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Thread: Thanks for the advice on hiking kit and an update too!

  1. #1
    Master Red Steve's Avatar
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    Talking Thanks for the advice on hiking kit and an update too!

    A few months ago I asked for some help on hiking kit as myself, my wife and a group of friends were planning to walk 16 & 1/2 miles around Bristol taking in 3 of the highest peaks all in aid of a local hospice, St Peter's in Bristol who had cared for my mother in law during her last days a few years ago.

    As with a lot of charities they've been badly hit by Covid with closure of their shops and the cancellation of their mass participation events such as group walks and cycle rides etc.

    Anyway, as usual I received a load of great replies with recommendations to various shops and manufacturers etc and in the end my wife and I bought a couple of Craghoppers jackets each and I added a pair of walking trousers too. We already had fairly decent boots and didn't want to risk blisters by buying anything new for the walk. We also picked up a couple of cheap rucksacks too.

    The walk or actually more of a hike was organised by the charity but simply recommended it was carried out based on current Covid-19 regs on a day that suited. They supplied a T Shirt and a route map..the rest was down to us. A Just Giving page was set up and we decided a £500 target was achievable. We then set a date for Saturday 3rd October. A graphic designer mate knocked us up a great logo and I ordered some T Shirts and caps too (duly branded).



    A few of us got a couple of "training walks" in but most of us felt the distance would be quite easy to cover (4 of us are keen cyclists and had done London to Paris in 2017 as The Cider Riders) so a walk in the countryside should prove a breeze.....how wrong we were!!

    A week or so before the date set, the forecast looked fine...however a few days before we were due to set off we were alerted to some kind of mini hurricane (well a strong storm at least) coming in from France! Great, just what we wanted to hear. A flurry of WhatsApp messages and we decided to go for it especially as one of the team had taken time off work to drive to Bristol from his home in Southend on Sea.

    One issue that did cause concern was that another of the party had to bring his 5 year old Staffie, named Lola along. His ex wife had decided she wanted a weekend away with "the girls" and had arrived the previous night with said dog and literally dumped her on his lap...

    Apparently Staffie's can walk all day so with no other option she became an honorary "Cider Hiker" and a water bowl and dog biscuits were hastily added to the inventory (along with Jelly Babies and Soreen Malt Loaf). Naturally we all had a hearty breakfast before setting out

    [url=https://flic.kr/p/2k1EESd]

    So at 9am we head off from the small Somerset village of Pensford famous as being the home of Acker Bilk and Cheddar Valley Cider oh and a great viaduct too. Initially, although very grey and overcast, the rain was thankfully absent.

    This is our "Setting Off" photo:




    However, what we initially thought would be a nice pleasant country walk soon took a turn for the worse. Firstly the terrain was dreadful..deep mud, mud, and more mud oh and cow and sheep "waste" mixed in made the going really tough. We spent most of the time looking down at our feet to ensure we made safe & dry progress, so as well as the physical challenge it soon became mentally tiring too..

    Around 10am we noticed a light drizzle which soon became driving rain, whipped up by a much stronger wind. The temperature, which before had been quite pleasant also dropped but we plugged on, mostly around the edges of farmer fields and occasionally through the middle (all clearly signed posted by the way).

    It was definitely harder going than any of us had imagined and 8" high corn fields aren't fun especially for half a mile...





    20201003_133102 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    20201003_112301 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    20201003_103308 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    20201003_092604 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    20201003_112739 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr


    After exactly 4 hours we had finished part 2 of 6. We were all soaked though (tip waterproof coats aren't :-) ) tired and miserable. When we looked at our GPS/Strava/Fitbits etc we realised we'd only covered 5 miles..yes just 5 and had close to another 11 to go. The other issue was that Lola was showing signs of being cold. She was shaking quite a lot and despite leading the way since we set off with great enthusiasm we all felt that continuing would be foolish and that the South West Air Ambulance had better things to do than lift 5 of us plus a Staffie from a wet field somewhere in Somerset. We took a vote and decided to call it a day. Luckily we were at a junction of a main road in Clutton and found a bus stop. 5 minutes later..face masks on we were on the way back to Pensford where we'd set off from 4 hours earlier...naturally the pub was our 1st port of call with Lola in the arms of Lee we were all welcomed in to a log fire and a couple of pints...Oh and to dry off...I think I was still dripping on the flagstone floor an hour later....

