The first of a monthly series we’re creating here at Howl: A Bow drill set from scratch in the wild. Crafting a set, and taking ember to flame with tinder available on the day.

The long winter nights are bookending blustery days, sunlight is in short supply, and freezing precipitation is a regular concern. It’s the colder season, you’re only spurred on by the prospect of sub-zero adventures…but what should you add into your usual Daypack when considering a Winter day hike?

In this video I unpack my rucksack and talk you through what I carry for a typical camping trip in the woods.

What follows is a trip report, a reminiscence of sorts covering a short canoe trip myself and my colleague Max took to Glen Affric at the start of January 2019. I’ve tied my field notes together with a few captions from Max of the two nights we spent under winters Orion, in some of the finest country I’d had the pleasure to journey through.

“This week we caught up with Jamie Dakota of Howl Bushcraft. We talk canoeing and how it opens up new avenues. How to get the most out of short journeys, and buying your own boat.

We also talk about the benefits of building strength and stamina with your loadout. Preppers, Hammocks and all the usual ramblings!”

We were recently supported by Dark Peak for a charity fund raising expedition in which we attempted to walk the longest line in the UK possible without crossing a road. The route took us 71km over the Cairngorms and crossed rivers, munros, cliffs, bogs, etc. along the way. Our intention was to raise money for Scottish mountain rescue.  During our journey we experienced some of the most brutal October weather conditions I have ever experienced.

In this video we follow up from a previous one on setting up and packing away a tarp in the woods. There are clearly several ways to go about this, this being one of two methods I use regularly.

Over the winter months here in the UK I’m often out on personal trips and climbs, ranging from the forests to the mountains, refilling my own adventure quota having spent the year focusing on courses. It’s on these trips that I like to travel light, walk far, and go places I’ve not been before. I get a lot of my articles written, and take plenty of photographs. At any given time I can be sat still for an hour waiting for the right lighting for a shot, or pounding hell for leather across a high plateau in an ice filled gale. Having clothing that can handle the environment is critical, so when Rab sent me their Electron Jacket and asked me for my thoughts on how it held up during those trips I was happy to oblige.

In October 2019 my good friend Jamie Dakota (Howl Bushcraft) and I embarked on an ambitious challenge to walk the longest straight line possible in the UK without crossing a road. The intention of this was to highlight the need for sensible route choice and decision making in the wilds of Scotland whilst simultaneously raising money for mountain based charities, most notably Scottish mountain rescue.