Day 4 Grey Grey and more Gray

Day four on the Pennine Wet has been wet! Everyday so far has been wet but today it made a special effort. It showered all night so when I woke and it was dry I went to get packed up as quick ass I could before it started again but I was too late so went back in my tent to sit it out but it didn't stop so oit got to the point where I pressed on regardless or stayed put all day, so I pressed on.The da started with a big climb to the top of Malham Cove follwed by two more big climbs over Fountains Fell and then Penyghent. Fountains Fell was just a hard slog in driving rain, the wind was bitterly cold when I reached the top. By now the rain had found its way in to everywhere so to stop long on the top would have seen me perish from the cold so after phoning Vicki I pushed on back down and then up to Penyghent, at times a near vertical climb in heavy rain and strong wind. All this climbing was for no other reason than to get to my destination because all around there was heavy grey damp mist so no views to be had of any kind. I did manage to take a few pics but I don't know what they will turn out like as the camera was under restricted use because of the rain.When I went to pay for the site tonight the man at the farm seemed to think I'd been here before. He is right of course but he must either be thinking of someone else or have a really great memory because it was over 20 years since I stayed here, I didn't shatter his memories though.I had some bad news today, it seems that Vicki's boss can't manage without her all of next week so our holiday together is to be cut short which is a bit disappointing.If there was one word to sum up todays walking I would say that word is GREY. Its been draining of both body and mind, Its all part of the experience though.

Day 3 wet wet wet

Day three on the Pennine Way has been wet, so there is nothing new to report there. Today its been showers more than persistant rain, this meant putting on waterproofs and taking them off on a regular basis until I got fed up and took shelter if there was any. I usually managed to find a tree to hide behind or a bridge to hide under and if it wasn't raining too hard I just ignored it as the heat from my body soon dried it from my clothes.I've seen the guy with his son's a couple of times today, they travel faster than me so we tend to keep passing each other along the way, we even had a little joke this afternoon, I'd always seen him as an over serious person up to then. I think they must have found a different campsite to me because they aren't on this one.Today the way has been mostly across farm land as I crossed the Aire Gap. My legs are starting to feel much stronger, most hills I can plod up now without needing to keep taking a breather. The rucksac is the worst problem at the moment as it weighs really heavt at times, I think some of that is because of all the water in everything. I had to pack my tent up wet this morning so that was extra weight to start with.I managed tp phone home this morning and got a nice surprise. As you know Vicki is coming to spend the weekend with me, the good news is that she is now going to be staying the whole week with me. I will carry on the walk of course but instead of spending everynight on my own in this stupid little tent I will spend it with Vicki in a B&B. The bad news for you of course is that she won't be able to keep you posted on my progress. Never mind I willl be able to do it when I get back.As I arrived in Malham tonight I was approached by three young giirls looking for the campsite, after consulting my map I Ipointed them in the right direction before setting off there myself, from the noise they are making it seems they have bags of energy left.

My second day on The Pennine Way has been wet. It didn't rain as hard as yesterday but its rained for longer and there has also been thunderstorms.I left camp this morning ar 8 just after the guy from Scotland left, he was heading in the opposite direction to me so I won't be seeing him again. I didn't see the man with the two boys untill later in the day, they passed me and then I repassed them and met up again later at the place we are camped at tonight, They aren't very talkative. I've not seen anything of the boy from London since last night.Today has been spent walking through Bronte country first with a visit to Top Withens and then the way went past Pondon Hall which is reputed to be 'Thrushcross Grange' from the book Wuthering Heights. I'm finding theh pack is still weighing heavy, inparticular on my shoulders and I can feel all the muscles in my legs but hopefully this will improve with time.Tonight I'm camped on someones front lawn along with the man and boys plus another guy who is travelling in the other direction.Tomorrow promises to be a bitg easer day which will take me to Malham, hopefully the weather will also be better as everything is damp and this is also adding to the weight of the pack I'm sure.I'm going to make some hot chocolate and then get off to bed ready for another early start tomorrow.

Well day one on the pennine wet has been - WET! This morning was the worst, it came on just after crossing the M62 and it didn't stop until after Stoodly Pike, it was real mans rain too, I managed to keep pretty dry though. I met a man who told me it would get better later, he wasn't a weather guru or anything, the truth was it just couldn't get worse, unless it came on to snow. Anyway it did pick up later and even with the way the weather was I enjoyed it.My boots are working out okay, no blisters or sore feet. I got to the camp at 4PM, they haven't charged me for camping here but they have a little farm shop so I bought some beer and chocolate.I just got my tent up and someone else came to camp next top me, he is going the opposite way to me though.Since then another lad has come plus an older man with two boys.I was pretty glad to get here as I was beginning to tire, I don't think it helped with all the water soaking in to everything also I was a bit tired anyway from the early start, I am going to get an early night tonight as there isn't much to do.

I'm Nothing Special.

