me is cold as well – so I often/always wear a hat of some sort. When I am out in the wilds (in cold weather) I always have some sort of insulated head-wear – something from a light wool cap through a light wool balaclava, a buff or beanie to some serious head insulation for night time sub-zero conditions etc. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/06/03/ultralight-head-gear/
28-05-2024: Ultralight Furniture: Should I buy a Helinox Zero or just sit on a log? We have used the Big Agnes Cyclone Chair (at approx 170 grams) for years. It uses a sleeping mat to make a comfy chair with a supporting back-rest that you can sit in your tent with (in front of a warm fire in our case) without poking holes in your tent floor. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/05/27/ultralight-furniture/
27-05-2024: Ultralight Firewood Saw: I realise this is something of a 'holy grail' but sometimes you really do need to be able to saw some pieces of firewood down to size and you may need to have carried a saw to do so - or you are not going to be very warm tonight.
This was (nearly) our situation on a recent walk out to Mt Feathertop, and is a situation we have encountered in NZ backcountry huts.
As I only ever have a fire when I really need one I am loath to carry heavy cutting implements just in case, so I have been working at and thinking about this problem. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/05/26/ultralight-firewood-saw/
27-05-2024: Avoiding ‘faint praise’. Too much ‘self-esteem’ “By their theorizing, a child does not need to learn multiplication tables. He needs to feel good about himself. In principle, this is supposed to make him a math whiz. In practice, it makes him a self-important idiot.” Maybe if they concentrated on actually being good at something? https://stuartschneiderman.substack.com/p/too-much-self-esteem
22-05-2024: Fascinating - Mallory’s 1924 Everest Expedition: https://www.popsci.com/science/george-mallory-1924-everest-climb/
22-05-2024: Have we already found aliens and Dyson Spheres? https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a60780331/dyson-sphere-evidence-alien-civilizations/
21-05-2024: Get out there and do it: https://www.sciencealert.com/exercising-in-midlife-may-reverse-years-of-inactivity-large-study-finds
20-05-2024: DIY Ultimate Ultralight Saw: A reader (Paul – thank you) has gazumped me in the ultralight saw stakes after viewing my post Ultralight Saw Experiments with a ‘saw’ that probably weighs under 5 grams but could still be used to make Ultralight Tent Poles – or similar items of camp furniture. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/05/20/diy-ultimate-ultralight-saw/
20-05-2024: Sign this petition if you want free access to public lands to continue: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/petitions/stop-the-creation-of-any-new-national-parks/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0gYB91H1VXU9ujocImOSonLj8JIP8KqCZS0nUMGFjo9CpWgBOJbNpxNn8_aem_AV9jtxVkidZJ4RcdKlWaBQpMbWG7m55guSzqmRb3JN4Z1Lg3u5LMmtMepOg_AOKfoqkMJhxpJkEZlroe5TYxzURx
19-05-2024: When you don’t see people
for a long time: Last night we attended a fortieth reunion for students
from
18-05-2024: Maybe you will be able to come back from the dead after all: https://newatlas.com/science/brains-frozen-thawed-chemicals-cryopreservation/
16-05-2024: “Procrastination is totally a good thing. You always have something to do tomorrow, plus you have nothing to do today” Heinlein Society.
15-05-2024: The Wonnangatta murder
trial looks like it will be one of the most interesting in our history. Already
I think the result will hinge on the whereabouts of all the pellets from three
(!) admitted 12 gauge shotgun rounds. Police will have been trying to locate
and count all of them – what metal detectors are for after all. Four weeks of
compelling news: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-victoria/greg-lynn-stands-trial-for-murders-of-missing-campers-russell-hill-and-carol-clay/live-coverage/7bab787fa4794171c7a02e70a0bf5808
14-05-2024: Federation and Feathertop: Last week my friend, Brett proposed we walk out to Federation Hut and Mt Feathertop for an overnight trip. Though I had a bad cold and was not feeling very fit I jumped at the chance. There is just so much work to get done around the farm - I may be avoiding some of it really.
We were at least promised two days of fine weather with daytime temperatures (at Mt Hotham) of 7 to 10C and overnight around 0C (probably a tad cooler at Federation Hut - at the base of Mt Feathertop) because it is a little higher and maybe more exposed.
The walk out to Federation/Feathertop is 10-12km largely just on or off the side of a ridge which undulates quite a bit but rises very steeply (approx 250 metres) in the last <1km if you decide to ascend the mountain (I didn't). Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/05/13/federation-and-feathertop/
13-05-2024: Waratah Quilt: I recently had a chance to try out this very nice Waratah Quilt from Neve Gear. They are priced from A$419 (May 2024). I have had it for some time actually, but the weather has been too warm so I had to wait until I could go somewhere it was going to drop below freezing to try it out. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/05/12/waratah-quilt/
05-05-2024: Plato rediscovered – amazing tech: https://gizmodo.com/plato-burial-place-last-night-details-ai-scroll-1851438021
05-05-2024: A new battery at last? No wonder the price of lithium has been dropping: https://newatlas.com/energy/natron-sodium-ion-battery-production-startt/
04-05-2024: Who needs a key? https://www.amazon.com/FirePik-Pro-Firefighter-Multipurpose-Stainless/dp/B0CKWPTSHH
04-05-2024: Can children ever remember their past lives? Over 2,000 children can’t be wrong, surely? Do you remember the famous Bridey Murphy case back in the 50s? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2024/05/02/children-past-lives/
03-05-2024: You can take it with you – and it’s surprisingly cheap. A wonder more don’t take this option. After all (even if you can only afford to have your head frozen (A$150K) the Russians did a head transplant in dogs many years ago): https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a60594370/cryonic-brains/
01-05-2024: Overland Track Video:
My friends Brett Irving (and his wife, Kim) walked
30-04-2024: The Lightest Hiking Chair: No, it's not the Helinox at around 800 grams ever so comfy as it might be - though I am still using my (approx 160 gram) Big Agnes Cyclone Chair and have been doing so for many years.
I have just seen this interesting idea from the indefatigable Steve at Suluk Gear ie the Puttuck Chair which weighs 64 grams (US$39.99 April 2024). It is based on a Tibetan (Gomthag) Meditation Belt. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/04/29/the-lightest-hiking-chair/
29-04-2024: Consultation my eye! 'Engage
Victoria', the ‘eminent panel’ set up by the State Government is conducting a
public meetings at various venues – but it is a fraud and their decisions a
foregone conclusion.
The committee comprises nothing but lefties, greens and ‘tame’ faux aborigines.
There is no represenatation from traditional bush users.
After the same panel reviewed the Mirboo North & Strathbogie State Forests the panel recommended:-
NO HUNTING
NO 4WDS ON UNMADE ROADS
NO CAMPING IN UNDESIGNATED AREAS
NO DOG WALKING
NO PROSPECTING
NO FIREWOOD COLLECTION
NO TIMBER HARVESTING NO GRAZING
Of course the same or more recommendations will be made for our Central Highlands State Forests.
THIS INCLUDES ALL STATE FORESTS FROM WARRAGUL TO WHITTLESEA, FROM ERICA TO EMERALD.
All this must be resisted with every
fibre of our beings. We all know what a disaster National Parks have been.
28-04-2024: “Under no pretext should
arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempts to disarm the people must be
stopped, by force if necessary” Karl Marx: https://www.factcheck.org/2019/09/marx-engels-quote-falsely-attributed-to-reagan/
28-04-2024: Hands off our public lands. Good on you guys: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/outdoor-recreation-advocacy-group-pushes-to-overturn-victorian-rock-climbing-gold-prospecting-bans/news-story/e432d59f03d00f3bb0a84c2d210a7187
23-04-2024:
We allowed too few days and had not reckoned on so much driving. Tassie is only a small state but the roads are twisty and it still takes time to get from one place to another. So we settled for an early morning ride up the lake to Echo Point and the shorter walk back from there.
Even so it took us over four hours to walk back including stopping for lots of photos and lunch. The Lake St Clair Ferry service runs three times a day and costs $45 each (April 2024) to Echo Point. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/04/22/tasmanias-overland-track-last-day/
23-04-2024: (Merrin) Whenever Autumn comes around the yearly tree planting marathon starts again. Today Dad and I planted 18 new trees around the farm including a pair of English oaks which Dad grew from acorns and are now taller than him.
It's been about 6 months since our last tree planting day so
I wasn't the fittest scrambling up and down the hills but there's still lots
more to plant. In a handful of years these hills will be ablaze with autumn
colour. 
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." - Chinese proverb.
21-04-2024: A Taste of
We
had time for a quick look at
Next day we decided to walk the Crater Lake Circuit which took us a leisurely 3 1/2 hours including stops for photographs, lunch etc. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/04/21/a-taste-of-tasmanias-overland-track/
19-04-2024: Tonight’s Dinner View (Della - Beauty Point Tasmania)
19-04-2024: (Della)
A quick but very busy week in Tasmania:
We did a couple of brilliant walks in the Cradle Mountain area (will sort
photos to share later today), but here is a little taster of our first day:
After leaving home for Launceston at 3.30 am last Sunday, we drove to Cradle
Mountain and decided to fit in a short walk to Dove Lake before dinner (after
sitting in cars, plane and buses for over 12 hours). As we approached the lake,
a welcoming rainbow set the scene for a wonderful week. See Also: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/04/21/a-taste-of-tasmanias-overland-track/
10-04-2024: An Introduction to Sambar Deer Sign is available free on YouTube. https://youtu.be/QxQoh_ZCuIw
08-04-2024: One clever bird – whistles better than me: https://twitter.com/i/status/1777048358378451317
06-04-2024: Stoveless hiking meals: https://ontrackmeals.com/?fbclid=IwAR3KKiY41nkyRn72B-3sNXYgArj7GbRQH40nzdNiEh7mw_Ml1bUmWYf6Zuo_aem_AV71Z2vilds9rp-CCD6S-fzv5ewkEtz_vzSwPReAIS905W8IZzVJSVyZ6_L2jlHOOcaqvNerLMGhW6RCB6HdMlBd
05-04-2024: Interesting new evidence of ancient journeys: https://www.stoneageherbalist.com/p/the-mystery-of-the-cocaine-mummies
04-04-2024: So you want to live to be 100: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/01/what-we-eat-on-ikaria-greek-island-of-longevity.html
26-03-2024: 80 years since the Great Escape: https://www.voanews.com/a/poland-marks-80th-anniversary-of-great-escape-from-nazi-pow-camp-/7540775.html
26-03-2024: Life on the world’s most crowded island: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-13165615/most-crowded-island-santa-cruz-del-islote-life-expectancy.html
24-03-2024: Way to go: https://www.sciencealert.com/new-exercise-pill-could-induce-fitness-benefits-without-exercise?fbclid=IwAR0kFSa1JdhQAmf0VTxAMv49Up9pOuVTlsFIUtJ5gcp-1Gu_dEO_OqpphL8
24-03-2024: New Aussie Cottage Gear: I have recently discovered this excellent new Aussie cottage outfit, Neve Gear. They currently make and sell backpacks and quilts/sleeping bags – but I doubt it will end there.
They are young, having a go and deserve your support. They are making fine products which are competitively priced and as they are local (NSW) their service is excellent.
I have had a look at one of their packs as well as one of their quilts. I will come to the Waratah Quilt in a later post.
First, the Wallaroo Framed 45 Litre Pack at 775 grams and A$299 (Jan 2024): 41 (internal = small) is about ten litres smaller than I usually like, as most of my trips are multi-dayers usually with dogs, nd I usually carry a bit more than my 50% share when walking with my wife, Della who is only 5′ and 40kg.
However, it is an excellent size for her. It would also be a fine size for an ultralight weekend pack. The size large is 7 litres bigger than this, ie 48. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/03/23/new-aussie-cottage-gear/
19-03-2024: Stuff you need to know: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/17/international-living-budget-friendly-places-live-abroad.html
16-03-2024: The new immortality – worth giving it a go? https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a46330487/immortality-breakthrough/
15-03-2024: Who knew sheep could grow so big? As if it isn’t hard enough to get shearers already: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/03/13/montana-man-80-nailed-by-feds-for-creating-mutant-hybrid-bighorns/
14-03-2024: Remarkable: 72 years in an ‘iron lung’: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68555051
13-03-2024: How to Create Water for Your Camp Site: We may prefer to think we will always be able to camp by some peaceful verdant stream but sometimes our path leads us elsewhere - sometimes indeed there are splendid adventures to be had and beautiful vistas to see where there is no water at all - some treasured remote and solitary spot which we wish to revisit again and again maybe… It would be so nice if we could just make water from thin air so that it is always available and never runs out...There is such a method. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/03/13/how-to-create-water-for-your-camp-site/
13-03-2024: Well done Katherine: https://www.popsci.com/story/space/katherine-johnson-legacy-nasa/
12-03-2024: Welcome back Ozymandias: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ramses-ii-statue-top-half-2448010
10-03-2024: Quit already. Let it pass: “Rumination—a persistent introspection and compulsive focus on one’s internal sensations, thoughts, or identity—is a hallmark of anxiety disorders of various kinds, including depersonalization-derealization. People who engage in compulsive introspection can become increasingly uncertain, anxious, and confused” https://quillette.com/2024/03/08/identity-satiation/
09-03-2024: ‘Nuts in May’. Back in 1976 this movie was a hilarious spoof on what was then extreme woke eccentricity, but now that the ‘nuts’ have won it is not so funny. However Keith and Candice Marie Pratt are wonderful characters and the film is beautifully thought out. Still worth a watch just to shown ‘Plus ça change, plus c'est la męme chose’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0-dx09puVk
04-03-2024: The Rolls Royce of Ultralight Saws: https://suluk46.com/product/yuka-240-pull-saw/
03-03-2024: Another way to look at dogs: A Lean Dog Irene Rutherford McLeod
I’m
a lean dog, a keen dog, a wild dog, and lone;
I’m a rough dog, a tough dog, hunting on my own;
I’m a bad dog, a mad dog, teasing silly sheep;
I love to sit and bay the moon, to keep fat souls from sleep.
I’ll
never be a lap dog, licking dirty feet,
A sleek dog, a meek dog, cringing for my meat,
Not for me the fireside, the well-filled plate,
But shut door, and sharp stone, and cuff and kick, and hate.
Not
for me the other dogs, running by my side,
Some have run a short while, but none of them would bide.
O mine is still the lone trail, the hard trail, the best,
Wide wind, and wild stars, and hunger of the quest!”
03-03-2024: Portable wind turbine for hikers: An interesting idea but probably just a thought bubble: http://nilsferber.de/#/micro-wind-turbine/
02-03-2024: The Big Four on a Budget: Too many people are spending too much money on their hiking/hunting gear instead of just getting out there and doing it. Instead of spending maybe $600 on just your sleeping bag, this should be enough to buy a sturdy comfy pack, a reliable shelter, a lightweight sub-zero down bag, a similar sleeping mat, a kitchen set-up and a raincoat, ie practically all you are going to need. I know that is six!
Also all these (cheap) items taken together ought weigh no more than about 3kg. You might be able to save as much as 500 grams (say two muesli bars) on that figure by spending a couple of thousand dollars more yet have no more satisfactory set-up, if as satisfactory or durable. Why bother? Get out and enjoy. You only pass this way once. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/03/01/the-big-four-on-a-budget/
28-02-2024: Can this be a good thing? “Of the roughly six thousand different plants once consumed by human beings, only nine remain major staples today. Just three of these--rice, wheat, and corn--now provide fifty percent of all our calories” https://bookshop.org/p/books/eating-to-extinction-the-world-s-rarest-foods-and-why-we-need-to-save-them-dan-saladino/16945167
22-02-2024: The way forward perhaps: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15154331
18-02-2024: Paddling into History: Last weekend we
again completed one of our favourite sections on the
Taking into account the long car-shuttle (from home for us) over 3 1/2 hours each way) we choose to do this over three days (two nights).
The best height is over 1.8 metres on the Waterford gauge (this time it was 1.82) and would be better still at 1.9 as the river is silting up (due to 'green environmental vandalism practices: willow removal/bushfires). The temperature was around 30C - just right to be on the river.
We used to camp there a lot around Christmastime when our three children were little thirty years ago, so it has many wonderful memories for us (and them). Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/02/18/paddling-into-history/
15-02-2024: News
from Jeeralang: No power and (mostly) no internet here for days
(weeks maybe) as well as many trees down over fences/roads (mostly removed by
selves/locals yesterday) and the TV antenna broken (don't watch it anyway). We
are glad we installed an 8 Kilowatt back up generator which we can just switch
on to supply the whole house/farm needs a few years ago as we have needed it
again and again. I guess we have used it for well over a month (perhaps two)
now since we installed it. Strangely in my first fifty years of life I never
experienced any blackouts at all. That was back when the 'great generation' was
in charge! You can (perhaps) also see why we are planning to invest in a large
(over 25+ kilowatt) NiFe (Nickel-Iron - they last 60+ years) battery bank and a
huge 15-30 kilowatt solar array as well as a 5-10 kilowatt wind turbine over
the next year or so - and maybe a mini hydro as well. Have been negotiating
with suppliers in
12-02-2024: Della:
Our last 3 days were delightfully spent
on another nostalgic canoe trip on the
12-02-2024: Our
masters at work locking us off public lands.
This is what they think a 'camping area should be. This one is right next (50
metres) to the Meyer's Flat (no camping allowed) roadside stop and toilet block
- where everyone actually camps. There are others along the Wonnangatta
similarly placed. If you can read the signage you will see that you have to
carry your portable toilet (and all other gear) up over the stile. Sure. No
cars allowed. We have two similar (with no trees) on Middle Creek in Yinnar.
People are not allowed to approach the river though. Clearly these
monstrosities, (created at a cost of $10-20K each no doubt) are a prelude to
making camping in non-designated areas punishable. Over the years I have seen thousands
of camping spots destroyed by the government. Along the Wonnangatta for example
room for several hundred campers has been removed over the last thirty years -
similarly on Middle Creek near Yinnar where on the upper creek there used to be
acres of carefully maintained camping areas now closed and overgrown with
blackberries. Our green masters are 'saving' the bush for 'future generations
(as they say) by locking every generation out of its ability to enjoy this
public resource.
08-02-2024: Wonnangatta ‘Murders’:
Seems to me Greg Lynn was arrested for this back around November 2021 yet the
case has still not gone to trial (and he remains in gaol). Now it may turn
out he richly deserves such punishment but shouldn’t his guilt be established
first? In ancient
08-02-2024: Can sheep drench cure your cancer? There was already evidence for the us of Fenbendazole and Levamisole - Google them. Now Ivermectin hits the centre stage. One thing’s for sure, we are all going to have fewer worms: https://makismd.substack.com/p/ivermectin-and-cancer-it-has-at-least
07-02-2024: Amazon sells these houses
for US$19,000: https://twitter.com/CatchUpFeed/status/1754430186366624086
06-02-2024: Hippos have run wild in
05-02-2024: Wonnangatta Double
Packraft: Recently I posted that we had bought
and trialed
this fine Naturehike
packraft. Last weekend there was 1.8 metres of water on the
For us this raft is just about the perfect size. We can lash a waterproof pack on the bow and stern (as shown in the photos) and we are good for several days on the river…
Of
course this is our favourite river and we have canoed this section Back Snake
Creek to
05-02-2024: We can learn from centenarians: https://archive.is/8em4S
01-02-2024: Mini Rocket Stove: I saw this little guy on Aliexpress for under A$30 and just had to try one out. It came as a most intriguing 3D jigsaw without instructions - a modest intelligence test - which took a little while to figure out.
