9 Days to Departure! - Final Pre-walk Update

             The Atlantic Ocean at Hendaye beach.. starting point for the HRP. Those are my footprints, in 2010

I thought I would quickly summarise the state of play, with just over a week to go before leaving for France:

Equipment

I'm very happy with my gear now. Everything has been selected, tested, and shown to work. Before I finally pack everything, I will renew all plastic bags (I use loads of ziploc bags) batteries, and make sure the rechargeable ones are full. I would like to do some detailed gear reviews (I'm a great fan of Zpacks for example, who supplied my tent, my backpack, and sleeping bag) but it seems sensible to wait until I get home - at least they will have been fully tested by then!

I do have one problem, which is that last time I tried I couldn't fit everything into my backpack! It is not a weight issue, but volume. The sleeping bag in particular is lighter but more voluminous than its predecessor. I am not unduly concerned, I think it will fit when I pack it better and if I have to I can strap something, the tent maybe, on the outside of the pack. Overall the pack should weigh about 15kg fully loaded including food & water.

Communications

Phone calls, texts, updates like these, and internet access generally are an increasing part of doing long walks these days. In some ways that's progress.. it's wonderful to be able to look at your phone and see a detailed map with a blob showing your position, and to know you can phone up a manned refuge or hostel and book a bed and a meal at any time. It is not the same as "the old days" when you set off into the wild with just a map and compass and nobody knew where you were, including you yourself quite often, and on the whole I prefer things as they are now. Having a working mobile should not be relied on but nevertheless can be a real safety feature.

Foreign mobile roaming and internet access charges can be fierce - two months in the Pyrenees can easily cost you £200 or more. Having looked into matters I have moved my mobile contract to the 3 network. They have a wonderful perk called "Feel at Home" which means that in France, Spain and about 20 other countries I can phone or text the UK and download data for absolutely no extra charge. Magic.

Because the phone is such an important item now - I have saved a whole 1.5kg by putting all the maps and guidebooks onto it - I have decided to take a backup phone with me. 3 network have very kindly sent me a spare sim card, so if anything should happen to my beautiful new Samsung S5 I will be able to carry on regardless. I would be quite miffed though - they aren't cheap!


Food

Food, or walking fuel as I tend to think of it, is absolutely crucial. You have to shovel it in at every opportunity, and carry lots - this has been a difficult area for me in the past as food and water are both quite heavy and I have tended to skimp rather. Also, things like dried pasta and noodles tend to feature heavily in walking supplies and I am not too keen on them.

A lot of people solve the problem by resupply, which means posting parcels of food to yourself for collection en route. I am not keen on that either, there is rather a shortage of post offices on the HRP and if I can I would prefer to live of locally sourced food. I have decided that the solution is rice - I like rice, and rice plus a stock cube makes a palatable meal, with a baguette and perhaps a bit of cheese.. all I need to do is to make sure I have enough to get to the next shop, or source of supply such as a camping site. This can mean carrying more than a week's food in some areas.

Health & Fitness

I'm feeling pretty fit. I was really pleased with how I felt finishing the Pennine Way last September.. just galloping along! And I coped quite well with my training forays, Hebden Bridge etc. My left knee swelled up a bit but that is normal and didn't interfere with walking. I have a rather nasty inflamed patch on my leg but I have some steroid cream that controls (though not cures) it. That shouldn't affect walking either. And my back has been good lately

So overall I'm feeling pretty positive in this department. I could be much fitter, but after a week or so in the Pyrenees, that should sort itself out too!

 
Maps & Route Planning

OK so I have made some progress here.. I have a route plan that was sent to me by my good friend Hans Rohrbach, and I also have a couple of route diaries from others who have followed the hrp. I would still like to turn them into a route plan of my own, It is so useful to have a note of where all the water points, food sources, refuges and so forth are located.

My lovely daughter Charlotte and two equally lovely grandchildren have come to stay, from Qatar. They have kindly arrived a few days earlier than originally planned, and I have put my departure back a week as well, so I will have some time with them before I go. That will also give me a little more time to build up my route plan.

Summary

I'm feeling quite well prepared and ready to go. I have not looked at any weather forecasts - but I'm told temperatures in the area are sky-high and rising.. there is talk of 40degC + weather next week. Oh well, at least it seems the snow isn't going to be an issue this year!

Not expecting to do any more updates now, until I'm in France. Future ones will be done on the phone and may be brief and error-laden. Can't wait to get started!

