Our destination was a toss up between Brecon and Dartmoor. The forecast for both in the week leading up was pretty much identical - hideous with spells of appalling. Brecon although promising to be all of one degree cooler, was an hour closer and two pounds a night cheaper, making it the clear winner. Off to Wales it was!
Support Crew Chris would be joining us on this one, and as he's more Midlands based, he agreed to meet us at the campsite. Leaving Oxford the forecast seemed to be stuff of fantasy, right up to the point we left Abergavenny. A few miles down the road we sighted Chris taking refuge from the deluge in his car just outside The Castle Inn. This pub was all too conveniently attached to our campsite (pronounced 'a-field'), and although there were tents to be put up, courtesy demanded we 'have a drink and see if the rain eases up'. One pint became two and dinner was taken in the pub, and wouldn't you know it the rain eased to a light drizzle. Jumping on this window in the weather, we tabled our beers behind the bar dashed outside and set up camp.
Returned to the pub to set out our plans for the walk the following day, the landlord was full of great routes and advice which we were extremely grateful for. We also met another group who were doing a walk for WaterAid, and (rather more sensibly) staying in the bunk house. They too were full of encouragement, though how comforting they expected us to find "we've never been out in weather like we had today" we were unsure. With a plan in our heads, and feeling adequately 'hydrated' we decided to turn in for the night and have a good day in on the hills in the morning.
Now getting an early start and seizing the day is very much part of the Team Tarahumara way, Chris and Dan however were not expecting to be seizing quite so much of the day. A 6am wake up call in the form of a flooded tent and a rapid evacuation to the car did not exactly set them up for the day.After the vegan friendly breakfast feast was served up at a more reasonable hour, Chris and Dan dashed into Abergavenny to replace anything that hadn't been saved from the early morning dousing.
On their return the group saddled up and took off up into the hills. Now it was certainly wet and windy as we twisted and turned up to the summit but we pressed on. We were all quite surprised when we looked back at the photos and saw just how bad it had been!
 |
| Chloë, Dan. Chris, Haley and Rich |
After spending a good deal of time in the pub regaling the locals and serenading with a very well received version on James' Sit Down we headed back to the tents to hit the sack, well that was what the majority of us thought anyway. As we approached the tents Chloë and Haley revealed a burnning desire for a night walk, so they'd know what to expect on Trailwalker. Try as he might, Dan was unable to convince them that it "would be exactly the same as walking in the day, just a bit darker", so back into the hills we went. Fortunately for all concerned it was quite a mild evening, the most fortunate for Chris for the only dry clothes he had were his jacket, a pair shorts, flip-flops and an umbrella. What was almost instantly clear was that navigation in the dark is a whole different game. We returned, again with full a compliment of walkers after a quick one hour circuit, all pleased we'd given it a go, and with a few lessons learned.1. Chris is a smug drunken navigator.
2. Confidence is no substitute for a map.
3. If you're wearing a head torch do not expect people to be your friend after you've just blinded them.
4. A rendition of Summer nights is a fine way to round off an evening.
Our daylight route. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/192717998
Next Stop Petersfield.
 |
Thank you Jack for your kind donation to the fund, you're a star |
No comments:
Post a Comment