I found it very easy to light with just a few gum leaves and some twigs - but I am quite expert at doing so, something which you should also practice. See eg The Secret of Fire and Mastery of Fire. I found dropping some burning leaves in worked well. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/01/31/mini-rocket-stove/
01-02-2024: Questions which deserve answers: Why does
cold air or water make you want to pee? https://www.outsideonline.com/health/wellness/why-do-cold-temperatures-make-me-pee/
01-02-2024: Life before smart phones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSC7SXQpInM
30-01-2024: The Rolls Royce of
25-01-2024: The last of the mountain men? https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/01/20/spaghetti-westerner-gap-pucci-88-is-the-last-wyoming-mountain-man-of-his-time/
25-01-2024: What did Roman wine taste like: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:9U-ySzhEeXUJ:https://www.newsweek.com/how-roman-wine-tasted-archaeologists-1862792&hl=en&gl=us
23-01-2024: She built a snow maze for her dogs: https://twitter.com/VisionaryVoid/status/1749151695144415455
22-01-2024: The cicadas are coming. Like so many phenomena (think climate) they are episodic on a grand scale: https://news.yahoo.com/world-hasn-t-seen-cicadas-174831342.html
21-01-2024: New Alcohol Stoves: You should switch to an alcohol stove for ultralight cooking. The switch will save you heaps of grams. Certainly at least the weight of the empty canister (approx 150 grams) plus unused fuel – a weight saving of at least 200 grams – almost more than your entire current cookset weighs.
Just can’t imagine why anyone uses a canister stove apart from just that the weight of fuel + cartridge + burner is exorbitant – and that they use ‘fossil fuel’ rather than ‘renewable’! Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/01/20/new-alcohol-stoves/
21-01-2024: The ‘magic bullet’ inches slowly closer: https://news.yahoo.com/cancer-vaccine-minimal-side-effects-101124156.html
20-01-2024: This is what hamburgers
used to be like before they started in with buns in 1895. Della and I
always make our own like this: https://louislunch.com/menu/
17-01-2024: This is the meaning of ‘A life for a life’: https://twitter.com/fasc1nate/status/1746988429957857614
16-01-2024: Warning: Plants are probably as smart as you. I may never eat one again! https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-film-plant-talking-to-its-neighbor-and-the-footage-is-incredible?fbclid=IwAR0zm3LXqGM5QOnkyxnJIVRdNCtby9ZatdfkF11zHITVav7oJdx32sPS30w
14-01-2024: Not getting away from it all – Starlink Mini will fit in your backpack: https://au.pcmag.com/networking/103434/starlink-mini-dish-coming-later-this-year-elon-musk-says
13-01-2024: You would have to think it would be impossible: https://twitter.com/historyinmemes/status/1745308632953086370
13-01-2024: Time obliterates all – I wonder how little we really know about the ancient past: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67940671
12-01-2024: There’s an Island in the River: I didn’t expect my youngest, Merrin to remember this song from her childhood so many years ago (I used to sing it on the river apparently) but when she called for it yesterday on ‘our’ old stretch of the Macalister, of course I instantly obliged – in my usual toneless manner.
Della and I were trying out our new Naturehike
Pack Raft on the short downstream section below
This 1 1/2 hour section usually stretched out to a whole day with frequent swims, snacks, cold drinks etc (followed by dinner at the Won Loy restaurant in Traralgon) on the way home as Della would be too tired by then to cook (especially with the next day being a work day)
So, you
put in at Cheyene’s Bridge and disembark at 20 Acre Creek which is just before
the road begins to climb up the hill towards Glenmaggie. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/01/12/theres-an-island-in-the-river/
09-01-2024:
What a little sweetie: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-67902966
07-01-2024: The Merino Polo: These people have the solution for a lightweight merino wool shirt for hiking, farm work, everyday wear etc. They are also (roughly) only half the price of competitor's products. I took a couple on a recent trip to Nepal. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2024/01/06/the-merino-polo/
06-01-2024: How does self-control actually work? One thing is certain: too many people lack it: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/trust-games/202401/psychologists-were-wrong-about-the-science-of-self-control
05-01-2024: An enduring kiss: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67877244
05-01-2024: New archaeological tools continuie to throw light on the distant past: https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-780745
03-01-2024: Ultracheap Packraft: What's not to like about this? A Naturehike Packraft for less than A$600 - or a double for A$830 (Sept 2023). Aliexpress is great. This is a big saving over other brands which come in now at twice or more than three times that!
We received ours as a New Year's 'present' - it came in less than two weeks. Honey is already licking her chops in anticipation of some summer canoe trips. She loves swimming and diving from the boat/s. RFead More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/12/30/ultracheap-packraft/
03-01-2024: I fell
ill in
03-01-2024: In the C18th & C19th Royal Navy sailors were issued one gallon (ie 4 litres) of ‘grog’ each per day. Grog comprised one quarter rum added to eater plus some lime juice and sugar. Still this represents nearly a litre of rum a day! This was considered an normal intake of these substances for everyone at that time. The tobacco ration was similar at around one ounce (30 grams) per day. We worry about trifles today.
02-01-2024: An exquisite story about a cat: https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2017/12/mrs-black/
02-01-2024: Forget the doctor, get out and do it: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12866053/Exercise-chronic-illness-condition-physical-activity.html
31-12-2023: Avenza
has morphed into a really great mapping tool. I used to use the previous
free version in conjunction with bought versions of Vicmap topographical maps
but abandoned it in favour of Paper Maps a few years ago. Today I took a fresh
look at it. Now it has a vast swathe of free maps of most places but for me the
best bit is lots of maps of
31-12-2023: The Camel's Hump – Rudyard Kipling
The Camel's hump is an ugly lump
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get
From having too little to do.
Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,
If we haven't enough to do-oo-oo,
We get the hump—
Cameelious hump—
The hump that is black and blue!
We climb out of bed with a frouzly head,
And a snarly-yarly voice.
We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl
At our bath and our boots and our toys;
And there ought to be a corner for me
(And I know' there is one for you)
When we get the hump—
Cameelious hump—
The hump that is black and blue!
The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or frowst with a book by the fire;
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And dig till you gently perspire;
And then you will find that the sun and the wind,
And the Djinn of the Garden too,
Have lifted the hump—
The horrible hump—
The hump that is black and blue!
I get it as well as you-oo-oo
If I haven't enough to do-oo-oo!
We all get hump—
Cameelious hump—
Kiddies and grown-ups too!
29-12-2023: Cancer be gone – this approach looks very promising: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-destroy-99-of-cancer-cells-in-the-lab-using-vibrating-molecules
28-12-2023: The
28-12-2023: The toughest journey in the world – a fine essay: https://www.thefp.com/p/the-winner-of-our-senior-essay-contest?utm_campaign=email-post&r=2k67t&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
27-12-2023: At last a pill to prevent your dying from snakebite: https://news.yahoo.com/venomous-snake-bites-kill-thousands-110019394.html
26-12-2023: Coming to you soon, an aerogel sweater that is warmer than down: https://phys.org/news/2023-12-sweater-aerogel-fiber-warmer.html?fbclid=IwAR3ohEdbDsOQ5IF0Apui_32ldj1ZIEJBnC51S1LjM1dAYeYbcvZGGtWJ6gI
26-12-2023: Possibly, but it might also be sign language: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/dec/23/prehistoric-handprints-finger-missing-ritually-removed&hl=en&gl=us
26-12-2023: A possible treatment path at last – bring it on: https://scitechdaily.com/defying-genetics-how-one-patients-unique-mutation-offers-new-hopes-in-alzheimers-prevention/
25-12-2023: Very impressive shanghai: https://smhotstuff.com/pages/high-precision-sm-slingsh0t-with-l-a-s-e-r?utm_medium=M+-+LDP+-+mobile+Bpost+TG+1&utm_campaign=Na+thun+new+2023+-+Copy&utm_content=New+Sales+Ad&fbclid=IwAR0ZtIZUDPjWRtt8BBv3Ci7J4si_UFiw9g-YUiMlXS-SKPbGwiBldXPQqsA
23-12-2023: Why not try ‘Snus’? https://www.smh.com.au/national/what-is-snus-and-is-it-legal-in-australia-20231026-p5ef7o.html & https://www.snusexpress.com/au/en/
23-12-2023: Many more people need to try this experiment. For myself a phone is just a phone: you can ring me on it. People sometimes do. Otherwise I maybe spend a couple of hours reading a book on it in bed of a night. That is all: https://www.insidehook.com/wellness/detox-your-phone
21-12-2023: More evidence against ‘smart’ phones. It seems the smarter they get the dumber we get. I guess I was one of the last people in the world to buy one when I realised I could use it for geolocation while bushwalking. I also (now) use the camera and especially the ebook reader – but mine is never connected to the internet and ‘notifications’ are permanently turned off. It’s a phone; you can ring me, but I am busy so don’t expect I will always answer: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/it-sure-looks-like-phones-are-making-students-dumber/ar-AA1lIX7i
15-12-2023: More Tent Stove Progress: I am delighted that Tim Tinker has been squirreling away at improving the design and functionality of (his) tiny tent stoves of which he has designed so many. His latest foray involves miniaturising an oil (or smudge) burner for heating a tent utilising a a tiny Cavendish & Harvey fruit drop tin which must be only about 1 1/2″ high by 4″ wide – 40 x 100mm (if that). The whole thing weighs a mere 134 grams. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/12/10/more-tent-stove-progress/
14-12-2023: Is Voyager 1 saying goodbye at last? https://hackaday.com/2023/12/12/voyager-1-in-trouble-as-engineers-scramble-to-debug-issue-with-flight-data-system/
11-12-2023: Belief in God has never been a universal human
condition. Many peoples have no such concept/delusion. The mindset of the Piraha
people is particularly interesting: https://www.stoneageherbalist.com/p/atheism-in-the-ancient-world
09-12-2023: Dolphins possess a sixth sense: https://1ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fstudyfinds.org%2Fbottlenose-dolphins-electroreception%2F
08-12-2023: Watched the 1993 movie ‘Sommersby’ (it was
very good) a retelling of the amazing C15th narrative of Martin Guerre, an
astonishing example of impersonation – anything which can happen will happen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Guerre
05-12-2023: Odd
things out there in the bush. I have seen some others but nothing like this
one:https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/mystery-animal-wrestles-snake-into-the-river-on-the-nsw-midnorth-coast/video/6920286cf7a5d424a5047ede5322a9cd
03-12-2023: Ultrafire Knife: Here’s a great little ‘Stanley
02-12-2023: Looking forward to the next 50+ years of adventures and fun at Della's 70th birthday celebrations last night. What joy this wonderful girl has brought to me and all who know her. All I desire is "To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die." with her. “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” (Tennyson, 'Ulysses')
27-11-2023: 12
Phrases Shakespeare Coined That We Still Use Today: https://www.inspiringquotes.com/12-phrases-shakespeare-coined-that-we-still-use-today/YDFlwLQR2wAGlAm0?liu=dedebf69916b31f8bd8f6619ee21d5e7&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1971875116
24-11-2023: What
a Wonderful World — Thanks to CO2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4nzRFhwuuU&t=142s
24-11-2023: Is this
telepathy? https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03619-w
24-11-2023: Will Panasonic be able to make this work? https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2023/11/20/panasonic-envisions-a-world-where-homes-and-offices-can-be-powered-by-their-windows
23-11-2023: Should you take Boron for your arthritis? https://alternative-doctor.com/borax-arthritis/ It’s certainly cheap enough 1kg = A$8.18: https://www.bunnings.com.au/glitz-green-1kg-borax_p4460527 Recommended dose is 6mg per day (men). A teaspoon contains approx 450 mg boron. Dilute with one litre of water then use 13 mls per day (1000/13 +77; 450/77 = 6 ) That $8 worth should last five lifetimes!. No wonder Big Pharma don’t want to get behind this cure. https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/borax.html)
23-11-2023: No-one
will ever want to buy a
21-11-2023: Ultralight Saw Experiments: I have
not been completely happy with a DIY saw
which weighs around an ounce for making my Ultralight
Tent Poles when I am up the bush. Seems like I ought to be able to save
around 20 grams on that – so here is my first effort which weighs exactly half
that at 14 grams.
If I use 1cm x 1mm aluminium (this is 2mm) it will save 3.325 grams. If I cut off the ends of the bolts (1.5 grams) it will come in at under 10 grams (4.08 = 3.325 + 1.8 = 9.205). “It’s all downhill from there”. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/11/20/ultralight-saw-experiments/
20-11-2023: Eratosthenes'
experiment to measure the Earth's circumference is a classic example of early
scientific measurement that can be replicated by anyone today.
Here's a simplified overview of how it worked:
Eratosthenes knew that at local noon on the summer solstice in Syene (now Aswan, Egypt), the Sun was directly overhead, as evidenced by the fact that it illuminated the bottom of a deep well, something that only happens when the Sun is at the zenith. There were no shadows cast by vertical objects.
At the same time in
The distance between Syene and
Eratosthenes reasoned that if a stick in
Using modern units for the stadion, the calculation would be:
5,000 stadia x 185 meters/stadion = 925,000 meters
925,000 meters x 50 = 46,250,000 meters
Thus, Eratosthenes calculated the Earth's circumference to be about 46,250 kilometers. The actual circumference of the Earth at the equator is about 40,075 kilometers, so although his method was sound, the accuracy of his result was off due to the inexact value of the stadion and possibly the accuracy of his measurements. Nevertheless, Eratosthenes' experiment was remarkably precise for his time and remains a powerful demonstration of the scientific method applied to the natural world.
19-11-2023: Surviving the Everest Base Camp Trek
PS: Della and I are/were 144 collectively (a ‘gross’) of years old this trip…(Some more gross than others!) I know there are those (of you?) who may prefer watching reruns of old sitcoms on TV (at whatever age) or admiring the ‘interesting’ patterns baristas can make in the froth of their coffees – but ‘not these little black ducks!’ (Daffy) Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/11/19/surviving-the-everest-base-camp-trek/
13-11-2023: Another
punnet of strawberries please: https://nypost.com/2023/11/12/lifestyle/consumption-of-strawberries-may-reduce-dementia-risk-study/?fbclid=IwAR3_6HojAoZTZcIQsb0WuPh8r5SdOaCJbMAHJzANbP0vDcCYDWZaeYGmpvs
13-11-2023: Bring
it on: https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45752401/toyotas-10000-future-pickup-truck-is-basic-transportation-perfection/?fbclid=IwAR070Eb0RCpZFaM8g0lZweWzq8gp1k-cVtVPUFsSMB_j-4iUe2TUmrBPPt0
21-10-2023: Sounds promising: https://newatlas.com/medical/brain-stimulation-dementia-treatment/
15-10-2023: The Parting of the Ways: Perhaps it is true and there are just a limited number of themes which inform life. The Journey is certainly one such. Re-reading ‘The Odyssey’ or “Robinson Crusoe’ ever regenerates that thrill of the eternal journey, echoed so brilliantly in Tennyson's wonderful poem, ‘Ulysses’: ‘To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die.… To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.’ Another recurring theme is ‘the parting of the ways.’ How often have we traveled with comrades on some distant adventure, or held a dying friend’s hand for comfort till we come to that penultimate end when we must part, perhaps be sundered forever. I’m sure everyone’s heart rings to Robert Frost’s lines from ‘A Road Not Taken’ ‘Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both… I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference’. How many themes inform one’s life? I’m sure it is far from infinite – it may be less than a dozen even. It may be the same with madness: that there is a small number of types of delusion which inform all mental illness.
13-10-2023: Is this Bigfoot at last? If only Moses, Jesus or Mohammed had owned a smart phone we would have clearer picture of God too! https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/10/11/cheyenne-couple-reportedly-spots-bigfoot-from-train-media-goes-bonkers/
09-10-2023: The Ibex, a Land Rover Defender alternative you may not have heard of: https://www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/4x4s/british-built-ibex-4x4-offers-land-rover-defender-alternative & https://www.ibexvehicles.com/
06-10-2023: A pain-free back! Long since time to give this book a try (also available on iDope, Pirate Bay etc) : https://www.amazon.com/0979303605-Esther-Gokhale/dp/0979303605?keywords=8+steps+to+a+pain+free+back&qid=1695934935&sr=8-1/wwwviolentkicom&linkCode=sl1&tag=drhelenblog-20&linkId=ac2c136be4f9280988adce86ee23c919&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
01-10-2023: Cancer be gone in 60 days – this sounds promising: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12571981/Scientists-developing-implant-cure-cancer.html
29-09-2023: The ‘ultimate’ panopticon – you’ll never know when you’re being watched: https://www.freethink.com/hard-tech/salt-grain-micro-camera?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=echobox_freethink&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2vLM0OYdnJlj-m6-WsNroDRx9LgjWitf-AQlBvuKUNBzyi7Tbx-TrAfhQ#Echobox=1695736389
26-09-2023: Lightest 5000mAh Power Bank: Lightsmith have
recently utilised the 21700 Lithium
battery to make perhaps the most compact and lightest (at 73.5 grams) 5ooo
mAh power bank. These batteries are available to 5800 mAh so expect some
improvements still.They are selling for US$22 (Sep 2023). Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/09/25/lightest-5000mah-power-bank/
25-09-2023: Warm Feet Warm Heart. Duck down camp shoes $28: Isn't
there a saying something like that? In any case for many years we
have used some Goosefeet
Down Sox (which I highly recommend) which cost US$69 (Sep 2023) and roughly
one ounce (28 grams each -twice that per pair) in Size Medium US 9s. They are
very fine quality and toasty warm being filled with 850 fill power down. Read
More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/09/24/warm-feet-warm-heart/
23-09-2023: 5G via space - Some competition soon for
satellite phones and Starlink: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2023/09/19/first-ever-5g-to-space-14-mbps-between-smartphone-and-satellite-equals-competition-for-starlink/amp/?fbclid=IwAR0Q3o5ty5N02cm5M3zxMuy4ucO_yJoY4lFv7Ts1JGptJK1HGbgSlmHSaVc
23-09-2023: And ‘they’ said we could not learn anything from history, This is
quite a structure to have been fashioned by ‘primtive’ men: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06557-9?fbclid=IwAR0RK4RSUSfvdTlQ5hUO_3xMegADNWO2AjDu08fiUnjqG3XLV7HQfwGdS3U
22-09-2023: Happiness begins at 70 – I have found this
to be (largely) true, though I have had an indecent amount of happiness for
a very long time actually: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fstudyfinds.org%2Fwhat-age-peak-happiness%2F
22-09-2023: Bring it on for osteoarthritis too please – I am so over it: https://newatlas.com/medical/inverse-vaccine-reverses-autoimmune-diseases/
17-08-2023: John Howard Payne (1823)
This is a song for an opera, Clari.
Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there
Which seek thro' the world, is ne'er met elsewhere
Home! Home!
Sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home
There's no place like home!
An exile from home splendor dazzles in vain
Oh give me my lowly thatched cottage again
The birds singing gaily that came at my call
And gave me the peace of mind dearer than all
Home, home, sweet, sweet home
There's no place like home, there's no place like home!
16-08-2023: The ultimate wilderness cabin – well done guys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGxsoHSKigg
13-08-2023: Ultracheap Packraft: What's not to like about this? A Naturehike Packraft for less than A$600 - or a double for A$830 (Sept 2023). Aliexpress is great. This is a big saving over other brands which come in now at twice or more than three times that! See More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/09/12/ultracheap-packraft/
03-08-2023: We have encountered some in the Vic mountains but…Where feral cows
roam free: https://www.popsci.com/environment/feral-cow-island/
02-08-2023: Do not forsake all hope Montag, there are young people who are the
hope of the world. Here’s one: https://www.thefp.com/p/free-press-high-school-essay-contest-winner?utm_source=substack&publication_id=260347&post_id=136521670&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=false
02-08-2023: Some good news: Reversing cancer – it can be done: https://www.sciencealert.com/aggressive-cancer-cells-transformed-into-healthy-cells-in-breakthrough
30-08-2023: Monkeys shouldn’t be drinking in the first
place: https://bigthink.com/health/gene-therapy-monkeys-alcoholism/
29-08-2023: Is there life after death? You decide: https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2023/07/a-j-ayer-and-the-meaning-of-life/
& https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/ive-studied-more-5-000-133633458.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9jaXRpemVuZnJlZXByZXNzLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADsqm-abmksIVcGZoHT8_ISNtsH8mwnDo9NXepYxrSXjUNkQ2aaR5j4akA4HjYRG0BqQZ6jTyJ0VuxShZtOqC6kkM60vVFLSVkzUHp5Roout65OzQ9V0_3LcfpfOBcmo891F7N7KhZnjwmbRwlra2KwQgQZ71lSnVVRsi3Rh6BAo
23-08-2023: Worth a try: Foxlights: https://www.foxlightsaustralia.com.au/buy-foxlights/
22-08-2023: What an interesting idea. This might work for us. We have 100 metres
of head on our small farm. I have been toying with the idea of a small pumped
hydro storage system as a way of utilizing excess solar or wind energy anyway: https://newatlas.com/energy/waterless-high-density-hydro/
22-08-2023: The DIY Lego house: https://www.gablok.com/en
21-08-2023: Is this Bigfoot? https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/incredible-bigfoot-video-leaves-sceptics-stunned/news-story/eb69eb5fb62436cd18d583f787ed16ed
20-08-2023: Converting Hiking Poles to Tent Poles: I have fiddled with this before but without a really satisfactory result which meets every need. It is easy enough if you have adjustable poles or the type which one section from another pole can be added to the first one but the method below works whatever type of poles you have.
I have played around with interesting uses for rubber bands and inner tubes before so I have plenty of spare material lying around.
Here I have cut two approx 12" x 3/4" strips from a heavy duty car inner tube which was much more suitable for making the lightweight shoes really. The strips workout about 15 gramseach. If I locate a motorcycle inner tube or even a pushbike one I can probably get closer to half this - which I will. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/08/19/converting-hiking-poles-to-tent-poles/
20-08-2023: Ancient Mariners –
to Crete 130,000 years ago and to various islands in
18-08-2023: Arctic exploration the easy way: https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1692236750033162569
16-08-2023: Seriously good news: https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/revolutionary-implants-can-restore-20-20-vision-to-the-blind-and-visually-impaired
15-08-2023: The ‘Walking Tree’: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratea_exorrhiza
13-08-2023: Vargo Pocket Cleats: Tractional security just got even lighter. The new version of Vargo's ultralight crampons weigh a little over one ounce each (32.6 grams) as compared with their previous version which was around twice that. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/08/12/vargo-pocket-cleats/
10-08-2023: At last a mailbox which is (nearly) big enough: https://www.milkcan.com.au/product/parcel-pal-2-parcel-mail-charcoal-merbau-pillar/?fbclid=IwAR2tBvOHgShOa3hgFCWfggd65s7BoCWSVvrU5pPKT-GFLf2nY25065rHAY8
& https://www.milkcan.com.au/letterboxes/picket-fence-letterbox/?fbclid=IwAR3bWJikrQMFP9Ao8kUpDpVcepdPJGlzZQEXBkzj6f2Q5mvEKuqU3qJBYqE
06-08-2023: I think I will buy this book. May be the best $25 I have ever spent: https://www.amazon.com/Survival-Medicine-Handbook-Essential-Guide/dp/0988872501?crid=2C48VY7APFZRR&keywords=survival+books&qid=1691100687&s=books&sprefix=survival+books,stripbooks,113&sr=1-6&linkCode=sl1&tag=drhelenblog-20&linkId=f7ecf717c9afc395e3bfaf2600cc1197&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
03-08-2023: “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was
service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” Rabindranath Tagore
01-08-2023: Schadenfreud: “We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may
consider a small one.” https://twitter.com/Gr8fulSusan/status/1685815134802063361
30-07-2023: Rejuvenation
at last! Just Wow! Bring it on I say. Where can I buy this stuff? https://www.aging-us.com/article/204896/text?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_campaign=Sinclair%27s%20New%20Study%21%20Age%20Reversal%20with%20Chemical%20Cocktails&_kx=B_yKIF84vdC2pCqcV7aJGBH2521TDLZN-HiRd6gtUa5LzgwS6_YvcgomZEyi7h9R.RmdNXZ
29-07-2023: Wifi
Booster And Security
28-07-2023: A fair
few houses in this one: https://allthatsinteresting.com/tallest-tree-in-asia?fbclid=IwAR0Z2u_PTfQbM2ijwSwxJO17SDcsnr2Oyeo_StBWbR-FhIR3Y5snZKp1PtQ
27-07-2023: ‘The
Password Is Courage’ is a remarkable film and book by a truly remarkable WW2
hero, Sgt Charles Coward. Beg, borrow or steal it (from
25-07-2023: Take that
T Rex: https://gizmodo.com/preserved-fossil-mammal-preying-beaked-dinosaur-1850664541
24-07-2023:
Extraordinary: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-cracked-piece-of-metal-healed-itself-in-an-experiment-that-stunned-scientists?fbclid=IwAR01aJnwJt7IAOxsiiJqUoMciE5FkmvSdnGyMOZ6IgXxyCQjWc888cOGRWU
23-07-2023: Winter Joy: (Della): Sharing some winter joy in my garden. When I first created my rose garden 30 years ago, I was sad to see it so bare and drab during the colder months. After retirement, I worked on finding things that would add winter interest, and this afternoon’s warm, setting sun helped to reward me for my efforts. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/07/22/winter-joy/
23-07-2023: A new
type of ‘one stroke’ engine: https://newatlas.com/automotive/innengine-one-stroke-engine-design/
19-07-2023: Maybe
retirement isn’t such a great idea? Just ask Jayne who
started her current job of 26 years at age 75: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/07/12/100-year-old-woman-still-works-4-days-a-week-her-best-career-advice.html
19-07-2023: Won’t
this be something – if it works? https://www.sciencealert.com/worlds-largest-nuclear-fusion-rocket-engine-begins-construction
14-07-2023: Things I
did not know: The name
‘bungalow’ means "house in the
10-07-2023: Sad
really. When you want your imaginary friends to think you have a really exciting
life instead of spending it staring at four walls somewhere inside a vast
megalopolis: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/dad-dies-front-children-wife-films-attempt-viral/
10-07-2023: Our
actual life: Each afternoon we take the dogs for a walk in one of the forests
nearby. Here are a couple of shots from yesterday. A very fine rainbow and
six charming fallow deer. You can maybe see why I have ordered a phone with a
better camera (https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/06/25/what-a-star/).
Fortunately my memory has many more megapixels than my phone. Of course there were also the usual half a
dozen black wallabies and a dozen or so kangaroos - & etc.
9-07-2023: Holidays
on Mars maybe sooner than you thought: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a44475938/nuclear-fusion-rocket-engine-hotter-than-sun/?utm_campaign=socialflowFBPOP&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social-media&fbclid=IwAR1vWQg2eYKJcCbwtRQYf_Qcwowvdux_TaVa60pb_i_gMi5ML44qM3QVUj8
3-07-2023: Fancy a
cashew: https://www.coricks.com/2023/04/07/560/
1-07-2023: Sure looks
cold: Spring near the Martian North Pole: https://hirise-pds.lpl.arizona.edu/PDS/EXTRAS/RDR/ESP/ORB_078300_078399/ESP_078343_2500/ESP_078343_2500_MRGB.abrowse.jpg
1-07-2023: Hachiko:
If this does not bring a tear to your eye, you are not human: https://www.coricks.com/2023/06/30/hachiko-the-most-loyal-dog-in-the-world/?fbclid=IwAR2iZ7zl2y1dkmDPZhYKm-uYeIYPoAf8kOf4jXnheBHieHs-S40AmLF3x00
30-06-2023: A new idea for an expandable camper: https://newatlas.com/outdoors/flip90-vw-truck-camper-rotates-roomy-backcountry-cabin/
29-06-2023: The Ultralight Sauna: Fancy a sauna in the back country? I thought I had pretty much sorted out Bathtime on the Trail with that post as well as The APC and the Sponge Bath and Keeping Clean on the Trail & etc, but the ingenious Tim Tinker has now come along with a modification of my Hiking Desalinater which enables a half-hour sauna even in the snow! Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/06/28/the-ultralight-sauna/
27-06-2023: Wonnangatta Pack (Raft) Track: Many people may not know that the famous C19th Wonnangatta Station was ‘serviced’ by a pack track up the true right bank of that river (ie the right bank facing downstream) along which all its supplies came (including even a large piano).
No doubt other sections still exist below the Moroka Junction, but this post concerns its remnant from the Moroka Junction to the Hernes and Wombat Spurs. Clearly it also went on after that but as with the lower section there is now a road or track which can more easily be followed, eg by those wishing to pack raft the river or explore it for other purposes – deer hunting (excellent), fishing (which is good), bush walking & etc. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/06/26/wonnangatta-pack-raft-track/
26-06-2023: What a Star: Available now on Kickstarter the new Unihertz Jelly (Star) phone for US$169ea (or US$310 for two).
I have been using the Jelly 2 for a couple of years now and found it just great. I will be ordering this new model because of the (much) improved camera. From 16 Megapixels to 48! Wow! Huge!
I have taken most of the photos on my blog The Ultralight Hiker the last two years. I don’t think you could complain about their quality, but the new camera looks set to blow them away. I will be able to zoom in and crop much smaller detail for example. Roughly (the equivalent of) ten times zoom I guess. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/06/25/what-a-star/
25-06-2023: Ephemera: When I am filling the kettle to make the morning coffee I usually happen to glance out the kitchen window just to see what wonders the day has in store for me. There are always some, a number of which you have been a party to over the years, such as this secretive rabbit which I made a feature of in an item about Responsible Sambar Deer Hunting. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/06/25/ephemera/
21-06-2023: Time for a ‘good news’ story: https://archive.is/uBmlA
21-06-2023: ‘100 Places to See After Your Die’ – interesting title for a book: https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/06/13/ken-jennings-afterlife-100-places-see-after-you-die/
20-06-2023: Beatlejuice. It sure will be something to see: https://joannenova.com.au/2023/06/betegeuse-may-go-supernova-in-our-lifetime-brighter-than-the-moon/
19-06-2023: If the cost of home ownership keeps going up you might also decide to
go live in a tree: https://www.spectator.com.au/2023/06/in-need-of-a-tree/
13-06-2023: A truly great survival story: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2023%2Fjun%2F11%2Famazon-plane-crash-colombian-children-survived-on-cassava-and-fruits-family-say
09-06-2023: This looks to be a handy gadget. Now if I can just set it off with a
motion detector. https://www.amazon.com.au/Perimeter-Reusable-Warning-Security-Property/dp/B0C1ZMJ2XL?th=1
& https://tripalarms.com/
03-06-2023: Not yet, but maybe soon? https://www.livescience.com/space/extraterrestrial-life/repeated-signals-from-the-center-of-the-milky-way-could-be-aliens-saying-hello-new-study-claims
30-05-2023: I must (not) go down to the sea again: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/researchers-think-other-orcas-are-imitating-a-single-killer-whale-that-first-started-targeting-boats-leading-some-to-sink/ar-AA1bLqmC
29-05-2023: Important lessons from a long life: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/22/david-von-drehle-book-excerpt-dr-charlie-white/
28-05-2023: DNA doesn’t lie. I admit I have been
sceptical, though I have trusted friends (fellow hunters) who report having
seen one, but if these things can exist in Scotland they can certainly exist in
Victoria: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/definitive-proof-huge-black-panthers-29951838.amp?fbclid=IwAR0siCyLy5aWTMmGE9o4yFXXdBuSXawUpWtsotgcs2aJ4P2W2o3s4D1ZGu8
See Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymzlcAXiT-0
27-05-2023: Easy Hammock Tarp Centre Line: A centre line is the best idea when using any tarp rather than just trying to tension the tarp back towards the tree against its own weight which is all too likely to damage it or tear out the grommet or tie-out.
You will also want to secure one to the tree/s quickly and easily, so here is a method using just a few readily available plastic bits and pieces. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/05/26/easy-hammock-tarp-centre-line/
27-05-2023: The
future is rushing towards us – here come the cyborgs: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/elon-musks-brain-computer-company-neuralink-receives-fda/
26-05-2023: ‘Take
up thy bed and walk’: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fdnyuz.com%2F2023%2F05%2F24%2Fa-paralyzed-man-can-walk-naturally-again-with-brain-and-spine-implants%2F
26-05-2023: Some
hope here at last: https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/trial-drug-slow-early-alzheimers-decline/
21-05-2023: Should you blow up your mat by mouth? This has to be one of those great hiking myths like whether you need to filter/purify your drinking water. (in most cases, No, but if you want to consider this post: Trouble With Water Filters).
Folks are convinced that the moisture (nasties?) in their breath will ruin the inside of their hiking mat so they carry an assortment of inflation bags or other devices for blowing them up.
By and large this is just unnecessary weight, like so many other things. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/05/20/should-you-blow-up-your-mat-by-mouth/
21-05-2023: There must be other interesting historical footage around. Maybe none from the Revolutionary War or the French Revlution but many recordings must exist of people who witnessed major C19th events. There is an (audio) recording of Truganini (the last Tasmanian) for example: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/man-born-in-1846-talks-about-fighting-in-the-civil-war/
20-05-2023: Chimney
dampers. Our green overlords long ago banned the sale of these in Oz but
they are still available on Ebay, Aliexpress & etc (for less than $20).
They allow you to use about a third less wood yet produce more heat from you
wood stove. Very easy to install, just drill two holes in the pipe and assemble
the damper inside it. We have recently replaced our 40+ year old Masport Logger
with the newest model (<$900) and put one in the chimney pipe. The old stove
came with one. You can see in the pics how well they work. For a month we were
using the stove without it. Our wood usage has now dropped by nearly half a
wheelbarrow full each day and the house is (more consistently) warmer. Read
More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/05/20/in-praise-of-chimney-dampers/
20-05-2023: These
Ni Fe (Nickel-Iron - 100 year batteries) which you can use to back up your
solar or wind system are available on Alibaba from approx US$165 (delivered)
for 400 Ah and US$208 for 500 Ah (per 1.2 volt cell). You would need 10 to
provide a 12 volt system, 20 for 24 volt, 40 for 48 volt etc. This works out
actually cheaper than lead or lithium and much more reliable. Choice tested
several available (mainly lithium) battery systems for six years. Only one
actally lasted the six years! They did not test NiFe. The croney capitalists
behind the ‘renewables’ boondoggle will not tell you about them. Notenough
profit in something which never needs replacing: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/1-2v-400ah-nickel-iron-batteries_1600426449731.html
18-05-2023: Unbelievable:
https://hasanjasim.online/in-a-french-cave-15000-year-old-bison-sculptures-have-been-perfectly-preserved/?fbclid=IwAR0KNzGd8jOtdXN_YCn4tcU_jzMVXLhnU9LgGNO19gMLmABJvO_Cn21vnU0
17-05-2023: Something
else for worry-worts – I wonder what it registers in beer or wine? https://ashbtop.com/products/tm?fbclid=IwAR0S-I9z-f7THPhnbgBMUKsimy43T9vwg-7JpLaiM8j6Cu-fVcXYNGsL1tQ
17-05-2023: Supercapacitors
(and NIFe batteries) are apparently a ‘now’ technology for battery backup of
your home or replacement battery for your car. We will chose NiFe (Edison)
batteries for our home storage system as it is a proven technology which has
been shown to last for around a century.This guy has an interesting site: https://micropowergrids.com.au/_Energy_Storage/Super_Capacitors/index.html
17-05-2023: You
stole my dreams: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/mit-scientists-create-device-that-can-hack-dreams/
09-05-2023: Back to the Stone Age? Hard to believe: https://newatlas.com/electronics/worlds-first-working-wooden-transistor-ewaste-biodegradable-tech/?fbclid=IwAR0fNAHi99MiF_c4mv9BTX9ldacX2RYxFFGYW-1RWgW4RI9c84Ek7VxKjjo
09-05-2023: Back to the Stone Age? Hard to believe: https://newatlas.com/electronics/worlds-first-working-wooden-transistor-ewaste-biodegradable-tech/?fbclid=IwAR0fNAHi99MiF_c4mv9BTX9ldacX2RYxFFGYW-1RWgW4RI9c84Ek7VxKjjo
09-05-2023: I
still had one of these in the 1990s. The world has rapidly gone down the
gurgler since: https://rosebyanyothernameblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/14/theres-no-gun-problem/
07-05-2023: Meanwhile, A.I. Calculates It Will Be More Efficient To Just Let Humanity Destroy Itself: https://babylonbee.com/news/ai-calculates-it-wil-be-more-efficient-to-just-let-humanity-destroy-itself
26-04-2023: Universal stove jack-Fit all tent stove pipes: Another brilliant and thoroughly useful post from the indefatigable Tim Tinker. I was going to have to make a stove jack myself once I perfected my tent stove and chimney, projects which I have not given up on - just that other projects are ahead of them in the queue...such as perfecting the tent! Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/04/24/diy-universal-stove-jack/
24-04-2023: At last, something you can do to prevent Alzheimers: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2023/04/20/sleeping-aids-Alzheimers-disease/2961682008414/
20-04-2023: A robotic laser weeder – what a great idea: https://carbonrobotics.com/autonomous-weeder
20-04-2023: Curing prostate caner in only one hour – bring it on: https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/landmark-surgery-cures-prostate-cancer-in-under-one-hour
19-04-2023: Preen: the new glyphosate
for busy gardeners (Trifluralin is the active ingredient of Preen. Google
it for prices cheaper than the brand name): https://www.preen.com/learn/how-preen-gardens-works/
17-04-2023: Where people live. Most of the world is wilderness: https://joannenova.com.au/2023/04/a-map-to-change-the-way-you-think-about-the-world/
14-04-2023: Astonishing: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-05/michelle-lee-first-woman-rower-pacific-ocean-solo-237-days/102193290
14-04-2023: Exercise is better than drugs – hard to believe: https://joannenova.com.au/2023/04/exercise-therapy-is-better-than-drugs-for-common-type-of-heart-failure/
13-04-2023: Silnylon Deerhunter’s Tent Progress: I know I have promised the pattern and instructions (or even production and sale) of this for years following my original post about it in The Deerhunter’s Tent way back on May 12, 2016. I also realise heaps of people have made (its progenitor) their own Tyvek Solo Fire Shelter using the pattern and instructions I posted there and so are keen for an updated version…But I have intermittently ‘worked’ on it, and following my post about and invention of the DIY Ultralight Sprung Tent Pole Extension last week I thought I was pretty close. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/04/12/silnylon-deerhunters-tent-progress/
12-04-2023: Retro Ultra Light: https://firemaplegear.com/products/orange-camping-gas-lantern?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_campaign=wx-test&fbclid=IwAR3VtiR8HbnOzTc8w-jGAJl759cvIFjyhq3aPKbnWsFssjTzE-cAokkyMWo
11-04-2023: Better
than a pack rifle? Unless you live in somewhere like
Here is an example of a ring gun. It would certainly give someone a nasty shock, though they are intended more as an interesting (working) souvenir !
