I was thinking about this on a run the other night. I'd decided to take a slight detour to take in, possibly 400m of forest trail. Decent trails like this are an absolute rarity around Caernarfon, where you've either got roads/tarmac cycletracks or the usual farmland ROWs that are either impassible, muddy or require a suicidal dash along a narrow main road with no path to get to. So I arrive, and to my horror the beautiful, mushy surface has been covered in slate waste! Are people that afraid of walking on a bit of leaf litter and get their boots dirty? Are these the same people who've sent the 20000 signature petition to ask Nintendo to produce the Wii Fit: Snowdon Edition? I've no woodland trail anymore!

The same has happened to a great little stretch of path between Caernarfon and Waunfawr, being put over to a harder surface, not to mention the entire cycle track changing from a hard packed gravel to continuous, knee-jarring tarmac. Thankfully, another ancient trackway remains gloriously muddy and rough, and remains as the nearest stretch of decent trail I can reach in a direct run from town.

This is what it looked like in 2006. This track has now been covered over and is much wider, resulting in less hedgerow plants and the loss of the ancient surface. In the name of progress.

Look the other way, and this has gone as well...

Now this was timely, as the National Park Authority is going to tarmac the Miner's Track to Llyn Llydaw. I'm all for access, but taking this to it's natural conclusion, are we going to end up going all American with ROADS up to the summits? I don't expect the park to actually allow cars up there, but I see the day where the Llanberis path is tarmac all the way, with a couple of wide zig-zags below Clogwyn as being a natural conclusion to this. After all, there's railway, why not go the whole hog? Lets even put a cafe half way as well as on the top while we're at it!

Enabling more people to get on the hill would ruin the peace and quiet one experiences on reaching the summit...

This project as a discrete entity, if they manage to solve that eternal question of life, the universe and a tarmac that doesn't look like tarmac, doesn't really bother me. In fact, I think it's a pretty decent idea as it's damn near a motorway anyway so improving the surface slightly so a few more people can get there doesn't bother me. One argument is that it's going to increase the number of people getting into trouble on the mountain. Now I can't see the numbers involved being that great and that even if you assume that statistically the same proportion get into trouble as for those who can already access the area, i'd imagine it's going to come to a statistically insignificant amount. I'd imagine the greatest hazard is returning downhill. If you want a footpath of sorts, you do the PYG - jaywalking's kept strictly to the Miners'. What needs to be clear is what the park, which sets draconian planning regulations for most, will do and explicitly WON'T DO to our mountains.

Ever wondered what happened to all those people who would complain that we all got pissed on the 31st December 1999 because it wasn't the Millennium for another year? Well they're at it again, this time measuring mountains...

The idea is that a bunch of guys (and maybe gals) want to re-survey Tryfan so as to possibly demote it from the list of 14/15 peaks (depending on your definition). This doesn't bother me as such, but the belief that because it's slightly lower in altitude means it'll no longer be as significant, does. It is even suggested that it'll no longer form part of the 14/15 Peak challenge.

Even the Snowdonia Society's Director seems to believe that this means people may then choose to do a shortened version of the 14/15 Peaks. Is it just me who thinks that's just utter nonsense? The 14/15 Peaks is just that - a trip over a specific 14/15 summits - originally deemed to be over a nominal 3000ft in height. Even if one of those is found to be below a nominal value of an obsolete unit of measure, I can't imagine the tradition of Yr Wyddfa to Foel Fras (or in reverse) changing after 90 years.

Read more about it here.

I've noticed recently that a decent tech-t for walking will set you back a good twenty to thirty quid. All fine and dandy until you realise that our cousins in the running fraternity can get hold of similar tops for much less. Essentially, you need a wicking shirt - there's no rocket science or voodoo ceremonies - it's simple.

I've recently got some short sleeve New Balance tees for about a tenner that are a fine fit and have been on a few hill trips so far and performed fine. Funnily enough - my baselayer of choice is currently a winter weight Canterbury rugby compression top. It wicks, it keeps me warm and is a really good fit (unlike my Paramo cambia that is huge, even for an XL). It was only £15 on discount as well. Try and find a decent walking top on discount and you might get lucky. Running tops and other suitable sport tops always seem to be cheaper. I might have been luck over the last few weeks, and I'm also keen to keep as much overlap as possible between my walking and running gear, but it's got to be worth a punt.

How far do we want to go with cutting our pack weights? I'm sure that the companies and the media surrounding them would wish this was at each new technological advance. I've thought about this more and more, with my tent now looking particularly obese compared to similar offerings. Weighing in at 1.3 kilos, the old style TN Laser tent is like a home from home, but has been superseded by a newer model which is barely more than a couple of hundred grams lighter and you lose the double doors on the front which is the best feature of this tent. The only weight my tent has lost in this time is a small corner that the hoover removed from it while it was drying. Less a hole, more improved airflow. Shelling out another three hundred quid, I could reduce the tent to under a kilo with the competition, at the expense of space and a single door.

