Week 6 - Random Thoughts

Miles to date: 615

As lovely and as varied as the more southerly sections of this walk were, we are particularly liking being in the bigger open spaces, with the more rugged feel to them, on the Pennine Way. Of course, bigger spaces and less population does mean that we're having to put a bit more thought than previously into getting hold of supplies and making sure that they'll last to the next shop. I'm trying to err on the side of caution and we're eating a lot, as a result of which my bag for tomorrow is heavy! Still, it'll ease once we've eaten breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses and lunch.

Talking of heavy packs, whilst we were at Ma-in-Law's at the weekend we picked up a stash of stuff that we'd left there for the northern half of the journey, so I'm now also carrying maps for the rest of the journey (A4 print outs, let me stress, not full OS maps), pages from the two PW guide books, midge head net, insect repellent and the like. Add to that the restocking of other consumables (and my mock-crocs which I picked up the week before) and my bag felt awfully heavy when I picked it up on Sunday morning (happily, it didn't feel so bad once it was on my back). At least I know the weight will drop slightly as we go north, as I post home used maps (I'll not here go into the reason why I'm troubling to keep maps that I could just reprint).

The two things with which we didn't leave Halifax, as previously mentioned, were the Icebreaker and the foot cream that had gone astray in the post. The good news is that they weren't irretrievably lost. They arrived on the eighth day after they were posted. We walked there quicker! They're now back in the post wending their way back to Sister and hopefully they'll catch up with us somewhere before John O'Groats.

The only gear issue worthy of mention this week on the wear-and-tear front is my Paramo Azuma Vent trousers (and remember I only have the one pair of trews with me). There are holes on the inside of each ankle and I'm unsure that they're going to last the distance. There's also an issue with the elastic, but as I fitted that elastic I can only blame myself for that! In the unlikely event that we pass a shop selling Montane Terra Pants in my size there will be a purchase made.