                    Cold & wet, in 2010. It sounds as if it won't be like that this time, at least to start with

                    The Barrage de Barroude, around the half way point, as far as I reached in 2011

                                        2013 on the Col d'Anaye. Sunny but just too much snow..

Hebden bridge update day 5 - Pendle Hill's Big End

Today I drove to Pendle in Lancashire to climb Pendle Hill. It's only about 18 miles - England's much narrower up here. At 557m (1830ft) it is an impressive lump, bigger than anything around hebden bridge. There are some intriguing names. . the summit, where the trig point is, is called the Big End. And below, as it were, is a hamlet called "Buttock." Really. 

Since the hill is effectively stand - alone, and surrounded by industrial towns like Burnley, Colne, Blackburn etc, it is quite a popular place and I saw a number of people. The weather was kind, and, sunny and not windy even on top. There are really spectacular views all around, with the lake district to North and west, and the pennines to the east. 

 It is quite a stiff climb and ploughing up the steep hill in t shirt and sunglasses, it felt very Pyreneesy. I managed the climb quite well, so I think this little excursion has been worthwhile. I am learning to cope with this stupid little keyboard too. .

Back home tomorrow and prepare in earnest for the Linton Cream Teas. . I will do another post next week about final preparations, if I get time. 

View from the summit, looking back at the South Pennines. Some clever person has painted the trig point in the colours of Burnley FC. 

This big lump is not Pendle but the Moor next door, Spencer Moor. That footpath looks challenging

A boundary stone near the summit

Upper Ogden reservoir, which is fed by Ogden Clough, sounds like someone out of coronation street

Hebden Bridge Update day 4 - The Great Wolf Stones

In some ways, a walk similar to yesterday's: up on the roof of England, nobody else in sight, fantastic views and decent weather. The Great Wolf Stones are a prominent landmark and having passed quite near them twice on the Pennine Way, it was nice to see them close to today. The views from there are tremendous, all the way around.

Wildlife update. . As you might expect large wild animals are few & far between,  though some of the cattle can be quite frisky. But I have seen lots of rabbits, several hares, a small thing that might have been a weasel or a stoat, a few deer, and lots of unfamiliar birds such as curlews, lapwings, and grouse. The grouse are impossible to spot in the heather, they wait until you are about to step on them before panicking and racing off, while you leap back, as startled as they are.
My favourites though are the curlews, they have such a recognisable and evocative call.

Tomorrow, thinking about climbing Pendle Hill

So difficult to capture the sheer scale and beauty of the views around here. Nor the ubiquitous Pennine Way paving stones 

Lots of boundary markers hereabouts! This one is called "Old Bess"

Another selfie at the Wolf Stone trig point. The Wolf Stones and Watersheddles reservoir visible in the background.  

Lots of important footpaths here. . Pennine Way, Bronte Way, Calderdale way, millennium way   

Hebden Bridge Update - day 3: A magical day

I came to hebden bridge to do lots of what I can't do in Kent, ie climb big hills. So the first thing I did when I got here was to look over the maps for the highest spot around, and that is Lad Law. It is 517m  (not 507 as I said yesterday) or 1700ft.

According to the maps there is only one path to the summit, on the far side from here and too far to walk so I set off in the car to have a look. .  after a while I came to the Widdup reservoir, it is a very scenic spot with a nice car park attached so I stopped there and looked at the map.. not too far from Lad Law, seemed doable, so I set off.

To cut a long day short, I had a wonderful time wandering over the moors, sometimes a path and sometimes not, but always on the roof of England, with amazing views and hardly any other people. I stopped by some rocks and cooked a gourmet meal  (heat water, add some rice and a stock cube). As I was doing so a man came past wearing a mac and ordinary shoes; he said he came here twice a week but as it was raining he was going back now. . but it wasn't raining. . surreal. No wonder we need mountain rescue teams. I didn't see anyone else.

In the end I walked only about 8 miles, but it is hard going through the heather and peat bogs, finding your own route, and it felt like a lot more. But altogether it was a lovely day, perhaps the photos will explain why better than I can!

Widdup reservoir

In the distance, Lad Law

The Dove Stones.  Well, some of them. .

Phone camera not really doing justice to these wide views. .

Ready to cook. .The stove at front right (it weighs 8gm ) cooking pot and windshield behind, rice, spork and pot cosy to the left. Well under 1/2 lb all told.

A selfie on top of lad law, clinging to OS trig point

Hebden Bridge Update day 2: Back on the Pennine Way!

