All went quiet on this blog after my last post on 1 March, at which time we were in the south-westerly corner of Portugal. Here's a very brief catch-up on what has gone on since:
We stayed in Iberia for another couple of weeks before journeying up through France and back to the UK. Other than general ambling around looking at stuff and places, there was no other walking in that time. That's not because we were overcome with laziness, but because every time we saw an alluring walking route, we opted to run it.
The day after my last post, I ran from the southwesterly tip of Portugal that is more south than west to the southwesterly tip that is more west than south.
On the west coast a lovely circuit was all on road (around 50% dirt road), hence we decided it lent itself more to a run than a walk.
Once home we were unusually busy. In amongst other things, we had a relatively short window to get ourselves organised for the TGO Challenge. Food was cooked and dehydrated, other supplies bought, parcels packed, and maps printed. All reasonable travel options up to Scotland were contemplated, with the result that Bertie was booked into secure storage for the two weeks of the Challenge, thus giving us an excuse to extend a 2-week trip into a 5-week trip.
With the number of things on the to-do list our intention to go out for an overnight backpacking shake-down trip didn't get squeezed in. We did, however, start the process of re-acquainting our bodies with load carrying, with four separate walks from our front door. After trying a new route for the first walk, we reverted to an old favourite, and just walked circuits of the lumpiest bit of land we have within easy reach.
Taken in March 2018 (L) and March 2019 (R). If there was a mud season this year, we missed it.
Ooof! All those cans of chopped tomatoes wrapped in bath towels were heavy! It turns out we walked our training walks carrying more weight than we will for the Challenge itself.
In a flurry of activity last week, Bertie was packed and off we set northwards. Never has his boot been so full! It seemed a bit of a squeeze the last couple of years with just Mick's backpack and resupply parcels in there. This year that's all multiplied by two, alongside the gear for the Marilyn-bagging we'll be doing over the next couple of weeks.
We haven't gone straight to Scotland ... but more about that in my next post.
We stayed in Iberia for another couple of weeks before journeying up through France and back to the UK. Other than general ambling around looking at stuff and places, there was no other walking in that time. That's not because we were overcome with laziness, but because every time we saw an alluring walking route, we opted to run it.
Once home we were unusually busy. In amongst other things, we had a relatively short window to get ourselves organised for the TGO Challenge. Food was cooked and dehydrated, other supplies bought, parcels packed, and maps printed. All reasonable travel options up to Scotland were contemplated, with the result that Bertie was booked into secure storage for the two weeks of the Challenge, thus giving us an excuse to extend a 2-week trip into a 5-week trip.
With the number of things on the to-do list our intention to go out for an overnight backpacking shake-down trip didn't get squeezed in. We did, however, start the process of re-acquainting our bodies with load carrying, with four separate walks from our front door. After trying a new route for the first walk, we reverted to an old favourite, and just walked circuits of the lumpiest bit of land we have within easy reach.
Taken in March 2018 (L) and March 2019 (R). If there was a mud season this year, we missed it.
In a flurry of activity last week, Bertie was packed and off we set northwards. Never has his boot been so full! It seemed a bit of a squeeze the last couple of years with just Mick's backpack and resupply parcels in there. This year that's all multiplied by two, alongside the gear for the Marilyn-bagging we'll be doing over the next couple of weeks.
We haven't gone straight to Scotland ... but more about that in my next post.
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