11-04-2023: Will
smart phones make you happy? Perhaps just as well for me that I have stuck
to a tiny fob
pocket phone which pretty much
9-04-2023: Back to
the future – reviving the
8-04-2023: The ‘Liquid Piston’ engine certainly looks like a great advance: https://newatlas.com/automotive/inside-out-wankel/
7-04-2023: DIY Ultralight Sprung Tent Pole Extension: Never have your tent sag again! I mentioned this idea in my previous 1600th Post. I have been into the hardware this morning, bought a few cheap nick-knacks which will make several, and quickly constructed a couple using 19mm (3/4″) poly irrigation pipe. Took only a couple of minutes. Cost (way) less than $10 each. They weigh 20 and 22 grams for the shorter and longer versions. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/04/06/diy-ultralight-sprung-tent-pole-extension/
7-04-2023: Only in Qld: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230406-australian-police-seek-pair-seen-with-platypus-on-train
06-04-2023: 1600 Posts: Today marks my 1600th post here at The Ultralight Hiker. Quite a milestone. And time maybe to recall the last hundred or so – or roughly the last year. A year ago in February (2022) I finally ‘bit the bullet’ and had that pesky worn old left knee replaced with a shiny new titanium one. See A New Knee. Three months later ( a little early) I was trying it out on a short hiking trip into the Vic Alps something like the one in the post A River Somewhere. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/04/05/1600-posts/
03-04-2023: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/massive-ocean-discovered-beneath-the-earth-s-crust-containing-more-water-than-on-the-surface/ar-AA19lg7R
03-04-2023: (Della) Nice little crop of orange pumpkins - well done Steve! We opted for a quick-maturing variety this year due to the late summer season; I suspect that my preferred Queensland Blue variety would not have ripened in time! Cherry tomatoes are producing nicely now, although the larger varieties are only going to get to the green tomato pickle stage. Fortunately we love green tomato pickles.
This harks back to my post about growing them from seed back in Spring: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/.../short-season-crops/ These guys were from Diggers and were called 'Potimarron' The 'Blue Ballet' pumkin did well too over a cold summer - and the Romanesco Zucchini were spectacular.
03-04-2023: Does AI need to be banned to protect humans from extinction? I doubt we have long to consider this: https://www.theepochtimes.com/if-we-go-ahead-on-this-everyone-will-die-warns-ai-expert-calling-for-absolute-shutdown_5163074.html
02-04-2023: Best Ultralight Hiking April Fools’:
02-04-2023: Spreading Out: People need to be more widely dispersed in the back country, the very opposite of the (Nuts to) Leave No Trace folk, who have got it all wrong. I know you may not want to hear this, but please read on: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/04/01/spreading-out/
01-04-2023: T.Rex’s
smile was quite different to
30/03/2023: The Perfect Ultralight Firearm: How lovely is this? A miniature single-shot .22 calibre pistol which weighs a mere 7 ounces (200 grams).Our restrictive gun laws in Australia mean that I can't have one, but one can wish. Introducing the Trailblazer Lifecard Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/03/30/the-perfect-ultralight-firearm/
30/03/2023: At last- something for nothing: https://blog.sciencenatures.com/2022/10/the-impossible-quantum-space-engine.html?fbclid=IwAR3UXl1b1yb95IYBjCLFWA9XQ35U4SP5L8zuVwCLUgsAZCAhTavZoCA2bDk
30/03/2023: This might (just) work for me, “Humans to achieve immortality in 8 years, says former Google engineer” https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/techandscience/humans-to-achieve-immortality-in-8-years-says-former-google-engineer/ar-AA19bs7a?li=BB122DJx
29/03/2023: Looks like Oumuamua was not Alien after all: https://www.wsj.com/articles/mysterious-space-object-oumuamua-not-alien-scientists-say-d6f2ccd0?mod=djemalertNEWS
28/03/2023: So now we know: https://www.popcorn.org/All-About-Popcorn/What-Makes-Popcorn-Pop
26/03/2023: Don’t buy
a new computer.
24/03/2023: Ultralight beer for hiking: https://newatlas.com/lifestyle/powdered-beer/
19/03/2023: Way
before the pyramids there was Dolmen
19/03/2023: Yes, you will be able to have gin and tonics on Mars: https://hasanjasim.online/stunning-photos-show-huge-crater-on-mars-full-of-ice/?fbclid=IwAR3hg1g6CLnnfzpiQ92ydthkeB6Tm1tBBIpDZt73wFtn8UaUL6US5JLynAo
18/03/2023: Getting things ready for the beginning of ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thetimes.co.uk%2Farticle%2Frolls-royce-plan-to-put-nuclear-reactor-on-moon-p3r3q5k3w
18/03/2023: Well, I can imagine some worthwhile purposes to which it might be put (defence of ‘home and hearth’ etc – of course you would have to build a chimney first) : https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/03/16/feds-say-wyoming-man-has-no-right-to-make-his-own-machine-gun/
17/03/2023:
I completed this section by myself in 9 1/2 hours paddling (in a packraft) and could have shortened it by another hour if I had exited at Bull Point on Czydel’s Rd instead of Angusvale (Mitchell River National Park), meaning that a (longish) day trip is possible for this excellent section of river.
If you can exited at Scotts (don’t know whether the gate is locked), you would save another hour and avoid three closely spaced Grade 3 rapids just below Scotts (beginning with the Surprise rapid – it is). It is possible to portage all three (recommended) along the right bank. Younger people (or more water) would speed this time up even further. I am 73.
I started the trip at the Castleburn Creek confluence (about a kilometre
along the
The gauge height was 1.62 on the Waterford gauge and .72 on the Glenaldale gauge, but rose slightly as I went along due to some rain the day before and overnight during he trip (to 1.64 and .77 respectively). At this height I had only to get out about 6 times (the first day for a few yards), but I scraped the bottom many more times. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/03/17/mitchell-river-overnight/
17/03/2023: More
anti-aging. Bring it on: https://mindblog.dericbownds.net/2023/03/an-arthritis-drug-mimicks-anti-aging.html
16/03/2023: The Tale of a Rail: A Lewin Water Rail. Della now tells me that there have only been 146 confirmed sightings of this bird in the last 150 years! So I/we have been astonishingly fortunate. Imagine our consternation to find it tangled in the bird netting around the strawberry bed this morning! They clearly like strawberries as blue-tongued lizards do! Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/03/16/the-tale-of-a-rail/
12/03/2023: The
search for
11/03/2023: Charles
Kingsley was right. Imagine finding one of these in your garden. A Lewin Water
Rail. We admit the garden has become a bit overgrown, but we also suspect
the fox-proof fence around the farm is helping make it a haven for various
unusual critters. I was hand slashing some umbrella sedge which had becomes a
little too enthusiastic under the avocado tree – just a small patch around 15’
on each edge - when this little guy scuttled out and went off to hide in the
asparagus patch which is also quite overgrown at this time of year. They are
supposed to be a swamp bird but though I have hung around in such marshy places
a lot it is only the second one I have
ever seen. “No-one can say water-babies don’t exist because no-one has ever
seen one not existing.” As Kinsley famously said. I remaked just the same thing
when a (black) wallaroo t
11/03/2023: Rare Cat
Found Living On The
09/03/2023: Who’d have thought – a 3D printed space rocket blasts off: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/worlds-first-3d-printed-space-rocket-is-ready-for-launch/
08/03/2023: Wings Over Fiordland: I have written about this wonderful airline, Wings And Water before. For our 50th anniversary we just had to have a flight into Supper Cove (since we did not quite make it on our walk) and a tour of Dusky Sound and some other beautiful fiords: Breaksea, Dagg, Doubtful, etc.
The flight took approx 2 1/2 hours and cost around $500 each (for five people), though I suspect Kylie gave us a discount as being long-term return customers. Well worth it though whatever the cost, believe me. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/03/08/wings-over-fiordland/
08/03/2023: I now have two new eyes. I chose these lenses: AcrySof IQ Vivity® IOL because they give both distance and excellent intermediate vision with the ability to read things on the computer or held at arms length. I have some excellent folding reading glasses which clip onto your pocket for reading. The eyes are still settling down – I am less than a week out from having the second one done, but I can certainly say that it was a good decision. I have better all-round vision than I have had for years and can now see where I am putting my feet down on difficult ground very clearly. I can also see in rain and humid conditions without that nightmare of having one’s glasses fog up. I am now also back to having better than 20:20 vision, which is great: https://www.myalcon.com/international/professional/cataract-surgery/iols/vivity/
08/03/2023: Is the mammoth on the way back? https://www.beautyofplanet.com/28000-year-old-woolly-mammoth-cells-brought-back-to-life-by-scientists/?fbclid=IwAR3mGOdMxnCwIJS1s8ULGlTV_pYDASv7TPlAzFtf_iPJbFmCDcHVFaM4ON8
28/02/2023: Before you go stir crazy at this, let me tell you that a year ago I ‘cured’ a sheep of a cancer which had always killed them before every time with fenbendazole, a cheap sheep worm drench which has been around most of my life. I am about to start on another one today. If/when I get it I will be drenching myself in the same way. Costs about 20 cents a day and certainly won’t do any harm anyway: https://veryvirology.substack.com/p/curing-the-incurable-cancer
24/02/2023: “Healthy soil, the underpinning of civilization throughout history, is created in interaction between grazing animals and soil microbiology. Peer-reviewed research from Rodale has shown how regenerative agriculture can sequester more carbon than humans are now emitting”: https://joannenova.com.au/2023/02/the-ecologist-who-says-we-need-huge-herds-of-cows-and-sheep-to-stop-desertification/ Has to be better than shooting 14,000 elephants anyway – besides I like lamb.
22/02/2023: A Doubtful Deluge:
We were ‘lucky’ enough to be ‘cruising’ the Doubtful on a beautiful rainy day. This drove most of our fellow travelers indoors, but Della and I relished the rain out on the deck. This deluge transformed the whole Sound into a million waterfalls. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/02/21/a-doubtful-deluge/
22/02/2023: Solar-powered lighter. Forget the BIC. These guys have lighting a fire (or even a cigarette) covered: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solis-x-world-s-first-solar-rechargeable-lighter#/
21/02/2023: Canoeing the Hollyford:
There are many wonderful sights along the
The guy reckoned this was Grad 3+. I beg to disagree. I have canoed a lot of Grade 3 water in Oz but it was nothing like this, which has to be Grade 4/5 I think.
They were doing an approx 12 minute trip down from the viewing/parking point
by the river above the
19/02/2023: People are failing the AI ‘mirror test’. This is not quite what you might think it is, but on the other hand I wonder how many real people could not prove they were sentient: https://www.theverge.com/23604075/ai-chatbots-bing-chatgpt-intelligent-sentient-mirror-test PS: Only this morning Della received a ‘compilation’ from Google Photos of ‘water fountaining’. Google’s AI had put together a host of photos of us with waterfalls etc – which it clearly recognized, all by itself.
18/02/2023: A Taste of the Kepler Track: Undaunted by our (unsuccessful) fiftieth anniversary foray on the Dusky a couple of days later we decided to give the Kepler Heli-Hike a try. It involves a (claimed) 3 1/2 hour walk down from the Luxmore Hut to Brod Bay on the Western shore of Lake Te Anau (pretty accurate - for us anyway) as well as a helicopter ride from Te Anau to a peak a little further up the range (from Mt Luxmore) before landing at the hut to begin the walk. The walk culminates in a water taxi ride back to Te Anau instead of another 3+ hour walk. The cost was NZ$325 per person. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/02/18/a-taste-of-the-kepler-track/
18/02/2023: We need more old men: https://instapundit.substack.com/p/the-power-of-old-men
17/02/2023: Dusky Track 50th Wedding Anniversary Walk: Della has covered much of this ground already (on Facebook) but I have a few snippets to add (and a link to my hiking blog): https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/02/17/dusky-track-50th-wedding-anniversary-walk/
17/02/2023: If I have seemed somewhat quiet (since our return from Fiordland) I have been getting new eyes (well, one so far). Two days in I can now see things (with my new left eye) which have been invisible for years. How I look forward to being able to walk in humid rainy conditions without my glasses fogging up so that I am (was) walking blind.
29/01/2023: Interesting New Windscreen: A reader drew my attention to this interesting piece of parallel evolution. The X-Boil is a roll-up windscreen very similar to my roll-up titanium stove which I posted about here a year earlier than the X-Boil. I made later modifications to it in pots here and here, though until last week when Craig alerted me to it I had never heard of X-Boil. I have copied the photo of it from their site - I hope they don't mind - I don't speak (or write) German.
It has an interesting button-loop closure which is another solution to the hook and eye type ‘chimney’ closure I finally settled on. I think the latter has perhaps slightly less ‘give’ in it which may be preferable in the field.
X-Boil has come up with some added ventilation options (which Craig seems to think mine needs), though I have not as yet found this myself. I have to congratulate X-Boil on the modification to the upper edge which allows for the use of a frypan. This is an outstanding idea. As a keen Ultralight Fisherman I wholly endorse this change and will incorporate it in my next model. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/01/28/interesting-new-windscreen/
29/01/2023: Lunch
Atop A Skyscraper: The Story Behind The 1932 Photo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QCYDzsQ_yM
28/01/2023: Garden
Doings:
(Della) We often see satin bowerbirds in the garden at fruit-ripening time, but
yesterday gave us a special treat: I discovered a hesitant fledgling bowerbird
that had been separated from his frantic mother by a flock of noisy cockatoos
wheeling overhead. Mum was flying about and calling from a nearby tree, and you
can see her join her baby in the video before being frightened off again by a
lone cocky. Eventually (after I had retreated with my camera) they were able to
find enough peace to reunite and fly to safety together. Welcome to our newest
eater of the windfall apples and other fruity delicacies from our garden. The
other random pic is one of my giant birds of paradise trees that I caught
flowering spectacularly whilst I still had camera in hand.
28/01/2023: So much can still be learned from ancient thinkers such as Epicurus and Buddha: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/26/living-for-pleasure-by-emily-a-austin-an-epicurean-guide-to-happiness
27/01/2023: The
“There’s many a coat that is tattered and torn,
That beneath lies a true honest heart.
But because he’s not dressed like his neighbors in style,
Society keeps them apart.
For on one fortune smiles, while the other one fails,
Yes, no matter what venture he tries.
Time calls them both to the grave in the end,
And six feet of earth makes us all one size.”
26/01/2023: I have always loved butter, cream etc. Now I know for sure it was good for me too: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/07/cheese-butter-not-necessarily-linked-to-death/565253/
25/01/2023: Could ultrasound be the foutntain of youth – it had better hurry up for me if it is: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fstudyfinds.org%2Fsound-waves-reversing-aging%2F
Another one here – will we live forever: https://12ft.io/proxy?ref=&q=https://studyfinds.org/anti-aging-gene-fountain-of-youth/
25/01/2023: The Land Rover Defender replacement is just about to hit the market: https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/spy-pics-ineos-grenadier-ute-breaks-cover-139231/?fbclid=IwAR3WPg7Qsb8DZVICQPUANvp7iPUXtnTXm9hZSyntvc8FYwzMJ65-k07iz1M
24/01/2023: A solar powered lighter – an expensive way to make your BIC renewable: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/solis-x-world-s-first-solar-rechargeable-lighter#/
23/01/2023: So, birds were around before the dinosaurs vanished: https://scitechdaily.com/evolving-backward-discovery-overturns-more-than-a-century-of-knowledge-about-the-origin-of-modern-birds/
21/01/2023: Graphene
Fabrics on the way: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/graphene-embedded-polymers/
20/01/2023: Leeks were eaten
in ancient
20/01/2023: Anti-aging is on the way, but hurry up guys: https://www.science.org/content/article/two-research-teams-reverse-signs-aging-mice
18/01/2023: SpaceX is just great: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/spacex-launch-is-awesome-and-thats-how-we-will-land-on-mars/
17/01/2023: Nuclear power in your pocket? ‘Soon’ to come for future ultralight hikers: https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2023/01/nuclear-power-cell-for-space-satellites-that-are-cup-size-instead-of-dishwasher-size.html
16/01/2023: DIY Shoulder Pouches: My new Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra came without shoulder pockets (or pouches) as I could so easily make my own, as I have done this morning (forgetting to photograph the process too sorry!) If you have ‘recently) purchased a sewing machine as I have (often) suggested, you can make a pair too. I hope this post helps you do so.
