Backpacks and blisters - the walking thread

[Paul S]

I completed the Northumberland Coastal Path today but virtue of walking from Alnmouth to Cressing, a village of no significance whatsoever other than it has an hourly bus service to Blyth from where I could get another bus into the middle of Newcastle.

It's been a fantastic walk and the highlight was a couple of days ago looking north over the estuary towards Lindisfarne. Newcastle is a horrible place if you're trying to socially distance and the sooner I'm out of here the better.

[San Bernardhinault]

On the old road signs thing, I came across these today. Cycling rather than a walking...

[San Bernardhinault]

I also, of course, got an Ian Dur earworm.

[ad hoc]

Went for a long hike today. So long that I'm utterly buggered right now. This beer is going straight to my head. I'd share photos but the camera on my phone appears to be kaput. We picked a lot of mushrooms "fox" and "deer leg" mostly.

(checks: chantarelles and parasol mushrooms)

From my wife's camera

[ad hoc]

And once again when I post photos from my phone I get them twice. No idea why

[Paul S]

Do we need a road signs thread?

[Sits]

Well done on Northumberland Paul.

And ad hoc, for a while my pics all appeared on here upside down.

[Balderdasha]

I've told my husband that once the kids have left home I want to spend a year walking the coastal paths of the UK. He, in turn, will likely go and sit on a Mediterranean beach for the duration.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Well done Paul S.

Yesterday I did the northern 30 miles of the Cumbria Way, from Keswick to Carlisle. I did it as my debut "Ultra" last year, and despite saying "never again" at the time I was due to do it again this month, but it was cancelled and replaced by a virtual race in which you could do the distance anywhere. I chose to do the route (and as it turned out others had the same notion yesterday, although you can do it any time in a ten day window).

Anyway, this ^ is looking down Grainsgill Beck towards Mosedale

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

And this is me at the top of High Pike, the highest point on the course. It was a bit breezy.

[Moonlight Shadow]

A night out on Kinder Scout...

[Third rate Leszno]

And this is me at the top of High Pike, the highest point on the course. It was a bit breezy.

Was that owd fella actually behind you when you took the photo, or is he a reverse version of the Solway Spaceman, a visitor from the past?

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Was that owd fella actually behind you when you took the photo, or is he a reverse version of the Solway Spaceman, a visitor from the past?

Oh he was there alright, and there's nothing like a spooky bloke dressed like The Exorcist and wielding some medieval weaponry to encourage you to pick up the pace.

[Moonlight Shadow]

[Moonlight Shadow]

[Moonlight Shadow]

[Moonlight Shadow]

Bit of a gamble to use unlined mesh shoes on Kinder Scout, especially if you venture away from the rim path but it was surprisingly dry, most wet spots had a way around or were not as wet as the looked...Adidas Terrex shoes are good value for money btw..

[ChrisJ]

Paul S That's a fantastic part of the world, isn't it?

MrsChrisJ and I have plans for both the SW Coast path - having read The Salt Path - and the Pembs Coast path. We did a few parts of that last month.

It has to be said we have very different visions of how the journeys will look in practice. I favour the travel light, wild-camp approach, partly because I like to pretend I'm outdoorsy and rugged and partly because I'm tight with money. Hers involves nice hotels, not too far apart, because she's minted.

[Moonlight Shadow]

Those hollows on gritstones are a handy way to collect rain water (which I filter...), this one yielded 1.5 liters which I blended with the usual peaty brown stream water you find on Kinder, also filtered. On its own, peaty water has a metallic taste.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Look away Mrs ChrisJ.

[Moonlight Shadow]

Paul S That's a fantastic part of the world, isn't it?

MrsChrisJ and I have plans for both the SW Coast path - having read The Salt Path - and the Pembs Coast path. We did a few parts of that last month.

It has to be said we have very different visions of how the journeys will look in practice. I favour the travel light, wild-camp approach, partly because I like to pretend I'm outdoorsy and rugged and partly because I'm tight with money. Hers involves nice hotels, not too far apart, because she's minted.

Wildcamping is the easiest way to come across all rugged and outdoorsy. My wife thought I was proper manly for doing so then she started coming with me and realised it was just a fine hobby with no great hardship, the bit about having an extra 10kgs on your back aside...

[ChrisJ]

Look away Mrs ChrisJ.

Haha - not sure I'll show her this page. Although it's more to do with not having duvets, hot-water bottles, pillows, fluffy robes and a cat curled on her feet that tends to be the problem. She's not a fan of getting cold. You should see the thickness of her down jacket. I sweat just looking at it.

Moonlight Shadow Do you just filter or do you sterilise too? I love my steripen ultra. I'm not that rugged.

[Moonlight Shadow]

Haha - not sure I'll show her this page. Although it's more to do with not having duvets, hot-water bottles, pillows, fluffy robes and a cat curled on her feet that tends to be the problem. She's not a fan of getting cold. You should see the thickness of her down jacket. I sweat just looking at it.

Moonlight Shadow Do you just filter or do you sterilise too? I love my steripen ultra. I'm not that rugged.

I just filter it with my Sawyer, get rids of almost everything. I do have iodine capsules just in case but I don't go to places where I would need them. If I was camping by farmland I would use a different filter though, one that deals with heavy metal and pesticides contamination. Steripen looks good actually but do you also have a fine mesh sediment filter?

[Cal Alamein]

I've told my husband that once the kids have left home I want to spend a year walking the coastal paths of the UK. He, in turn, will likely go and sit on a Mediterranean beach for the duration.

Both sound wonderful!

[Sits]

Most of the things on this thread look and sound wonderful. But with future trips in mind, Mrs. S is very much in the Mrs. ChrisJ camp.