Walking

Introduction

Some of my friends and I like to walk, at a leisurely pace, from comfortable bed&breakfast to welcoming pub, and from welcoming pub to comfortable bed&breakfast, through pleasant scenery, on well marked trails. We walk for three or four days at a time, once or twice a year.

All of this comfort and ease takes months of preparation and some self discipline. In this article I will discuss the steps we take to increase the likelihood of a pleasant and comfortable walk.

Prepare well

We start our preparation by agreeing on a month and a region of the country. We tend to prefer to walk in late spring or early autumn. Where ever and when ever we go, we get rained on.

Some physical preparation is useful. When we are in good physical condition, we enjoy the walk more. Walking with a loaded pack a few times a week and running a few times a weeks in the three or four months leading up to walk are useful ways of preparing for a walk. Some people increase the frequency they visit their gym, and include more aerobic work.

When I am given the task of finding an appropriate long distance path, I start by looking at The long distance walkers handbook. This book lists all long distance paths by region and by length. I look for paths that go along coasts or down river valleys. These paths tend to have towns or villages at reasonable intervals, and towns or villages tend to contain comfortable places to stay and nice places to eat. We believe that a reasonable distance between towns or villages is about four hours walking.

When I find a path which seems to meet our criteria, I contact the tourist information centres along the path. I ask for any information they have about the path, about places to stay, about places to eat, and about public transport.

If there seem to be suitable places to stay and to eat at reasonable intervals, and if there is public transport into and out of the path, I will buy the 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey maps that cover the path, and if there is one, a published guide to the path. I then start to draft daily timetables. We like to walk around 12 miles a day. This gives us plenty of time to get up at a civilised hour, have a good breakfast, buy anything we need in the town, walk to the pub for a leisurely lunch, and amble into the next town before dark. Studying the maps before we go helps us find our way when the signs marking the path disappear or confuse.

We then discuss suggested timetables over the `phone or by e-mail. By planning our days before we leave, we increase the amount of time we have to chat and amble, and reduce the amount of time we have to think or make decisions whilst walking. After a few weeks of discussion, we tend to agree on dates and places, and start thinking about packing.

Carry little

Carry as little as possible. This is extremely important. Most of the time people carry too much. The less anyone carries, the more they will enjoy their walk. The more we carry, the harder we will work, and we want to have a nice leisurely walk. The last evening before the walk, or early on the first morning of the walk, I suggest items from everyone's pack to leave behind. Nobody needs to carry more clothing than they will need to sit still, for an hour outdoors in a driving rain, and remain warm. This does mean that everyone needs decent rain gear, and a warm top, but that is about it. Nobody needs an assortment of warm tops, or a choice of evening wear.

For an example of an implementation of this theory, I include a list of what I carried on our last walk, up the Wye River Valley, in September 2001. I wore a long sleeved synthetic blend shirt, a pair of synthetic trousers, and a pair of walking sandals.

Clothing:

Waterproof jacket&trousers, long polypro fishnet undershirt, change of underwear, and fleece ear band.

Personal care:

Sun cream, toothbrush, adhesive bandage strip, adhesive podiatric foam, paper tissues, wound bandage, lip balm, and a handkerchief.

Equipment care:

Medium plastic freezer bags, polythene rucksack liner, wire&miniature screwdriver for mending glasses, fresh torch battery in torch, polyester button thread, 3 needles, 3 safety pins, fresh camera battery in camera, and film in camera.

Tools:

1 litre flexible water bottle with drinking tube, compass, notebook, 2 pens, aluminium LED torch, credit card tool, pocket camera&pocket tripod, map in map case, money belt, wallet, keys, nylon cord, whistle, mobile `phone, and a nylon mesh waistcoat with nylon canvas pouches to carry it all in.

At the end of every walk I check to see if I have used everything I carried, and if I did not use it, or if there is not a very good reason to carry the item, I remove the item from the list.

Look after yourself

Pay attention to the condition of your feet all the time. Clean and dry your feet carefully at least once a day. Consider using foot or talcum powder. When you notice a warm spot on your foot, or a spot where something is rubbing your foot, or a blister starting to form, clean and dry the spot, and place a piece of adhesive podiatric foam, a plaster, or anything suitable in order to keep the blister from getting worse.

Carry enough water to drink all through the day. You will know that you have been drinking enough if you urinate every hour or so, and if your urine is clear, or nearly clear.

Summary

By planning well, packing well, and looking after yourself, a long walk can be comfortable and pleasant.