I am sure that you are aware that there isn’t freedom camping along Loch Lomond. You would have to stay at a campsite or, investigate camping permits. The Loch Lomond section is quite technical, gnarly and rooty, and if I remember rightly, quite a long stretch. We eat lots of noodles, high energy cereal bars, wraps and peanut butter for lunch, dates and Brazil nuts for snacks. We have a Sawyer Squeeze water filter. Water isn’t much of an issue on the WHW, but lots of sheep poo, so worth filtering every drop.
No dont include water weight. The Katydyn Bfree is a good water filter. It's flow rate is much better. There is water all over the place but possibly not between bridge of orchy and glencoe. Dill it up and camelbup on a litre and refill it to go. Progress isn't linear, having a bad day or two doesn't undo everything you did before it. The most important thing is to start again. Keep starting again. There is food everywhere on the whe, you won't need much. Take what you actually like to eat. Decant food into smaller lighter small sized zip locks. Eg, instant oats, I take a second collapsible mug and use it as a bowl. Consider if you want something warm. Instant canp meals are pretty good, but they vary in how good they are. I'd suggest you get some and try them before you go. Summit to eat taste the best and rehydrate well. You won't need many meals. Take some energy tablets as a back up.
I use the Katadyn Befree filter and bottle, the Sawyer Mini is also great, and cheaper, alternative. The Sawyer is slower but I find it more reliable. As for food, you will find that you pass lots of cafes and pubs on the way. I only remember carrying snacks, porridge sachets, and probably only cooked once at the Rowardennan Youth Hostel on Loch Lomond. Once you do up your itinerary you will see where you will stopping to fuel up.
Hi Alan, as a general rule, assume pack weight excludes food and water unless they say otherwise. You can't know how much food you'll need to take until you've planned each leg of your trip and worked out where you can resupply and with what. You will also need to factor in your arrival times vs opening times and bank holidays etc. The golden rule is not to assume anything and plan accordingly. For water on the WHW one litre carried should be fine, however, if conditions have been dry for a sustained period (unlikely but possible) then plan for two litres (2kg). The lightest option for water purification is a katadyn befree and the one I would recommend for this. Not be too harsh but you need to avoid making excuses for eating habits, if you don't drop your weight you won't be hiking anywhere and the WHW and similar walks should not be underestimated if your coming from the place you are, you will need to work hard and show good levels of self discipline otherwise you will not achieve your aim. I would not get too hung up on base weights just yet, I would concentrate on getting where you need to be physically first, and planning how many legs you intend to do and researching resupply points etc. I hope that helps and wish you best going forward.
Thank you for the advice. I know its a hotly disputed topic in the outdoors community but my preference is to use a water bladder to drink from. I've already got the Katadyn BeFree in 1 litre version and that'll be coming with me. The reason I'm banging on about base weight is because in the later stages of the trek training plan there are days when I have to carry my full pack weight which I intend to simulate using free weights. Losing the weight is foremost in my mind at the moment but having to think about mitigation as the school summer holidays are coming up and I'm away camping 3 times. 2 with family and one with cubs. Storing good quality food on campsites is nigh on impossible but I'll be looking at these in forthcoming videos :)
@@alanprioroutdoors I've used a bladder and it's not a hot topic for me, use what works for you, I'd use one again in the right circumstances. In terms of base weight I think you have to work out what you are comfortable carrying and stick to that knowing it will involve compromises. The fitter you are the more you'll be able to tolerate, so there is that. I strongly recommend some upper body strength training, that will make a big difference to what you can carry, also pay attention to your knees, a weak spot as we get older. Ultimately the best form of training is getting out with your bergen/rucksack carrying the weight you expect to carry, this will condition your body in all the right places for such a trip. Be very careful what rucksack you choose, pay close attention to padding on the straps, the waist buckle ( does it easily work loose? ) and straps in general. A comfortable appropriate bergen/rucksack can make a world of difference and you definitely get what you pay for in my experience.
