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Hmm.. a night in the wild with a busted ankle.. this was not what I had in mind. I twist and turn my right ankle multiple times, every time I go out. Usually escaping injury by bracing onto my trekking pole, although I have torn a ligament in this ankle twice previously. However, this time, I had just left my car and hadn't yet retrieved the pole from the side pocket of my rucksack (where it's no use to anyone, I might add!) The twist was so painful that I initially wondered if I'd broken it. I wailed like a wounded animal and breathed, and waited. And then something strange happened. It was only a few minutes later when the pain faded away. I tried putting weight on the ankle, and it was fine. I tentatively tried walking on it, and it was fine. I was a little baffled by it all, and was aware that the ankle felt a little.. weird I guess? But it didn't hurt at all now, so I decided I must just be having a low-pain-threshold kinda day, I had clearly over-reacted to a twisted ankle, and so I decided to carry on - this time with my pole in hand. I arrived at the most beautiful spot by a lake, only 1km up into the mountains at 280m elevation. The water was still and mirror-like and the sky and the surrounding ridges & peaks shone in it's surface. The day was getting on - it was 7pm in mid September and the sun had already dipped below the hills. I popped up my tent, had a quick dip in the water and settled down for the night, warming my tea and hoping to see stars - it was a new moon, and I was excited to see the milky way before the summer was out. The night sky was entirely covered with cloud though, and outside the tent was black as ink. I love it when it's like that - it's a proper, deep darkness that I never experience at home near the cities A few sheep-friends skittered about on the rocks behind, and hoard of Whirly-Giggs (crane flies) descended on me in the tent, dive-bombing my face (they were loving the red light on my head torch haha) and resulting in some fairly unhinged screeching before they were promptly evicted (cue more unhinged screeching). Only then did it occur to me.. my ankle was starting to throb. I had a look at it, and it looked fine. I'd planned for this to be a 2-night trip. So I thought maybe I'd just have an easy day tomorrow and not go as far as I'd planned. I lay and listened and dozed to light rain on the tent, and then the clouds parted - just a little! But enough for a blanket of bright stars to come sparkling through ✨ and I fell into a lovely sleep in my lil tent next to the lake When I woke up in the morning, my ankle was clearly quite angry with me. It hurt pretty bad and had a lovely swelling sticking out of the side of it. I tried standing, and struggled to weight bear, and I knew it was injured. I cursed my stupidity at coming up here on an injury, hopping and jumping over streams with 17kg on my back on a torn ligament, because the injury was initially so painful, that my body had flooded itself with endorphins to kill the pain. Well, it worked pretty effectively, but now I was up in the mountains with a busted ankle, which was less than ideal Thankfully, I was only 1km up. I took painkillers & anti-inflammatories with my coffee and bandaged the offending ankle up while I waited for them to start working. Slightly heartbroken at having to leave already and dreading the hobble back down, I packed my things. Then I put away the tent like a wonky donkey. Unable to jump over the boggy end of the lake as I had done on the way up, I carefully traversed the drystone dam instead, and then slowly descended. So that was that, not only was there no night 2, but they'll be no multi-night trips for a while. I have a connective tissue disorder called Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder which makes me injury-prone (among many other things haha), and it turns out that I've now developed a chronic instability in my right ankle due to too many injuries. It just can't hold itself up any more. It's 3 weeks later now and I'm getting around fine, it doesn't hurt to walk on it but it's not completely healed yet. It's also very weak. So I'm back in physio again, starting next week. The swelling has nearly gone, but I've no other option but to brace the ankle with splints for hiking going forward. I've tried this on a couple of short walks and it's been fine so far. I'll find out through physio if it's gonna be possible to get a suitable amount of strength back in the ankle or not. So that is the plan Gear List