I measured the space on the pack where they would have to fit and came up with dimensions of my four pieces of material as follows. Two pieces for the pack strap sleeves that started at 7″ x 6″ and two pieces for the pouches that stated at 6″ x 15″. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2023/01/15/diy-shoulder-pouches/
16/01/2023: Ibn
Battutah, The Islamic Marco Polo. “Whereas Marco Polo was rather
tight-lipped about sex, Ibn Battutah seems to have copulated his way across the
then-known world with hundreds of slave girls, concubines, and temporary
“wives.” He also left more than a few offspring in his wake. His trip lasted 29
years and was three times the length of Marco Polo’s. He writes about not only
what he actually experienced, but also includes gossip, rumors, and legends
about the things and the people he encountered. Some of it is rather
horrifying.”: https://www.amazon.com/Travels-Battutah-Macmillan-Collectors-Library/dp/1909621471/ref=asc_df_1909621471/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312021455910&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3526682798586221892&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003435&hvtargid=pla-489921632055&psc=1
15/01/2023: Finnsheep - Unexpected second lambing. This fourteen year old ewe has lambed unexpectedly for the second time this year. I hardly expected her to live (She had been quite ill after her first lambing back in August), let alone do this. She has been a spectacular ewe with four working teats who has often raised quads (when she was younger).
She and another brilliant old ewe have been in a small ‘retirement’ paddock just in case they happened to raise a bonus lamb (in 2023) after a long and productive life (around forty lambs raised each - in paddock conditions).
I have had a very special young triplet ram in with them just so he doesn’t get hurt by the other rams as he has outstanding genetics and we really want progeny from him (later this year).
I was very surprised to see her with this (second, unplanned) out-of-season lamb at foot this morning. It is only one but it is a four-teated ewe lamb - so somewhat like winning the lottery for us.
The proud dad:
Here she is with a set of quads last year.
Finnsheep can relatively easily be managed to lamb twice per
year. We have clients with thousands of our Finnsheep in air-conditioned sheds
eg in the
We do not usually lamb ours the second time because there is not enough stock feed here in summer to raise a second lambing well so it is too hard on the ewe and the lambs.
14/01/2023: The last
free people…I was wondering around 3:00am what has become of them. Do any
exist in the brave new world order which has been building its walls and
stringent controls all around us. You know, people like the Lapps and Samoyeds
– the reindeer people, and the various gypsy tribes for example. What an
astonishing achievement by the former. Imagine domesticating reindeer which can
live where there is only (inedible) moss to eat, and yet move about with them
and thrive in the most inhospitable of wildernesses- and sustain a lively
culture. The closing of the Soviet borders must have had a profound effect on
them. When we were in
13/01/2023: Why
‘
12/01/2023: Don’t miss the rare green comet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9DTkxXoQqw
09/01/2023: The
world’s first analogue computer from the genius which was ancient
07/01/2023: Get ready: 6G is coming (for you): https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230104231812.htm
06/01/2023: Parsnips
(and turnips) are very nutritious and
05/01/2023: ‘It is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil’: I’m sure you would not expect that quote from me an old avowed atheist, but one should always garner truth and wisdom from the past, not just throw it all away as so much old junk. Our Judaeo-Christian tradition has many such important lessons which it would be folly to forget. The pleasure to be found in physical work ought not be missed by anyone. It pains me how many folk are bored and indolent, whereas we never find a minute where we share that feeling. All our moments are busy ones.
This is probably my favourite Bible quote. If you are my age you may remember it better as being the words of a ‘Peter, Paul & Mary’ song! Read it in full, maybe even paste it on your wall. It is full of wonderful truths: Ecclesiastes 3:1-13:
3:1 ‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
3:2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3:3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
3:4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
3:5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
3:6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
3:7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
3:8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
3:9 What gain have the workers from their toil?
3:10 I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with.
3:11 He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
3:12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live;
3:13 moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.’
03/01/2023: A plant which gave up photosynthesis: https://www.sciencealert.com/ethereal-new-plant-species-doesnt-use-photosynthesis-its-found-something-sneakier
02/01/2023: Suppose you wanted to ditch Google Play Store: https://www.popsci.com/diy/f-droid-download/
01/01/2023: Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra: I have been a fan of Joe Valesko’s Zpacks for nearly twenty years – back when he was just a lad sewing all the packs himself. We have kept in touch. I have tried many of his products as they became available and generally promoted them.
I doubt there has been any single person who has ‘pushed the envelope’ of the ultralight revolution quite as much as Joe. His firm has grown like topsy, which is a credit to him and I hope doesn’t give him too much stress with the responsibility of having to care for so many people and do so much work. I trust there is still plenty of time for family and for hiking.
I have a friend whose business grew so big he eventually had to sell it as it was making his life impossible. All he really wanted was to be like Maugham’s ‘The Verger’ – to have a very modest living. If you haven’t read the story, now is the time to do so. If you don’t read, you can watch it here. I’m afraid such modest ambitions are what I have stuck with since I first read the story in the sixth grade. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/12/31/zpacks-arc-haul-ultra/
01/01/2023: Instead of queing from
10:00am to watch ‘pretty lights’ in the sky at midnight before going home to
bed I’m afraid we went to bed at 10:00 pm and missed New Year altogether, our
51st together actually. I really can’t believe that half a
billion people ‘tuned in’ to watch the
31/12/2022: Bird-window collisions. I
would have expected some more positive recommendations. On old-style
windows with fly-screens (in my experience) they almost
29/12/2022: Life will find a way: https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/12/bin-chickens-chow-down-on-cane-toads/
25/12/2022: Ants for Xmas: Della: “So while everyone else is enjoying Christmas Eve, I have been enjoying a novel experiment. In preparation for our family Christmas celebration on Boxing Day I figured that people might not notice the rampant weed growth in my garden if I strategically pulled out the very biggest of the weeds. After only the first barrow-load I discovered this humongous bull-ant nest where I am sure none existed last autumn (For reference, the ant in the picture is on a flag-iris leaf).
I immediately Googled bull-ant nest eradication, and was fascinated to read that ants will not cross a chalk line drawn on a pavement as it interferes with their pheromones.
Ever the scientist, Steve immediately went out to the verandah, grabbed the kids’ playground chalk and drew a firm line in the middle of a sugar-ant trail. Amazingly, the ants immediately baulked at the line, turning around and running back the other way. Sadly the effect only lasted about 3 minutes: When Steve drew a further line that prevented entry to their nest, they baulked initially and then pushed on through.
Now I know that drinking a glass of prosecco is more fun than watching ants on Christmas Eve, but believe me, you can do both! Meanwhile, if you have any worthwhile tips on how to kill my unwelcome monster ants, let me know!
Merry Christmas everyone.”
Just a BTW: A single application of Brunnings Wasp & Ant Dust containing 10g/kg Permethrin made them disappear overnight! (likewise Jumping Jacks).
25/12/2022: The future of human hibernation: https://phys.org/news/2022-12-successful-hypothermia-nonhuman-primate-paves.html
24/12/2022: Is death the end? https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a42216404/is-death-revesible/
21/12/2022: An astonishing underwater megalith teaches us how little really we know about the past: https://tocharus.substack.com/p/stone-megalith-at-the-bottom-of-the
21/12/2022: Osteoarthritis news - I definitely need this (and apparently you can get a script even if you don’t have Diabetes – this stuff also adds years to one’s life expectancy): https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/researchers-call-for-trial-of-metformin-as-potential-treatment-for-osteoarthritis/news-story/f5f22a8625d69d1ac3e5e15cf67fc754
18/12/2022: The Sheep That Lambs in Litters: This year’s cohort of our amazing Finnsheep are about ready to go to their ‘forever homes’. We were just shearing their dams and sires yesterday and crutching all the lambs, some of whom are waiting their turn here:
They have grown approx 1” of wool per
Pure Finnsheep are the world’s most fertile sheep normally having 3-4 lambs. This fertility is carried on around six genes so that half Finns inherit (roughly) half of it, meaning that you can expect half and even quarter Finns to basically always have twins. They are also (unsually) a medium-fine longwool breed which means that they can also be used to improve the length and quality of your wool.
You can contact us here: http://www.finnsheep.com/ if you are interested in having some for Xmas.
13/12/2022:
12/12/2022: Sir Roger Penrose has always produced astounding ideas but his latest thoughts about evidence of past universes (and the possibility oif commuicating with them) and thoughts about the ‘quantum’ nature of consciousness are wonderfully liberating: https://www.strangerdimensions.com/2020/10/14/sir-roger-penrose-comments-on-the-universes-before-our-own/
12/12/2022: All about humans and fire – how fascinating: https://stoneageherbalist.substack.com/p/the-road-to-metallurgy-fire-and-rocks
11/12/2022: Should we revive epic
poetry? https://tocharus.substack.com/p/why-epic-poetry-will-never-die
07/12/2022: New Pack Suspension System: For years I have been quite dissatisfied with backpack straps. They place a quite unnecessary and undue strain on a small area of the shoulders. It seems to me that for horses this problem was solved back in circa the C14th with the invention of the horse collar and associated hardware to allow a horse to pull a heavy load without destroying the horse.
Most pack manufacturers have decided that 'transferring the load' (somehow) to the hips via a hip belt is the solution. It is not. That 'solution' only acts (rather like other forms of torture such as foot binding to transfer the problem elsewhere without solving it at all. A hip belt restricts movement and comfort in just a different sort of way, that is all. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/12/06/new-pack-suspension-system/
06/12/2022: “We are this season’s people. We are all the people there are, this season. If we blow it, it’s blown.” Schlomo Carlebach
05/12/2022: Good dog
01/12/2022: The largest squid weigh half a tonne and live in the deep ocean. Much smaller cephalopods have been shown to be intelligent. Is SETI looking in the wrong place? Should we be making efforts to establish communication with these guys? https://www.livescience.com/what-is-largest-squid
01/12/2022: An important lesson from Willis Eschenbach today, (couldn’t agree more), “I learned early about the importance of sharp tools. My second real job, at 13 years of age for $0.30 per hour ($3.00 per hour in 2022 dollars), was digging out a foundation for a new house with a pick and a shovel. And looking back, I was probably worth about that much per hour.
In those halcyon pre-PC days, working with a shovel was called “Playing the Swedish banjo”. Here’s a recent picture of me doing that very thing:
And I’ve played the Swedish banjo for more reasonable wages a number of times since I was 13.
Perhaps as a result of my work history, I divide folks into three groups:
- Those who have used a shovel.
- Those who have made money with a shovel.
- Those who have sharpened a shovel.”
29/11/2022: Thanks for that Spot: https://www.psypost.org/2022/11/a-new-study-says-time-spent-with-dogs-increases-brain-activity-in-the-prefrontal-cortex-64385?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
26/11/2022: Titanaboa: Thank goodness we do not still have these guys in the back garden: https://www.thoughtco.com/titanoboa-worlds-biggest-prehistoric-snake-1093334
24/11/2022: DIY Crampons Equals 4WD Boots: I have had a number of falls and am still suffering from a sore (almost dislocated) shoulder and similarly sprained wrist but there is still much work to do. So recently I bought (from a local Bolt shop) some 15mm hex-headed self-tapping screws. These only came in stainless steel so were fairly dear at $20 per 100, but for this purpose you only need perhaps 20, so it will not break the bank. You can screw them directly into the soles of your boots (i used an electric drill) in suitable spots to create quasi 'hob-nailed boots'. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/11/23/diy-crampons-equals-4wd-boots/
23/11/2022: Sword of
Damocles: A
wild and windy night! We were checking on the creek and dams this morning after
all the bad weather and discovered this new "Sword of Damocles"which
had obviously launched itself from the huge blue gum above, embedding itself
firmly and deeply in the ground on the track below. So glad no-one was
underneath at the time! All the branches below are another blue-gum giant that
came down last winter. It is still waiting for the farm to dry out enough so
that we can get machinery in to undertake the task of removing it
22/11/2022: Back to the moon: https://phys.org/news/2022-11-nasa-moon-mission-exceeding-expectaions.html
22/11/2022: Reality is
not what we think it is. This may not affect how many elephants there are
in the room but might affect how many angels there are on a pin-head: https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/reality-objective-exist/
22/11/2022: Why it is hard to say ‘extinction is forever’: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-just-spotted-this-large-colorful-pigeon-that-no-one-has-seen-in-140-years?fbclid=IwAR2l_hjt-6ECqR3vY4rlxRhNeirDrFkWKwLkGNCLJluOAyeZ75crWgCeqZ8
20/11/2022: The Joy
of Closed Roads: As a follow-up to my post Find
Your Own Places to Explore can I suggest that for years (in
19/11/2022: Forgotten
animals of
18/11/2022: And now we have $250 hearing aids. All along it was a scam: https://www.foxnews.com/tech/apple-airpods-cheaper-alternative-hearing-aids
18/11/2022: A great way to teach science: https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2022/11/15/coolest-high-school-science-class-ever-takes-students-hunting-n64411
14/11/2022: Hydrogen-Boron Fusion Looks like a good idea. A million year’s of electric power available – will that be enough? https://asiatimes.com/2020/04/hydrogen-boron-fusion-could-be-a-dream-come-true/
11/11/2022: Duh! https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/11/08/national-park-service-warning-no-licking-sonoran-desert-toad/1341667947342/
09/11/2022: Making VR more real, now a VR headset which actually kills you. Great idea: https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/oculus-headset-killer-palmer-luckey-nervegear-b2219992.html
06/11/2022: Tocharus – a fascinating site if you are interested in the importance of ancient history: https://tocharus.substack.com/p/the-diet-of-slaves
05/11/2022: A real
anti-aging treatment – bring it on: https://scitechdaily.com/unexpected-scientists-discover-an-anti-aging-mechanism/
05/11/2022: I see the Chinese nearly lobbed a huge rocket on us (and probably you too). Only luck it did not squash us. Not really good enough Mr Xi – Try to emulate Elon in future: https://joannenova.com.au/2022/11/good-citizen-china-carelessly-crashes-23-tons-of-space-junk-on-earth-gets-lucky-but-300-flights-in-spain-delayed/
31/10/2022: House hunting on Mars: https://dnyuz.com/2022/10/29/house-hunting-on-mars-has-already-started/
28/10/2022: Thomson Dam at 99.8%. It’s going to flow over – tomorrow probably. Second time only – maybe you missed it in 1996. Quite a sight. Plus lunch at the Erica, Rawson or Walhalla Pubs, but book: https://www.melbournewater.com.au/water-data-and-education/water-storage-levels#/ PS: It has gone over – view from the power station is the best:
27/10/2022: ‘Free’ Power Bank: 'Waste not, want not' was another of my mother's favourite maxims - one I have certainly taken to heart, as my wife will attest as I has fill our house and sheds up with all sorts of 'mathoms' - hobbit for 'junk'.
I had two 'dead' laptop batteries which I probably ought to have binned or recycled but today (it was raining) I decided to dismantle them instead and stripped off the welded tabs. Each contained 6 x 18650 rechargeable lithium batteries.
Each cell was dead flat. After placing them in the single power bank I recommended here they (surprisingly) all came back 'to life'. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/10/26/free-power-bank/
27/10/2022: "By
2001...a chicken reached the weight at which it would be killed in one-third of
the time and after eating one-third of the food compared with the 1957 breed...represents...reduction
in waste and in the..land devoted to growing feed per chicken" http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/genetics-bigger-chickens
26/10/2022: World’s dirtiest man dies (at 94): https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/worlds-dirtiest-man-dies-aged-94-months-after-taking-his-first-shower-in-67-years/news-story/257c86cf8ba484dc5c90add6a5c95136
23/10/2022: Cruising
to the North Pole: https://us.ponant.com/destinations/the-arctic Should you think this voyage is down to
‘global warming you shuld realise nuclear subs have been doing it for a long
while: https://theaviationist.com/2016/03/21/watch-this-stunning-video-of-a-u-s-nuclear-submarine-breaking-the-ice-to-surface-in-the-arctic-circle/
and that the Vikings always used the North-West passge in their voyages to
Greenland. They had to abandon their
23/10/2022: SpaceX is really transforming space – not to mention communications here on earth. Rumour has it that Musk will ‘soon’ add functionality to Starlink which will allow cellphones to also act as satellite phones (when away from a conventional tower). That would be a game-changer: https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-group-4-36-satellites-launch
22/10/2022: Hajimari Boomerang Ball – have your kids got this amazing toy yet? https://hajimariball.com/
21/10/2022: The Simplest Electric ‘Motor’ – the black cylinder is a battery and the round object is a magnet. There are so many true and enchanting things children can be taught about the world without stuffing their developing brains with falsehoods and creeds: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25534051-100-show-children-how-to-make-a-simple-e lectric-motor-with-a-magnet/
16/10/2022: ‘1883’ –
a great new series.
16/10/2022: Disappointments of time travel: https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-ancient-technology/ancient-technology-0017394
16/10/2022: Bring it on: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-10-scientists-osteoarthritis.html
15/10/2022: ‘Derry
Girls’, the funniest thing to come out of
14/10/2022: Find Your Own Places to Explore An ‘extension’ of an earlier post, Gully Walking
I have always liked Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Road Not Taken’
even though I realised long ago how much he/it owed toward my even more
favourite poet, Edward Thomas. However I too long ago “took the one less
traveled by, And that has made all the difference” as Frost reflects, and I
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
It is all very well (as a beginner hiker/outdoorsman) perhaps to first experience some of the outstanding ‘great walks’ which abound in your country, but soon you will realize that they are both too crowded and have long since stopped providing quite the bliss of solitude and exploration which perhaps their creation envisaged. But you have to start somewhere.
Before you head off on your own ‘road’ you first need to master some bushcraft skills such as I have been talking about here for quite some time. You need to be able to find your way unaided (ie with just your senses and intelligence through the trackless bush (for days at a time) – and this takes study and practice. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/10/13/find-your-own-places-to-explore/
13/10/2022: More questions for our time: Did Kosciuszko die of acne? http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/65336
10/10/2022: Merrin’s Wiggly Stick: This afternoon as I came out of the front door after lunch to go work on the tractor I saw the largest red-bellied black snake I think I had ever seen just sliding under the fridge on the verandah then it simply disappeared. I poked around under the fridge, even moved the fridge; yet there was no sign of it. I thought ‘No way such a large snake could be in the rat bait station next to the fridge’ but when I lifted the lid there it was. I suspect it had been there before. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/10/10/merrins-wiggly-stick/
08/10/2022: Eating on the Wild Side – cheaper than the supermarket anyway: https://www.amazon.com.au/Eating-Wild-Side-Pharmacologic-Implications/dp/0816520674?asin=B08W9LRC7D&revisionId=e17c26ab&format=1&depth=1
07/10/2022: Be Prepared: 'A word to the wise is enough'. Unfortunately for most people 'a word' is not enough. Every year world-wide tens of thousands of poorly prepared people disappear or meet their end in the back country when they should have just been having fun, admiring the view of that far horizon, peering around the river's bend to see what's there and breathing that clear cool air deeply. I hope I can prevent a few such unfortunate events. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/10/05/be-prepared/
06/10/2022: Might be nice if you like cruising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EouzzYmXyhA&t=3621s
05/10/2022: Outback
Boats:
02/10/2022: Best strategies for longevity: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-older-adults-factors.html
30/09/2022: Should we live a riskier existence – an interesting perspective: https://www.city-journal.org/bring-back-risk?utm_source=pocket_mylist
28/09/2022: One Pacific island which is definitely not shrinking: https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/natural-wonders/new-island-discovered-in-pacific-ocean-after-tonga-underwater-volcano-eruption/news-story/2168f014f4b7f78efb2492f1b8a73cfa
27/09/2022: It is not just our family of Joneses which arose from this Ely swamp: http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/65203
26/09/2022: Astonishing images from Jupiter: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11238745/NASAs-Juno-probe-snaps-stunning-photo-Jupiters-clouds-look-like-frosting-cupcake.html
25/09/2022: Very well done: https://www.fieldandstream.com/fishing/kayak-angler-catches-marlin-hawaii/
25/09/2022: Back from the dead: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/ancient-aphrodisiac-0017316
23/09/2022: How to scan and share old print photos with your phone. Maybe this is a solution? Get the App 'PhotoScan by Google Photos' from the Google Play Store. The App takes several photos of the original and puts them together, finds the edges corrects them & etc. Scan the photos during the daylight maybe on the verandah. You don't want reflected light from an overhead lamp etc. If you have a decent phone camera this will make a beautiful photo in seconds. It works: https://www.google.com/photos/scan/
18/09/2022: The Best Five Backpacking Blogs. Of course we were delighted to have our humble blog chosen to be amongst the best in the world in this comprehensive survey. Feedspot's Best Ultralight Backpacking Blogs. Thank you to Anuj and his staff for their endorsement.
