The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

Many walkers

appreciate the added

support offered by

trekking poles

Readers’ page

Share your views, your experiences and your

favourite photos [email protected]

Postal address

The Editor, The Great Outdoors, Kelsey Publishing,

Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG

Please include a phone number and postal address.

Letters may be edited for clarity or to it the space available.

LETTERS

I send my best to all at

TGO, the veterans

of the Challenge

and those who are

enjoying tramping

across the breadth

of Scotland for the

very irst time. It’s a

unique event and I’m very

proud to have been involved in

its inception.

Alan Reid

Decathlon kit

I have been an avid reader of

your magazine for years now.

I have one question in regards to

gear reviews. Why have I never

seen a review on gear from

Decathlon? I use their boots,

backpacks, poles, walking

trousers and leeces, and I

have never had any issues with

them. I have been up Cat Bells,

Blencathra, local forest trails

and I have never had anything

but admiration for the quality at

Memories of the

Challenge

I have to pinch

myself that it is

40 years since the

inaugural TGO

Challenge. At the

time I was fresh out of

college, and having joined

he Great Outdoors as editorial

assistant earlier that year was on

reception duties in Montrose

as elated walkers achieved their

goal of walking the breadth of

Scotland. What I remember is

lots of sunshine and happy faces

• and one or two unhealthy
  mouth ulcers from eating rich
  hotel food all week while the
  lucky ones got to camp under
  the stars. It was tough but
  someone had to do it!
  he next four years working
  on the magazine with Roger
  Smith were a great privilege.
  It was a dream job with lots
  of travel and professional
  satisfaction. Landscape
  photographer Walter Poucher,
  Kinder Mess Trespass organiser
  Stephen Morton and war-
  blinded hillwalker Syd Scroggie
  were just some of the remarkable
  characters I met along the way
  and who linger in the memory.
  Walking is still a big part of
  my life, and something that I
  have enjoyed passing on to my
  children, Rory and Ella. We
  are very privileged to live just a
  stone’s throw from Richmond
  Park, and a long walk along the
  hames from the site of the old
  Richmond Castle to Windsor
  Castle was a recent treat, if a
  little exhausting.
  I’m sorry that I won’t be in
  Montrose this year for the 40th
  anniversary celebrations but

ALMANAC

Wilderness

he theme of this month’s reader photography page is

‘Wilderness’. he photo below, by Ruth Toller, was taken in

the mountains of northern Albania.

Turn to page 106 for more wilderness-themed reader pictures.

The impact of

trekking poles

Could you please tell

me if there is any sound

documented evidence that

metal-tipped walking poles

(i.e. poles that do not have

their metal tips covered with

a rubber cap) cause long-

term damage to our upland

paths and mountains? If

there is evidence available

could you please indicate

where it can be found to

enable me to review it.

Also, what is the opinion

of TGO on the matter?

Many thanks for your help.

B Mulcock

Ed: There doesn’t seem to be

much evidence on this. We

found a paper published in

the USA several years ago

by the Appalachian Trail

Conservancy Association,

which mentions the impact of

scratch marks on rock (also

an issue with crampons) and

soil erosion – it can be found

here: https://tinyurl.com/

trekking-pole-impacts.

Many members of the

TGO team use poles while

walking, including our editor

and gear editor. We’d always

recommend that walkers

should place their poles with

care when walking, conscious

of the impact on pathside

vegetation.

We'd welcome input from

any readers with expertise in

this area.

such a competitive price. Most

of your gear does tend to be mid

to high budget range.

Brian McBride

Ed: Thanks for the reminder!

We were in touch with

Decathlon but haven’t received

any samples for review for a

long time. We’ve dropped them

a line and will let you know when

we hear back.

Mapping tip

Supplementary to Gordon

Benson’s letter, ‘Using maps

on the hill’, in last month’s

TGO, another tip I learnt from

a Bulgarian mountain guide

recently is to place a 3cm strip

of Sellotape over each of the

fold junctions on paper maps

where they usually stress/tear.

James Keen

26 The Great Outdoors Spring 2019