Nudging the edge of the hill

I have not long joined the forum and a part of the reason was age. Now 69. Up until now I have 'made do' with limited money and whatever gear I could make, borrow, find... My last long trip was 6 weeks in the central hills of Sri Lanka. It was a challenge travelling with two younger men. I held up my end but realised that some changes are needed; recalibrating some basic parameters. The easiest front to address is gear and, as a enthusiastic DIY - MYOG person I am looking to make, adapt and experiment with a lot of new stuff. You will likely see me bouncing about various lists with questions and sharing some of my ideas.

I now have a bit more spare $$ and definitely more time - and have no intention of quitting the trail! See you out there

We'd love to hear more about your trip. And there are certainly people here who share your interest in DYI!

Started in Colombo - gladly left there for Kandy where we camped for a couple of night. Train (south then north) to Polannaruwa. As an ex-builder I totally loved the ancient ruins there. Camping in Sri Lanka is not culturally common. Cricket is the most outdoorsy it often gets. There are many paid sites and freedom camping is a very variable experience. Mostly we approached locals and found a patch somewhere (not always requiring exchange). Walking south there are several areas of reserve land. The two guys I was with spoke Sinhala so often we could, after tea and chats and discussion, find agreement on spending the night in the forest or some fallow farm land somewhere - not always in the parks. We wiggled south along back roads and skirted-crossed as much forest as we could. Remember that Sri Lanka is very densely populated so privacy can not be expected. People are curious - and also incredibly generous. After about 3 weeks the weather was closing so we took a few buses and stayed in various 'accomodations' for a week or so. Yala, in the SW is awesome. We stayed in a monastery there for several nights. The weather was great and the countryside easy walking. No elephants to be seen. pity? Nearly a week on the coast (place of a friend of a friend well east of the tourist beaches) camping next to a lagoon. I was told about the crocs on the last day. Fell in the river - with camera attached - but, overall a wonderful trip.

Sounds like a great adventure!