Over-nighter along the Suffolk Coastal Path.

With the family away and free from work for a few days I chose to walk a section of the Suffolk Coastal Path and do an overnighter.

As I have this 110km walk in June through Arctic Sweden I wanted to do a trial run with most of the kit I am planning to take with me (minus the Dog).

Gear for my Over-nighter along the Suffolk Coastal Path.

I want to try and keep weight down to a minimum for Sweden without effecting safety and in June in Northern Sweden we will be walking through some difficult, wet, snowy and cold terrain and this was a chance to do a prep run with my gear.

The only items I had with me that I wouldn’t be taking to Sweden was the the sleeping bag for the dog (which is an old sleeping bag that has been cut down in size for her).

The rest of the dog items was carried by her in her rucksack.

All my gear fitted perfectly into the Osprey Exos 48.

The bag was full and the dogs sleeping bag took up a bit of space giving me more space for extra clothes and 4 days of food.

I was carrying all the camera equipment i’m taking including the DJI Spark.

Due to the atmospheric conditions it seemed like it would be a really red sunset so I had planned to be at the old water pump in the reedbeds to use the drone to take some sunset shots over the reedbeds.

Tent.

Wild Country Zephros 1

Sleep System.

Exped Downmat Lite
Down 3 season sleeping bag.

Clothing.

Clothing wise I was wearing what I will wear in Sweden:

Merrel trail runners (there’s no point trying to keep your feet dry).
Armaskin antiblister socks
Revolution Race Balaclava (baselayer)
DAKY waterproof socks
Fjallraven beanie
Revolution Race trekker fleece
Down jacket (for night time or cold conditions stored in bag).
Fjern Outdoors Orkan Rain jacket (stored in bag).

Extra / evening clothes

Sleep kit (stored in separate bag – socks, base layers, eye mask, ear plugs).
Revolution Race Cozy fleece pants
Nordisk down camp slippers.

Food & Cooking

Summit to eat freeze dried meals x 2
Biltong
Coffee
Instant Soup
500ml titanium mug, micro stove 100g gas.

Route.

So starting at Walberswick I walked South along the beach and then I cut through the reed beds and stopped of at the water pump to get some footage.

When setting up the Spark I realised that the batteries weren’t at full charge, this was because I left them in the summer house over a few days and the temperature had dropped.

This then made me realise that I will have to keep these batteries warm whilst walking in Sweden. I did take a battery pack and recharged them overnight.

Here is an article on mobile charging.

I took some shots and made my way further through the reed beds towards the forest.

As I was walking towards the forest I found a really nice area that would have made a great camp just amongst the reed beds. An area measuring around 20m x 20m.

I stopped to have a look and even though it was close to the path it would have been a great camp but then I realised it was also home to a Badgers set so I moved on towards the forest because i didn’t want to disturb them.

Camp setup.

It was about 19:00 by the time I got into the forest and because I had previously found an area backing onto the reeds I knew where I could camp out of sight.

As the sunset (to cloudy for aerial photography I set up camp.

First setting up my tent, this is a new tent as I wanted one that I could pitch the outer first and i’m glad I had a practice with it first as it took a few attempts to pitch it correctly.

Sleep mat in, sleeping bag in and I was setup. Next was to feed my hungry dog, as mentioned before she carries her own food in her rucksack and her canvas bowl.

The next thing was food. Acting as a brand ambassador for Summit To Eat I had their Chicken Tikka with rice for this evening and a Apple Crunch and Custard for dessert.

I must say that this meal was one of the best I have had from there range. When your constantly thinking of the weight you are carrying, freeze dried meals are so much better than wet meals because you are carrying half as much weight.

The only issue is making sure you have enough water to rehydrate them and therefore you may half the weight of the meal but you’ll end up carrying that weight in water because you have to rehydrate them (unless you have a source where you will camp).

I hit the hay at around 21:00, it wasn’t the best nights sleep I always find the 1st night to be very of and on.

Next Morning.

Waking up at around 05:00 I brewed some coffee and ate the dessert I didn’t eat the previous night, got packed up and started heading back to get the sunrise at the water pump.

It was a beautiful morning, loads of Bitterns booming, geese in the air, Marsh harriers circling above and the odd Barn Owl silently flying above the reeds.

Sunrise or lack of.

Once I got to the water pump once again I had a battery issue with the spark they where to cold, so once again i’m glad I done this trial run as I will make sure the batteries are kept in my inner pocket.

Once the batteries had warmed up it was evident I wasn’t going to get a great sunrise but had a fly and took some shots.

After packing the Spark away I head East to the beach then followed North back to the car after my Over-nighter along the Suffolk Coastal Path.