Another brilliantly hilly walk, the first with my folks in two and a half months. It was wonderfully pleasant to get in the car and be greeted with whoops and compliments about how much weight I've lost. Thanks guys!
The walk had plenty of lovely wood mixed with tall hills, deep valleys and big views. It ended with a climb up to the monument on Coombe Hill which was overrun with picnickers and opportunist visitors who park two hundred metres away and walk to the end, eager to enjoy the huge view. I don't mind saying it, but I feel I certainly earned my great big uplifting view: lugging my over-packed rucksack across eight hilly miles to get to this point makes it mean much more to me than simply parking up and getting it for free.
I packed my bag with three kilos of stuff - tins, a kilo of raisins, stuff. As I'm in training I wanted to push myself; I didn't really notice the weight on my back, but as soon as I took it off it felt quite heavy in my hands. That weight was probably three or four kilos less than I'll be taking to the coast with me, so I will add more weight over my next few walks. The pack itself was comfortable, with its shoulder-straps nicely placed, chest- and waist-straps taking the pressure of the back. The weight was packed too low - something I'll need to experiment with. I also need a bum-bag type job to keep my regular-access stuff in, and a strap of some kind for my map case. Lots to get!
Also: 26 miles this week. Getting there.
