A lot of people seemed to be reading the two "Walking from A to Z" posts (SEEMED...but what were they REALLY doing???) Like when on the BBC TV news they say "...and now the news from where you are..." - I mean, HOW DO THEY KNOW WHERE I AM???
OK, enough of pretending to be paranoid (I can't keep the pretence up for long and then my guard is down AND THEY'LL GET ME). I realised I'd not covered some fairly obvious issues in those two posts, and as people seemed interested, it'd be worth adding a bit more.
So if you didn't read the other posts - this is about walking long-distance trails.
ACCOMODATION: It takes a lot of time to arrange unless you're prepared to risk going without pre-booking, which is risky and troublesome if you're arriving dog-tired in the early evening with a full pack and have to go from place to place. This would be near suicidal on the three main Scottish routes (West Highland Way, Great Glen Way, Southern Upland Way) except at the eastern end of the Southern Upland, but it does give you flexibility if some stages turn out easier or harder than you expected. If you are pre-booking, you will end up with a long list of places to ring or check electronically, and as you make bookings, it becomes impossible to change the start date - which is why I advise identifying the most risky locations (like the King's House Hotel on the West Highland Way, where there is nowhere else to stay for miles) and booking them first, making changes at that stage if necessary. It's easy to skimp on making clear notes when you've booked, but not doing so may lead to confusion over whether you've paid a sum in advance or even lead to you turning up at the wrong place. Do your level best to locate the venue precisely before you set out, but take a mobile phone and all the accomodation phone numbers - it can be a life-saver (maybe even literally).
CAMPING means you have huge flexibility in hill country, but the tent is extra weight and perhaps more importantly, if you end one day with wet boots and socks, they'll still be wet the next morning. That way lie foot problems. It also means you have to carry more food unless you're Ray Mears.
WALKING ALONE OR ACCOMPANIED is an important issue. I've always done it alone, but often find I'm falling in with other walkers and may walk most or all of a day with someone. That way getting on one another's nerves is less of an issue and if one of you proves to be faster than the other there's no problem - you just part. Walking with others is a bit safer and can lift spirits, but in summer in most hill country and in spring or autumn elsewhere the main serious risk is getting hit on a road and if you carry map, compass, phone and whistle as well as correct clothing you'll find most "difficult" sections aren't that bad. My first guidebook used on the West Highland Way waxed lyrical about the dangers of fearsome Rannoch Moor and advised people not to walk this section alone. Well, Rannoch Moor is a wild and risky place, but the WHW doesn't go over it. It skirts round the edge by a well-marked drovers' road. Even in thick fog you'd know the moment you stepped off the track: only thick snow would be a real problem. True, anyone can fall awkwardly and break an ankle, but the chances of this happening are very low, the chances of being found are much higher on well-known trails than elsewhere, and it's up to you to carry rain-gear, emergency rations, whistle and so on.
BOOTS are crucial. Never go forth with boots that haven't been broken in over several days' tough walking at least. If the boots you've bought aren't quite comfortable, buy another pair in good time. A good grip is essential, especially in hill country or on cliffs. Some trails, like the coastal ones generally, don't absolutely require leather walking boots, but remember nearly all fabric boots are not fully waterproof and wet feet develop problems. Take something light in reserve such as a good, broken in pair of trainers (not old ones with smooth bottoms): it can be helpful to wear them on an easy section where you don't expect marsh or a lot of mud to give your feet a change, because often slight problems build up and different footwear can help.Take spare laces for obvious reasons.
BINOCULARS are useful to spot distant landmarks or a gate at the far side of a field into which the track disappears. However, ordinary ones are quite heavy. Consider taking a mini-pair (still serious magnification such as 7 or 8 times, but much smaller and lighter: what you lose is the wider field of vision and some valuable light in gloomy conditions).
BATHS are to be avoided - seriously. They soften your feet. Showers are OK. However, a bath can help with a muscular strain, especially a slight one.
Don't skimp on WATER, especially in the warmer months. It's quite heavy, but getting dehydrated is unpleasant, weakening and even dangerous. So consider drinking where you can along the way (and beer is fine, but not too much).
Next time I post, it'll be the Odanglesex Chronicles again, but I think there's one more post in the current subject - comments on some trails I've walked.