Hi Alan, Good luck on your quest! When folk talk about backpack weight, it is usual to measure the weight WITHOUT food or water. This is called Base Weight, and includes the weight of the empty backpack itself. Target base weight for a comfortable hike should be around 10 kgs. Then when you add water and food you will be at the 14 kg mark. For the WHW, I reckon you only need to carry 1 litre of water (1kg) at any one time in general. You can probably resupply along the way from streams. As for food. If carrying a heavy backpack you will burn around 4000 cals per day. That equates to around 1 kg food per day. If you are trying to burn off bodyweight then obviously you can reduce this amount. Suggest you do not need to carry more than 3 day's supply of food at any time (that's true for the majority of places in Scotland). Resupply along the way. And / or supplement with a meal at a pub or cafe along the way. Bottom line: do NOT carry too much weight. Better to resupply. Wishing you all the best in your training schedule!
buy the sawer mini water filter, carry what you need, then fill up when you camp. i recommend camping trips to the isle of arran before you tackle the whw. experiment with insoles, the heavier your bag the more cushion you will need. if youre feet are sore after a couple of hours, its not gonna be possible to walk 100 miles. buy some Darn Tough socks.... yes, give the man your money,
I'm actually quite a frequent visitor to Scotland and take my main holiday there every year. Arran however is one of those places I've always wanted to go to but never managed - rumour has it, you have to book the CalMac six months in advance.....
@@alanprioroutdoors ah, the calmac booking site is truly awful, i've never succeeded in booking a walk on ticket hehe. its a fairly frequent ferry, i per hour i think, most people just turn up and as long as its a non rush hour kinda thing they all seem to get on ok. the thing is, there are lots of fantastic walks even if you dont take the van over, lots of short walks around the beach to the castle and back through the woods, lots of 2mile and 4mile walks.... with cafes in the middle hehehe. and beach walking is extremely exhausting. if you can't get the ferry drive a mile down the road to ayr or stevenston and you have miles of beaches passed a little castle to the heads of ayr, lovely walk. have you thought of a e-bike? i was thinking you could maybe knock yourself out on the ebike and then use the battery to get home.
Progress is going well for you…. Well done! Have a look at Army ration packs for food. ‘Simon a bloke in the woods’ is a good one to watch and good for that he uses them quite often plus they have food full and drinks full of nutrients. Another one is ‘east Anglian bushcraft’ he’s ex Army. Love the simplicity of Paul Messner’s kits.
The more questions you ask, the better prepared you will be. Just remember what works for one person may not work for you. If you have someone who can support you in a car, driving ahead, then they can also carry spare kit or food, which you can get when you meet up at designated places along the route.
Base weight excludes food and water. Good thing about the WHW is that water is readily available so take a good filter and fill up as you need it. You can resupply food for wild camping along the way as well at Beinglas and Tyndrum and Kinlochleven. Remember you can't camp in the restriction zones on Loch Lomond side. I take either real turmat or Bla band meals. They have better quality and taste.
@@alanprioroutdoors Try Basecamp meals. They are a good supplier for the UK. If you can get the Real Turmat Arctic rations packs they have a days food and very tasty isotonic drinks. I've never had it where Bla band or real turmat don't rehydrate properly. Some others are like chewing bullets.
@@BrokenBackMountains we have one in the UK called Adventure food which I tried on a bikepacking trip and was ill the next day with severe bloating and stomach cramps which I'd probably put down to the high salt and onion content in the "food"
@@alanprioroutdoors The green packet, yeah. Tried that.The other one I have had problems with is Expedition foods. Let me down miles from anywhere in sub zero temperatures.
@@alanprioroutdoors I got that website wrong and have used rhem lots of times. I sometimes get things wrong and forget stuff after the accident😊 It is Base camp food. UK based. I am thinking of trying Lyo food as well.
Losing weight is a mental game. Everybody is different, but I found slimming world worked really well for me, I lost about 4.5 stone with them. It was the whole reporting in every week when you had to weigh in every week, to other people, and then the leader would ask you what went on if you didn't. I didn't want to have to explain myself, plus the positive feedback you get from the group really helped me. It's kind of like using peer pressure in your favour! I kept it all off until Lockdown, but I think that got a lot of people! As for being out with the family, McDonalds is your friend, if you go for wrap of the day, remove all the sauces and replace the fries with a side salad its basically lean chicken breast in a wrap with salad and you can definitely lose weight on those. I did. Water, you don't normally include the weight of food or water in your 'base weight' for a pack. For dehydrated food, its worth looking at Huel hot and savoury meals, works out a lot cheaper than the individual silver foil packs. Make sure you have plenty of snacks too to keep you going, again it can be dried like tropical mix to keep the weight down, but don't worry too much about being on diet when out on the hills, you don't want to come over with low blood sugar when you are out in the middle of nowhere! little and often is good to keep your energy levels relatively constant.