It has been a lot of hard work and is all the more extraordinary in that it is not a commercial site and is pretty much all my own work (with a lot of help and support from Della, my wonderful wife of fifty years. Currently this post is post Number 1573 on our site – millions of words.
I admit my posting has slowed down a bit of late due equally to indifferent health, the demands of other work, the fact that I do not simply publicise every ‘new’ product which comes along whether I like it our not but chose to talk about only those which I like and which I think make a useful contribution to the goals of ‘ultralight’ – but more than anything to the fact that so many of my posts are about my own doings and inventions – and this takes time. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/09/17/best-five-backpacking-blogs/
17/09/2022: NASA finds organic matter ‘treasure’ on Mars: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/nasa-rover-finds-organic-matter-treasure-on-mars/
15/09/2022: This 31,000 year old amputee’s finding shatters so many notions about the past: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/earliest-amputee-borneo-0017238
14/09/2022: ‘Rings of Power’: We watched the first two episodes last night and found them surprisingly good (with some migivings admittedly). I really like Galadriel. The visual feast, especially the NZ scenery is a delight: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7631058/
12/09/2022: Just when I had a knee replacement they come up with a better option: https://scitechdaily.com/fixing-knee-pain-new-cartilage-substitute-is-better-than-the-real-thing/
10/09/2022: Icebreaker’s merino wool caps are the best, and they are on special right now. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/09/08/best-deer-hunters-cap-best-ultralight-cap/
09/09/2022: Farewell you great lady, Lillibet. The very last Seekers’ song just released (for Judith’s memorial) is a fitting tribute I think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwhXSsjHz3k
05/09/2022: Camp chairs have been a thing for a long time: http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/65004
03/09/2022: Edwardian
03/09/2022: If you can’t afford a boat, how about a giant pumkin: https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/crop-production/squash-record-nebraska-pumpkin-grower-paddles-846-lb-pumpkin-missouri
02/09/2022: Best Tarp Seam Stitch: If you are joining ultralight waterproof material such as Membrane Silpoly as I am just now to make a new version of my 7 x 7 Poncho Multi Tarp this stitch seems to work better than anything I have ever come across before. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/09/02/best-tarp-seam-stitch/
29/08/2022: 7 x 7 Poncho Multi Tarp:
This is an addendum to the post Secrets
of Shelter. I know some of you just didn't believe my claims about the 7' x
7' tarp so I dug out my old one for a bit of a photo shoot. This 7' x
7' tarp can be used as a ground or hammock shelter or as a poncho - and weighs
just over 120 grams. Read more: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/08/28/7-x-7-poncho-multi-tarp/
27/08/2022: Secrets of Shelter: I deem that shelter is the most important primary need which you can supply yourself. You certainly must master the secrets of shelter.
No doubt all of you have heard about Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs'. You will (perhaps) note that amongst the four 'physiological' needs he lists is 'Homeostasis', ie being able to maintain a constant temperature, something you may take for granted being a mammal - but that only means you have not been put to the test! Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/08/26/secrets-of-shelter/
27/08/2022: Why we have biosecurity –
this is how a rabid fox behaves. Della and I both had our rabies shots
before we went to
21/08/2022: Poem for today. (We have
had a grandchildren’s sleepover at our house).
The Childrens' Hour
Henry
Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour.
I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.
From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave
And Edith with golden hair.
A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.
A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!
They climb up into my turret
O'er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.
They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the
Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!
I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.
And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!
19/08/2022: Laser spacecraft propulsion is coming. “On the eventual upper end, a full scale system (50-100 GW) will propel a wafer-scale spacecraft with a meter class reflector (laser sail) to about c/4 in a few minutes of laser illumination allowing hundreds of launches per day or 100,000 missions per year. Such a system would reach the distance to Mars (1 AU) in 30 minutes, pass Voyager I in less than 3 days, pass 1,000 AU in 12 days, and reach Alpha Centauri in about 20 years.” https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2022/08/technology-to-make-interstellar-missions-possible-and-affordable.html
18/08/2022: Maybe there are no higher or lower creatures: https://www.sapiens.org/biology/evolution-march-of-progress/ 17/08/2022: Good News – hearing aids may soon get to be ‘self-fitting’ and much cheaper: https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/16/23307974/hearing-aids-over-counter-fda-apple-bose
16/08/2022: Nuclear fusion achieved
in the lab at
14/08/2022: Short season crops, ie things which produce a harvest in as little time as possible are something you should be giving serious thought to. You need to be collecting seeds from such plants (not F1 hybrids from which no useful seeds can be collected). Many varieties of all the common vegetables were long ago developed for use in colder climes or to produce multiple crops in warmer ones. ‘Diggers’ is a good source. The mandated increases in the cost of energy (and the really desperate coming shortage if urea) will mean that food will become scarce or very expensive. We are building two greenhouses which will give us an abundance of ‘summer’ crops over winter and really heat dependent crops (eg melons) over summer here in Southern Vic where it is difficult to grow such things.Our vegie garden is also completely planted out already and will be expanded – as will our orchards. I notice greenhouses and seeds are already in short supply. When the urea finally dries up and the trucks stop bringing the produce down from the North things will get tough. Time to get out into the back yard with a hoe.
You can get your plants started early with a $10 propagator next to a window. Here you see several varieties of tomato, eggplant and capiscum already up. They will be in the greenhouse in a bit over a week. Some will produce crops by the end of September!
13/08/2022:
We will definitely take side trips to Long Point (Lighthouse) Hut and
the Slaughter Burn Hut on the way to/from the
12/08/2022: It would be good if we spent more time talking about important matters as eminent physicist Sir Roger Penrose does here: https://www.whyarewehere.tv/people/roger-penrose/
09/08/2022: A bad week for female
vocalists. Olivia gone now too. I used to run into her lots at
09/08/2022: Your Vitamin D levels are crucial: https://joannenova.com.au/2022/08/handy-tip-vitamin-d-deficiency-causes-chronic-inflammation-which-means-aging-dementia-bad-stuff/
08/08/2022: The Seekers – the
beginning. I just can’t help but post yet another tribute to Judith and her
amazing band mates. I know there will not be any Parliamentary Condolence
Debate as with Archie Roach. Have we lost what it is to be quintessentially
07/08/2022: Farewell Judith Durham 1943-2022. What a voice. Like most of my generation this is how I will always remember her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpd_9l9w4RI
07/08/2022: Curiosity – what a great little rover: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/08/05/ten-years-of-curiosity-on-mars/
06/08/2022: Time for some good news: https://nypost.com/2022/08/03/cognitive-decline-can-be-avoided-with-simple-everyday-exercises-new-study-suggests/?utm_medium=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow
03/08/2022: This looks so promising: https://scitechdaily.com/at-last-an-effective-new-treatment-for-chronic-back-pain/
31/07/2022: NASA’s beautiful Jupiter imagery: https://www.cnet.com/science/space/nasa-spacecraft-images-watercolor-vortices-near-jupiters-north-pole/
30/07/2022: Stunning Footage Of Killer Whales Taking Down A Great White Shark – they are both horrible monsters. I would not want to be in the water with them: https://brobible.com/culture/article/first-ever-footage-orcas-killing-great-white-shark-stunning/
30/07/2022: “Coffee, tea or Bonox?”
Maybe you are old enough to remember the ad? In any case it is still available,
and it is still
29/07/2022: If
only you got paid for it…decades after
retiring from teaching Della and I still frequently dream about it. I doubt any
of our ex-students (some of whom are nearing their 70s) get any subliminal
benefit from this nocturnal behaviour– though I admit to feeling a desire
sometimes to still correct their spelling and expression in their Facebook posts!
25/07/2022: Who invented ice cream - 2500 years ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastani
24/07/2022: There are three maxims of
wisdom (which we should never forget) engraved on the
1. Know thyself.
2.Everything in moderation.
3. Certainty is ruin.
23/07/2022: The world’s greatest adventure – paleolithic seafaring. Imagine homo erectus and neanderthal venturing to cross hundreds of miles of open ocean – yet they did, up to 800,000 years ago: https://stoneageherbalist.substack.com/p/palaeolithic-seafaring
17/07/2022: Waterproofing Paper Maps:
I know the old John Donne map store in Little Bourke St Melbourne used to sell
a brush on (wax?) product for waterproofing paper topo (etc) maps called
perhaps 'Map Seal' or the like. I admit I have never used it, or a spray on
silicone normally designated for raincoats, boots etc (eg '
I have betimes laminated a paper map eg when traveling in Fiordland etc - but which makes them significantly heavier!) but for several years now I normally either forego a map, place it in a large snap-lock bag or use a phone app such as 'Paper Maps' and downloaded topo maps such as Vicmaps. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/07/16/waterproofing-paper-maps/
16/07/2022: Wide Shoes: If life came with a user's manual and we read it (unlikely - given how little we read other such manuals - else we would not have the acronym RTFM) we would probably give up much sooner. Now that I have slipped gracelessly into old age I am constantly coming across things which had they been in the manual would have filled me with trepidation if not despair. But enough of my woes!
Maybe it was because my left knee has been so worn out for so long and I was walking with such a pronounced and protracted limp but my right foot in particular seems to have been growing ever wider. This has been happening for a number of years. I used to wear size 8 UK Keen Targhees which were more than satisfactory when I posted about them here though I moved up from a Size 8UK to and 8.5UK because of toe problems encountered on the South Coast Track in 2014 walking out to Port Craig as I now recall. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/07/15/wide-shoes/
11/07/2022: A walk around the world: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/article/tom-turcich-is-set-to-become-the-10th-person-to-have-walked-around-the-world-his-dog-will-be-the-first/xuh5ani6p?fbclid=IwAR250IjHpnHB2WpWG11dlU_Y48KbVSctVvNs2SXNO1O7lKsHT4-H8W4rljA
09/07/2022: Soon a drug which will allow you to live to 200. Bring it on: https://thred.com/tech/drug-that-increases-human-lifespan-to-200-years-is-in-the-works/
07/07/2022: "Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em, And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum ." Jonathan Swift: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/cern-atom-smashers-discover-3-new-exotic-particles/
05/07/2022: I think people were more likely to do this sort of thing 100 years ago even though there is clearly more wilderness out there today: http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/archives/37769-Canoeing-with-the-Cree-A-cool-American-story.html
04/07/2022: Fascinating, beautiful noctilucent clouds: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/rare-clouds-that-glow-in-the-dark-are-the-most-vibrant-in-15-years/ar-AAZ5Nks
03/07/2022: Who’d have thought – the Jurassic dinosaurs loved the cold, just like the Tuatara. No doubt they were warm-blooded and as woolly as any mammoth: https://scitechdaily.com/study-of-ancient-mass-extinction-reveals-dinosaurs-took-over-earth-amid-ice-not-warmth/
01/07/2022: I wonder whether this space-plane will ever fly? I’m sure Al Gore and his associates will want one though: https://www.ladbible.com/news/latest-hypersonic-jet-take-you-anywhere-on-earth-within-one-hour-20220617
01/07/2022: These guys are just getting too big. Soon they will be muscling us out of our homes: https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/06/new-bacterium-roughly-the-size-shape-of-an-eyelash-smashes-size-record/
30/06/2022: Some very big fish still
in the
29/06/2022: Well, 1000km on a single charge – who’d have thought? https://newatlas.com/automotive/mercedes-eqxx-1202km-ev-range-record/
27/06/2022: Oz is back in the space race – a very long while since ‘Blue Streak’: https://www.skynews.com.au/business/science/nasa-launches-rockets-from-northern-territory-space-centre/video/5879fe829043008e2766d7c0b5783080
26/06/2022: Another baby mammoth – soon they will have enough of these little guys to bring them back from extinction: https://yukon.ca/en/news/mummified-baby-woolly-mammoth-found-gold-miner-klondike
26/06/2022: Perhaps getting your flu vax is a no-brainer after all: https://scitechdaily.com/flu-vaccination-linked-to-40-lower-risk-of-alzheimers-disease/
24/06/2022: Here’s a neat puzzle: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/math/a39818039/missing-square-puzzle/
21/06/2022: Maybe they just got old – we are both having difficulty opening jars now: https://babylonbee.com/news/anthropologists-believe-that-all-female-amazon-tribe-collapsed-because-nobody-could-get-any-jars-open
21/06/2022: Good news I guess, but do I want to know – surely I just forgot where I left my keys: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-06-brain-scan-alzheimer-disease.html
19/06/2022: A robot in your brain: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-06-microrobot-device-brain-hemorrhages-due.html
19/06/2022: Happy 80th Paul MCCartney: https://quillette.com/2022/06/18/mccartney-at-80/ & https://pjmedia.com/columns/chris-queen/2022/06/18/happy-80th-birthday-paul-mccartney-n1606221
16/06/2022: One lucky cat: https://wafflesatnoon.com/cat-on-hang-glider/
15/06/2022: F Break: F Break is
at the end of ‘The Cape’ Road off the
Mind you, no-one much is walking or camping along the beach itself. You can
walk all the way from
It is a very pleasant day walk from Harmers
Haven to
15/06/2022: Vitamin D it appears is good for many things: https://joannenova.com.au/2022/06/one-in-six-dementia-cases-might-be-avoided-with-vitamin-d/
14/06/2022: Ultralight Towel: Of course the very best ultralight towel is none at all - but you might not enjoy waiting (maybe in a cold wind) to dry off (though you will). It's not so bad in the summertime but can be a tad testy in the colder weather. The same strategy can be applied to clothes washing - and I have done so for many years, ie just put them on wet after I have washed them as best as I can in the river (without soap). Usually I manage to dry them some overnight eg with the clotheslines in my tents, but not always.
They will be dry in around fifteen minutes on your body if they are the (modern) quick-drying type. This is a fairly rigorous regime of a morning I admit. I always dress in my wet clothes immediately before I set out. You do get used to it. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/06/12/ultralight-towel/
14/06/2022: When an elephant doesn’t like you, you’d better watch out: https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/elephant-tramples-woman-to-death-then-attacks-her-corpse-at-funeral/news-story/015696d8a245a347f8c7f75963dfc494
13/06/2022: Remember ‘Mike’ the computer from Heinlein’s ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’ who ‘wakes up’? Well, his name is Lamda. Seems to pass the ‘Turing Test’ as a sentient. I can’t tell. Can you? I have known any number of human beings who could not give as good an account of themselves as this. Scary stuff: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/06/straight-sci-fi-movie-google-suspends-engineer-sounding-alarm-companys-dangerous-sentient-ai-lamda-robot/ & https://cajundiscordian.medium.com/is-lamda-sentient-an-interview-ea64d916d917
13/06/2022: Ingenious DIY
This ultralight wood stove has been designed to burn damp, wet or frozen sticks with minimal preparation and should burn much better than natural draft stick burning stoves when using wet sticks. The blower creates a very hot fire on one end of the sticks. While providing intense cooking heat, the stove also heats and dries the incoming fuel sticks, so that they will burn easily when they enter the burn chamber adjacent to the blower air jet.
The Large/Single- ultralight blower stove rolls up to fit in its own large pot for backpacking. It will cook one large pot at a time. However, with a bit of rock trickery, it can also heat another large pot. It has an ultralight titanium body and an anodized aluminium pot. The titanium stove can be rolled up and all parts pack up inside the aluminium cooking pot. Read More: Ingenious Ultralight Blower Stoves
12/06/2022: DIY Fire Blower: I had been looking at some of erstwhile DIY genius Tim Tinker’s posts, eg Solar Fire Blower, Blower Stoves and USB Fire Blower so I decided to order some 5 volt laptop PC cooling fans from Aliexpress. They cost me US$1.40 each! The 3/4″ (19mm) plumbing fittings were also only 50c or so from Bunnings.
As you can see I have cut one of the fittings down then glued it with Araldite to the cooling fan. I did this so I could attach a roll-up stainless steel foil tube to it (which I did). You could just make the tube by pop-riveting it together as well as pop-riveting it to the fan. This would provide some distance from the heat of the stove you were trying to hyper-oxygenate.
Read More: DIY Fire Blower
12/06/2022: Alas, due to PC ours are
no more, but this is how
09/06/2022: Paragliding could be fun - a young bird I guess: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/nature-is-awesome/
08/06/2022: Interesting visual
illusion. I’m sure the ‘blob seems to grow for you too:
07/06/2022: Oldest most famous baby passes: https://www.yahoo.com/news/ann-turner-cook-original-gerber-165519712.html
07/06/2022: 1,000 Starships to Mars. Elon thinking big. Maybe time you read Kim Stanley Robinson’s ‘Mars’ Trilogy too ($6.52 from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Mars-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B000QCS914) : https://www.theepochtimes.com/musk-plans-to-build-1000-starships-to-transport-1-million-people-to-mars-a-fleet-of-modern-noahs-arks_4513578.html
06/06/2022: Amazing behaviour from bison – I have witnessed similar ‘grieving’ with our sheep. They are not ‘just dumb animals’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twN5udogfwc&t=67s
05/06/2022: Taking ‘bending over
backwards’ to new extremes: https://twistedsifter.com/videos/a-mongolian-contortionist-broke-the-guinness-world-record-by-performing-the-marinelli-bend-for-over-four-minutes/
03/06/2022: Happy Birthday Pebbles: https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/south-carolina-dog-oldest-living-world
26/05/2022: The Thanatosdrakon “dragon of death’ with a 30 foot (10 metre) wingspan – sure glad ths guy isn’t still around here: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2022/05/24/argentina-scientists-discover-dragon-of-death-fossil/8821653431164/
26/05/2022: Can you believe Bob Dylan is 81? Oh, we are getting ancient here at Jeeralang Junction too: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/05/not-dark-yet-contd-6.php
25/05/2022: Cats: I have been
wondering about them. We haven’t had one for very many years ourselves
(though I quite like them personally) and also have a vermin-proof fence so
foxes are excluded (even though I admire foxes but do not appreciate them eg
eating all our lambs). Like everyone else we have had a rodent plague
(especially this year) which other predators (owls, hawks etc) have not kept up
with. I have been wondering whether the ‘demonisation’ of cats is at all
justified. A few years ago I discovered (evidence from the WA government’s cat
and fox baiting strategy) that targeting
foxes alone ended up causing a larger (90%!) drop in native critters (because
of the build up of cats whom foxes also predate) than actually doing nothing.