If you're a walker - happy walking!
Showing posts with label hill-walking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hill-walking. Show all posts
Friday, 6 April 2012
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
How to walk from A - Z
I promised some tips about long-distance trail walking. They all apply to walking for several days on a trail or not. Some may seem obvious, but on the West Highland Way last year I came across people who'd thought the WHW was a good opportunity to try out a new pair of boots and others who'd clearly not found out what a full pack felt like on their back until they set out for the Glasgow train.
PLAN. Use the on-line information. Book accomodation in advance unless there's an abundance of it on the way (as on MOST parts of the South-west Coastal Footpath). Identify places where you have no alternative - just one place to stay - and book there first, adjusting your dates to fit what they've got. Make a list of what you need. Seek maps and guide-books in good time: many bookshops will have to order them. Take into account that the steepest climbs may take two or three times as long as mildly hilly walks - and that while coastal walks may have no mountains, you may have to keep going steep down, across half a mile of loose sand or shingle and then steep up again. Think about what you're asking of yourself. Can you really do an average 20 miles a day? What's your evidence? If you can do 25 miles in hilly but not mountainous country with full pack but that's near your limit, is there any way of breaking up that three-day 25 mile - 23 mile - 26 mile sequence? I fell down on that count doing the Wye Valley Walk - but oddly, the toughest day was the first of the three!
PRACTICE. If possible, not only do all the long walking you can in the months leading up, but take a short break to do intensive walking in roughly similar country about two weeks before you start the real thing, carrying roughly the same weight in your pack and using the same key equipment - boots, pack/rucksack and so on. This is a good time to find that those broken in but newish walking boots are more comfortable with the top toggle left unused or that the combination of fleece and cagoule doesn't work because the cagoule doesn't cover the bottom of the fleece. Do at least three-and-a-half days' intensive walking (but enjoy it too). Make it tough: the first time I did the WHW, I'd trained in the Lake District and there was nothing on the WHW as tough as ascending Blencathra or going over Black Sail Pass. That made me feel good on the WHW! Make sure you know from experience how to use your compass, too, or GPS if you use that.
CUT DOWN ON WEIGHT (unless you're using sherpa services). Think. Most clothes can be washed and dried somewhere on the trip, even if the washing is in a wash-basin and the drying by hanging from the top of your pack. How many pairs of each item do you really need? On any trip of less than 200 miles, I'd suggest you can plan to wear each pair of socks four days (two days, one wash, two more days' wear), but you shouldn't need more than three shirts. Do you need a tube of cream for insect bites, or will a small tube of antiseptic do? Leave the thermos behind: you don't need hot drinks on the walk and it's extra weight. Accept that the only reading matter will be the guide-book and anything you can pick up where you stay and then leave there, plus a newspaper occasionally.
YOUR FEET ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. Despite what I said above, don't skimp on supplies of plasters and the like. A spare pair of foam inner-soles is advisable. Carry a support bandage: if you get a muscular strain, this can make the difference between a huge disappointment and success.
TAKE MAPS. OK the guide-book probably has maps, but they'll show only a narrow band along the route. That's not enough if you go off-course or if you're trying to orient from distant landmarks. Doing without a guide-book is possible, but tends to trip you up on small details, like where to go when the path enters a built-up area or where precisely to cross the river.
CARRY AS LITTLE FOOD AS POSSIBLE. Eat a good breakfast, make do with, say, a handful of raisins, a bit of chocolate and a plum at midday, and eat a good, balanced meal in the evening. The balance is important because on the longer trails like the Pennine Way if you're not careful you'll develop dietary deficiencies which will affect your strength and resilience.
BE BLOODY-MINDED. Rain is NOT going to stop you. That crap guide-book misled you and you're three miles adrift on a day when you have 24 miles to walk? Let your anger propel you until you realise you're reasonably on your time target again. But don't ignore problems like a slight pain in your foot. They'll get worse and there's probably something you can do.
HAVE FUN. Stand and stare at the water flowing under the bridge. Stay in pubs with good beer and company. Celebrate when you finish. It may sound grim if you haven't tried it, but it's huge fun and the feeling at the finish is great.
