I wrote a long post looking back at 2011, reviewing gear, trips and all sorts of stuff. I decided to bin it though and instead the main things to take from the year were the excellent trips with Phil, Colin, Tookie, my dad & of course Traci:
- Cairngorms Everything but the kitchen sink
- Cairngorms with Phil, Colin & Tookie - The Mamores
- Ben Nevis via CMD
- Ben Nevis in Winter
- Aonach Eagach
- Bidean nam Bian
All of those trips were with others, an exception to this would be my wander onto the Black Cuillin prior to the start of the Highland ZigZag which was stunning.
When it comes to gear, the most notable thing is the lack of it. During 2011 I barely bought any, yes I received a few free things to test before saying No to anymore. It can be hard not to spend your hard earned money on more gear, when everywhere you look you are being told how fantastic this, that or the other is but generally I resisted. Possibly the reason for this is my focus on my finances and my desire to become debt free, the key to this is YNAB which I would highly recommend checking out.
What did I learn
- I enjoy walking with others more than solo (which I do still enjoy).
- I no longer want I.T. to be my main job and would like to work in the outdoors in some way.
- I don't need that new shiny kit.
- Lightweight backpacking philosophy can be transfered to the rest of my life (less stuff).
- Enjoy yourself no matter what!
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