    20201003_133546 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    By 3pm we were all back home. Tired, wet and in some cases quite exhausted although after a couple of packets of Pork Scratchings in the pub Lola was now full of beans and ready to go again...

    So what to do? We'd used Social Media to promote the walk and by the time we set off had already raised £600 so had hit our target. Do we simply say YES!! we did it!! or do we 'fess up? Not a hard decision really, we'd all committed to do the full walk so simply admitted defeat to our supporters and followers. Most people knew what the weather was like so were fully supportive of our decision to abandon...the pic of Lola being held by Lee definitely helped! However, whilst beaten we weren't defeated and decided to go again three weeks later. This time it was personal!

    We let the charity know we'd raised £600 but thought that by admitting defeat on the 1st try we'd gain a few sympathy £'s by going again....so last Saturday we set off again...better prepared, a little more wiser and this time without Lola (the ex wife had her back) and this time with another mate who'd been self isolating the 1st time round...either that or he'd seen the weather forecast and thought f**k that for a game of soldiers...

    Yet again the forecast wasn't good but we knew that this was our last chance..the clocks going back the following week and the weather unlikely to get better meant this was our one and only go at finishing what we'd all committed too. This time we set off an hour earlier. We parked up in Pendsford at 8am and caught the bus to Clutton, the village where 3 weeks previously we called it a day. We crossed the road from where the bus dropped us and dug out our well thumbed and in some cases illegible maps. We had 4 of the 6 sections to go and around nearly 12 miles to the finishing point. What the hell..people were in a hospice, a few days left to live, we were fit(ish) and healthy hardly worth moaning..lets go....(again).

    IMG-20201024-WA0000 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    This time wasn't much different than 3 weeks ago..no rain for 2 hours then the heavens emptied. Hard going under foot, and the worse thing was the driving wind...yes that hurricane from France had definitely turned up in deepest Somerset. This time however was different. We knew it was going to be hard, we wore better jackets (still not 100% waterproof) didn't have a Staffie to worry about and after 4 miles we knew we were heading back (quite a big mental positive)....

    We'd battled fields of marauding cows & sheep, intense head-winds, wet feet, cold driving rain, and maps that resembled papier-mache until eventually we saw the Pensford Viaduct in the distance which indicated we were close to home....

    IMG_20201025_084519_179 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr





    20201024_092422 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr





    20201024_121512 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr



    20201024_123439 (1) by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    20201024_124633 by Steve Bolt, on Flickr

    20201024_124642 (1) by Steve Bolt, on Flickr





    We arrived at the Rising Sun pub 5 hours after setting off. Wet, tired but relieved we'd finished...oh and the total we'd raised had climbed to £1000 TWICE what we set out to raise...out of the ashes and all that ...

    I hope you enjoyed the story and the photos too..I'm not asking for donations as we've doubled what we wanted to raise and there are plenty more deserving causes struggling out there..I just wanted to say that the advice to my original query months ago was really well supported although I'm still to find a fully waterproof coat




    Last edited by Red Steve; 30th October 2020 at 15:32.

  2. #2
    Well done - perseverance paid off

  3. #3
    Master
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    Great post, well done!

  4. #4
    Superb effort very well done...here's to the next adventure !

  5. #5
    Master RLE's Avatar
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    Well done Steve. Sure many would have called it a day reaching their target without any ill feeling from the relevant sponsors. Kudos for getting back out there.

    As a keen outdoor type you really do get to see the value in the specialist clothing. Appreciate for one off events it is hardly ideal when considering the often extensive outlay, but having been caught out once and not having anyone to cradle me like the lucky Lola, I vowed never again. Saying that it wouldnt have been anywhere near as memorable for any of you if you had breezed around the hike in comfort. No fun at the time I'm sure but reading your post you are already reminiscing fondly of your adventures.

  6. #6
    Grand Master Mr Curta's Avatar
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    Thanks for the entertaining write-up, and what a great result! Nice one.
    Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH

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