PLAN. Use the on-line information. Book accomodation in advance unless there's an abundance of it on the way (as on MOST parts of the South-west Coastal Footpath). Identify places where you have no alternative - just one place to stay - and book there first, adjusting your dates to fit what they've got. Make a list of what you need. Seek maps and guide-books in good time: many bookshops will have to order them. Take into account that the steepest climbs may take two or three times as long as mildly hilly walks - and that while coastal walks may have no mountains, you may have to keep going steep down, across half a mile of loose sand or shingle and then steep up again. Think about what you're asking of yourself. Can you really do an average 20 miles a day? What's your evidence? If you can do 25 miles in hilly but not mountainous country with full pack but that's near your limit, is there any way of breaking up that three-day 25 mile - 23 mile - 26 mile sequence? I fell down on that count doing the Wye Valley Walk - but oddly, the toughest day was the first of the three!
PRACTICE. If possible, not only do all the long walking you can in the months leading up, but take a short break to do intensive walking in roughly similar country about two weeks before you start the real thing, carrying roughly the same weight in your pack and using the same key equipment - boots, pack/rucksack and so on. This is a good time to find that those broken in but newish walking boots are more comfortable with the top toggle left unused or that the combination of fleece and cagoule doesn't work because the cagoule doesn't cover the bottom of the fleece. Do at least three-and-a-half days' intensive walking (but enjoy it too). Make it tough: the first time I did the WHW, I'd trained in the Lake District and there was nothing on the WHW as tough as ascending Blencathra or going over Black Sail Pass. That made me feel good on the WHW! Make sure you know from experience how to use your compass, too, or GPS if you use that.
CUT DOWN ON WEIGHT (unless you're using sherpa services). Think. Most clothes can be washed and dried somewhere on the trip, even if the washing is in a wash-basin and the drying by hanging from the top of your pack. How many pairs of each item do you really need? On any trip of less than 200 miles, I'd suggest you can plan to wear each pair of socks four days (two days, one wash, two more days' wear), but you shouldn't need more than three shirts. Do you need a tube of cream for insect bites, or will a small tube of antiseptic do? Leave the thermos behind: you don't need hot drinks on the walk and it's extra weight. Accept that the only reading matter will be the guide-book and anything you can pick up where you stay and then leave there, plus a newspaper occasionally.
YOUR FEET ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. Despite what I said above, don't skimp on supplies of plasters and the like. A spare pair of foam inner-soles is advisable. Carry a support bandage: if you get a muscular strain, this can make the difference between a huge disappointment and success.
TAKE MAPS. OK the guide-book probably has maps, but they'll show only a narrow band along the route. That's not enough if you go off-course or if you're trying to orient from distant landmarks. Doing without a guide-book is possible, but tends to trip you up on small details, like where to go when the path enters a built-up area or where precisely to cross the river.
CARRY AS LITTLE FOOD AS POSSIBLE. Eat a good breakfast, make do with, say, a handful of raisins, a bit of chocolate and a plum at midday, and eat a good, balanced meal in the evening. The balance is important because on the longer trails like the Pennine Way if you're not careful you'll develop dietary deficiencies which will affect your strength and resilience.
BE BLOODY-MINDED. Rain is NOT going to stop you. That crap guide-book misled you and you're three miles adrift on a day when you have 24 miles to walk? Let your anger propel you until you realise you're reasonably on your time target again. But don't ignore problems like a slight pain in your foot. They'll get worse and there's probably something you can do.
HAVE FUN. Stand and stare at the water flowing under the bridge. Stay in pubs with good beer and company. Celebrate when you finish. It may sound grim if you haven't tried it, but it's huge fun and the feeling at the finish is great.
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Walking from A to Z
I'm a long-distance trail walker. I liked nature, especially birds, since my age was in single figures, and started doing long walks as a student, but only attempted my first recognised long-distance trail, the Pennine Way, at the age of 33 - and failed because I tried to do too much too quickly (not realising that what was manageable over two days was not manageable over a week or more) and wasn't ruthless enough about weight on my back. I learnt, went back, completed the Pennine Way and was hooked.
I haven't done any trails outside the U.K. (perhaps because in a foreign country, there so much else I'd want to explore) but within the UK I've done most of the big ones including the South-west coastal Footpath (630 miles)in one go (that isn't in one day - just starting at one end and finishing at the other 35 days later). Last year I completed the West Highland Way for the second time and whereas last time I went on to climb Ben Nevis the next day, this time at Fort William I transferred on to the Great Glen Way and so did both - a very slow way of travelling from Glasgow to Inverness.
