u/MonsieurSpamalot

And to that guy who thought i would give up on my tarp 1 week into travelling around France... I am still carrying and using it. Get it roond ye! Ive been here a month. 2 more to go. Or 1 more and maybe to the Netherlands for 1 month to smoke weed. Though you can buy THC-A cannabis flower in shops in France too so I have been getting HIGH.

Here's a few different cathedrals I have visited in the past week also. I did Puy du Sancy which is a dormant volcano in Central France. Big hills. Long hikes.

Puy du Sancy

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Bouclé du Sancy.

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La Bourboule, France.

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My first hills and camping as part of a 3 month hiking and camping trek around France.

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I have been cowboy camping for the past week around this area. Its been getting up to 35° which is more heat than this Scotsman has ever experienced. Sun blisters and burnt. Walking with a Czech guy who turned out to be a massive bigot. This trip has had it all so far and I am only a couple weeks in.

Off to France. Travelling from Glasgow. Paris for a couple days. On to Lyon for a couple days. Then I am out in the wilderness. 3 months.

I have been outside living like this anywhere from 4 months to 9 months per year for over 13 years. I am just curious about any local knowledge/advice I might need. Also interested in any suggestions for places to visit in and around Lyon to the entirety of Southern France. Thankyou for reading. 😀

My gear includes;

Rab Sleeping Bag

7x9 Silpoly Tarp

Polycro Groundsheet x2

3FUL Tyvek Bivvy

Lifestraw Water Filter

Trangia Triangle/Lightweight Stove

Pillow

Foam Mat

30,000mah Power Banks

Spare iPhone

3 Pairs of wool socks

2 T shirts

1 Tracksuit Bottoms

3 Pairs of Boxers

First Aid Kit

TMB Maps

Survival/Repair bits n pieces such as sewing needles, duct tape, strings, flint, lighters, spare charging cables. Spare guy lines.

Baseweight of around 7.5kg.

Off to France. Travelling from Glasgow. Paris for a couple days. On to Lyon for a couple days. Then I am out in the wilderness. 3 months.

I have been outside living like this anywhere from 4 months to 9 months per year for over 13 years. I learned how to survive outside in Scotland.. where we have some of wettest and harshest weather of anywhere in the UK. Tarps are my favourite mode of living.

My gear includes;

Rab Sleeping Bag

7x9 Silpoly Tarp

Polycro Groundsheet x2

3FUL Tyvek Bivvy

Trangia Triangle/Lightweight Stove

Lifestraw Water Filter

Pillow

Foam Mat

30,000mah Power Banks

Spare iPhone

3 Pairs of wool socks

2 T shirts

1 Tracksuit Bottoms

3 Pairs of Boxers

First Aid Kit

TMB Maps

Survival bits n pieces such as sewing needles, duct tape, strings, flint, lighters, spare charging cables, plugs, extra guy lines.

Baseweight of around 8kg

On the bus travelling from Glasgow to Aberdeen to visit my mum for a few days before I head off on a 3 month hiking trip in France.

I got a sneaky 2L of sparkling water and I had a Happy Shopper large bar of chocolate so I didn't need to get a sweet or juice juice.

Been growing out my beard into a pointy goatee more or less. It was more akin to a goatee before when i first started it but its definitely more beard than goatee now.

Had a tash most of my adult life. Not sure whether to keep growing out a beard? Whether to make a legitimate goatee beard combo? Or shave the beard off and keep the tash? Or shave it ALL off..

Am i getting away with it? Any advice? Looks a bit loppy here, i didnt shape it up before the picture.

Came to the Lake District for 3 weeks to try out my new gear such as a new tarp, also to make sure everything still works fine and isn't gonna fail instantly in a 3 month trip around France/the alps next month.

Tarp set up. 3rd night ever in a tarp. Its not been bad. Been a bit cold for May. Luckily I brought my thicker/heavier sleeping bag.

I've struggled a bit for sleep the past 3 nights though due to my tyvek bivvy bag sliding down the inflatable mat.

I need to pay closer attention to getting reasonably flat ground so it has influenced where I've set up tonight. Its the less discrete location BUT still way out the way nobody should bother.

Turner Lightweight Tarps Silpoly. Handmade in the UK. Great bit of gear. Best tarp i could find bar a dyneema one thats 4x the price. Feck that.