This rather surprised me. Over there they decided to target both together and
developed a bait for cats (unavailable in the East apparently). I have always
noticed that cats kill a really lot of rodents – at least ten times (I reckon)
the number of birds they also unfortunately do take (one of the reasons we
don’t have one). However, we have had this dreadful build-up of rodents and
possums (and because someone is feeding them) of kookaburras. All these things
are known dreadful predators of birds. Many small birds have almost disappeared
from our garden (despite the vermin-proof fence). Eg we have not seen a wagtail
for nearly two years. The last one/s we saw were disappearing down the maw of
the kookaburras. I am actually wondering whether the anti-cat strategy is
actually harming birds because of the build-up of these other nasty predators
which cats would help to control. Rats and possums (particularly) eat a huge
number of eggs and baby birds. PS: I notice the emerald folk are now calling
for the banning of rodent poisons – if successful, that should add a further
disastrous element to this ecological apocalypse! I really hope
25/05/2022: Another Earth – maybe somewhere to go to get away from this mess: https://www.sci-nature.com/2022/05/its-official-astronomers-have.html?fbclid=IwAR3zPXnPmL5ewNYo3fxIxfmkCZ-3Yefg6YlV8yzp9q9l-5tp0tFPYHSSwlU
24/05/2022: You have some power after all, How to hide your house on every map app: https://www.popsci.com/diy/hide-home-map-apps/
22/05/2022: Should we
send them a reply? https://notthebee.com/article/fifty-years-ago-astronomers-detected-what-is-considered-the-best-evidence-of-an-alien-radio-signal-from-space-now-one-astronomer-says-he-may-have-found-out-where-it-came-from
21/05/2022: The Voyage of Pytheas: https://www.ancientpages.com/2021/05/29/pytheass-voyage-to-the-arctic-in-325-b-c-and-account-of-thule-the-strange-land-beyond/?fbclid=IwAR0WGF4bVpsLtXjIVqSf8qGdcJ8b1qsP1qLBb7Bq-4AsUx0a-gXiXP-uYDs
20/05/2022: Soon from Apple ‘augmented reality’ ie the reality they want you to see: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/19/apple-gave-mixed-reality-headset-demo-to-board-of-directors-report.html
20/05/2022: How would we fare in an intergalactic war? I think Stephen Hawkings was right – we should keep a low profile: https://interestingengineering.com/how-to-stop-alien-invasion
18/05/2022: Is it a doorway on Mars – sure looks like one but they would have to be tiny people. Nature is full of surprises: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/nasa-rover-spots-a-doorway-on-mars/
15/05/2022: 45 years: Gone for a very long walk indeed: https://indefiniteleave.com.au/story-john-the-highway-man/?fbclid=IwAR3LspqrjpCuyOTPAmjPvhty1EAkvd2I2GtKeAQVelXR0NPON8oJ0gxQ-h8
14/05/2022: A magic weight-loss pill? Maybe not: https://doctorbuzz.substack.com/p/a-new-drug-will-help-you-shed-50?s=w
12/05/2022: A New Knee: As you may know I have been having trouble with my left knee (especially) for quite some time – around nine years in fact. I have tried just about everything to make it better as the posts I Kneed You, A Cure for Knee Pain, & Knee Cure News will make clear to you, but finally it became too much and I just had to ‘bite the bullet’ so to speak and go for a complete replacement. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/05/12/a-new-knee/
12/05/2022: May have to get one of these jet-packs as I am certainly not walking up mountains as quickly or easily as I once did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLrVxEJ7pZ8
07/05/2022: Lakes Entrance: It’s
lovely to take a day off during the warmer months and spend it driving up and
back to Lakes Entrance (Gippsland). Because of the awful fence they have now
built down the middle of the road between
A refreshing walk across the bridge at Lakes to look at the beach and study the bird-life is just about de rigeur but mostly we go up so we can buy a heap of fresh school prawns from the fishing boat there. They usually cost around $25 a kilo but they are the very best prawns you have never eaten. We always by a few kilos so we can have a few really good feeds over the next few months. Somehow we never buy enough and always run our before the next summer! Della and I managed to eat a whole kilo between us for tea! https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/05/07/lakes-entrance/
They are so much more delicious than the ‘cardboard’ prawns you are used to
eating from the supermarket or fish shop. They take my mind back to when I was
a small boy growing up around the shores of
07/05/2022: A print of this painting has been on my bedroom wall for maybe 75 years. I had never been able to determine what it was before but now (thanks to the magic of Google – and Della) I know it is by this guy George Philibert Charles Maroniez 1865-1933. I can see that I can buy a hand-painted reproduction (not this painting) for A$433.85 delivered which I think I will go with – though I would dearly love a better copy of the one I have which my mother must have cut out of a magazine when she was decorating my bedroom before I was born. https://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Georges-Philibert-Charles-Maroniez/Sunset.html He did many similar paintings some of which can be bought for $5-10K. I may also consider that. It is unlikely that they will reduce in value after all.
05/05/2022: So you want to skydive from space. Alan Eustace jumped from 40 km up in 2014 – and lived: https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/solar-system/a39877685/how-to-skydive-from-space/
04/05/2022: DIY Tents: In this post I thought I would pull together my ‘adventures’ with making my own tents/shelters over the years. My experience has evolved from utilising simple tarps/ponchos as shelters to creating a variety of tent ‘prototypes’ in Tyvek often followed by a lighter silnylon model (which I then take up the bush to try out).
I have learned a lot in the DIY process which I highly recommend to you. It will save you lots of money and (finally) result in a better shelter than you would otherwise own from a camping store. It is also very likely to be lighter and more functional, as well as being easier to put up and harder to fall down! Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/05/03/diy-tents/
03/05/2022: A Cool Dry Back: The Vaucluse Cool Dry Frame. This looks like such a good idea and may well work. It is a open hexagonal frame intended to sit your pack of from your back an inch or so to allow air flow and (hopefully) prevent that nemesis of all backpackers, a wet back. You will have to pay for a dry back. It is US$97.95 plus shipping (May 2022).
Rather more than the $3 model I tried out here A DIY Dry Back Hiking Pack (which also worked by the way, but it was a bit awkward). I bought some approx 3 mm carbon fibre tubes intending to make a lighter, slightly more functional model but it has not happened yet. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/05/01/a-cool-dry-back/
02/05/2022: Wow! How promising is this: https://www.studyfinds.org/plant-virus-may-cure-cancer/
30/04/2022: Clever - Printed Circuit Bird Synthesizers: https://laughingsquid.com/printed-circuit-bird-synthesizers/
29/04/2022: What a Bogler: I just bought a new trowel which I am very happy with, a Bogler Ultralight Trowel. Mine weighs 13.45 grams on my scales. It is made from (hardened) aircraft-grade aluminium. It is intelligently designed so it does not wear a hole in your hand which is a decided improvement on most such things so that if you ever need to use it to dig for water in a dry river bend or behind the dunes or dig up tree roots for water & etc you may actually not die of thirst (or bleed to death!) before you succeed. Also good for digging for fish bait (worms, beetle larvae, etc.) Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/04/28/what-a-bogler/
29/04/2022: Back to
28/04/2022: I don’t think I will be swapping any of my Landies (with 1000km range plus jerry cans) for 350 km: https://spectrum.ieee.org/electric-land-rover
27/04/2022: I would probably prefer a .410 shotgun-cane myself but this might do in a pinch: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BYDC5ZL/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07BYDC5ZL&linkCode=as2&tag=helentag-20&linkId=b539432b77c44daace90749f71b7208d
26/04/2022: Autumn in Jeeralang: (Della) No "season of mists" today, but plenty of the "mellow fruitfulness" (a nod to John Keats here, for those of you who have forgotten your high school poetry lessons). Persimmons, figs and macadamia nuts. Thanks to Steve for snatching them from the jaws of sundry possums, parrots, blackbirds, currawongs etc etc etc....Hopefully this batch of fruit will finish ripening off the trees, safe from the jaws of the many other species that regard this garden as their own special pantry. We are still enjoying the autumn ‘fruits’ of the vegetable garden: fresh corn every night, zucchinis, squash, cucumbers, pumkins etc. Life is good: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/04/26/autumn-in-jeeralang/
26/04/2022: After twenty years and
many billions on ‘immortality research’ we are still dying: https://bigthink.com/health/immortality-race-to-live-forever/
18/04/2022: Obviously not farm kids: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2022/04/15/children-farm-animal-same-as-pets/8071650031160/
17/04/2022: New tricks in electronics: https://scitechdaily.com/the-future-of-electronics-new-fermi-arcs-discovered/
16/04/2022: Watch out – carnivorous horses: https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/carnivorous-horses-0016638
15/04/2022: Taking a balloon ride to the edge of space. Same view – much more affordable: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2022/04/12/space-perspective-unveils-spaceship-neptune/4201649795426/
11/04/2022: E-ink displays for your phone are just around the corner promising huge improvements in battery life: https://newatlas.com/electronics/e-ink-kaleido-3-epaper/
11/04/2022: Maybe not so bad after all - Scientists Finally Have Clues About What We See When We Die: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a39454993/dying-brain-waves/
10/04/2022: Mysteries of aluminium foil: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/why-aluminum-foil-has-a-shiny-and-a-dull-side/ar-AAKizNQ?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=3a604cdb7bb2495fb21b9344e709bb69
10/04/2022: Private space travel (at US$55 million a ticket). I guess I won’t be going soon: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2022/04/08/spacex-axiom-private-astronaut-international-space-station/5351649362926/
09/04/2022: This could be the biggest (and smallest) discovery of the C21st: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60993523
06/04/2022: Ultralight Windscreen or Chimney Closure: This is so far a 'proof of concept but it will soon be a new model of my diy ultralight roll-up titanium stove/windscreen and may be incorporated into sections of chimney for my ultralight tent stove as it will be so much easier to roll up - and there is nothing to get lost. We will see.
I will make the tags longer than this. I stupidly cut it off. I also needed to allow another 1/2" of overlap. You can cut the slot with the super-scissors/snip they sell everywhere after you have drilled two 1/8" holes the correct distance apart. I needed to be a bit more careful about this.
Nonetheless I am very pleased with the idea. it is simple yet strong. It would work fine in .05mm foil which is all you would need for a windscreen alone and would make a pot screen less than 10 grams weight.
I think for my 4" high hobo stove three of these tag and slot joiners will make a very solid connection. I can add additional slots so that the stove can fit outside the pot or inside the pot.
A little experimentation has shown me that the .1mm foil is more than strong enough to support the weight of a 2 litre pot full of water. I use an 1100 ml pot. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/04/05/ultralight-windscreen-or-chimney-closure/
01/04/2022: Ultralight Survival Made Easy: I decided here to update the post The Complete Survival Guide (which you should still read) as it had become a little out-of-date in the three years since I wrote it and I had since written many other useful pieces of advice which I could incorporate in a new post, which this is.
I might have also called it, ‘I tell you we’ll astonish the new chums to see how we travel the land’ after the refrain from the old bush song The Springtime it Brings on the Shearing. (I also mentioned this song in the post Johnny Cakes – which you should try).
And it is a good point because these itinerant C19th bush workers with their swags (or blueys) were wonderful experts at ultralight journeying over the vast distances of the Australian outback which would put to shame any of our current generation. Suppose you wanted to make your own.
I remember reading ‘The Cattle King’ by Ion Idriess when I was a youngster about our great Aussie icon Sidney Kidman – and you should too. You can buy it from Amazon from $8.99. It is just quite wonderful. I believe Nicole is a remote descendant. I think Gina now owns much of the remaining Kidman ’empire’ – another wonderful ‘self-made Aussie hero, so it remains in Australian hands.
Even as an old man (like me) he would regularly leave Adelaide with just his saddle horse, pack horse and his cattle dog and within a few short weeks have crossed the entire continent through the trackless (often waterless) wilderness to the Gulf of Carpentaria – all by himself, and did so many, many times. Old hands still tell of how he would just appear in the darkness sitting by their campfire as they yarned over the billy. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/03/29/ultralight-survival-made-easy/
31/03/2022: Hunting Tales: You will find many, many posts in this blog which mention hunting (particularly sambar deer hunting which has been a passion of mine for much of my adult life) but there are many more which are relevant to the art and skill of hunting.
I have been a hunter since I could walk over 70 years ago now as were several generations of my family before me. Hunting is a great good. It has been valued as such by most of the people who have ever lived for over a million years now. You can ‘deconstruct ‘ values all you like – it would be mighty strange indeed if they were wrong!
Some other posts which you might explore which are relevant to hunting are my many posts about woodslore and survival, my posts about DIY gear, some of my canoeing posts…often other posts contain anecdotes about hunting or relevant advice.
These posts will not be your ‘conventional’ hunting yarns with a dead critter at the end. While that might be the ‘end’ of hunting. It is only a small part of this great sport. They will very often be something quit different from what you are used to, but I hope you enjoy them. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/03/28/hunting-tales/
31/03/2022: Energy from nothing – what we have long thought impossible has apparently been done NB: his may one day work for your phone but it is unlikely to ever be grid scale. However, it does reveal that nature still has many surprises in wait for us: https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/scientists-build-circuit-that-generates-clean-limitless-power-from-graphene
30/03/2022: DIY $4 & 20 Gram Roll-Up Titanium Stove: I have just completed making this titanium version of my roll-up hobo stove (as threatened here) and the carbon fibre cosy to go with it. I started with a 500 mm by 100 mm piece of titanium sourced from Aliexpress for less than US4. As stated in my earlier post You can buy the titanium foil to make the 20 gram one from Aliexpress for A$3.87 delivered. I have marked off the circle/hexagon for the fire door here. Note the ‘V’ at the bottom and top so it will roll up and fit in the billy. The circle is 2 1/2″ (62mm) in diameter. The door is 1/2″ from the bottom. You can build it with just a pair of craft scissors, a drill and a pop riveter. I use stainless steel rivets so they will not melt. Here it is complete. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/03/28/diy-4-20-gram-roll-up-titanium-stove/
29/03/2022: Other Uses for a Garbage Bag: Many of you no doubt use a trash bag as a liner for your pack – which is a great use for them. As a spare ultralight raincoat is another. Still another is re-purposing one as a pad inflator (bag). I almost never carry the inflator bag (because of the weight which came with my sleeping bag, preferring to dry it out properly when I get home and taking the chance that mould etc will shorten its life – but I am incurable.
You may prefer to make yourself a less than one ounce bag inflator with a trash bag and a bottle cap. You can use an ordinary drink bottle cap or if you hunt around you will find an even lighter alternative. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/03/27/other-uses-for-a-garbage-bag/
29/03/2022: Mighty Oaks: A lot of
PC here (as compared with a single C19th French shepherd who famously
reforested tens of thousands of acres with oaks in
28/03/2022: Ultralight Ratchet Tie Down: Here’s a handy little gadget I picked up from Bunnings yesterday for A$14 per pair (Mar 2022)
Each 6′ (1.8 metre) tie down weighs 44 grams. Each metal hook seems to weigh about 10 grams whilst the plastic ratchet itself weighs only 14 grams so that if you wanted to dispense with the hooks for weight you could. You could also substitute a different length/weight of 3 mm cord if you wanted a device which was longer/shorter. I can envisage numerous uses for such a device including a secure means of attaching your pack to your pack raft or hauling your shower into the air from a branch.
They also come in 2.4 metre lengths. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/03/27/ultralight-ratchet-tie-down/
27/03/2022: Responsible Sambar Deer Hunting: As I recover from my total knee replacement operation (five weeks now -and going well so far, thank you), every morning my attention is drawn to this sight outside my kitchen window. I know as a responsible farmer I should not allow this guy even to exist, but no-one is perfect - and it is so cute and will soon succumb to some awful disease anyway. (The blackberry also craves attention).
NB If you took a second or two to see the rabbit (I would have seen it instantly) it is because you are not ‘looking through’ but ‘looking at’. This is the most important hunting skill, and the first you must master.
He first cleans himself diligently then lies in the sun on his tummy like that for over an hour every morning on a little platform he has constructed under a shrub on the slope behind the house. This is a well-established habit. All creatures fall into a pattern of such habits - even human beings. A moment's refection of your daily routines will cause you to admit that you are no different in this than your wild brethren. The successful hunter can utilise careful observation and such recurring habits to ensure success in harvesting nature's annual bounty for the table.
And that is what responsible hunting is - it is not pest management. Its goal is not the eradication of some undesirable feral species but the careful nurture and management of a noble creature and desirable food source. Just as a farmer (such as me) manages his flocks to ensure that they increase and multiply each year (and are healthy and content) to the maximum extent of the available food source so that in autumn when that food supply begins to decline they will be sent off to market for the benefit of other people's tables rather than slowly starve as the lean times of winter hit. This is nature's cycle.
Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/03/27/responsible-sambar-deer-hunting/
27/03/2022: Golden Earrings (1947) –
what a ripper of a film. Ray Milland’s segue of facial expressions on
seeing the earrings in the first minutes of the film is one of the greatest
acting feats of the cinema: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Earrings
PS It is avaialble on
27/03/2022: A New Birth Control Pill for Men. This could be interesting – but will women accept that you have taken it? https://scitechdaily.com/new-male-birth-control-pill-effectively-prevents-pregnancy-without-side-effects/
26/03/2022: Visual Hiking Oxymoron - please don't make these bizarre ankle
breaking wildfire causing stone
24/03/2022: Now two advantages of Antabuse: you don’t get blind or blind drunk: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-antabuse-revive-vision-people-disorders.html
24/03/2022: A very interesting new drug – good news for the elderly: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-oral-drug-death-covid-mice.html
19/03/2022: I usually hate music (and particularly as sound effect or score/background in films which ruin the dialogue for me) but this was really great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGzK2SwG5io&t=120s
19/03/2022: So True: In his science fiction novel Nemesis, Isaac Asimov describes a female character as possessing the "unloveable virtues": Serious, Practical, Responsible, Dutiful. My wife is also beautiful.
18/03/2022: Mark Twain, “I was
educated once and it took me years to get over it” So true.