Thanks everyone for your best wishes, they are much appreciated and for sure they will help me on my way over the nest couple of weeks because for sure there will be times when I will be needing the encouragement. I guess there are many of you who do not know that on such walks as this you experience every sort feeling there is to feel from the depths of dispair to the highest high. There are times when you will struggle like you never struggled before and then there are times when it comes so easy that you can't believe it. But whatever the situation I will be sure to remember you all and try to keep you informed of my progress. If the technology works I hope to email Vicki from time to time who in turn, if she has time is going to post it to my blog.

During the preperation for my adventure lots of poeple have said to me how they wish they were doing it too. Okay, some of you like Phil for instance don't live in this country and some of you may have some disability preventing you but I know many of those who have had wishes to join me have no such problems so I say to them have a go because there is nothing special about me, I wouldn't even say I'm particularly fit, just active. I may not even make it the whole way but at least I will have no regrets. So why not just have a go, start out as you did when you were a baby, take a few steps and increase it each time. Soon you will be walking for a whole day and from there you walk for two days and so on until you went and did a whole long walk. That might sound simple and thats because it really is that simple, if you have the will the hardest step you will ever take is that first one.

It sounds to me like you had lots of fun on your walks Phil, everyone should have as many 'Last Of The Summer Wine' moments as possible.

Bob.

Distances.

Tonight I'm going to list the mileage and dates to the different sections of my walk along the Pennine Way. I hope to keep Vicki posted as to my progress and in turn if she has time she will let those of you who are interested know how things are going so I hope some of you will visit me along the way and even add the odd comment too as I'm sure it will be a great encouragement to me, or better still email me direct as I can recieve emails on my phone. You will find my address in my profile just click on the word 'email' or copy and paste this address robertharrison3@yahoo.co.uk .

First of all I will just point out that because I want to spend a day with Vicki and also the first part of the walk is close to my home and so I walk it regularly I'm starting my journey along the Pennine Way at the 31 mile mark.

The walk will start on the morning of the 5th July and will be 13 miles in length which will take me to Colden at 44 miles

6th July will be 17 miles and take me as far as Lothersdale at 61 miles.

7th July will be a bit shorter at 16 miles and this will take me Malham, a place I always look forward to visiting. http://www.malhamdale.com/

8th July will be 15 miles and will take me to Horton In Ribblesdale at 92 miles. http://www.aboutbritain.com/towns/horton-in-ribblesdale.asp

9th July will be an easy day of just 14 miles taking me to the market town of Hawes. http://www.stockdill.freeserve.co.uk/hawes/

10th July will be the longest day so far at 19 miles and this will take me to the Tan Hill Inn which is supposed to be the highest inn in England, the pitch is behind the pub so not far to stagger back to the tent, we will be at 124 miles by this point.

11th July will be an even longer day than yesterday at 20 miles and this will take us to 144 miles and the village of Holwick.

12th July will be 18 miles and will take us to 162 miles and the village of Dufton which is where I am to meet Vicki that evening. There will be no camping tonight as we have a B&B booked. This day will be a good day provided the weather is okay because I know from past experience that the walk will be full of interest. http://www.visitcumbria.com/pen/dufton.htm

13th is a day off.

14th July is a very short day of 10 miles and will take to the Greggs Hut and my first wild pitch of the walk

15th July will be 17 miles and will take me to Slaggyford at 189 miles.

16th July is another day of 17 miles and during this day I will reach Hadrians wall so although the day will start a bit dull it will end with great interest, tonights camp will be below the wall at a place called Once Brewed at 206 miles. http://www.hadrians-wall.org/

17th July will be 19 miles in length taking me to the small town of Bellingham.

18th July will be the longest day of the walk at 21 miles and this will take me to the Roman camp at Chew Green on the border between England and Scotland, my second wild pitch of the walk at 246 miles.

19th July 16 mlies taking me to just beyond the Cheviot Hill which again will be a wild pitch at 262 miles.

20th July and the last day of the walk will be just 8 miles to Kirk Yetholm at 270 miles.

All distances are based on those given in A Wainwright's 'Pennine Way Companion' guide book, this is the guide book I will be using along the way.

What I Carry.

To night I'm going to show you what I will have to carry with me when I go for my walk next week. I've numbered each item to make them easy to identify, you may need to click the picture and enlarge it to see the numbers more clearly though.

1 Rucksack

2 Sleeping bag - this is my down filled bag, I have a fleece one which is a bit lighter and would probably be good enough for this time of year but last week we had some quite cool nights so I thought I wouldn't risk it as there is nothing worse than lying awake because you're cold.

3 This is my sleeping mat, again it is the heavier of the two that I have but by far the more comfortable so I will suffer the extra weight.

4 Is my home made Yew walking pole. I do have a proper alloy walking pole but don't find it as nice to work with.

5 Is my tent.

6 Are the tent poles in their bag and wrapped in some plastic. I have this plastic sheet to put under the ground sheet of the tent just as a precaution really as the ground sheet on light weight tents aren't very thick.

7 Is just a little pouch with headache pills and bandaids and things that I might need but usually don't - as long as I take the pouch.