Llyn Cowlyd Wild Camp

Or down to a miniscule 720g for the Photon, so long as I'm happy to live with a tent that even the manufacturers state is not that durable and only suited to short term use.

At what point do we discard our trusted and expensive equipment (ok - sell it off on eBay) to save the equivalent weight of a bowel movement? I'll admit. I've grown comfortable with my gear. I'm happy with my 4.5kg base weight. If I succeed to lower this by, say, 200g, that's an extra 200gs of luxury I can carry with me. It also seems that throwing money at yet lighter equipment brings even more diminishing returns, with each advance even the weight reductions are becoming lightweight. Most of which brings with it less function, such as the Photon being much less durable than it's heftier siblings.

Going lighter by alternative methods is the other option. As someone who doesn't carry poles any more, the tarp has become much heavier as a result. Carrying a light tent - with the option of using it as a head cover in uncertain weather, or without in fine weather, or fully sealed up in foul weather - seems a sensible option. All this can be done with a tarp, but despite the slight weight penalty, I'd choose the tent. Certainly the last three summers we've had in Eryri has made me feel that way! If we get a nice dry summer next year - then i might think again. Skimping on clothing - or taking a sleeping bag that doubles as your only insulation might work on the PCT, but at best you'd get some strange looks walking through Llanberis dressed like that, beaten up at worst. Nothing wrong with taking a light shirt or top so you look half respectable when you pop into the pub for a meal and a pint even if it does weigh a couple of hundred grams.

It's important to realise that less is never more - no leeway for mistakes or bad luck. While skill and judgement can help minimise that, nothing can stop misfortune. Having a bottle of sticky liqueur spill over my gear on the first day of a six day trip was a heady mix of both. While it should not have been inside my pack in the first place, hindsight is a fine thing, that was the only place in my tiny pack it would fit. Everything dried off, but my sleeping bag still makes a noise like a crisp packet, and the trip went fine from that point onwards. Moral of the story? Drink your alcohol on the first morning...

Room with a view - Llynoedd Diwaunydd

Going lightweight is just one tool to make our wilderness journeys more enjoyable. If only by making the essentials light enough so we can pack a few of those luxuries that raise our morale and contributes towards a more successful trip. Increasing our knowledge of what to use and when is important. I have spent my way to a lower pack weight, where losing a few kilos around my middle and increasing my fitness would have been cheaper and better for me. Lightening my load did allow me to enjoy the hills when I was unfit and overweight, but what ensures I get the most out of my current time in the hills is my improved fitness level.

It is easy to become fixated on lowering pack weights and succumbing to the consumerism that inevitably surrounds any activity that depends on the latest technological developments. Are we losing sight of what's important in our sport and becoming mesmerised by all the new shiny things? To put it another way; should we be getting excited with a rucsac that's 200g lighter than the previous one? Or waking up on wild camp to discover that the mist that dampened everything in your porch overnight has suddenly dropped and you're camped over a sea of cloud with the nearby summit resplendent in the morning light. Can a gas stove ever be more exciting than getting to the hill and finding a winter playground of snow? The real shiny shiny is not in a bubble-wrap parcel the postie delivers, but out there in our hills.

You can't buy or plan for this!

I don't think anyone missed the point last week that Hafod Eryri, the new 'caff' on top of Yr Wyddfa has now opened. The highlight of that was definitely the fact that Our Rhods walked up rather than taking the train. Lowlights were the mangling of Hafod Eryri by the local news presenters(seriously, how difficult can it be?)

One worrying point is that I've seen in many places (including the BBC) that the caff is open till 8pm. Well - it's not. I was up Tuesday night and I'd apparently just missed it according to some friends I bumped into up there. They'd only managed to get served out of protest. Fair enough I suppose, we were well stocked anyway. One of them works for the National Park Authority, and wasn't happy that times given on their site meant that it should have been open till half seven.

Tonight, the same again. It was shut at half six - probably due to it being too windy for the train. Me - I'm not bothered, but there was a guy up there with his daughter who was assured from some source or other (and probably a reputable one!) it would be open. They weren't quite desperate, but were definitely annoyed!

I think that with the millions thrown at the new building, people might have a higher expectation that it will be open, especially in light of pretty high profile sites stating it is. So the correct information really has to be out there and easily obtained - or we're going to keep on getting people walking up in winter depending on the caff being open when they get there.

TBH, I'm not bothered about anything other than a coffee as, according to their website they have chosen to sell 'Village' pies and pastries. I've had the misfortune of their products in the past, and I personally don't rate them. Worse is that they seem to be the only pastry available in most shops when you want to buy something quick for a walk. I think I'm going to put a comparison of them on here with some real bakery products and other mass produced ones - though I might get someone else to do the taste test! Unplanned rant over, but my stomach never forgives...