GOOD GUYS AND THE GREEKS

For reasons that totally escape me, some think that the manufacturers of my Wanda (A Stephenson's Warmlite 2C with Large door in a wildly pretty light blue) are 'difficult to deal with.'

All my experiences in talking with them have been completely the opposite. Upon returning from our PreWalkDaunder last week, a few days later I was checking through my gear for the last time before it's final fettling for the Chally. I was aghast to discover that the second section of my main front Golden pre-curved high strength Aluminium alloy pole had a longitudinal ragged crack, mid section about 40mm long. With a sickening recollection, I remembered dropping my pack down onto a big lumpy bit of rock and hearing a funny noise...

Now bearing in mind how long it took for the delivery of my Wonderful Wanda over two years ago, I started to panic. I would, surely, never ever be able to get a replacement section from the States here in time for the Chally. Last Thursday evening I rang Jane at Stephenson's to see what she could do.

Jane explained very carefully that it was important to identify which section of pole was damaged, as each is bent to a different radius to ensure maximum strength of the arch formed.

Well, this morning, only three and a half days after my call, (with a weekend in between too!) a parcel arrived with not one, but two sections of pole, in case I ever had the misfortune to break another section. The second section had a radius that 'would do' in the event of a breakage until the correct section could be obtained.

What fantastic customer service, from a magnificent little company in New Hampshire, US of A.

PreWalkDaunder: NEWSFLASH!

An email just in from our correspondent in the north; Gerry Tent Crusher Harber!

Hi Alan: The vital statistics you asked for are:

• Friday: Walking 3 hrs 04 mins. Stopped 3 hrs 54 mins
• Saturday: Walking 3 hrs 06 mins. Stopped 4 hrs 41 mins
• Sunday: Walking 2 hrs 27 mins. Stopped 2 hrs 24 mins

It just goes to show how super-fit we must have become for the final day's effort.

What I failed to mention in my previous posting was the heroic efforts made by one member of the summit party at the end of an exhilarating days climb into the 'Death Zone'. One of the elder members of the party scooted off at gone 6 o'clock to grab the summit of England's Highest Peak (and the capitals are very important here!)

And he was still back in time for his supper. Well done Gerry!

And now, the rest of the news:

There was the small matter of nudity. This blog does not condone gratuitous scenes of a sexual nature so I shall not be posting the pictures (sent to me anonymously in a plain brown envelope) by a person or persons unknown. Everyone down the Axe and Compass had a good giggle though. The tidy bar-lady thought that they didn't make them that small, but I explained that the water in High House Tarn was very cold indeed.

No amount of pleading will make me publish the pictures. Oh no. Not ever. Never, even. So the London Intelligentsia's modesty is preserved.

PreWalkDaunder 2009

The pictures tell the story. Words will just clutter it up. But you shall have some anyway, 'cos it's my blog and I can, see?

It was a route chosen for it's social characteristics - ie a pub where we gathered, a pub after the first day's walking, a wild camp after the second day and a pub for the parting of ways on the third day.

Fragrant Sue left us after the gathering at the Old Dungeon Ghyll to head off to far saner endeavours for her training while we hoisted packs to head off out of Langdale up Stakes Pass. And a fine pass it is too. Nothing too strenuous - after all, we don't want to go scaring the horses, do we?

Gerry kept count of the time spent walking and the time spent lazing about in the sunshine. We are proud to report that the time spent loafing was just about double the time spent straining against rucksack harnesses. In our book, that's about right for a Daunder. Staff Sergeant Maria van der Flught would have been proud of us.

There are one or two 'laws' on a Daunder, or on any of my walks for that matter: Never pass by a pub and never pass by a tea shop. At Stonethwaite we just happened to bump into a lovely little inn, so four Dutiful Daunderers kept the end up and nipped in for a quick pint to slake the thirst and also managed to bag the last table in the restaurant for that evening. A real result. Of course we had to break the bad news to the remaining thirsty Daunderers that they had missed this golden opportunity by speeding onwards!

The next morning we strode off manfully (after His Holiness the Incredibly Irreverend Dave had nipped off early to try and avoid his campsite fees, but was caught for his sins by a charming lady in yellow wellies, to minister unto his flock back in Scotland) up Borrowdale to find.... a tea shop!

