Spring is coming!
After over two weeks of snow, ice and frost, the weather has finally started to warm up again. Night-time temperatures haven't dropped below zero for several days now. The weatherman predicts temperatures of almost 20 degrees Celsius by the weekend--too bad I'll be working!
With only seven weeks left to go until May the 3rd, when I leave for the Lakes, I'm now busy in the day-to-day task of preparing myself. A big part of this is, of course, training. I'm well used to walking long distances--21.7 miles in a day is still my personal record--but walking those kind of distances with a 65-litre pack, and over difficult terrain, is something else entirely. For the past couple of weeks I've been gradually building up the distance of hikes with my big backpack. This week I'm hoping to hit the 12 mile mark. By the time I leave in May, I should be able to do 20 miles, with the large pack, on consecutive days, without too many problems.
The major piece of "preparation" before I go is a small backpacking trip, scheduled on the 4th of April. The route is nothing new: I did this trek last year, but although it's a very familiar trail, I'm looking forward to doing it again. The idea is to walk the entire coast of the Sandlings region of Suffolk in three days. Day one is the South Coastal Route (from Ramsholt on the river Deben to Tangham campsite in Rendlesham Forest). Day two is the Orford Coastal Route (from Tangham across the forests to Sudbourne, then down to Orford, then up the coast past Orfordness to Iken). Day three is the North Coastal Route (Iken, Snape Bridge, the marshes and wildernesses north of the Iken Straits, Aldeburgh, then ten miles up the coast to Dunwich). On the fourth day, I'm using the opportunity of being at Dunwich to do some serious exploring in that area. Although Dunwich isn't too distant to be visited in one day from home, I never get the chance of staying there long and really exploring that fascinating region.
My brother will be joining me for three of the four days, as preparation for when he and I go backpacking in the Lakes in July. Although all the paths are familiar to me, this will be quite a challenge: the route is on cliffsides and riverwalls the whole way, and can be very exposed in bad weather. In addition, the total distance is something in the order of sixty miles. Not bad for four day's hike.
Until then, I'm trying to find as much spare time as I can to get some practice hikes under my belt. The problem these days isn't so much deciding which areas to explore--it's trying to find areas I haven't walked through a dozen times already.
After over two weeks of snow, ice and frost, the weather has finally started to warm up again. Night-time temperatures haven't dropped below zero for several days now. The weatherman predicts temperatures of almost 20 degrees Celsius by the weekend--too bad I'll be working!
With only seven weeks left to go until May the 3rd, when I leave for the Lakes, I'm now busy in the day-to-day task of preparing myself. A big part of this is, of course, training. I'm well used to walking long distances--21.7 miles in a day is still my personal record--but walking those kind of distances with a 65-litre pack, and over difficult terrain, is something else entirely. For the past couple of weeks I've been gradually building up the distance of hikes with my big backpack. This week I'm hoping to hit the 12 mile mark. By the time I leave in May, I should be able to do 20 miles, with the large pack, on consecutive days, without too many problems.
The major piece of "preparation" before I go is a small backpacking trip, scheduled on the 4th of April. The route is nothing new: I did this trek last year, but although it's a very familiar trail, I'm looking forward to doing it again. The idea is to walk the entire coast of the Sandlings region of Suffolk in three days. Day one is the South Coastal Route (from Ramsholt on the river Deben to Tangham campsite in Rendlesham Forest). Day two is the Orford Coastal Route (from Tangham across the forests to Sudbourne, then down to Orford, then up the coast past Orfordness to Iken). Day three is the North Coastal Route (Iken, Snape Bridge, the marshes and wildernesses north of the Iken Straits, Aldeburgh, then ten miles up the coast to Dunwich). On the fourth day, I'm using the opportunity of being at Dunwich to do some serious exploring in that area. Although Dunwich isn't too distant to be visited in one day from home, I never get the chance of staying there long and really exploring that fascinating region.
My brother will be joining me for three of the four days, as preparation for when he and I go backpacking in the Lakes in July. Although all the paths are familiar to me, this will be quite a challenge: the route is on cliffsides and riverwalls the whole way, and can be very exposed in bad weather. In addition, the total distance is something in the order of sixty miles. Not bad for four day's hike.
Until then, I'm trying to find as much spare time as I can to get some practice hikes under my belt. The problem these days isn't so much deciding which areas to explore--it's trying to find areas I haven't walked through a dozen times already.
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