Yes I agree, I've used Slimming world and they managed to drop me from my previous 23 stone to 21 stone and then a local gym I'd joined managed to get me down to 20 stone but then I hit that plateau where nothing seems to work. As you say the Slimming world thing gives you accountability but at a price tag of a fiver a week. Thank you about the idea about Huel food. That's a brilliant idea :)
I take a filter and filter all of my water, I carry I litre of water which equals a kilo and just top up when I can... I have never done a trail like what you are planning, but I think when it comes to food I would grab it along the way and take only a few dehydrated food packs, and some protine bars, Summit to eat seems to be the best ones... So with that in mind I would just wing it as much as possible, otherwise your pack will be very heavy and you need to keep it down in weight doing such a long trail... I am on a weight loss program myself and have just started to video it on my channel, inspired by yourself... Light weight gear is expensive and I have been collecting mine for some time, to spread the cost out, as far as tents for your West Highland Way, I would be looking at tents that utilize walking poles as these are super light, weighing in most cases less than a kilo... Good luck with the diet, I eat a lot of Tescos 5% mince with carrots and onions and a can of Hienz 5 beans mixed in, Ham, chicken breasts, poached eggs, everything cooked with no oil of course... Tip, next time you do a kids thing, take your own food... ;)
Alex McDonald ran 5 marathons over 5 days while fasted (only consumed water and salt). You are tapping into your body’s store of glycogen which is maxed out at about 2000 “calories” of energy for the human body. A marathon takes about 3000 calories which is why most (99.99%) of runner use gels etc during the race as 3000>2000. This person, a fairly lean person who has, say a 15% body fat level has about 100,000 “calories” of fat store. How many calories are you storing? How much “food” do you need to take with you? Food for thought 😮
If you're interested, the obesity walking plan I mentioned is here
www.livestrong.com/article/459545-a-beginning-walking-program-for-obese-people/
I am sure that you are aware that there isn’t freedom camping along Loch Lomond. You would have to stay at a campsite or, investigate camping permits. The Loch Lomond section is quite technical, gnarly and rooty, and if I remember rightly, quite a long stretch. We eat lots of noodles, high energy cereal bars, wraps and peanut butter for lunch, dates and Brazil nuts for snacks. We have a Sawyer Squeeze water filter. Water isn’t much of an issue on the WHW, but lots of sheep poo, so worth filtering every drop.
Excellent video, good luck and following your story
Good luck Alanwith your training. I am just starting again after losing 4 stone and having a total hip replacement 9 weeks ago, and all is going well.
No dont include water weight. The Katydyn Bfree is a good water filter. It's flow rate is much better. There is water all over the place but possibly not between bridge of orchy and glencoe. Dill it up and camelbup on a litre and refill it to go.
Progress isn't linear, having a bad day or two doesn't undo everything you did before it. The most important thing is to start again. Keep starting again.
There is food everywhere on the whe, you won't need much.
Take what you actually like to eat. Decant food into smaller lighter small sized zip locks. Eg, instant oats, I take a second collapsible mug and use it as a bowl.
Consider if you want something warm. Instant canp meals are pretty good, but they vary in how good they are.
I'd suggest you get some and try them before you go. Summit to eat taste the best and rehydrate well. You won't need many meals.
Take some energy tablets as a back up.
I use the Katadyn Befree filter and bottle, the Sawyer Mini is also great, and cheaper, alternative. The Sawyer is slower but I find it more reliable. As for food, you will find that you pass lots of cafes and pubs on the way. I only remember carrying snacks, porridge sachets, and probably only cooked once at the Rowardennan Youth Hostel on Loch Lomond. Once you do up your itinerary you will see where you will stopping to fuel up.
Hi Alan, as a general rule, assume pack weight excludes food and water unless they say otherwise. You can't know how much food you'll need to take until you've planned each leg of your trip and worked out where you can resupply and with what. You will also need to factor in your arrival times vs opening times and bank holidays etc. The golden rule is not to assume anything and plan accordingly. For water on the WHW one litre carried should be fine, however, if conditions have been dry for a sustained period (unlikely but possible) then plan for two litres (2kg). The lightest option for water purification is a katadyn befree and the one I would recommend for this.
Not be too harsh but you need to avoid making excuses for eating habits, if you don't drop your weight you won't be hiking anywhere and the WHW and similar walks should not be underestimated if your coming from the place you are, you will need to work hard and show good levels of self discipline otherwise you will not achieve your aim.