The Dutiful amongst our flock patronised the excellent establishment, whilst the 'Thirsty Three' carried on up the fell-side. We all inevitably bumped into each other again, but after lashings of sticky toffee pudding with ice-cream and coffees and cokes. Lovely!

 

The above photo shows then all smiling, when in fact we were all gasping for breath as we had just entered the 'death zone' on the way up to Sprinkling Tarn. This Daundering is hard work, you know!

The next photo is one of Croydon calling into his Mission Control saying it 'was the first time he had had a signal...'

So we hauled our sorry, useless carcasses over Allen Crags and down to High House Tarn; a quite splendid wild-camping spot as you can see, with mountains all about you.

  Looking towards Bow Fell  

Here it is again, as I like the place a lot, so you get two pictures of it.

This next one is Great Gable, Windy Gap and Green Gable as the sun had slunk off for the day.

Ice all over the tents again this morning but I had slept rather well on my gorgeous, sumptuously comfortable NeoAir, only perturbed by very weird dreams of Andy Howell and the House of Lords. I must take more water with the whisky.

On the odd occasion during the night when it was necessary to take a few steps away from Wanda Warmlite, I noticed that the tarn was full of starlight and looked up to see the Milky Way stretching away to infinity above our shelters. Quite magical. It should be noted that today the walking part of the day almost made it to the giddy heights of the loafing part. Phew - that was close!

Then it was a simple matter of strolling back to Langdale. We found a tremendous smudge of a path down Black Crags on the eastern side of Rossett Pike and thence found our way to the ODG once more for a shandy and making our ways homeward.

DODDERY DAUNDERERS

As years go by the average age of the Daunderers seems to be creeping ever upward - strange that - 'cos I still feel like I am a seventeen year ol' yoof in Bracknell New Town and I am sure the others feel the same.

Well, this year, there will be Lord Elpus, Morpeth, Croydon, His Holiness the Very Irreverend Dave, Weird Darren (a new boy!), Gerry Crusher Harbor (another new boy!), The Doc (the London Intelligentsia),  myself and, for one night only, the fragrant Sue, who has to leave us the next morning over something as silly as her birthday. You would have thought that at her age she wouldn't be counting them anymore..

It's a bit of a pub crawl this year, as I am organising it for a change. That means we should also have beautiful weather. Lord E's weather is always a complete shambles.

Thursday day weather

• Sunny
• Max: 15°C 59°F
• Sunrise: 06:05

Friday day weather

• Sunny Intervals
• Max: 13°C 55°F
• Sunrise: 06:02

Saturday day weather

• Sunny
• Max: 14°C 57°F
• Sunrise: 06:00

Sunday day weather

• Sunny
• Max: 14°C 57°F
• Sunrise: 05:58

It's not a particularly strenuous walk on paper, but after a night at the ODG bar, you never know. If I get a phone signal you will hear more of our adventures.

PREWALKDAUNDER PREPARATION

On my return from a wonderful weekend in the Yorkshire Dales, back in Mission Control I find that the postman has made one delivery and not another.

My goodies from Backpackinglight are now at a sorting office and I need to go there to collect it as otherwise I stand sod all chance squared of getting it delivered to me when I am actually at home to receive it. (Duncan has said enough about this - and I totally agree with him)

But, a lovely little gift arrived totally unexpectedly from an old friend (well, only a little bit older then me) a certain Humph. It was a packet of 'heavy duty' Turkish coffee, mixed with cardamom and vanilla sugar, with the instruction that it should 'come on gritty enough to scour the enamel off your teeth'.

Unfortunately Humph can't make the Daunder this time as it's his busy time of year, but we shall drink his health with his coffee and then probably move on to something a little stronger to celebrate the man a little more appropriately.

Then, uncharacteristically, this evening the Doc rang from deepest, darkest London enquiring about meal planning. He usually does this on the train journey up so this was quite a surprise! Rich has done two TGO Challenges with me (in '96 & '98) both quite difficult ones. He finished one of them with heels that resembled chopped liver - a sight I will never forget.

So - two days of work and then a four day jaunt in the Lakes - life ain't so bad at the moment.

PICTURES FROM INGLEBOROUGH

It was a splendid morning out on the hill. Moral of the story - get out into the Yorkshire Dales EARLY!