So what are the attractions?
There's a sense of achievement. Yes, you can set your own challenges, but there is something special about succeeding in a tough task someone else has set. It's a great way of seeing much spectacular scenery and finding some interesting small towns, villages, pubs, ruins and so on. The sensation of finishing the day's walking thoroughly tired but finally able to relax, to flop down on a bed and sleep for an hour, then to go for a pint and a meal, to reflect on the day's travel and plan the next, is fantastic. Some people cheat and use "sherpa" services. I'm not actually decrying that, but for me it's a too easy way out of one of the key challenges, balancing your real need for certain items (maps, torch, raingear, spare clothes, water bottle, insect repellent and so on) against the imperative of reducing the weight carried in every way possible and never giving way to the "that's just a tiny additional weight" mindset. A Dutch senior business manager I met on the Coast to Coast footpath put it brilliantly: "It is good to know that all you really need in life you can carry on your back."
Beyond that, we can recapture something of the sense of being a nomad - of having no home but a journey.
There are minuses, of course - the periods of several rainy days running, the frustrating realisation you've taken the wrong track, the times (I've come to realise for me they come once on each journey quite early on) when I think, "I don't have to do this. Why AM I doing this?". I don't accept the view of some serious walkers that long-distance trail walking is a kind of distortion. Nearly all the trail walkers I've met are either, like me, people who also do plenty of walks of their own devising and love to explore the hills, sometimes using the experience of doing a trail to inform them of where they could explore - or they're newcomers who may become hooked on serious walking and then joint the first group. The exception, I suppose, is the large organised groups, but they're few. I walk alone, that is without an undertaking to accompany someone, but often find myself walking and talking with other people from many countries and of all ages.
I'll return to this subject in a while and give a few tips. If you're interested, please comment and I'll reply.
I haven't done any trails outside the U.K. (perhaps because in a foreign country, there so much else I'd want to explore) but within the UK I've done most of the big ones including the South-west coastal Footpath (630 miles)in one go (that isn't in one day - just starting at one end and finishing at the other 35 days later). Last year I completed the West Highland Way for the second time and whereas last time I went on to climb Ben Nevis the next day, this time at Fort William I transferred on to the Great Glen Way and so did both - a very slow way of travelling from Glasgow to Inverness.
So what are the attractions?
There's a sense of achievement. Yes, you can set your own challenges, but there is something special about succeeding in a tough task someone else has set. It's a great way of seeing much spectacular scenery and finding some interesting small towns, villages, pubs, ruins and so on. The sensation of finishing the day's walking thoroughly tired but finally able to relax, to flop down on a bed and sleep for an hour, then to go for a pint and a meal, to reflect on the day's travel and plan the next, is fantastic. Some people cheat and use "sherpa" services. I'm not actually decrying that, but for me it's a too easy way out of one of the key challenges, balancing your real need for certain items (maps, torch, raingear, spare clothes, water bottle, insect repellent and so on) against the imperative of reducing the weight carried in every way possible and never giving way to the "that's just a tiny additional weight" mindset. A Dutch senior business manager I met on the Coast to Coast footpath put it brilliantly: "It is good to know that all you really need in life you can carry on your back."
Beyond that, we can recapture something of the sense of being a nomad - of having no home but a journey.
There are minuses, of course - the periods of several rainy days running, the frustrating realisation you've taken the wrong track, the times (I've come to realise for me they come once on each journey quite early on) when I think, "I don't have to do this. Why AM I doing this?". I don't accept the view of some serious walkers that long-distance trail walking is a kind of distortion. Nearly all the trail walkers I've met are either, like me, people who also do plenty of walks of their own devising and love to explore the hills, sometimes using the experience of doing a trail to inform them of where they could explore - or they're newcomers who may become hooked on serious walking and then joint the first group. The exception, I suppose, is the large organised groups, but they're few. I walk alone, that is without an undertaking to accompany someone, but often find myself walking and talking with other people from many countries and of all ages.
I'll return to this subject in a while and give a few tips. If you're interested, please comment and I'll reply.
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