I would not get too hung up on base weights just yet, I would concentrate on getting where you need to be physically first, and planning how many legs you intend to do and researching resupply points etc. I hope that helps and wish you best going forward.
Thank you for the advice. I know its a hotly disputed topic in the outdoors community but my preference is to use a water bladder to drink from. I've already got the Katadyn BeFree in 1 litre version and that'll be coming with me. The reason I'm banging on about base weight is because in the later stages of the trek training plan there are days when I have to carry my full pack weight which I intend to simulate using free weights. Losing the weight is foremost in my mind at the moment but having to think about mitigation as the school summer holidays are coming up and I'm away camping 3 times. 2 with family and one with cubs. Storing good quality food on campsites is nigh on impossible but I'll be looking at these in forthcoming videos :)
@@alanprioroutdoors I've used a bladder and it's not a hot topic for me, use what works for you, I'd use one again in the right circumstances. In terms of base weight I think you have to work out what you are comfortable carrying and stick to that knowing it will involve compromises. The fitter you are the more you'll be able to tolerate, so there is that. I strongly recommend some upper body strength training, that will make a big difference to what you can carry, also pay attention to your knees, a weak spot as we get older. Ultimately the best form of training is getting out with your bergen/rucksack carrying the weight you expect to carry, this will condition your body in all the right places for such a trip. Be very careful what rucksack you choose, pay close attention to padding on the straps, the waist buckle ( does it easily work loose? ) and straps in general. A comfortable appropriate bergen/rucksack can make a world of difference and you definitely get what you pay for in my experience.
Hi Alan,
Good luck on your quest!
When folk talk about backpack weight, it is usual to measure the weight WITHOUT food or water. This is called Base Weight, and includes the weight of the empty backpack itself. Target base weight for a comfortable hike should be around 10 kgs. Then when you add water and food you will be at the 14 kg mark.
For the WHW, I reckon you only need to carry 1 litre of water (1kg) at any one time in general. You can probably resupply along the way from streams.
As for food. If carrying a heavy backpack you will burn around 4000 cals per day. That equates to around 1 kg food per day. If you are trying to burn off bodyweight then obviously you can reduce this amount. Suggest you do not need to carry more than 3 day's supply of food at any time (that's true for the majority of places in Scotland). Resupply along the way. And / or supplement with a meal at a pub or cafe along the way.
Bottom line: do NOT carry too much weight. Better to resupply.
Wishing you all the best in your training schedule!
buy the sawer mini water filter, carry what you need, then fill up when you camp. i recommend camping trips to the isle of arran before you tackle the whw. experiment with insoles, the heavier your bag the more cushion you will need. if youre feet are sore after a couple of hours, its not gonna be possible to walk 100 miles. buy some Darn Tough socks.... yes, give the man your money,
I'm actually quite a frequent visitor to Scotland and take my main holiday there every year. Arran however is one of those places I've always wanted to go to but never managed - rumour has it, you have to book the CalMac six months in advance.....
@@alanprioroutdoors ah, the calmac booking site is truly awful, i've never succeeded in booking a walk on ticket hehe. its a fairly frequent ferry, i per hour i think, most people just turn up and as long as its a non rush hour kinda thing they all seem to get on ok. the thing is, there are lots of fantastic walks even if you dont take the van over, lots of short walks around the beach to the castle and back through the woods, lots of 2mile and 4mile walks.... with cafes in the middle hehehe. and beach walking is extremely exhausting. if you can't get the ferry drive a mile down the road to ayr or stevenston and you have miles of beaches passed a little castle to the heads of ayr, lovely walk. have you thought of a e-bike? i was thinking you could maybe knock yourself out on the ebike and then use the battery to get home.
GOOD LUCK ALAN 😊 YOUR GIVING INSPIRATION TO A LOT OF US ❤ Check for shops and food outlets on route so maybe only carry enough food for 1 or 2 days 👍
Progress is going well for you…. Well done!
Have a look at Army ration packs for food. ‘Simon a bloke in the woods’ is a good one to watch and good for that he uses them quite often plus they have food full and drinks full of nutrients.
Another one is ‘east Anglian bushcraft’ he’s ex Army. Love the simplicity of Paul Messner’s kits.