Pen-y-Gent from Lower Ingleborough

Dave Wilkinson and Ingleborough

Dave & me on Ingleborough before the masses get there!

Whernside & Ribblehead Viaduct

The approaching throng!

INGLEBOROUGH

After yesterday's excesses (it was rotten weather, Captain) it was about time we went for a proper walk. A plan was formulated over Ricks old wines the previous day and so Wilky & I found ourselves at the Easter Saturday brakfast table at the very ungodly 8:00am and thence leaving the carpark at Clapham at 9:00.

Where was everyone? There were only two other cars there.

Feeling surprisingly none the worse for wear after yesterday's exertions in the New Inn we strode off northwards, which was as well as that was the correct direction for Ingleborough.

To beat myself up further I decided to carry oodles of kit I really didn't need, just so as to carry a bit more weight to ease the legs and lungs back to Chally fettle. We passed the (shut) Ingleborough Cave and were soon on open moorland in our shirtsleevs. Curlews and skylarks accompanied us as we strolled towards the bulk of Little Ingleborough (horribly badly named!) and then puffed and panted up the steep bit to eat locally caught pork pies as we watched a apir come struggling up the hill behind us.

It's wonderful to watch someone else suffer for a change...

But where was everybody? the forecast for today has been lovely all week and its Easter Bank Holiday. We almost had the place to ourselves.

That is, until we popped onto the flat bit at the top of the hill ~ which is where they must have all been hiding, watching gleefully as we struggled up the steep bit...

These Yorkshire Dales are quite grand, aren't they? We could see the lot ~Over to Whernside and Pen-y-Ghent and over to Great Shunner Fell. Dave was convinced he could see Coronation Street from there as well, what with us being 'up north' and all.

Dave has a way with animals and I had to drag him away from one particular sheep that he was canoodling with. The sheep looked like she was enjoying Dave's attentions so this could go on no further. So instead, for his fun he started counting the coach-loads of walkers heading sweatily and red-faced up towards us. He got to over two hundred until he gave up.

We were back at Rick's Bar by lunchtime, thoroughly smug that we had been out and ticked another hill off the list. Just a few thousand left, then.

Great weather, great views and all bodily parts performing okay.

FIRST TO THIRTY THREE?

I'm in a pub. It's raining. It's the Yorkshire Dales.

But, I did walk here. Honest.

It's all Wilky's fault, now he's beating me at pool, just while its raining you understand, we got here at about two---ish. We need to be back at the Potential Bigamist's and the choirboy's before seven. It's just about possible.

I think.

The scores are now level at five - all, a good time to stop as he had galloped away to a 5 - 1 ahead.

We have a short while to get back - it is possible, I think.

The rain has eased slightly so it's time to take the field path back to the village. Let's just finish this final Copper Dragon first...

The Yorkshire Dales are delightful, I think....

NEOAIR PACKED SIZE

It's tiny! It's truly scrumptious!

Just as a comparison - my new full length 65mm thick NeoAir mattress in its stuffsack weighs in at 417 grams. My old 3/4 length 25mm thick Prolight Thermarest in its stuffsack weighs in at 430grams. The new NeoAir has a better warmth rating as well.

No Contest!

THE NEOAIR HAS LANDED!

LOSE WEIGHT THE 'FELIX WAY'

Tom Armstrong (left) and Felix Sloman (right) at the start point.

The youngest son is home from his Marathon Des Sables and largely in one piece. I say 'largely' advisedly:

• Left Foot:   9 blisters. Big toe-nail gone (through blister underneath)
• Left Ankle:  Torn Ligaments - very swollen.
• Left Shin:    Pulled muscles.
• Left Knee:   Inflamed - ITB syndrome (runners knee)
• Right Foot:  Numerous blisters.
• Both Feet:  Both very pink from iodine dye.

So, apart from being on crutches for a short while, the lad is fine... Tom has a suspected broken bone (stress fracture) in one of his feet and countess blisters as well. Felix lost 6kg in 5 days; a pretty impressive weight loss.

Even though nattily equipped with a Backpackers Club buff, Fe suffered from nosebleeds from the constant irritation of the incredibly fine sand and dust ever present in the air. There were periods of near delirium on the third stage (hardly surprising as it was a day / night run). They ran over huge sand dunes, climbed small rock faces out of valleys, ran though huge areas of ankle turning boulders and ran through temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius.