8 Three spare gas canisters for the stove.

9 Are my waterproofs, coat, trousers, gaiters, and gore-tex inner boots which I shouldn't need if my new boots do what it says on the tin. I'm not taking a chance on that though as wet feet are very bad and wet socks even worse when you have no way of drying them. With this set up I've crossed rivers that have been knee deep and still kept everything dry so I know it works.

10 Is enough food for the week, that includes the green pouch below the packets with the number 10 on it.

11 Maps and guide books.

12 Cooker and its carrying bag. I just use a basic camping Gaz cooker. There are probably better these days but it still works and has not let me down or anything in all the years I've had it plus I still have four new gas canisters so why swap it yet.

13 Is the pan for boiling water, thats the only cooking I will do, a blue plastic mug, a plastic bottle with powered tea or chocolate, not decided which yet. I don't carry milk so whatever I take will have to be ready to go by just adding water. There is also a yellow plastic bowl in the picture but I don't think I need that as you can eat the food straight from the pouch.

14 Water carriers, a plastic water bottle which I will carry full during the day to drink from and a water bag that will only be used in camp unless the weather is hot and I need to carry more water during the day in which case I will put a drop in the bag, you have to be careful how you pack it though as it could easily puncture.

The only other things that I will carry that aren't in the picture is a wallet with some beer money, my new satnav, camera and mobile phone. At that (With the plastic water bottle full) the pack weighs in at 40 pounds, I know the army carries more but I'm not on a route march so I don't want to go any higher than that if I can help it. With the lighter mat and sleeping bag I could probably have kept it down to around 36 pounds. My new boots are over a pound lighter than my old ones and its said that a pound on the foot is epual to on the back so I reckon at that rate I will be jogging the Pennine Way.

A Key Feature Overlooked.

There isn't much to report at the moment, or perhaps the truth is there is as much as usual to report but I'm not really in a reporting frame of mind.

One thing I do want to add that I should have done in my last post and that is to show my new PDA keyboard closed up. Such was my frame of mind at the time I clear forgot to show you its key feature which is its ability to fold up and be compact enough to slip in to your pocket or handbag which ever takes your fancy. As you can see from the picture below, when folded its small enough to fit in to the palm of your hand.

...and for those of you who weren't paying attention the first time here is a picture of it unfolder with PDA in place. The beauty of it is that there is nothing gimiky about it either, the keypad is nice to use and I can quite believe what Woody Wilbury says about Adam Hart-Davies writing his books on one. I've not attempted to write a book on mine but I've written emails and often use it to send a text message instead of using my phone keypad. For that sort of thing though you need to have your PDA connected by bluetooth to your cell phone.

Last night we booked two nights bed and breakfast in Dufton which is where I will meet up with Vicki in the middle of my walk. I think I now have everything I need for my walk. I've been testing my new boots and they seem fine. I've been using them on dog walking duties and I wore them all day at work last mowing day and there was no problems at all but I didn't expect any as I never had any trouble even with heavy leather walking boots, they fit well and feel nice to wear.

Thanks For My Presents & Best Wishes.

Hello everyone, Thanks Blackswamp_Girl, Lois and Merle for your best wishes. Not sure if I was being melancholy or what last night, just saying it the way it felt really. I didn't write the poem by the way, I just put it in the right place at the right time.

Anyway as you will see below I got some really nice presents for my birthday, this first one, a hand held Garmin satnav to take with me on my walks, this is from Vicki, I think she just wants to make sure I can find my way home! She also bought me a few other things too
This next present is from Fallon and is a portable keyboard for my PDA. It all works cordlessly you just sit the PDA on the stand at the back and it connects itself, no wires or anything which is very handy.

Below is a picture of what its like with the PDA in place. She didn't buy the PDA, I've had that a while now. She did buy me a bottle of whisky as well though.

Below is a picture of some new walking boots, my parents and sisters family have helped pay for those as a birthday present. I needed some new ones for my walk as my old leather ones were starting to wear out.

This next present is from Jo and David, its a very nice set which has already been put to good use at work, the pruners will be in more or less daily use and are very sharp so I had better watch my hand for sure!
I also got some cards from various people so thanks also for those and the email from Vicki's mum which was a nice surprise.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB

Today Bob is twenty one and some - HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB!

I'm thinking tonight that I need to find some new friends cos I'm sitting here at home alone on my birthday drinking from a bottle with no label, I don't even know if I'm going to get drunk! All I'm sure about is that its clear with a fizz. Three cheers for Tommy thats all I can say - okay so he's like the rest of them and not speaking but at least he tries...

So what have you done to change your ways....
the tightness in your chest....
the fear that you will die....
it is a few years ago now....your friends have long forgotten your fears...
and your solitude has returned....the loneliness of the single bed
the meals for one....
nights of searching....and drinking scotch alone
have returned


so what have you done
to change your ways
to live your life
have you made a move
to leave behind the life you ran away from
or have you nurtured
that which you know best
lonely nights
in a cyber world
bottle of scotch
with just one glass