Balance is my buzzword for 2025.
I’ve got to try and find it in all areas of my life. Especially so when it comes to my wellbeing and fitness. Burnout is something that I have always struggled with a little bit. Throwing myself fully into a hobby (and working through two career paths) and thinking about little else in my spare time. I have a pretty eclectic range of hobbies too, painting, music, hiking, weight lifting, baking, writing and
Being more balanced with my environmental impact of hiking adventures
Considering how I approach my outdoor adventures in a more balanced way will hopefully reduce the damage I am causing. Both to the environment and my bank balance.
The impact of driving off on adventures
One thing I’ve done a lot of is driving. This time last year I was driving a couple of hundred miles into Wales every weekend in order to plan out the route of my Stafford 2 Snowdon Challenge (that was a nice excuse). This year I want to be a little more economical when it comes to traveling around the UK.
I’m setting myself a monthly fuel limit of a full tank, I should get a 450 miles out of that if it is a mix of driving conditions. I only really use my car for driving off on hikes (and the odd Tesco trip) so all those miles are pretty much dedicated to my outdoor adventures.
And extra to this is I’ve always had the rule that I am out on the trail longer than I’m in the car. So if it takes an hour and a half to drive there I am out hiking for at least three hours. Then if I am driving for longer than two and a half hours in one direction, I’ll be at leasing staying one night in the wild or car camping.
I didn’t get a van
Some of you may know that I tried to sell of my Nissan Juke last summer. I wanted to buy a small van to convert. Unfortunately since I got very few offers for the car the van never really came to fruition. I’ve done a bit of car camping and I’ve built some systems to make it easier. I did this super cheap with a exercise mat, a cheap pack of rubber window suckers from Amazon and a windscreen cover, also using a camping matt, sleeping bad and various throws and blankets which I already had!
I’m was going to do a video of how I made everything for this, I might still but I have found the little grippers can be a right pain to get off. Especially if there is even just a drop of condensation on the window.
This year I am planning on building my ultimate car camping system. I want to ensure that I am making the most use of my space. So replacing the plastic gubbins that take up half the boot space and changing it to something that supports the bed on one side but has space for a lot of gear on the left. Also I want some thing that is a little quicker to setup and take down. A little blackout tent that can hang inside the car. Something that won’t particular be vehicle specific. Who knows I do think there may be a little business in it. Watch this space.
The impact of my hiking food
I’ve also spent a lot of money on fitness nutrition and camping meals over the last couple of years. I used to be a chef for god sake, so I really have little excuse for not preparing more of the stuff eat on adventures.
I’m not going to completely cut out all the processed fitness supplements. Even though I know I should. I’m still going to allow myself some incredibly unhealthy food. But it’s all about the balance. I am going to try and come up with some recipe that replicate some of my favourite protein bars but hopefully with the two quid a bar price tag and a little more natural in its origins.
I’ll be adding my recipes up to the site once they have been carefully selected prepped and fields tested. If there is anything you want to try and replicate let me know and I’ll see what I can come up with.
Buying less gear
My motto is to repair before I replace but I am not going to make out that there isn’t quite a large initial outlay when you get into outdoor adventuring. I’ve spent a lot, I’ve probably got enough gear to outfit a few explorers. I doubled my load out boxers last year due to looking for lightweight versions of my gear for S2S.
There is little chance I will need much more than consumables in 2025, maybe some new clothes as I have spread out a little, I am reaching middle age but I am also lucky that the width seems to be impacting my shoulders than my waistline. However it does mean that quite a few bits of my hiking gear are starting to feel, just a little tight.
A with more wild camping than campsites
Well, kind of… My plan with camping this year is probably still going to involve me booking into a few campsites. They make for a good base and it can be actually kind of like a cheap overnight parking solution.
So that’s what I might do on my Lake District and Scotland trips this year, set up base on a campsite. I’ll probably even put a tent up and then go off hiking into the wilderness to find some cool spots to wild camp.
I’ll be taking advantage of the Loch Lomond camping permits a little more this year too. I’m getting a good fifteen days in Scotland this year, and I’ve planned out lots of mini adventures. Although as always with hiking it is very weather dependent.
Avoiding bad weather when hiking
This will be an important one for me this year. I’m not saying I’ve been reckless on my hiking adventures… However I have probably made some decisions on the spot that, with the power of hindsight, might not have been very smart.