The more questions you ask, the better prepared you will be. Just remember what works for one person may not work for you. If you have someone who can support you in a car, driving ahead, then they can also carry spare kit or food, which you can get when you meet up at designated places along the route.
Base weight excludes food and water.
Good thing about the WHW is that water is readily available so take a good filter and fill up as you need it. You can resupply food for wild camping along the way as well at Beinglas and Tyndrum and Kinlochleven.
Remember you can't camp in the restriction zones on Loch Lomond side.
I take either real turmat or Bla band meals. They have better quality and taste.
Thank you - that's useful to know. I haven't heard of Bla Band although in google searches it must be good as it seems to be mostly sold out.
@@alanprioroutdoors Try Basecamp meals. They are a good supplier for the UK.
If you can get the Real Turmat Arctic rations packs they have a days food and very tasty isotonic drinks. I've never had it where Bla band or real turmat don't rehydrate properly. Some others are like chewing bullets.
@@BrokenBackMountains we have one in the UK called Adventure food which I tried on a bikepacking trip and was ill the next day with severe bloating and stomach cramps which I'd probably put down to the high salt and onion content in the "food"
@@alanprioroutdoors The green packet, yeah. Tried that.The other one I have had problems with is Expedition foods. Let me down miles from anywhere in sub zero temperatures.
@@alanprioroutdoors I got that website wrong and have used rhem lots of times. I sometimes get things wrong and forget stuff after the accident😊
It is Base camp food. UK based. I am thinking of trying Lyo food as well.
Losing weight is a mental game. Everybody is different, but I found slimming world worked really well for me, I lost about 4.5 stone with them. It was the whole reporting in every week when you had to weigh in every week, to other people, and then the leader would ask you what went on if you didn't. I didn't want to have to explain myself, plus the positive feedback you get from the group really helped me. It's kind of like using peer pressure in your favour! I kept it all off until Lockdown, but I think that got a lot of people!
As for being out with the family, McDonalds is your friend, if you go for wrap of the day, remove all the sauces and replace the fries with a side salad its basically lean chicken breast in a wrap with salad and you can definitely lose weight on those. I did.
Water, you don't normally include the weight of food or water in your 'base weight' for a pack. For dehydrated food, its worth looking at Huel hot and savoury meals, works out a lot cheaper than the individual silver foil packs. Make sure you have plenty of snacks too to keep you going, again it can be dried like tropical mix to keep the weight down, but don't worry too much about being on diet when out on the hills, you don't want to come over with low blood sugar when you are out in the middle of nowhere! little and often is good to keep your energy levels relatively constant.
Yes I agree, I've used Slimming world and they managed to drop me from my previous 23 stone to 21 stone and then a local gym I'd joined managed to get me down to 20 stone but then I hit that plateau where nothing seems to work. As you say the Slimming world thing gives you accountability but at a price tag of a fiver a week. Thank you about the idea about Huel food. That's a brilliant idea :)
I take a filter and filter all of my water, I carry I litre of water which equals a kilo and just top up when I can... I have never done a trail like what you are planning, but I think when it comes to food I would grab it along the way and take only a few dehydrated food packs, and some protine bars, Summit to eat seems to be the best ones... So with that in mind I would just wing it as much as possible, otherwise your pack will be very heavy and you need to keep it down in weight doing such a long trail... I am on a weight loss program myself and have just started to video it on my channel, inspired by yourself... Light weight gear is expensive and I have been collecting mine for some time, to spread the cost out, as far as tents for your West Highland Way, I would be looking at tents that utilize walking poles as these are super light, weighing in most cases less than a kilo... Good luck with the diet, I eat a lot of Tescos 5% mince with carrots and onions and a can of Hienz 5 beans mixed in, Ham, chicken breasts, poached eggs, everything cooked with no oil of course... Tip, next time you do a kids thing, take your own food... ;)
Thank you and good luck with your channel restart. I've subscribed and will watch with interest your progress :)
@@alanprioroutdoors Cheers buddy!! We will do it!!
Alex McDonald ran 5 marathons over 5 days while fasted (only consumed water and salt). You are tapping into your body’s store of glycogen which is maxed out at about 2000 “calories” of energy for the human body. A marathon takes about 3000 calories which is why most (99.99%) of runner use gels etc during the race as 3000>2000. This person, a fairly lean person who has, say a 15% body fat level has about 100,000 “calories” of fat store. How many calories are you storing? How much “food” do you need to take with you? Food for thought 😮