As for the race: The first day's stage was rained off - and Felix and a few other Brits were left stranded by the French organisers in a flooded camp, sleeping in pools of water and shivering all night. They weren't quite expecting this sort of weather and it took quite a bit of effort to get his down sleeping bag dry again!

So the remaining stages were lengthened and made slightly tougher than usual to make up for it. Wasn't that thoughtful? This meant that the longest stage, stage 3, ended up 93km long.  In total he thinks the race ended up 151 miles, over four stages. They allow you two days for the third stage. You have to carry your own gear and food the whole way. The organisers provide tarp tents to sleep under. Fe started out with an all up pack weight of 9kg including the food for six days.

The amazing thing: Fe finished in a respectable 50 hours or so in about 700th place out of 850 or so starters. He thinks he was the youngest Englishman taking part this year and he assures me that there is 'no chance in hell of ever doing it again'. 

He & Tom made a video diary and that will be posted onto U-Tube (is that is what it is called) in a week or so's time. As soon as I know where it is I will post details on here. It all makes the TGO Challenge look like a stroll in the park.

Felix would like to thank all those kind people who read this blog who has already sponsored him for Sue Ryder Care. And! If anyone would like to add to his sponsorship out of sheer admiration for the lad's efforts, they can find Felix's 'JustGiving' page HERE

TGO CHALLENGE COUNTDOWN

First of all: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINI! (aka Miss Whiplash)

A bit of good news today: Guy, from "Open Air" in Cambridge rang to say that he is expecting my NeoAir in to his shop tomorrow, so I shall go and collect that on Wednesday after my weekly swim.

With Phil having to withdraw from the Chally, this evening I have been taking a much keener look at the route, printing out the maps and working out where I need to be for the cheese & wine parties, where I shall be flipping up Wanda, and a much closer look at stuff like the river crossings.

I looked at my this year's mileage: It made grim reading: Up to this last weekend:

2009: 62.7 miles of walking. 2008: 127.4 miles. 2007: 587.7 miles 2006: 103.5 miles 2005: 111.0 Not good reading, eh?

So, for Easter I have organised a few days away with Rick and the Choirboy up at their magnificent pad in the Yorkshire Dales with an old pal from school and university, young Wilko. We go back quite a while, Wilky and me. 42 years, actually. He was always the clever one. We have done a lot of walking together over those years. Hopefully this trip will give me a few days out to mould the muscles, strengthen the soft sinews and bugger up the boney-bits? It will also give me a bit of time for some quiet words with a good friend.

Rick and the choirboy's place is tucked neatly into the Yorkshire Dales National Park and is handily placed for some quite lovely lonely bits and a precious pub or three.

Thoroughly looking forward to it!

THE OLI CROMWELL

It's like summer out there! The grockles were crowding Houghton lock bridge and St Ives is full to the brim. Swans are swanning about and performing for bread from the children and Dads & Mums are in their shorts for the first time this year.

The Oli Cromwell is a safe haven; it is cool in here and a refreshing pint of Wherry is slipping down nicely. The pickled onions on the bar are fat, crisp and tasty and the landlady knows her customers.

It's been a while since I have been on a walk on my own and I am surprised that I am picking it up with ease. You notice the smaller, more intimate things: The accent of the passing walkers, the detail on the dutch gable and the make of the sunglasses of the lads cruisng their cars around the market square.

The town is in flux ~ recently closed shops with white-washed windows, one or two new restaurants with eye-catching lunch offers and the more established eating places full of empty tables.

The Oli Cromwell is buzzing though ~ a great lunchtime stop.

WEIGHTY MATTERS

Flagons of soup simmering away in the kitchen: I am happy as there will be half a dozen portions of wonderful tasty nourishment over the next week or so.

With the chores merrily underway I slope off to Mission Control and idly peruse on-line emporia. It's on-line porn of the back-packing variety over at Bob Cartwright's shop; Backpackinglight

It started with just a pillow. My old Ajungilac blow-up pillow's zip had seized up completely and the air tube was damaged as well. Time for a new pillow. Time perhaps for a lighter pillow? In a matter of moments a new lighter pillow was in the shopping basket. And on top of the pleasure of new shiny things was also the frisson of excitement of shaving 89 grams from last year's TGO pack weight.