Only a short update today as I'm a bit tired. . It has been quite wet here today. It was forecast, so no great surprise, and it did stop by about 1pm or so. Dry since, and muggy, there is talk of a thunderstorm overnight. Which would be the best time for it. .

I had a long walk today. First of all down the hill then up the far side of the valley to Stoodley Pike, about 5 miles. Then I followed the Pennine way back down to the main road a mile or so outside HB, and up the far side as far as the Pack Horse Inn above Gorple reservoir, another six miles or so. Then back to HB via Walsham and Hardcastle Crags, the evocatively named National Trust beauty spot. Altogether, 16.6 miles and over 1000m climb so an early night beckons. Tomorrow, the highest spot hereabouts, Lad Law at 507m or 1660ft

Should be possible to see Stoodley Pike monument, through the gloom. .

When you get near, it is big! There is a staircase inside and you can climb up to the balcony. 

Back on the Pennine Way..

Friendly chicken at the Pack Horse Inn. Note improved weather. .

Still got bluebells up north! 

Stepping stones over the river Calder at Hardcastle Crags. Stepping stones cannot be resisted. .

Hebden Bridge Update - Day 1: Heptonstall graves

Here I am in Hebden Bridge, after an uneventful drive up the A1 from Kent. I am here for 5 days and will be doing an update each night using my phone, to see what problems there might be. . So I expect there will be typos and layout problems galore.

I am staying at the Thorncliffe B & B and very comfortable it is too. Run by two ladies, very friendly.

Having settled in I set out to walk up to Heptonstall, only a three mile round trip, but with plenty of uphill - it is hardly possible to go anywhere in these parts that hasn't. This must be the hilliest town in England. Heptonstall has a number of unusual features,  including two churches side by side, one now a ruin. Between them they have more gravestones than I have ever seen in one place. . Seven centuries worth, in a place that clearly wasn't all that keen on cremations.  Row upon row, with others laid flat and acting as flagstones.

The weather has been fine today, warm & sunny, but rain is forecast for tomorrow. Ah well, what will be will be. I have a longish walk planned, c 16 miles and the computer says, more than 1050m of ascent, which is pretty much up to pyrenees standards.

Old church and graveyard, Heptonstall 

One of the better - known inmates,  Sylvia Plath 

A view across Calderdale. Stoodley Pike obelisk can be seen in the distance. Close up, to come tomorrow!

27 Days to departure! More Logistics...

So, less than a month to departure and I'm sorry to say that I have not made nearly enough progress. The walking preparation itself is going well.. the two three-day walks satisfactorily completed, and I am booked into accommodation in Hebden Bridge for a week from next Friday.

Hebden Bridge is a nice town a few miles from Haworth and the Pennine Way goes past it. It is nothing if not a hilly area, and I am hoping that when I come back I shall be able to motor up hills - as is something of a requirement, in the Pyrenees.

One other thing I shall be doing in Hebden Bridge is to provide daily updates to this blog, via my Samsung Galaxy 5 phone, hopefully with photos, just to see that it is do-able and all working properly..

I am pretty much happy with my gear now, tried and tested on the two three day walks and my previous trips, for example on the Pennine Way last year. I have bought a new smartphone and an external battery that will keep it charged for a week or more. I need that not just for internet updates (and even the odd phone call?) but because this time, all of my maps will be on it, I will go completely paperless apart I think from the Joosten HRP Guide which I must either take or scan into a Word document. Or buy the Kindle edition, which at £12.23 seems steep, but is still better than 320 scans!

One side effect of this is that the phone becomes a vital piece of kit. To the point where I think I might have to take the old s3 phone as backup. Losing the phone or having it just stop working would leave me with no map or guidebook as well as no gps location .. or even phone calls!

Beyond that, little has been done. I still have to book the train tickets and any accommodation needs, and that is my top priority now, I will do that this week. The other high priority is route planning. I need an outline for the trip day by day.. it is not necessary to adhere to it, but the outline must be there because as all chess players know, a bad plan is much better than no plan at all; a bad plan can always be improved but with no plan, you just flounder. I will take my laptop and maps to Hebden Bridge, and hope to work on them in the evenings and come back with a completed outline..

July in the Pyrenees,
2013. I hope not to
have so much snow
this year; but I must cope with what I am given

 The Cirque du Lescun, part of the High Pyrenees... 2013, hence all the snow

Friends.. even though I set off and walk on my own, and the Pyrenees is not a busy part of the world, it is surprising how many people you meet and talk to.. and have things in common with. Arne (on the right) and John at the back are friends I am still in touch with. Trying to remember where this was.. Lescun maybe