It doesn’t mean I’ll be put off getting out too much when the weather is bad, even if I have to stay near Stafford. Well, I’ve still got Cannock chase next door and nice five mile castle walk literally from my doorstep.
My personal limit when it comes to winds is speeds over 30/35mph especially if those gusts go much higher. We’ve had a few winds of late on these British islands (or Atlantic Archipelago if you prefer that?!) that have been hitting the 100+ mark and even if you’re experienced I don’t think it can ever be advised to go out in those conditions.
I’m also not hitting many mountains on my own during the winter this year, fingers crossed for an early spring. This is partly because not only do I need the extra gear, like crampons or ice picks, I’ll also need to get some training in to use them properly.
I think having the gear will give me maybe an unjustified confidence boost. With the way I hike I might go up in conditions that I shouldn’t, and if I am fine it will likely make me less considerate in the future.
Well I was fine then I’ll be fine now, sort of mentality. So even though I might hit a couple of snowy or icy summits it will only be up paths that I am already fairly confident with.
One thing I have got is waterproofs, so rain won’t be stopping me much, although I have to admit sometimes the foggy drives, and a dull foggy day doesn’t always make for the most amazing hikes.
What mountain classification lists I’ll be ticking off this year?
You can check out my posts on the different mountain classifications here I’l be working off a few from all of them hopefully this year.
I’m hoping to tick a few more Wainwrights off with a trip to the Lake District in April, I’ll be paying attention to the ones that are Nuttalls though. I want to tick off 88 or 20% from the list created by John & Anne Nuttall in the book the Mountains of England and Wales.
When I’m staying a little closer to home I’ll be heading for summits under two thousand feet. So I’ll be aiming to tick off a few Marilyn’s on those day when the weather isn’t quite hitting it. With those I’ll be giving priorities to ones with a trig points. Especially with the ones that lay within the constraint of the Shropshire Hills and Clwydian Range & Dee Valley National Landscapes.
I will also be doing some group hikes over in the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park, I’m sure I’ll get to tick off plenty this year.
A balanced approach to my vices
Ah this will probably be the harder one. I’ve never been one to go for complete tee-total, for me I have found moderation works. Well with somethings. I did a year off the booze a few years ago now, I found avoiding alcohol was having a more negative effect than drinking did. Since, I’ve definitely drank an awful lot less, and also balanced it out a lot better.
I’ll probably never completely quit smoking, but the amount I’ve cut down is amazing and I can happily go a few months without smoking anything. I just need to try and do that a little better, the only mornings I wake up and have a cigarette now is if I’m out camping and I need to get things moving in the morning, if you catch my drift.
Creative balance
I’ve got a few creative hobbies that I’ve slightly neglected in the last couple of years.
When and where will I be hiking in 2025?
I do most of my adventures in meteorological spring, for me it is my favourite conditions. Last year there was some snow about in March, however I will still be spending a couple of long weekends in the Eryri National Park hiking and testing out a new car camping setup.
At the beginning of April I’ll be heading off for a eight or nine days in the Lake District. Or, if the weather is crap I’ll possibly do a bit of a Welsh coastal tour. I’ve got a little time to make my mind up.
Then in May I’ve got a whopping couple of weeks in Scotland, so I’ll be hitting up a few new spots and revisiting some of my favourites, it’s hard not to go back to Loch Morlich.
I’m unlikely to repeat any Munro’s this time around. I’ve done Nevis twice now and I got some pretty good views on the second occasion. I don’t think I could have asked for better conditions than I got last spring for summiting Ben Lomond as well.
Ben Venue, Vorlich, Lawers, and Macdui are all on my list this year though. Maybe a Corbett or two along the way.
No Challenge in 2025 but a big one in 2026
I’m not one hundred percent certain of what my next charity challenge will be. After Stafford 2 Snowdon last year, well, I want to plan something special. So in my head that means that I want to make last years 180 miles feel small.
That is going to take some planning, if you follow me on social my Instagram is probably going to start filling up with some more details of it over 2025.
What are you up to in 2025?
I’d love to hear about what adventures you are up to this year!
If you’re doing a charity event let me know, I’m not claiming to have a massive spread on Instagram but I’ll happily share some posts.