15 Sept 2016

481.6 to go


Why is it that whenever I play with the dog he always nips me where its tender. Inner arm, inner thigh, boobs, I think hes a kung fu master who knows all the points on the body that debilitate.

After seeing Ilona's 1000 mile in a year challenge I came across it in Country Walking magazine too so I joined, under the illusion that I can complete 500 miles before the end of the year.
I don't suppose it really matters as long as I have fun trying, so I'm away down to the shop to buy a pedometer to keep track of my mileage because when  I'm out with the dogs, I walk places that google maps don't go so I cant come home and check the distance.

Miles walked today:1.5

Total Miles walked:16.9

Days left: 107

Miles left to do: 481.6

14 Sept 2016

Daily Stroll

When I brushed the dogs last night I noticed they had picked up a few fleas whilst on our trip so this morning I headed straight for Pets at home and got some tablets. If I am going to be camping and hiking regularly it may be worth joining their flea care scheme. I saw an advert on the outside of the shop as I got in the car so I will go back and investigate when I have time, but I was in a bit of a rush this morning so didn't go back in.

I noticed that Autumn is starting to creep in as I looked out of the window this morning. The trees next door have a few yellow leaves and the others are starting to pale a little.
This afternoon I went for a walk up the lanes to see if the hawthorn berries are ready for picking but most of them are either a bit small or not ripe enough yet. There were some in a field of a public footpath I followed, but not near enough to do anything with so I left them.

 

I did however get a bag full of Elderberry and a few blackberries and even after all these years of foraging, Im still always chuffed that I got goodies from nature and am always thankful for it no matter how small the haul.
The dog leads which I bought are a godsend. I got them from Pets at Home and they are for joggers. The leads have a bungee section to cushion the jolt when the dog pulls and they attach to a waistband which leaves me hands free



The walk that we did was 5.4 miles. I have never been and don't intend to be a 20 mile a day hiker. Even on a full day when I'm out with the dogs I bet we don't do 10 miles at the very most. Well, they probably do with all their running around when I stop to forage or just enjoy the view, but me? nah.
I read peoples hiking stories and follow them on youtube when they are doing some of the countries long distance walks such as coast to coast, scottish highlands etc and they take 2 to 4 weeks to do the walk and always seem to be pushing themselves each day.
I would like to walk from the tip of Scotland to the tip of Cornwall and just take as long as it takes. Mind you that wouldn't so much be a hike as a way of life but I would still like to do that. Maybe its panic creeping in seeing as I have just crept past my mid fifties and not done it yet.



NEEDLE’S EYE
A 45ft high sandstone pyramid with an ornamental urn over a Gothic ogee arch straddling a former access road from Wentworth Woodhouse northwards towards Pontefract and York racecourses. It was built in the mid-18th Century, allegedly to win a bet after the 1st Marquis claimed he could drive a coach and horses through the eye of a needle!

 
This was halfway round the walk and although it wasn't too hot today, it was still nice to sit inside it and cool down a bit. For such a small tunnel it has an amazing echo.
From here the walk is all along the flat and downhill apart from the long climb to the woods.


Gnarly old trees always fascinate me. Im not sure why, but they do.


The Elderberries are happily soaking to get rid of creepy crawlies and the bowl of Blackberries was half full but several hopped from the bowl into my mouth. Not to worry, the remainder will still sweeten the winter syrup



11 Sept 2016

Cleanup & Thoughts on the Trip


Well here I am again and hoping to rekindle my blog and my life. It will be nice to get back to my bimbling, foraging and crafting after so long away from it. I have gone through a few years of serious depression and am thankfully on the mend, I think. But that's as much as I am going to say about that. My blog was never doom and gloom and I'm not about to start with it now.

I spent the morning trying to catch up with all of your blogs that I used to love reading and was sad to see that like myself, many that I used to follow, no longer blog or no longer have blogs. Life is constantly changing for us all I guess, so if any of you who no longer have blogs happen to stop by one day, Be well and safe paths.

The pups are recovering from our little camping trip and so am I for that matter. We were definitely not fit enough but thats going to change. As you can see, Dog is back in his old routine of guarding the homestead from predators and is on guard duty at next door's fence


Most of today has been taken up by cleaning and airing all my camping kit and sorting it all out.
I knew before I set off that I had too much stuff but I wanted to test everything because 90% of it was new. I stopped camping, backpacking and hiking years ago so most of my kit has long since been sold on ebay or given away.

Whilst I was on the trip I kept notes of what worked and failed etc and have done a what did I learn exercise so that I can get my kit right for the next time. When the next time will be, is anyones guess because I am 24/7 carer for Mum so I hardly have any time to escape. The campsite I stayed at doesn't close until the end of October so I am hoping to get in another trip.


So what did I learn?
All the kit that I have works fine apart from the little meths stove. It seems to use a lot of fuel but I think that may be me who isnt using it properly, so I will investigate.
I can get rid of a few of the cook pots and lids and seperate the rest between base camp and hiking kit.
The £30 Tesco tent performed well enough but its a fine weather tent. With two dogs in tow and with my intention of all year round camping, this tent is not going to work.
One of the problems with it is that the door angle is too steep and at the same angle as the porch sides, so when the porch flap is open, rain comes bucketing in, which makes cooking impossible without zipping up the tent, which then becomes a fire hazzard. I need to rethink and make some improvements. I can get the sewing machine out and add a bit to the front of the tent or I can buy a new one and to be honest I think I will buy a new one.
It's a 4 man dome tent and it is plenty big enough for me and the dogs and all our kit and plenty of space left to move around quite comfortably. It becomes difficult when the dogs are soaking wet. No amount of towelling dry gets them dry enough to be in the tent so I think maybe look for a tent with sleeping compartments either side of a central porch which has a door that doesnt let rain in so easily. I won't be taking the tent backpacking so the weight is irrelevant. Comfort is paramount.
I need a base camp tent that will allow me to go out for a night from base on a backpacking trip with a really lightweight tent which is used purely for sleeping. I already have a really lightweight one though so no need to spend
A Yurt would be cool for a base camp or a Teepee but I don't think many farmers would want me throwing those on their campsite and it would take me all weekend to assemble them hee hee

All the other equipment changes are minor so no worries but the one item that I definitely will take next time is a camp chair. My back was killing me when siting doing chores, reading, eating etc and I had indegestion each day due to being bent over whilst eating.

Whilst waiting for the kit to dry I found what look like perfect base camp tents for me and the puppies. My preference is the Vango. It has slightly less headroom but I can still stand up in it without stooping. The main thing which swings it is the side door. It can be zipped up fully. The end door I can block with spare gear to prevent the dogs crawling out underneath, so when they are still wet at bedtime they can stay safely in the large porch area without escaping.

Vango Beta


Outwell Dusk
Well, thats me done, all the kit is clean, dry and put away. I suppose the only thing left to do is plan our next trip Wheeeeeeee :)


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