A Personal Challenge

Blatantly taken from others on the Internet I have decided to do a personal challenge.  It's a way of motivating myself and to also get in a little better shape.  So I enjoy hiking/walking/trekking, call it what you want, so the obvious thing is a walking challenge.

Therefore I have decreed that, in the next 48 weeks (till 1st September 2013) I will do 100 walks to meet a target of a total of 700 miles and 20,000m of ascent.  I will also spend 40 nights under canvas (OK more likely Silnylon...).

Basic rules -

- Minimum walk is 3 miles, anything less is just a stroll.
- No walks to the shops, sight seeing, etc are counted.
- Walks to be predominately in the countryside/off road. i.e footpaths, bridleways, country lanes.
- I choose whatever walks I want, no restrictions on doing the same route over and over (would get boring mind!).
- I can do as many separate walks in a day as I want (though they have to be separate, not before and after McD's...)
- Long distance trails counts as multiple walks (4 day LDT = 4 walks).
- To count I must do a trip report/blog.
- Mileages and ascent taken from GPS/Getamap/bikehike or the best I can calculate if abroad.

Why by September 1st?  Well I have something planned for then that this would feed into nicely.
Why now?  I'm going away to USA in a week so I will get a good headstart (cheating? or Good planning?).

It averages out at 2 walks a week at 7 miles with 200m of ascent.  I think it's a tough target with the bulk taking place in winter and especially as some walks round here can give ascents of 5m!

Ravensdon

Ravensdon

Distance - 6.59 Miles (10.9Km)
Time Taken - 2Hrs 26mins
Ascent - 91m

Second walk in 4 days?  It's almost like I'm in training!  Ok so I am making a concerted effort to get out and about (and to write about it).  I was a bit late getting out, so I had about 2.5 hours of daylight left, which was leaving things a little tight.  In the event I took longer than I wanted due to a couple of areas on the path being overgrown.  Shorts and nettles do not mix well.

Typical Bedfordshire landscape

 

For the first mile I felt a bit achy, which is a poor effort really.  The path is easy to follow along field boundaries and pretty flat.  Even the 'hills' are not much more than long slopes.  The wet and warm weather has led to an eruption in nettles and thistles.  These often cover the whole field edge forcing the walker along the edge of crops (harvested recently so not an issue today).  Walking along the 'stubble' gives a satisfying crunch, though I'm not sure how good it is for rolling ankles.

Night Time

Working nights sometimes has advantages, you have no bosses annoying you, no general queries, can wear shorts, write blogs and delve into night time photography.  Oh you can work too, which I obviously do, lots.

I recently got a Panasonic Lumix G3, and it's my first 'real' camera, by which I mean I can do more than set it on intelligent auto.  I now have to think of shutter speeds, ISO's and F stops.  It has intelligent auto as well so all isn't lost!

The Moon

I'm lucky in that I work in a fairly dark location, it's not the best but it's probably the best area for miles.  On a good night the milky way is visable and the nature of the workplace gives some interesting pictures.  It also has the advantage of multiple air-con units to sit next to, whilst noisy the warm air is a bonus in winter!

 

The International Space Station

 Hopefully the tricks I am learning will get me some good pics in the USA, startrails over the Grand Canyon?  Could be a good plan.

 

Startrail





Old Familiar

Great Barford - Roxton Locks - Great Barford

Distance - 5.28 Miles (8.5Km)
Time Taken - 1Hrs 40mins
Ascent - 5m (really!)

Summer finally coincided with a few hours of spare time and it was off to the River Ouse. I only had 2 hours to get a walk in and and get home to get ready for work (lovely 12 hour night shift).  The walk to Roxton has become a bit of a go-to walk, I don't need a map, it's flat and the parking is easy and free.  I really need a dog to gain the full advantage but it serves for now as a way of getting a few miles in.



Roxton Locks

Been a while...

Been a while...

Well I've not been doing much apart from working and getting fat (ter), so today was the start of 7 weeks of walking before my holiday in the USA.  I was thinking of doing the Bright Angel trail in the Grand Canyon, but looking at the ascent involved I'm having second thoughts.  It's not a stupid amount of ascent and shouldn't be too hot in October but I'm chunky and hills are evil.

So last week I had a few wanders on the moors above Whitworth, Lancashire and had a nice walks around Brown Wardle and Cowm Reservoir.  I didn't feel to bad apart from a midge attack that has left me itching bites for a week.

Today was mainly spent sleeping (finished work at 7am) so I fancied a shortish walk in the sun.  The 5 miles along the River Great Ouse was the choice as it is easy, involves no navigation issues and is quite nice.

Pity it didn't turn out that way.  After about mile the path was blocked by log/felled tree on a bridge (quite random) and then head high thistles and waist high nettles.  I was in shorts so the path soon became impassable and was abandoned to walk in the field (the corn had been cut so nothing was trampled).

The next section goes between a house and the river, with the path following a narrow flat area between a fence and the drop off to the river.  This was completely blocked by nettles.  So I turned back and the 5 mile walk came in at just under 2.  It really peed me off, if I was in trousers I might of gone for it.  As it was I skulked away back to whence I came.