Taking your first step out the door on a new adventure always fills me with the same amount of excitement and a sprinkling of trepidation about what is to come, but one thing I can be certain of is that my defrosted bread and fridge lucky dip sandwich will taste better than anything I have ever eaten.
(Photo: The Richmond Ranges, New Zealand)
The Cumbria Way - In a Hurry to Get Curry
The Cumbria Way was my first multi day hike and my gear was way too bulky, my bag too small and ill fitting, we started in rain, which living in Cumbria I should be used to, setting off I didn’t know what to expect but I knew that we would be rewarded by good food in Coniston. Stopping along the Blawith Fells, not a soul in sight (despite it being a busy path) and enjoying the picnic, the sun came out, we had a view of Coniston Water and the other fells in the distance and we were closer to our destination. Our feet no longer hurt and we had a burst of renewed energy from taking the moment to refuel and take in the scenery and set off at pace and the curry at the local restaurant in Coniston was now within our sights. We felt bad turning up in our hiking gear but we were welcomed in and it was just the most wonderful meal, we all had big smiles on our tired little faces and were ready for what adventure (and food) the next day might bring.
(Photo: Le houches, Tour du Mont Blanc)
The Tour du Mont Blanc - Refuges Along the Way
My first multi day hike in a different country, away from the safety of my home county I didn’t know what to expect again, but I needn't have worried. My friend had planned the route so I could just sit back and walk along the well trodden path. We had glorious sun, freezing snow, thunderstorms, meadows and alpine chalets. It was breathtaking. We needn’t have worried about food, we carried dehydrated pouches and plenty of snacks but the refuges along the way always served the most amazing food and drinks, we stayed at one refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme at 2443m altitude and we were served a 3 course home cooked meal and had a pint of beer, but we would have been happy with crumbs as the views were absolutely breathtaking of the snow covered mountains.
(Photo: Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme, Tour du Mont Blanc)
The Ullswater Way - Honesty is the best policy
After lockdown I was desperate for a big old hike and dragged my friends on this walk I’ve been looking at which I declared is easily doable in one day, after not doing anything significant for several months. At 32km it would be a whole day affair requiring a substantial picnic, the first mistake was I left my sandwich back at the car, which I realised at lunch time. But wahey, we walked past an honesty shed between Gowbarrow and Pooley Bridge that had cans of pop, crisps and flapjack - amazing! We sat in a field along the route and ate our picnic and my improvised lunch, grateful for everything and my friends decided that I am not allowed to plan the next few walks as even though it was beautiful the 32km, it was too long for untested legs.
So in summary you can spend your life putting off the big adventures because you're not sure if you can do it, you can worry about what to pack or what might go wrong, you may just have some stale bread and crumbs of cheese with an old cucumber but it’s worth the try. Step out your door, look up that route you fancy, stop and have that sandwich, look at the view, look at how far you’ve come, laugh at the rain and keep going, you never know what is around the corner or what food awaits you along the way.
(Photo: Te Araroa trail, New Zealand)
Essential Items:
Making sure you have all the essentials for the hike can build some of the worry, have I got enough food, will I be cold? Is my waterproof still waterproof, do I have enough battery packs? Is my gas canister full full or slightly full?
These are valid thoughts but I have always found that I spend too much time worrying about these things that in reality I can change along the way the most important things are good route planning, amazing views, good footing, good company and stopping to take in the view along the way and remembering that even the saddest sandwich will taste delicious on the trail.
(Photo: Glencoe, West Highland Way, Scotland )
