The Outdoors Station

I cant image there are many hikers who at some stage or another haven’t complained about back, knee or ankle pains in some form or another and no doubt we have all just put it down to being just ‘one of those things’.

Or maybe you are someone who states that you have weak ankles, but maybe have never thought to ask yourself how, why and when that became a problem for you.

Some people train for the hills by just hiking, others mix it with the gym and maybe the rare few actually try yoga or pilates, however as good as all these are, they may not be hitting the spot as regards solving your particular problem, which is where Rowan Smith one of the very few personal trainers specialising in trekking fitness, come into play.

He is one a very few specialist personal trainers who exclusively work with hikers, trekkers and mountaineers around the world to help either get ready for their adventure or to overcome injuries which are spoiling their outdoor adventures.

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Iceland has to be one of the last true raw hiking wilderness experiences there is left in the world.

Just a few kilometres south of the Artic Circle it isn’t the most welcome environment with temperatures at their height in the summer just topping 10C with daylight which lasts virtually 24 hours, it doesn’t make for a good night sleep.

Which goes to make this forthcoming unsupported 620km trek by Dermot Cosgrove a challenge and a half. Not only that but he’s decide to use a trekking cart as a way to ease the load on his shoulders as he carries all his provisions for 3 weeks. However there’s river crossings, unmarked boulder fields and marsh land to navigate along the way.

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Alastair Humphries is a name probably well known in the UK within outdoor circles and by those who follow professional adventurers.

His CV is quite extensive involving cycling around the world, walking across India, rowing the Atlantic and running across the Sahara to name but a few of his better know exploits.

However as he’s become older his awareness of what Adventure really is has changed and he has begun to question whether bigger is necessarily better.

You may have seen his more recent views extolling the virtues of Micro Adventures popping up in places within various media. It appears to have grabbed the masses as being more relevant to the lives of most people. Little adventures which you can fit into one evening, one day or a few days, which don’t break the bank, but challenge you all the same to overcome your vulnerability and to take (controllable) risks.

In this podcast we discuss his recent book My Midsummer Morning which tells the story of his recent adventure, one where he took his own advice and deliberately placed himself in a very vulnerable situation.

It is certainly a challenge on a different scale to his more well known exploits however, it is nonetheless something we all would find in these days of plenty, really difficult to do.

That is to empty your pockets of everything but your passport and travel through a country with just the clothes on your back and a few basics, surviving solely on what money you can earn from busking with a violin. An instrument he only started to play 6 months prior to setting off.

He had never played in front of anyone before. He had no money to fall back on. He also walked through the back lanes and wild paths through Spain. His only saving grace, was conversational Spanish. Would he starve and be miserable, or would the local population appreciate the special kind of entertainment he was about to spring on them?

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In recent weeks the news and media have been filled with reports about protesters demanding action on climate change.

There’s so much information and misinformation floating about, is it any wonder we all find ourselves confused and dazed. Often burying our head in the sand hoping that others will bring about changes which the world sorely needs. The activists, the protesters, the people who are in the news today while I'm watching from a safe distance.

One such powerful, eloquent and exceedingly well informed activist is John Gibbons. Based in Dublin, John has been writing and speaking about environmental and climate-related issues for the last decade and more. This included a two and a half year stint as weekly environmental columnist with the Irish Times. He also maintains an environmental blog at ThinkOrSwim.ie

He was invited recently to talk at the March Green Drinks event hosted by The Dublin Branch of The Irish Wildlife Trust.

Fellow Ireland based podcaster with a passion for all things outdoors, Tommy Sera, (Podcast Tommysoutdoors.com) attended the event and recorded his talk. As you’ll hear a talk full of passion, facts, irony and humour. It also isn’t short on adult language too, so listen with care.

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So I’m back on the Podcast case and kicking off with a quick visit to the Photography Show at the NEC where I was specifically looking once again for items, workshops or an accessories of interest to the outdoor user.

The show had a different feel to previous years and it may be due to the expense of stand space there, or a reflection on the downturn of the market while we all wait for those people in London to work out which is their arse and which is their elbow!

However it had been a very busy weekend by all accounts and I was hoping that Monday might see some interviewees with some enthusiasm left before the final day.

There's some really useful interviews in this episode.

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This podcast is a just a quick update and explanantion why I haven’t released anything in the last few weeks.

We moved into a very small house a couple of years back near Malvern and after a disastrous start (its on the podcast) we have finally now started to reclaim some of the outside space and build a new storage unit and office in the garden.

This is going well, but there is no way I can do everything all of the time, so the Podcasts had to give way for the time being I’m afraid.

Also but as you might understand the change in the weather is slowing things down. However we hope to have a dry box by Christmas and then the internal fun will begin.

In the meantime, while I have been playing ‘Bob the Builder’, my mind has been considering the future and ways in which to create an exciting new informative ‘live’ outdoors based video on YouTube and Facebook.

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Ellie and Carl are walking 4,000km along all the National Waymarked Trails of Ireland. There are 42 trails within Ireland, with a combined distance of around 4,000km. So far they've walked 35 trails, and over 3,000km.

You’ll hear how they sacrificed their home comforts, sold everything to hit the road and walk every National Trail in the Republic of Ireland.

It started off as a 6 months project. They originally started at haste but slowly they became aware that to rush was to miss the finer pleasures of their adventure. And so they now find themselves 18 months later, with only 7 more trails to go and a huge amount of experience under their belt and 100's of beautiful memories of their country in their back pocket .

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Katie Tunn is an artist who follows her dreams. First to escape from bustle of London to remote peace of Skye, to reduce the consumerism in her life and absorb the rich island culture.

And now this. A personal 40 day and 40 night challenge to live on a remote island, with no one but the wildlife to keep her company. To cleanse her soul of the daily bombardment of information. To seek inner peace and find her inner voice. Something very few of us I suspect will ever be lucky enough to hear in our lifetime.

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