I hadn’t heard anything back about my amended TGO route sheet for the best part of a month, so I chased it up. No news turned out to be good news, and HQ confirmed it was signed off. So here it is in all its glory.
The accommodation is all booked, so now all I need to to is arrange a couple of food parcels, book the ferry, decide on the gear to take, and a bit of light training. My hillwalking year will start in earnest this weekend with a short trip to the Lakes. This was due to be to attend Andy Beck’s Wainwrights in Colour book launch, but sadly he had to push the date back to May due to some issues with the production line. The launch is now the weekend before the TGO, and whilst I probably could make it, it may be taking the piss a bit at home to be away every weekend in May. So that one needs a bit more thought. So this weekend, which was going to be a more town and art-based trip may now involve some more challenging walks, and if I can be bothered, some camps.
In mid-March, I’m planning to head to mid-Wales to knock off another chunk of the Cambrian Way – from Ponterwyd to Barmouth. At the moment, the plan is to go whatever the conditions, to make it a better preparation for the fact I’ll just have to cope if it’s nasty in Scotland in May. The intention is to wild camp all the way, carrying provisions for the whole trip from the outset, and taking the same gear that I’ll probably take to Scotland. Basically a dress rehearsal.
April sees me in Northumberland on a family holiday, but I’m hoping to squeeze a couple of decent hilly daywalks in; then I’m hopefully doing a coast to coast walk as a bit of light relief before the off.
Gear-wise, it’s a choice between the Scarp 1 and the Duomid for the shelter; my pack will be the Mariposa, my sleeping bag will probably be the Cumulus Quantum 350, and my clothing system’s going to be built around the Paramo Bora fleece and windproof, and the Pasco jacket. On my feet will be the new pair of Salomon Quest 4Ds I got as a warranty replacement – I’m currently trying to eke out the defective pair for as long as possible to save the newer ones for the TGO. Food will (hopefully) be homemade dehydrated meals for the most part – as you’ll probably have guessed from recent posts. The intention is also to take art gear of some description.
Still looking forward to it.
Best of luck Matt 👍🏼
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Thanks.
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That stretch of the Cambrian Way to Barmouth will be excellent preparation for the TGO Challenge. As you know the Scarp well, would you be tempted to take the Duomid for that trip and see how you like it in the hills, or have you managed to give it a try already?
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Most probably taking the Duomid on the Cambrian. I’ve used it before on trips to Dartmoor and the Lakes in the summer, but this would be the first time with the inner (I used an Oookworks Banana Bivvy before), so I want to see how that goes and then make the call. Even so if the forecast for TGO looks nasty I’ll probably take the Scarp anyway
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Difficult choice between weight saving and the extra security of the Scarp. For me Scotland usually
means the Scarp as I always seem to encounter bad weather there. Hope all goes well.
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