28 SECRETS

Every walker should know The tips, tricks and shortcuts that can turn your day from a boo to a yay!

1 Pack an emergency fix

all solution by sticking ga a few strips of duct tapee under your lunchbox lidd – they can fix xa c crackedac ed bottle or bladder, temporarily waterproof your shoes’ lacing area or seal between your trousers and boots for an emergency bog-cross. 2 You can blisterproof roof your feet at t the first sign of f a hot-spot usingsing ducttapeape too. 3 Do what mainstream ainstream gear firmss have never managed and waterproof your rucksack for free. Line your rucksack with a bin bag.

4 Estimate how long a section of your walk will

take. It takes roughly 12 minutes to cover one grid square (1km) on a map over easy terrain. Add one minute for each contour line you cross. So walking the path across the grid square shown here would take roughly 14 mins.

5 Save time and

inconvenience by using a sleeping bag liner. A lightweight silk liner is easy to wash, feels extremely comfortable and protects the bag from becoming dirty and smelly. 6 Banish nasty tastes from your water bottle or bladder. Fill with warm, soapy water and rinse. Add 200ml water, 45g of bicarbonate of soda and 60ml of lemon juice. Shake for 10sec and release the gas. Shake and release three more times, then leave for 20mins before rinsing with hot water.

7 Avoid neck and back pain

and stand straighter by taking as much of the weight of your rucksack on your hips through the hip- strap. Use the chest strap to further reduce strain.

8 Stop sweaty boots getting

smelly – put a dry tea bag inside when you get back. 9 Melt away stiffness in a hot bath, shower or sauna. High temperature boosts circulation, getting rid of lactic acid quicker to aid full body muscular recovery and prevent injury.

10 Waterproof your

smartphone on the cheap using a snack bag with a ‘ziploc’ closure.

11 Pay less for your gear

by asking if your nearest outdoor store will price match the thing you want on the internet. Many chains will, even if they don’t advertise the fact. 12 How to yodel. Yodelling is simply switching between notes sungsung gi in your our chest voicee (full voice) and d your head voice oice (falsetto). With lungs full of air sing ho-dl-ley-eedee. The ee and dee should hould be in yourur head voice. Alternate ate with ho-hohodl-oh-ee-dee.

13 Get advanced

warning of stormy weather by noticing when humidity-rises cause pine cones to close up to protect their seeds, and birds start flying lower to the ground.

14 Buy a bargain,

not a lemon by choosing sale items not ‘special offers'. Sale

items are fullprice, fullquality goods reduced; special

offers have been bought in at a lower price and quality.

15 Estimate remaining

daylight by counting the finger widths between the sun and the horizon at arm’s length – it’s about 15 minutes per fifinger.

16 Disaster-proof your

keys by screwing a screw-eye (£2.50 a pair at B&Q) into a cork and clipping the keys in. They’re much less likely to slip out of a rucksack top-flap pocket, and they’ll never sink. (Get corks for pennies in Wilko or online.)

17 Keep your Gore

Tex working – reproof waterproofs with a wash-in proofer when rain no longer beads on the surface. Rain doesn’t wash your waterproofs – it blocks the membrane with bits of micro-gunk. 18 Work out far you’ve walked in the fog: 100m on level ground takes most people 60-70 double paces to cover.

19 Raise flagging energy

levels by slurping single-serving packs of honey you’ve saved from roadside services.

20 Stay a comfortable

temperature by removing layers at the start of a long climb and putting them on as soon as you stop at the top.

21 Be prepared for the

true temperature by allowing for wind chill: when the air temperature is +2 ˚ C in still air, at 10mph it’s -6˚ C (this can catch people out); at 20mph it’s -11 ˚ C (this can be life-threatening).

22 Carry more food

in less space by decanting crisps/ snacks into ziploc bags to half their volume. 23 Judge distance better by knowing the brain overestimates distance in poor visibility. It’s hardwired to assume clearer/brighter things are nearer and less-clear/dimmer things further away.

24 Tie a heel-lock in

walking shoes to stop hot-spots forming on your heel and toes due to foot movement. Form a loop on each side using the top two eyelets then thread the laces back through these loops before tying tying.

25 Heel-lock your

boots by tying a partial surgeon’s knot before you reach the hooks, then taking in two hooks in one go for each lace. Cross the laces over and thread each under the loop you just created between the two hooks. Tie off with a final surgeon’s knot and bow, either straight away or after the final pair of hooks, if present. 26 Reduce the risk of a twisted ankle – stand on one leg when you brush your teeth in the morning and the other at night to strengthen the muscles and tendons that guard against sprains.

27 Buy boots

properly: they’re the only clothing that will directly affect your health. Buy from a specialist shop, take the socks that you plan to wear with them, get measured standing up and only settle for instant comfort. Uncomfortable boots won’t ‘break in’.

28 Keep cramp at bay:

drop an Oxo cube or teaspoon of marmite in a vacuum flask of hot water: instant muscle-medicine.