Onward! There followed pirouetting and free-wheeling around the aisles with the shopping trolley to pick up a folding titanium spork, a new three legged gas canister spider (I had snapped my old one in the Carneddau) a new Twist Razor (a chap has to look his best in the wilderness, you know) and, most importantly, a brand spanking new Platy Wine Preserve! This means that my Gigondas won't suffer degradation after I have poured it into the bladder so as not to carry the heavy glass bottle.

All this started me thinking - how did this year's pack weight compare to last year's?

The difference is a quite amazing 2040 grams - yes - that's 4 and a half pounds in real money! This year I am also a healthier half a stone lighter as well. It all augers well.

CHEESE & WINE

In five weeks time today I shall be spending my first night out in the wilds with Wanda up at Loch Coire Lair on the TGO Challenge. Lord Elpus & I had planned a little soirée for the evening:

 (carefully produced by Lord Elpus)

With Phil's withdrawal from the Challenge in order to get back to the very pinkest of health, I now find myself the custodian and host of the Cheese & Wine Parties.

This is a grave responsibility that I shoulder with some trepidation. There are supplies to be hauled in, a stache to unearth and navigation to perfect, to ensure that I am in the right place at the right time. No sense in hosting a party if you are in a different valley!

I have had to think hard about this route. Phil & I have both had a bit of a rum year so far and we both felt the need for a more contemplative walk for the first half of the Challenge and then to rejoin the herd for more of a lively second half. With this now being a solo walk I had to think if this was still the walk I wanted.

Of course, the answer is a resounding 'yes' as I will need a little space and time to myself, which means that I shall continue with our planned route.

So the Cheese & Wine Parties are still 'on'.

LITEHIKER'S LEJOG

Regular members of the congregation will know that I had a bit of a LEJOG stroll a couple of years back and blogged it as I walked. Well, in a few days time, starting on Sunday 5th April, Geoff Gafford will be stepping out for his own very special walk. In his own words:

"I shall be walking from Land's End to John O' Groats and.... I intend to camp most nights. I will be rained on much of the way, chased by sheep and probably eaten by wild animals. I hope to blog from the trail on a daily basis so do follow me as I go - log on to

http://litehikersblog.blogspot.com"

Now, for a bright bloke, Geoff is doing this the hard way! He will be using his tarp as a shelter with a midge cage for the more infested bits of 'up-north'. However, he will, as his blog title suggests, be going very lightweight, with a pack weight of just 20 lbs in old money.

It's the walk of a lifetime and Geoff is putting it to good effect, by walking for the MS Research and Relief Fund. I am sure he would appreciate your help and support if you were to pop over to his 'JustGiving fund raising page and pop a few pounds in to help. I know it's a big ask in these cash-crunching times, but charities need your help now more than ever.

So - all the very best of luck, Geoff. Have a a wonderful walk. I am really looking forward to reading your adventure.

THE GREEKS: A REPRISE

For those of you interested in all things lightweight and technical (and here my brother with the hair can be excused, for he will be "running to the kitchen to slam his knob in the fridge door with excitement") you will all want to know, I am sure, that my new lightweight walking Greeks have arrived all the way from the good ol' US of A, from Gossamer Gear.

And, they are quite, quite lovely. The pair weighs in at 214 grams with their ankle bracelets on, so that really is featherweight.

My NeoAir 5' 6" super-dooper mattress is on order with my favourite outdoor gear shop in Cambridge ("Open Air" in Green Street) and so that should be with me in a week or two as well, so what with my new Exos 46 and these two new bits of kit, my this year's Challenge pack will be considerably lighter than last year's.

Probably just as well as Lord Elpus is unable to make the trip this year as he has one or two pressing things to get sorted that just cannot be put off. So it will be a lonely little stravaig across Scotland for me this year. My route is a very northerly one and so I am unlikely to meet a load of other Challengers until Ballater.

I am getting used to lonely and it looks as though that might become a miserable, permanent feature of my life after last night's performance with Lynnie. There is only so much a chap can do to try and fix something if he is getting no help at all from the other party and is then told that there never was any intention to try either.