24 Days Wild - K is for Kite

Wind gets a bad rap. It can be very irritating, I'll give you that. It blows things down, it messes your hair, it dries your skin, it blows dust in your eyes, it knocks you down and it picks things up. It is uncontrollable.

But it can be used. And is there anything more fun, liberating and scream out loud enjoyable than flying a kite?

Until last year I had totally forgotten about it. Then I suddenly realised I had a child and I was legitimately allowed to do childish stuff. I bought a cheap kite from Ikea and ran into the meadow, the wind raising it gleefully and swallowing my whoops of joy. 

Then, obviously I let my daughter have go too. 

Now we frequently take the opportunity to enjoy the pull of the wind and the freedom of the Meadow and it feels really wild!

A post shared by Armchair Mountaineer (@acmountaineer) on Jun 24, 2017 at 8:46am PDT

23 Days Wild - G is for Grass

Today was the school sports day, so we spent the best part of the day on a large expanse of closely cropped grass; sitting, lying, running, jumping, hopping and dropping eggs off spoons. 

It got me thinking of grass and the fact that I haven't cut the lawn since the beginning of June. I didn't set out to do this with any kind of re-wilding exercise, or even to leave it during this "wild" month. It's more down to time constraints and a little laziness, but its amazing how many things grow there, that are not in fact grass - although I am unsure what really constitutes a grass. 

Emma and I crawled around taking some pictures to create this green patchwork. Perhaps what is most surprising is, despite the variety of plants, how little they have actually grown during what seems to have been an unusually warm and dry month. 

Not that our lawn was ever going to win any prizes, but I kind of like it in this slightly wilder state. Think I might leave it for a bit longer.

Can you explain what your product does?

There is a business adage - or perhaps I should say it's just common sense really - and that is; if you struggle to explain what your product does, you most likely have a problem with it. 

If nothing else you are going to have a massive problem selling it and nobody else will be able to explain it. "Ideas that spread, win" as Seth Godin says.

So when it comes to explaining a personal journey of life redesign, which has been an evolutionary thing at best and schizophrenic at times, should I be concerned if it is not clear to everyone?

I was recently invited onto the Join Up Dots podcast - the first time I have been on a podcast - and a good chance (I thought) to hone my message. Prior to this, the only person with whom I discuss in detail my decision to quit the rat race in search of a more entrepreneurial and adventurous lifestyle, is my wife. And she kind of knows me. She sees my mood swings, knows what makes me tick and interprets little hints. I am not saying clarity is not required in a marriage, but there is some leeway, because effectively things have been explained not just by words but also by actions.

This week, I have also been asked to succinctly write a few words for distribution to media describing what I am doing and what my plan is. Hmm. Anyone who read my post about Life Redesign from a couple of weeks ago will know that this has been changing and I have had trouble in the past describing what it is that I am doing. So much so, indeed, that by the time I had put the same post out on Medium it had altered a little and become more succinct.

The podcast experience sadly didn't give me the chance to talk around the areas I wanted or the chance to fully explain my journey. I would have liked to perhaps explain chronologically how I reached where I am and also what motivated me to make the changes. But you live, and most important of all, you learn!

What I didn't realise until this past couple of weeks is that in order to talk about myself in this way I need to consider myself as a product and it can't be one that changes every few days. So I have settled on a high level view and here it is.

"In late 2016 I quit the "rat race". It was long time coming and it was a difficult decision. When I decided to take this dramatic decision I had in mind the idea to “redesign my life” in a way that was more entrepreneurial, satisfying, interesting and adventurous both in my personal and professional life.

I wanted to work on different projects, to learn new skills and to live a more adventurous and fulfilling life, especially spending more time outdoors. In short I wanted to follow my passions, be happier and live better.

I decided 2017 would be the year of change."

And this is the short of it. I have sent this to the media outlets that requested it and I will stick to it. 

New Gear for Review

Its just a few day before I go off to the Alps for the best part of a week, reacquainting myself with the glaciers and ridges of the mountains that inspired my love of the outdoors.

It is surprising how long-lasting a lot of outdoor gear can be, even when left unattended. So I have scraped a bit of rust off my crampons and we are good to go!

Actually I have taken delivery of quite a few new bits this week, as I prepare of our adventure road trip in Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro. Below are a few which I shall be reviewing over the summer.

I am not used to requiring waterproof covers for everything but if I have learnt anything since buying the packraft it is the value in keeping everything in one dry bag and the phone well and truly safe. I have a 20l dry bag and two phone covers to try out in some white water in July!

The last time I filtered water was using tablets which was difficult to stomach, but things have moved on since then and Water-to-Go seems to provide a reasonably-priced option for water-filtration. I think that will get a lot of testing over the month of July. 

My GoPro is never far from me and since my last mini grip tripod broke in two places whilst I was in the Cairngorms in April I have been looking out for a new one at a reasonable price. The Fantaseal® Robust Octopus seems to fit the bill, we shall see how it performs.

I have never used a solar charger but with the profusion of devices that my family seems to have amassed I felt it made sense not just for myself in the mountains but also for all of us on the road. I will also be blogging on our trip so would hate to be without power! I have the Anker PowerPort Solar Lite (15W 2-Port USB Solar Charger) which should give plenty of power!

I will start posting reviews in early August for these items and some clothing... now back to #30DaysWild.