‘M off….bus wnkr hike.

[OnHellas]

Thank you for the great story (it’s more than a write up) of your personal journey. Glad you made the decision to stop. As you and Mr Eastwood say a man needs to know his limitations.
You certainly put some miles in on your travels.
The longest walk I’ve done is the Cleveland way at 100 miles it’s a gentle stroll compared to your walk.
I do want to do a long train journey in the next couple of years though.
Thanks again for keeping me at least entertained with your story.

You’re welcome. I quite like sharing it and I’m happy to tell it as I see it/feel it at the time. It is certainly not all fluffy bunnies and unicorns. I found that very hard. To much for me this time.

I’d recommend The Coast to Coast trail in the UK as a good adventure with plenty of opportunity to camp along the way…and get wet of course.

The Cleveland Way looks good and it’s one on my list of ‘might try that one day’ walks.

Thanks again.

 

[glenn2926]

You’re welcome. I quite like sharing it and I’m happy to tell it as I see it/feel it at the time. It is certainly not all fluffy bunnies and unicorns. I found that very hard. To much for me this time.

I’d recommend The Coast to Coast trail in the UK as a good adventure with plenty of opportunity to camp along the way…and get wet of course.

The Cleveland Way looks good and it’s one on my list of ‘might try that one day’ walks.

Thanks again.

The Cleveland way was back in the hot summer of 76. We had to send one lad home due to sunburn.
One you perhaps could consider is the Dalesway. Ilkley to Bo’ness by riverside path. About 80 miles and I found it a more pleasant walk.
I’ve walked a lot of the c2c as I worked for an outdoor pursuit company taking London girls grammar school pupils on it. I didn’t walk it all as we had to take turns driving the minibus.

 

[OnHellas]

The Cleveland way was back in the hot summer of 76. We had to send one lad home due to sunburn.
One you perhaps could consider is the Dalesway. Ilkley to Bo’ness by riverside path. About 80 miles and I found it a more pleasant walk.
I’ve walked a lot of the c2c as I worked for an outdoor pursuit company taking London girls grammar school pupils on it. I didn’t walk it all as we had to take turns driving the minibus.

I walked The Dalesway at the end of April this year and yes, very pleasant it is too.
No tent on that one as the mate I did it with only stays indoors

 

[stever1]

@OnHellas ,any idea what your walked mileage was ?

 

[OnHellas]

@OnHellas ,any idea what your walked mileage was ?

About 200 miles. Also, according to the guide book my total ascent over the distance I did was 47,000 feet. Approximately of course. No wonder my leg hurts!

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

I always found it mentally much harder to stop and turn back than to carry on and trust me, over a lot of years when I was caving, rock climbing and mountaineering I turned back a lot of times.

Well done for getting as far as you did and getting home safely.

 

[Tinytim]

@OnHellas . Thanks for that finale.

 

[The Other PaulG]

Bloody hell mate. Am exhausted just reading that.

Huge congratulations, what an incredible achievement. You state the ascent, but let's not forget the dcent, especially on knees that are not as young as they once were.

You will be a hell of a lot fitter, but was all that time alone also good for clearing some head space?

That was a seriously impressive achievement and brilliantly documented. Great work, fella.

 

[OnHellas]

Bloody hell mate. Am exhausted just reading that.

Huge congratulations, what an incredible achievement. You state the ascent, but let's not forget the dcent, especially on knees that are not as young as they once were.

You will be a hell of a lot fitter, but was all that time alone also good for clearing some head space?

That was a seriously impressive achievement and brilliantly documented. Great work, fella.

Cheers Paul. The time alone was nice but I also met some other hikers along the way that were a high part of my adventure, even though I was old enough to be their Dad, all but one anyway.

Another great adventure. I am one lucky guy.

Now I’m back, are you still looking for a ride on a V85TT? If so, maybe we could meet somewhere for tea, cake and Guzzis?

 

[boatman]

I would say - well done for getting ahead and tackling something that you wanted to do .
I admire your fortitude in taking the ( probably ) hard decision to quit when the time was right .
You - at the very least ,,, are living your life ,, - I suspect - MANY people go into a bitter cynical old age , because at that ,too late ,, point ,, they recognise their own Failure to Live their life’s .

 

[The Other PaulG]

Now I’m back, are you still looking for a ride on a V85TT? If so, maybe we could meet somewhere for tea, cake and Guzzis?

That's a great idea - there is an embryonic plan involving Zorro (when back from holiday) and XSGraham, I will start a PM group for the 4 of us to develop that idea. I think that's 2 x V85TTs, a 1200 Sport and a le Mans so far. We'll also be on Baldrick's turf so we might tempt him out too.

 

[OnHellas]

And a bump back to the top because….The GR11 calls!!

On Wednesday I’m heading back to where I left off this time last year.
I’m still going to be a bit of a bus wanker although mainly a train wanker this time.

Travel itinerary for the 9th/10th July.
Lunchtime Train to St Pancras.
17.30 train to Paris.
Metro from Gare de Nord to Paris Austerlitz
22.15 sleeper train to Toulouse.
07.35 to Lannemezan
?? O’clock bus to Saint-Lary-Soulon.