17/03/2022: SSDs: Have you bought one of these yet? 40 Grams. Still working out how to get stuff in/out of it to my Android phone – but you can https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/sandisk-1tb-e30-portable-ssd-black-sde30ss1tb I teamed mine with one of these: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/11/23/ultralight-charging-cable/
Mind you 1 Tb Micro sd cards are now $214: https://www.amazon.com.au/SanDisk-Ultra-microSDXC-Memory-Adapter/dp/B08HCPTMJG/ref=asc_df_B08HCPTMJG?tag=bingshopdesk-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80676739598376&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584276306375179&psc=1
17/03/2022: Many
Thanks. A friend of mine (Brett) has solved a mystery for me (from 28/02):
“This video explains there’s a
hidden device in its base: https://youtu.be/Y5dylh2aOiw”
16/03/2022: DIY Ultralight Shoulder Pouches: I sewed up a couple of shoulder strap pouches (for Best $20 Backpack) from some 2 oz/yd2 ripstop nylon. I guess these are about 3/4 of a litre each, maybe a litre. They can contain an interesting assortment of items you might want to access quickly as you walk along. Spare ammunition, chewing gum etc.
I attached them with an ingenious method I ‘stole’ from Joe Valesko (Zpacks) though I have no idea whether he still uses them. They came on my first old pack from him – a long since discontinued model, worse luck. Simpler is frequently better – and certainly cheaper. Anyway it is a simple ‘button and loop’ design with a length of cord which works to stop them slipping down. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/03/15/diy-ultralight-shoulder-pouches/
15/03/2022: Best $20 Backpack: Modifying Amazon’s G4 Free. Inflation has bitten a little since I wrote the previous post (below) such that now this excellent backpack costs $US 22.99 at Amazon instead of the US$19.99 I paid back in March 2018. That’s inflation at 3.75% per year by the way. Still a lot cheaper than a plus $300 backpack which will do nothing more – or even do it half so well.
Since then I carried mine to (beyond) Dingboche on the Everest Base Camp trail – and many other places besides – though our travels have been somewhat curtailed recently like everyone else’s by covid, or at least its restrictions.
You can see in this post EBC Gear List me carrying mine just outside Pangboche over 5 km up in the sky. The backpack carried everything we needed for a ten day walking trip (including rain gear, spare clothes, survival, satellite communication (2) cooking, sleeping and shelter equipment (for -20C temperatures). It weighed a little over 6 kg. Della’s was nearer 5kg. Almost no food and minimal water. You can buy it on the way And was outstandingly comfortable.
I hardly noticed I was carrying it (at 70+ years old) though my worn out knee was ‘killing me’ back then – which is why I had it replaced last month. It had been causing me significant pain for nearly a decade now. This used to be called ‘manning up’ and was considered a virtue. See I Kneed You
Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/03/14/best-20-backpack/
14/03/2022: Zpacks Solo Plex Tent: This morning I received an ad for this tent on Facebook (as you do). Zpack Plex Solo Tent. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, they say. I’m sure this is not the case here but this tent is so, so , like my original Deer Hunter’s Tent which evolved from my Tyvek Solo Fire Shelter that the similarities are eerie – and at the time (last century?) nothing like this existed.
Of course this is most likely because the laws of physics/geometry are immutable so that (eventually) you find there really is only one way to do any thing. I did however (originally) post the design, measurements and instructions (on my old website) then deleted them as I realized: 1. I might want to commercialise them in future and 2. Someone else might do so first.However, no doubt they can be found on the Wayback Machine.
I notice Six Moon Designs have a similarly designed tent so it is probably just ‘parallel evolution’. They are welcome to my design now anyway, as Della long since decided ‘we’ would not be launching any new business ventures, but just enjoy life instead – and she’s the boss, as in most homes I’m sure.
I am not so keen on Dyneema as Joe is (though I understand he has made it his trademark material). It is (slightly) lighter (at from .48 oz) than the best silnylon materials (Ripsopbytheroll’s .77oz/yd2) but I am not convinced that the very slight weight advantages are worth the risk of using such very delicate materials. That being said, it is enormously easier to repair with sticky tape! It is tricky to cut and sew,but Joe has been doing it so long he has no doubt worked out all the ‘wrinkles’ in doing it.
A very slight hole in the plastic film covering is very hard to find and spot though. Non-woven dyneema material does also tend to ‘shred’ away with use , something I am not very fond of. I have had this happen with a number of packs which if they had been made from a slightly heavier woven fabric would have lasted several times as long. You are paying very big money for this special material (something like $25 a yard – and it is narrower) as compared with $5-7 a yard for (‘ordinary’) silnylon.
Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/03/13/zpack-plex-solo-tent/
13/03/2022: This is as true today as it was in 1854: "Most men are needlessly poor all of their
lives because they think they must have such a house as their neighbors have."
Henry David Thoreau, 'Walden’ - one of my favourite books. You can still build
a small modest house yourself for perhaps $20K. Also so far as I know the
‘minimum’ house is still only a bit over 2 squares ie 25 square metres which
should not cost more than about $5K. I have been working on designs for
wilderness accommodation (for four) which are much smaller than this (around 6
square metres) and well under $500. I will be posting my designs soon. Of
course you have to find a block of land too – blocks still exist out there for
under $40K, some even under $30K. Some of these are quite large and have power
and water. The one at McMahons Creek looks nice: https://www.realestate.com.au/buy/property-land-between-0-50000-in-vic/list-1
NB There are still probably ways to get your hands on some land for less than
this – as Thoreau did after all. We (now) have a very big house (it grew over
the years to over 200 square metres plus verandahs) but I doubt it cost us much
more than $40K. I would think I could still build it today for under $100K.
12/03/2022: If you
are a patriotic Australian who doesn’t want to part with too much of your
hard-earned to outfit yourself, try these folks. I am looking very smart at
present and for about 2/3rds of the cost of local stores. This is all good gear
too which employs Aussies and will last: https://everythingaustralian.com.au/
11/03/2022: Just wow – if only they had found it twenty years ago when maybe 1-2 of the survivors was still alive: https://endurance22.org/endurance-is-found
10/03/2022: That time
of year again – ‘The Fight Between Carnival and Lent’, Pieter Bruegels: https://giorgiomagnanensi.com/wp-content/uploads/pieter-bruegel_1559-1559_pieter-bruegel-the-elder-the-fight-between-carnival-and-lent.jpg
09/03/2022: Strapless
Backpack: I have been thinking along these lines too (just a thought at
present) but my ‘solution’ was more a U-shape (like carrying a bag of grain on your
shoulders). The hobo’s swag is another example I suppose. This one looks a bit
complicated. However, the point is good – one should try to carry the load
perched on ones callipygous bottom - as the Bushmen (or women) do. Packs need
to be shaped more to fit in to the curve of the spine (the lordosis – two new
words for you, perhaps) more, as Mountain Laurel Designs packs are shaped to. I
will be making myself a new pack sometime in the future which incorporates this
idea, and also the enormous improvement of the horse collar over the yoke
(which I suspect most backpacks have not realized yet): https://www.noshoulderstraps.com/
08/03/2022: This is
an otter fisherman. Because they exist it lends credence to the ‘legend’ of
wild otters in NZ, a creature the Maori also had a name for (though no-one has
yet captured a photograph of one). They have (allegedly) been seen even
recently near Tautapere for example. However that may turn out, I feel that
there is no doubt Chinese sailors explored the East Coast of
Here is a possible example: https://www.facebook.com/bbcearth/videos/536017841085513
05/03/2022: Time for a good news story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=278&v=PVPyLoYyUVk&feature=emb_title
04/03/2022: A Balloon Eclipse: https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2022/03/bill-thompsons-celestial-numbers-come-up.html
28/02/2022: I have to own one of these: https://www.atiki.shop/products/kinetic-art?st=&fbclid=IwAR1cVv-uuhn706xHsCORB9T1dy70xuLvXEJCSsdpiKM7rEBhTRt2VOlgmbk
PS: The more I look at and think about this object the more I feel that It can't possibly exist. Surely it defies the laws of physics. Once I could have written out the equations ot show this. By the same token someone once said the same thing about whether bumble bees could fly yet I have seen them doing so. Will I have to purchase one to see whether it is a fake - or a new source of energy? You have to click on the link and open it then scroll down to see the video.
18/02/2022:
18/02/2022: Knee Update #2: I have walked to the toilet and shower (using a walker) and am now all clean and sitting in a chair. All going well so far - and thank you all very much for the kind thoughts and well-wishing. Already planning future hikes - Vic mountains (hopefully by May), Mt Bartle Frere (alternate route) late June, EBC and surrounds late Oct and back to the Dusky (Fiordland, NZ) in Feb/March. An example of where we would like to be: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/11/17/everest-days-1-2-lukla-to-namche-bazar/?fbclid=IwAR1R3V36ZjmJYb0cU-Zq0qKl8MfaiP8uVNkhhuGpmb4ZRtmogowldqcOj1o
17/02/2022: Knee update: Just to let you know that 5 hours after going down to surgery I am siting up in bed and still have ten toes. Time will tell how well all this went. Many thanks for all your good wishes. I will keep you posted,
17/02/2022: If I am a bit quiet for a few days it is because I am in hospital having a knee replacement. Hopefully this gives me a whole new lease on life!
16/02/2022: Why SpaceX is going to
dominate air freight: https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2022/02/spacex-reusable-rocket-costs-versus-airplanes.html
14/02/2022: Who needs Netflix, etc? The Internet Archive has thousands of fine movies and TV shows for streaming (without ads) for free: https://archive.org/details/feature_films
14/02/2022: Useful Instructable: How to open a locked door without a key: https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/a25318691/how-open-locked-door/
13/02/2022: Nature is awesome: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/massive-swarm-of-birds-plummet-to-the-earth-dead-very-bizarre-video/
10/02/2022: Wild surfing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZoPR4pCwm0&t=66s
09/02/2022: Tali Karng - a Gippsland Gem: A friend of mine (Leanne) walked there last weekend reminding me of our trip there twelve years' ago, not long after the 2007 fire. The bush has changed a fair bit since then. She kindly shared her photos with me, so I have been able to construct this photo essay about the trip for your edification.
Leanne started her trip (as many do) at the McFarlane Saddle on the
Many people just walk up from the
It is only a thirty or so years ago that we used to drive in along what were then 4WD (logging) tracks deer hunting. I have even been in there in my old (1981) Subaru Leone circa 1984 with my foxhounds. It is (alas) just a pile of rust in the paddock today (and the beloved hounds but a memory) but on that day I towed a Toyota Land Cruiser through a couple of difficult sections with it. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/02/08/tali-karng-a-gippsland-gem/
08/02/2022: Men have been busy in the Orkneys for a long while: https://scitechdaily.com/ancient-dna-rewrites-the-history-of-prehistoric-orkney-britains-ancient-capital/
08/02/2022: Seems like the Shoshone
have busy been in
06/02/2022: Gobelki Tepe continues to rewrite history: https://allthatsinteresting.com/gobekli-tepe
04/02/2022: And I thought lizards laid eggs! https://www.facebook.com/abccanberra/videos/691947541798182
04/02/2022:
03/02/2022: “Koalas
don’t need saving. Indeed, they are in much higher numbers across a much wider
area today than when Europeans arrived in
03/02/2022: This would be so nice – bring it on: https://newatlas.com/medical/osteoarthritis-pain-treatment-molecular-pathway/
02/02/2022: A dog who can teach us a lot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhvwYZuBttQ
01/02/2022: Maybe you thought it was whalers who nearly drove the blue whale to extinction: https://gizmodo.com/horrific-observations-confirm-that-orcas-feed-on-blue-w-1848442007
31/01/2022: A Billion Years of Time is Just Missing – did they look under the sofa cushions: https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxdzzb/a-billion-years-of-time-are-mysteriously-missing-scientists-think-they-know-why
30/01/2022: Ice
Travel: Sometimes in winter on trails like the EBC
etc there are dangerous patches of ice which need to be traversed. Obviously if
you were expecting this as a constant situation you would be using more serious
crampons. Vargo have just updated their ultralight
pocket cleats (62 grams each) which can be quickly attached to your shoes
for extra traction in such situations. They are now simpler, more elegant and
look more reliable than their
earlier product and with a weight saving of about 5 grams.
30/01/2022: Faraday
Bag – What a world that we should need such things.
26/01/2022: Terraforming
the
20/01/2022: This is what really happened when a group of schoolboys was marooned on an island for 15 months. Why do we focus on Golding’s quite false ‘Lord of the Flies’ narrative instead: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months
19/01/2022: Flying
Deer? Why you need really tall fences for deer: https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/michael-jordan-has-nothing-on-this-flying-deer/ Mind you I suspect I could move much faster
if a big cat was after me too!
19/01/2022: Hunting
has been around a long, long time yet some ‘New Age’ folk want to tell me they
have discovered it isn’t a good. They are quite simply wrong. Ethics don’t
change: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/ancient-hunters-0016305
19/01/2022:
18/01/2022: The Joy of Small Streams:
This is the
A couple of earlier posts such as Travels in a Donkey Trap & The Commute may illustrate this better.
You will have read that Della has a new Alpacka Scout which we are keen to try out, but it is difficult to do much with this knee (agonising) as it presently is. Less than a month to go and I will have a new one, and hopefully a new lease of life to go with it – but there will be quite a few weeks of recuperation and restoration I’m sure before I travel far and wide.
The
This trip will take about three hours when the river is clear and will be just beautiful at river heights on the Boolarra Gauge of between .5 and .6 metres. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/01/17/the-joy-of-small-streams/
18/01/2022: So,
panspermia is a thing – maybe all life on earth is alien in origin? The
17/01/2022: A Good Scout: This is the Alpacka Scout which I bought for my wife Della (or was it for myself?) for a Xmas present – here modeled by my daughter and grandson in the farm dam.
Pack Raft Australia are
the Australian agents. Their prices are as low as you could possible get it
from the
My daughter (and my wife are around 5′ and 40 kg sort of people. This raft (at 1.5 kg) is ideal for them. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/01/17/a-good-scout/
16/01/2022: Are 3D
printed rockets the future of space exploration: https://www.space.com/relativity-space-company-terran-1-launch
15/01/2022: Will space anaemia strand us on earth forever or will a solution be found for future star trekkers: https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/01/we-dont-know-why-but-being-in-space-causes-us-to-destroy-our-blood/
14/01/2022: Buster
Keaton was the funniest man ever, as you can see in this clip from his 100
year old movie ‘Cops’ (1920): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz1_zJngNak&t=366s
You can download the complete film for free from archive.org
13/01/2022: Interesting. The lost habit of two sleeps – so many everyday things scarcely make it into history. If you have ‘problems’ sleeping, you should read this: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220107-the-lost-medieval-habit-of-biphasic-sleep
12/01/2022: A surfing swimming cat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vBUxmWeoc0
11/01/2022: “I see thy glory like a shooting star.” Richard 2. There really are ‘shooting stars’: https://www.popsci.com/space/real-shooting-stars-look-a-lot-different-than-youd-expect/
11/01/2022: Does this mean we have to say, ‘Goodbye’
to the Bussard Ramjet: https://scitechdaily.com/science-fiction-revisited-ramjet-propulsion-for-interstellar-space-travel/
10/01/2022: A good news story about a baby
hummingbird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9MxTo1W2PY&t=224s
10/01/2022: Slow-Mo Supernova: https://www.sciencealert.com/for-the-first-time-we-ve-seen-a-red-giant-star-transition-into-a-supernova
10/01/2022: James Webb out at L2 which we might colonise one day bit until then e
will never see this amazing peiec of technology again but (hopefully)it shows
us a universe we could otherwise only have dreamed of: https://www.sciencealert.com/enjoy-ariane-5-s-last-view-of-webb-as-it-sails-off-into-deep-space
07/01/2022: China
06/01/2022: We must ‘follow the science’: scientists
teach fish to drive: https://wonderfulengineering.com/this-robotic-aquarium-allows-fish-to-drive-around-on-roads/
05/01/2022: Terraforming Mars – I used to think it was only Sci-Fi but maybe someday it will happen (especially if Musk has anything to do with it): https://dnyuz.com/2022/01/02/nasas-retiring-top-scientist-says-we-can-terraform-mars-and-maybe-venus-too/
05/01/2022: Another
Elon Musk first: https://nypost.com/2022/01/03/why-cats-are-cozying-up-to-elon-musks-starlink-satellites/
03/01/2022: Canoeing
into the New Year: There was 2.05 metres of lovely water on the Waterford
gauge and 1.60 on the Crooked River gauge and several above 30C degree days to
look forward to so we filled the 15 litre Esky keg with ice (and some
celebratory cans of champagne for Della) tossed all our gear into two cars and
headed off (of course with the two dogs) to Eaglevale intending to canoe down
to Kingwill Bridge over a (very) leisurely three days. This is an excellent
height but we enjoyed the trip before with only 1.75 on the
It is (roughly 2.5 hours down to Bullock Flat then a further 2.5
hours down to (unsignposted) Neates Track thence a further 3 hours down to the
This trip could be achieved in one (hectic) day if you were of such a mind or you could take your time, enjoy lots of refreshing swims, picnics under shady trees and etc and just take your time. ‘There is nothing quite like messing about in boats’ as Ratty (or Mole) opined in ‘Wind in the Willows’. Read More: https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2022/01/02/canoeing-into-the-new-year/
03/01/2022: Three
inches of rain coming but the BOM is still calling it ‘Showers’!
03/01/2022: The
Perfect Husband? Well, probably not but I am a hero today having fixed
Della’s (long-suffering) stove problem. Several years’ ago I installed a new
Westinghouse GSP 627S gas stove for her. After a short while the door started
to give problems and would not close properly. Repeated efforts to gain
warranty failed as did various jack-leg work arounds so that we mainly reverted
to propping the door ‘closed’ with a short length of broom handle or similar.
Lately I decided to have another go and discovered this wonderful lady’s
‘review’ of her own experiences. https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/westinghouse-gsp627s
This led me to the people who sell the improved door support bracket (https://allfixelectrical.com.au/products/westinghouse-4u600-series-improved-oven-door-hinge-support-bracket-kit-part-0133002227k?_pos=2&_sid=e0b4fc722&_ss=r
– a whole $21!) It really took no more than five minutes to install them and
now (after many years) the door closes perfectly – much more perfectly than it
did from new.
02/01/2022: Happy New Year: We have been away from people canoeing – more about that in a later post. Occasionally coming upon the (literally) hordes of benighted campers confined to ‘camping grounds’ along the river whilst we enjoyed mile after mile of solitary bliss led us to reflect that (at now over 70 – me) we have enjoyed the best of all lives, and we are still doing so. Those who come after have very much less to look forward to largely because of the proliferation of government and other big controlling entities. Still there is even more wilderness to enjoy than there ever was. The world has added an area of a couple of Australias of forest in just the last quarter century or so for example, and as people crowd more and more into urban areas and access roads and tracks are closed the bush is more and more thinly populated. It is really no use buying one of the Thai 4WD dual cabs. The only way to access the bush is by canoe or shanks’ pony. Get out there and enjoy before it is banned too.
02/01/2022: Great
lines from old films. The 1930s was a golden era. May West stands out even
there. Here is one from ‘Dinner at 8’. I doubt cinematographers would be
allowed to go even this far today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2tCDHgK9J4&t=28s