Pop quiz what movie am I referencing in the title? (Just a bit of daily fun).
I have a little gap between working on other people’s events and working on my own, so I have decided to go for a little walk. How long that walk will be and over how many days is anyone’s guess. My fitness if poor at the moment and I still have some niggles from previous injuries. I have a hamstrings and hip issue that is not really going away so I have decided to try and walk it off!
I have a window of a couple of weeks before I need to be prepping for another event as a first aid provider just after Christmas. Maxine has lots of work away up north and away from the caravan over the next week or so. So I have decided to go teach my legs a lesson and go for a long walk.
The last time I went for a really long walk was 2 years ago when I walked coast to coast with a client John Lill.
Most of you know I work on the Spine Event on the Pennine way each year in both summer and winter.
Because of that race and other stuff I do in the mountains such as DofE I have been on many sections of the Pennine Way over the years. However I have not really walked any distance on it in one go. So I thought I would start up top at KY (Kirk Yetholm) and head towards Edale and see what happens. Obviously I chose this direction because it’s downhill, or it could be because I get the most remote section out of the way first and Maxine was heading north anyway so could drop me off easier.
I will get dropped off on Monday morning and start bimbling south with no real plans on where I will stop and sleep or if that will be out on the hill or in a cosy B&B room along the way. However it will take a few days before I get close to civilisation where comfort is an option. So I have food and camping kit for 4 day’s self sufficiency before I need to buy any more food or supplies. That should see me a fair distance along.
I will be taking my trusty spine companion Paramo the Ginger Pussy on my adventure with me. Yes he has waterproofs (ziplock bag) and has taped seams!
Below is a photo and list of the kit I am starting with.
Yes all this goes into the bag or on me……
Wearing.
Salewa Rapace B2 boots. Had these a while and they are very comfy but this walk may kill them.
Injinji Crew Socks. Good comfy socks
Paramo Velez Trousers Oh the irony….
Paramo Velez Smock
Rab winter baselayer.
Tilly Hat. Great warm weatherproof hat
Suunto 9 Baro primary navigation source but with backups.
Blackview BV9500 durable waterproof phone with viewranger.
Carried in or on the bag
Roughly from top left to bottom right.
Salewa Grand Randonne 36l pack
Decathlon Forclaz Poles I broke one of my mountain kings and have not got a replacement yet.
Spot Gen3 great emergency GPS device so Maxine can track me and I can call for help if I have no mobile signal.
Garmin Oregon 450 handheld GPS Old device but works fine and a great back up to my watch and phone.
OEX 2.5 inflatable 3/4 mat cheap basic mat
OEX Phoxx 1 person small tent l, 1.4 kg. Cheap and cheerful lightweight tent.
Paramo insulated beanie
Small first aid kit tape, needles, dressings, scissors and so on.
Microfibre towel
Toiletries toothpaste, toothbrush, soap etc
Spare underwear and injinji socks X2 of each.
SOL bivvy for emergencies
Mammut Kento hardshell waterproof
Dare 2 B hardshell waterproof trousers
OEX inflatable pillow
Small stove and cooking set
100gm gas cylinder
Gaffer tape for repairs
Morakniv bushcraft knifebfor food prep and repairs.
Montane Prism insulated jacket as an additional warm layer.
Spare Shorts and T-Shirt to use of I am in a hostel or pub B&B and I am washing my minging clothes.
Electrical items such as battery charger block (20,000mah), plug with usb sockets. Usb micro and C leads for charging all my devices. Plus wireless headphones.
Head Torches 2x USB recharheable, fenix HL12R as a back up and a Fenix HL18R as a main light. Both capable of 300lm. As I can’t swap batteries I will carry 2.
Snugpack Venture AR sleeping bag. Synthetic down 0c comfort limit rated bag. Brought along as it will be better in damp conditions as well as lighter than my RAB ascent 500. Also warmer than my McKinley 600 ultralight.
Gloves X 2 pairs. Sealskins waterproof gloves and Montane Prisim Alpine Guide gloves if it’s really cold.
Toilet kit Consisting of small titanium trowel and hand sanitiser and several pack of tissues.
Food for 4 days. 5x dehydrated meals 2 X 600kcal, 2 X 100kcal and 1 X 500kcal Active eat meal.
Various snacks such as chocolate and cereal bars and sweets.
1ltr Nalgene style bottle for drinking water.
Water filter kit. Sawyer mini filter and 2x500ml softflasks to use with filter. This means I can use water from potentially dirty sources to cook with or drink without having to waste gas boiling water.
Robinson’s squash mini dispenser. To make plain water taste better!
Dry bags 7 various sized dry bags to keep everything as dry as possible.
Ziplock bags for rubbish collecting and also waterproofing small items like my wallet.
All this kit in my pack including the food and water weighs a hefty 14.3kg!
This will get lighter as the days roll on and once I get close to civilisation and further away from southern Jockistan I will purchase food in shops and pubs and only carry a day or so worth of spare food.
Maxine will pop out and see me around her work stuff up north and her own personal adventures, then I will need to carry less spare clothing and gear so that will also reduce my weight a little.
Maxine will also have spare kit and food in her car so I can replace gear when it becomes too stinky or damaged and she can also wash any items if needs be.
I could have got it all into my larger 58lt Osprey pack but then the pack weight would be heavier and I would be more likely to add even more stuff and would be heading towards a 20kg pack which would be much harder to carry.
I will try to do a short blog post and upload a few pictures each day on FB/Instagram etc and if you are really bored you can track me on my spot tracker page here https://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0GciqNFovXkhZQSLSb2TjKCTDYisJgqgP
If I die it’s also useful for finding the body………………