From there I’ll need a taxi or the use of my thumb and a helpful motorist to take me the last 30km or so to Bielsa.

I’ve booked a night at Bielsa Camping, not where I wanted to be but Pineta Camping which is much closer to the GR11 have a 5 night minimum for July and August bookings.
So on the 11th I’ll either get a taxi or try and find someone going to where I need to be….The Parador de Bielsa, yes I did and no they didn’t…have a room available.

So if that lot all comes together, and with my revised and even lighter backpack, I’ll be out there for somewhere approaching 4 weeks ish…..all being well of course.

Preparation wise I’ve done a bit more this year.
I walked from Salamanca to Santiago de Compostela over 19 days late March in to April. About 300 miles.
In May I walked The Coast to Coast Path from St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay. 11 days and 192 miles.
June was spent peddling from Roscoff to Biarritz. 775 miles over 24 cycling days.

So I’m either fitter or just about to get an injury. Time will tell.

I’m looking forward to getting back to the Pyrenees, excited with a touch of nervousness and a few lessons learned from last year.
The main one is not to fall in step with someone else or a small group and end up walking just a fraction to fast. Sometimes it’s not obvious that you’re ’keeping up’ when walking and chatting.
This time I need to walk on my own, at whatever my pace is at the time. I need to try and stop for short rests more often.

The base weight of my back pack is 7.6KG (without water and food) which I think is OK. Certainly better than last year.
A 500 gram chair FFS, what was I thinking.

So, that’s it. Typing this and thinking about it all has brought on my morning Poo, that’ll be the nerves then.

I’ll try and post some pictures and thoughts as I go along.

 

[Northern jock]

Pace, as you say, is all important. If I’m carrying a pack and going a long way I go up hills at a speed that has me breathing through my nose, not panting and dehydrating. A watch with heart rate on it like a Garmin can also help, walk to a heart rate.
I’m sure you know all that, enjoy the walk. No pressure this time, just a nice trip.

 

[Northern jock]

7.6kg is good base weight, if you’re missing something like another thin fleece you can buy one. Good kit isn’t cheap but it is light and works.

 

[OnHellas]

Pace, as you say, is all important. If I’m carrying a pack and going a long way I go up hills at a speed that has me breathing through my nose, not panting and dehydrating. A watch with heart rate on it like a Garmin can also help, walk to a heart rate.
I’m sure you know all that, enjoy the walk. No pressure this time, just a nice trip.

Small steps going up works for me. I find it used less energy taking three small steps than one big one to gain a bit of height.
Nose breathing is definitely better but doesn’t always seem to happen.
Lots of rivers and a Sawyer Squeeze will help with that hopefully.

Thank you for the encouragement.

 

[Simon_100]

If you're heading east you'll be roughly in my sphere to influence for a while, I live in Tremp, so if you need rescuing give me a shout.

 

[OnHellas]

If you're heading east you'll be roughly in my sphere to influence for a while, I live in Tremp, so if you need rescuing give me a shout.

I hope I won’t but it’s always nice to have a back up. Cheers for that.

 

[geotim]

Excellent news.

Have a great hike and please do post lots - so all of us couch potatoes can enjoy it alongside you.

Stay healthy.

 

[OnHellas]

I think that the term regularly used on here is M’off.
The first two trains have gone better than plan as a nice chap at St Pancras who’d told me that it would be an extra £40 to get the earlier train came back to me after 5 minutes and got the ticket changed, free of charge.
Mind you, security enlightened me to the fact that my little Opine pen knife was actually a lock knife, I genuinely didn’t know, so that was confiscated.
Less of a surprise was that my little canister of gas for the stove didn’t make it through, BlaBlaBus didn’t mind last year so it was worth a try.
I need to replace them both ideally so that’s a new job on the list for tomorrow.

I’ve got a bit of a wait now for the 22.13 sleeper train from Paris to Toulouse.

I’ll let you know how I get on.

 

[OnHellas]

All that way from Kent to Lannemezan on 4 different trains and I arrived 1 minute late!!
Who do I complain to? Where’s my compensation? Do I need a sad face photo for KentOnLine??

The overnight train was OK. I actually slept quite well, with the help of ear plugs.
A small compartment with 6 beds, 3 each side.
I was on one of the lower one so that was about as good as it could’ve been. A blanket/quilt type thing was provided, as was a pillow, both sealed in plastic bags so probably clean(ish).
A complimentary bottle of water was as far as refreshments went.
That part of the journey was about £75 so not bad all in all.

I’m now on a bus, number 963 for those who’re interested in that type of thing, which arrived on time at the railway station.
By 10am and for the combined price of a piss in both Paris and Toulouse, €2, I should be in Saint-Lary-Soulan.

Then, after gas canister shopping, it’ll be a taxi or thumb it to Bielsa as there doesn’t appear to be any cross border public transport.

Blue skies all around and a good forecast for today and tonight.