This gear list contains affiliate links. This means that WildBeare makes a small commission from any sales made via these links, at no extra cost to yourself - a great way to support the channel. Thank you *I choose not to be sponsored, affiliated with any particular brands, and have not accepted any free gear to try since summer of 2021. Every piece of gear that I’m using is something that I have chosen to buy for myself – my opinions on it and experiences with it are completely impartial. SHELTER / TENT Tent Hilleberg Soulo + Footprint (Bad Weather Test & details about this tent here: https://youtu.be/mUi1IGskBig) SLEEP SYSTEM Sleeping Bag Rab Ascent 500 https://amzn.to/3NSMcnn Summer Sleep Mat Thermarest XLite https://amzn.to/3L8r4Ym Trekology Aluft Delux Pillow https://amzn.to/3xwuhM1 Light AF Mat https://outdoorgearessentials.co.uk Alpkit Kloke Bivi Bag https://amzn.to/3rb1nCK (protects sleeping bag from condensation or tent failure) TREKKING POLE Fizan Compact https://amzn.to/3ggE1Gj RUCKSACK & PACKING Deuter Aircontact 60+10L SL Women’s Rucksack https://amzn.to/3MqRvcW Exped Dry Bags https://amzn.to/33OmrDu Nylofume Pack Liner - https://outdoorgearessentials.co.uk DCF Zip Pouches & Dry Bags https://WildSkyGear.co.uk SIT MAT Cheapo one https://amzn.to/3yP22u8 FIELD REPAIRS Tenacious Tape https://amzn.to/2PmjxOq Duct Tape (I wrap it around my trekking pole) https://amzn.to/3qPKFEF DD Superlight Guy Rope (spare cordage) https://amzn.to/3hlefRW COOKING Hiking Stove https://amzn.to/3cM173q Jetboil Gas 230g https://amzn.to/3z5qV5L Gas Canister Stand https://amzn.to/3GLhHh4 Toaks 900ml Titanium Pot https://amzn.to/3j5Mwot Light my Fire Ferro Rod https://amzn.to/3eVXUOF XBands https://amzn.to/43SVFE8 Opinel Pocket Knife No.5 https://amzn.to/45P33RH Tito Titanium Spoon https://amzn.to/3xgwcqi Bag for rubbish WATER & HYDRATION 1L Bottle for camp LifeStraw 1L Filter Squeeze Bottle https://amzn.to/3lE8GA6 Cup (10g) Decathlon Milton Sterilising Tablets (for cleaning at home) https://amzn.to/3W4tLR5 TOILETRIES & PERSONAL CARE Tissue Baby wipes Hand sanitiser Trowel https://amzn.to/3etBVz9 Hair band Lip balm Talc Toothpaste Tiny mirror Mini Tweezers Tiny Pots https://amzn.to/3aJytgC Toothbrush https://amzn.to/2LqwgxY Sleep Mask https://amzn.to/3tD2lUs Ear Plugs https://amzn.to/40swCVh MED KIT Pain relief Antihistamine Plasters Blister plasters https://amzn.to/3qvrzHA Torniquet (only use with knowledge of how to use safely) Wound Dressing & Small Bandage Alcohol Wipes TICK, MOZZIE & MIDGE PREVENTION Lifesystems Ex4 (tick treatment for outer clothing coming into contact with long grass etc) https://amzn.to/38XozuB Rose Geranium Oil https://amzn.to/3jY4YwJ Lemon Eucalyptus Oil https://amzn.to/3rzROdq Tick Removal Tool https://amzn.to/3rHfkFp Head Bug Net https://amzn.to/3J0OAZf CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR Boots Regatta Bainsford https://amzn.to/3jufjj0 Iron Laces https://amzn.to/3Pwirwm Grangers Natural Beeswax for Boots https://amzn.to/44bT0Ft Rab Women’s Nexus Hoody https://amzn.to/3oRMTG7 Step One Lady Boxers Black https://amzn.to/3Zfg9Fe Merino Wool Vest Walnut https://amzn.to/44R0ZrH Foam Flip Flops RIVER CROSSING / SWIMMING Swim Shorts https://amzn.to/43929Oq Water Shoes https://amzn.to/3HaxXY7 Microfibre Towel https://amzn.to/43qSZwh 💧 Back at home between trips, consider washing your swim clothes and swim shoes in products that are kinder to the water. I’m currently using Tru Earth https://amzn.to/40n1YMZ ELECTRONICS 20,100 mAh Anker Power Bank https://amzn.to/3jqTQr2 Anker USB/C Adapters https://amzn.to/3MqY0Oo Light Goal Zero https://amzn.to/32RI1pR Lyocel towel for drying hands & gear in wet weather https://amzn.to/45t7tO6 GPS / NAVIGATION / PLB Garmin Inreach Mini https://amzn.to/3sVBi9f Garmin Backpack Tether https://amzn.to/3sTRibM Map & Compass Phone https://amzn.to/3An5PQ7 FILMING Camera Sony ZV1 https://amzn.to/3t4VamJ Ulanzi Wide Angle & Macro Lens https://amzn.to/3CC6Jaq ZV1 Screen Protectors https://amzn.to/3tYOnPA Rode Wireless Mic https://amzn.to/44rs9Vt Rode Lav Mic https://amzn.to/44Qte8M 128GB SD Card https://amzn.to/3tckuY8 Light Clip https://amzn.to/2MZjCGK Tripod https://amzn.to/3nxGg7p Ball Head https://amzn.to/32Zb87n Rain Cover https://amzn.to/3VctprU x2 GoPro 10’s https://amzn.to/3T9CDUB Wind Shields https://amzn.to/3TesuWA Screen Protectors https://amzn.to/3ww70Lf Dome Port https://amzn.to/3Su4kX7 Selfie Stick https://amzn.to/3zRjDTh Rucksack Mount https://amzn.to/32Ojy4M 128GB Micro SD Card https://amzn.to/3p8XQ0v Gorrillapod Tripod https://amzn.to/3u9Tb3j SAM the drone: DJI Mavic Mini Drone https://amzn.to/3rvF0SZ + an old iphone to control it – my phone not compatible 128GB Micro SD Card https://amzn.to/3p8XQ0v COMPUTER & EDITING Editing Program – Davinci Sony Headphones https://amzn.to/3yds75R Mouse https://amzn.to/3yjY24t Dell PC https://amzn.to/3CAp3mX Seagate 10TB External Hard Drive https://amzn.to/3MnK4Vj Music in this Video
Thank you to these amazing artists for producing such beautiful music - it is such an important part of my videos and a joy to help me tell my lil adventure stories.. Charlie Ryan – Chasing Horizons (instrumental version) Lance Conrad – Fortitude Nsee – Frozen Lake Romeo – Deep Lake Semo – Chemtrails Yehezkel Raz – Flight of the Inner Bird Megan Wofford - Inspiration (all from Epidemic Sound & Artlist with license) Comments are closed.
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