John Pilkington is an old friend of brasher and has been called "one of Britain's greatest tellers of travellers tales". Originally a travel writer and photographer, he's more recently become known for his adventure travel programmes on BBC Radio 4.

"I've always loved the various brashers I've had, but they really came into their own in 2006 when I used a pair of Kubes on a 700-kilometre trip from Timbuktu to the salt mines at Taoudenni in the middle of the Sahara.

Now I'm off on another big adventure, starting in Beirut and hiking the newly created Lebanon Mountain Trail before hitch-hiking and taking buses and trains through Syria, Iraq and Iran as far as Afghanistan. If all goes well, I'll cross northern Afghanistan, which is comparatively safe, to finish with a fabulous trek in the Little Pamir mountains in the far north-east, from where I'm trying to get permission to cross the historic Boroghil Pass to end up in September in Pakistan.

Think of the top ten countries most feared by Western Politicians, and all six above would be on the list. They're in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. But each has millions of ordinary people pursuing their lives in villages and countryside - often against heavy odds - in much the same way as they've done for a thousand years. It's these people that I want to meet, joining in their day-to-day challenges and listening to their hopes and dreams.

brasher have prepared me brilliantly for the trip, with Lithium XCR's for the hiking bits and Neon's for the rest. The Lithium XCR's will give me the all-important ankle support when I'm trekking with my pack, while the Neon's will be cool and super-lightweight for the hot, dusty road journeys.

I'll be posting updates here and at www.pilk.net/lecture.afghanistan.html, starting in May with the lowdown for you on hiking Lebanon's answer to the Pennine Way."