Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
Close the gap. Don't stop. Don't look back. We opt for an 8am start due to the amount of ground we're aiming to cover. It's an easy 3km down the track to meet the road. Darren has forged ahead while I dither taking photos and generally faffing about. I reach the road and he's nowhere … Continue reading TGO Challenge 2022 – Days 7&8: The Blair Pitch Project
The rain slashes down for much of the night - definitely the worst night yet. I had to adjust my door configuration twice to successively hunker the tent down more. I wake to find daylight poking though a small hole in one of the doors. I've not idea how it happened, but almost certainly I … Continue reading TGO Challenge 2022 – Day 6: Behind Again
Last night was not a very sheltered pitch, and the tent was reeling under wind yet again. As we pack up it starts raining - even though we've largely extricated ourselves from our previous spot of bother, the weather has not given up the battle. It is, however, an easy walk along the track, penetrating … Continue reading TGO Challenge 2022 – Days 4-5: Headwinds
There aren't many midges and they're not biting yet, is what I was hearing before the Challenge. But, in the time it takes to pack up, I'm covered in midge bites. And boy are they itchy ones. It's a relief to start putting one foot in front of the other. We are now firmly on … Continue reading TGO Challenge 2022 – Day 3: Redemption
Although it's only day 2, we're already in trouble. We're 6km behind a plan that gets steadily harder, requiring successively longer days, and now in a serious game of catch-up. Add to this the uncertain perils in front of us that need to be overcome, and the knowledge that it's possible we might not be up to it. We could still find ourselves scurrying back west with our tails between our legs.
...We look down at Loch Beoraid, a swathe of trees barring progress down the steep hillside. Even getting to the edge of the trees looks perilous. Already I'm starting to wonder if we should have considered the ridge route, even though we (meaning I) chose not to so as to "give ourselves an easier first … Continue reading TGO Challenge 2022 – Day 1: The Misadventure Brothers
Getting off the train in Fort William brings further realisation that the Challenge might actually be happening... Cold, windy and wet is Fort William. We've seen the conditions the early Challengers set out in, and enthusiasm levels are on the floor...
This is the Index Post to the 2022 Challenge, my fourth crossing. DayDateFrom/toDist (km)Ascent (m)Cum Dist (km)Post link-435 to 0Thu 12 May Home to Fort William000https://backpackartist.com/2022/06/14/tgo-challenge-2022-days-435-to-0-a-long-wait/1Fri 13 MayFort William / Lochailort and kinlochbeoraid1555515https://backpackartist.com/2022/06/15/tgo-challenge-2022-day-1-the-misadventure-brothers/2Sat 14 MayKinlochbeoraid to Just Past Glenfinnan1949134https://backpackartist.com/2022/06/17/tgo-challenge-2022-day-2-escape-from-the-black-hole/3Sun 15 MayJust Past Glenfinnan to Glen Righ3046864https://backpackartist.com/2022/06/19/tgo-challenge-2022-day-3-redemption/4Mon 16 MayGlen Righ to Kinlochleven2360187TGO Challenge 2022 – Days … Continue reading TGO Challenge 2022: Lochailort to Dunnottar Castle
In early May, for my TGO Challenge warm-up, I headed for the Lake District to get mind and body into the groove, and to test out certain elements of my gear strategy. I wouldn't normally go on such a trip the week before the Challenge, but I had planned to head for Scotland a few … Continue reading The 10th and 50th
Hassocks to Eastbourne: 57km (36 miles), 1,422m ascent (4,665ft) Day 6 Last night's dinner was awesome, and bloody well should have been as I'd carried it from the BP garage. Pasta Arrabiata (of sorts) cooked on a camping stove, reminded me of how great it is to have real food rather than just rely on … Continue reading Walk the Chalk: South Downs Way – Part 3
Cocking to Hassocks: 60km (38 miles), 1,406m ascent (4,613ft) Day 4 The stay at the campsite on the outskirts of Cocking couldn't have come at a better time. I'd avoided a nasty day of rain that would have been very uncomfortable to be out in, and also had a night of respite from the stresses … Continue reading Walk the Chalk: South Downs Way – Part 2
Winchester to Cocking: 64km (40 miles), 1,369m ascent (4,491ft) Day 1 It was a pleasant journey to Winchester. As someone who hasn't commuted in over two years, and with no intention to ever do so again, I hadn't relished piling on a rush hour train along with all the miserable people. But as it turned … Continue reading Walk the Chalk: South Downs Way – Part 1
I've just come back from the Peak District where I notched up my 200th wild camp - indeed that was the whole purpose of the trip! I was on 198 before going, so just needed two nights to get the double century, but I planned on being there for three. As it turned out, keeping … Continue reading 200 Wild Camps
Lulled by a “not too bad” forecast and fresh from a more local walk that didn’t fully hit the spot, I headed to Dartmoor for anything up to a week of backpacking – depending on how long that forecast stayed ok.There was one problem though: the Saturday night had a forecast of 50-60 kph winds, … Continue reading Halfway across Dartmoor – a Backpack in Less Than Ideal Conditions
Last year I managed to make myself go out for a camp in every month, and although some of those were done in the course of a multi-day walk, some were very much a matter of forcing myself out to sleep. For 2022 I wanted to do something a bit different - specifically to make … Continue reading The Elham Valley Way (plus a bit…)