Sports Drinks Redefined

Warning: For anyone curious as to the veracity of these blog reports, please know tonight's sports recovery drink was NOT Gatorade G2, rather fine British Ale and Cider (fine = available at the local pub).  I'm not sure yet how well this new habit is going to translate to arriving home from the gym at 10:30 a.m. in the future . . . probably not at all!

*********

Days 3 (Ennerdale Bridge to Longstraithe) and 4 Longstraithe to Grasmere) -- both high routes in the Lakes District -- rocky paths with steep ascents and sharp, rocky descents

No posting last night as our B&B in Longstraith had no connectivity (wifi or cellular).  Today catches us up in Grasmere.

Today (30 June), like yesterday, required we choose our route: low or high.  In both cases we chose the L- L-L- . . . High routes.  For anyone considering this trek, we highly recommend the high routes in good weather (clear skies and high ceilings).  The views are AMAZING!!

Lake Buttemere from High Stile

Ennerdale Bridge to Longstraithe: The effort is considerable, though, especially layering high routes over consecutive days.  On 29 June we decided on the high route, which added about two hours to our 15.8 mile walk and delivered 5,000 feet ascent and descent. This high route includes the highest point on the C2C (High Stile), and was such a favorite of Wainwright that his ashes are scattered here (the Haystacks).  In his famous guide, however, Wainwright described the route as only suitable for "very strong and experienced fellwalkers" (in clear weather).  And it was a tough day (seriously I was heard to gasp, "and I thought I was in shape . . . ,"); and particularly windy and cold at the top . . . but totally worth the work.  Note to hikers: the route up to Red Pike is steep and poorly marked.  I resorted to Stedman's recommendation to progress straight up in the absence of the trail as the lateral routes are dangerous given shale scree and loose rocks. 

. . . And slow learners we are, today we were up for the high route again.  While not half the challenge of yesterday, we seemed to be the only C2Cers on the high route today.  Many C2C hikers seem to skip the high route on this leg for speed (headed to Patterdale) or to allow legs to recover from the previous day. Much shorter (just under ten miles), with half the elevation gain (and loss) of the day before, it's a very do-able route.  Notably, we met one exceptionally charming septuagenarian chugging up the crags today who, having reported completing the C2C twice, raised an eyebrow at our decision to hit the high routes on the C2C.  Perhaps we had that novice look??

Looking down on Grasmere from Helm Crag

At any rate, today we hit Calf, Moment and Helm Crags before make the steep descent into the lovely Lake District resort village of Grasmere for the night.  Grasmere is notable as the home of poet William Wordsworth -- Laureate of the Lakes District -- (and for its traditional gingerbread and fine sports drinks 😉, the former of which we've tucked into our packs for a trail snack tomorrow -- alas the rehydration will have to wait until we're off trail for the day!).

Good news ahead: the sunny warm weather is forecast to hold -- so tomorrow we're heading for Glen Ridding and high route #3 . . . 

Following Wainwright -- The Invisible Fell

Day 2: St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge (some fell walking, boggy with stream crossings)

Eastward Ho!

This morning we set out again from St Bees, rejoining the path at yesterday's point of departure
around mile 6.5.  Although our on-and-off approach earned us 19 miles on a 15-mile leg, we agree it was a sound decision to get the feel of the trail (feet and brains) by kicking off early.  We set out in the rain today through grassy fields that validated our C2C fashion ensemble of rain jackets, rain hats, shorts and gaiters.  Cliff (above) was more than happy to strike a catalog pose with the C2C monument at mile 7.

There's a feeling one gets, churning one's way to the top of a fell (mountain) in a blinding mist, that falls somewhere between hesitate elation (hallelujah, we've made it to the top (we think)) and outright exasperation (so we suppose we've made it to the top because the gasping uphill has ceased and the bone-jarring descent is underway).  Such was our experience over Dent Fell today.  The photo to the left was taken just after the summit.  You can see from my stairway to the clouds (actually a very tall deer stile), that our misty walk continued into early afternoon. Luckily, since Alfred Wainwright's Coast-to-Coast trek first was published in 1973, navigation greatly has been enhanced by satellites and signals. And grateful were we for the validating electronic burps issued from the GPS at the top of the fell, because with zero visibility terrain association was pretty much out of the question. It was all waypoints, compass headings and distances across the invisible fell.

All said it was day of steadily improving weather as we made our way through woods (incredibly dense and dark), over the (misty) fell and across a series of boot-soaking fords before the sun finally made its appearance just before we reached Ennerdale Bridge (and our B&B for the night) mid-afternoon.

Coming into Ennerdale Bridge
Out of the Clouds

Scars and Becks and Kissing Gates

Day 1: St Bees, stage one -- the headwater only ( 9 miles, climb above cliffs, then mostly flat)

Pebbles in pocket and boots baptized in the Irish Sea (coast-to-coast tradition), we set out this morning from the tiny village of St Bees on the first nine of our 190-plus miles across Northern England.  For those who closely followed our planning, today was meant to be an orientation day. However, feet itchy for the trail after three days off from walking drew us onto the coastal path early.  This approach not only divided our first leg into two shorter segments, it also took advantage of the day's glorious weather.   After a week of mostly wet hill walking in Scotland, today's blue skies and light breezes were divine (tomorrow's forecast is not so favorable).

It's our first day and already we find we're referring to our map and notes quite often to confirm the route and remind ourselves that a scar is a cliff, a beck is a stream and a kissing gate and a stile, while serving the same purpose, are quite different structures.  So today, we climbed along a coastal scar, crossed a few becks and passed through many a kissing gate as we navigated narrowly rutted and sharply canted paths, through fields of sleeping sheep and around stands of trees giving refuge to the coveted black grouse.  No wonder the Brits sound so mesmerizingly lyrical to us Yankees, eh?  And the language, while fanciful, simultaneously is so literal it amuses.  Why not brown or white for toast at breakfast?  (It's all wheat anyway).  And how simplistically charming is "No fly tipping" as a plea to curb littering?

Coastline at St Bees

So, tonight we're pubbing again for dinner -- though it will be hard to beat last night's experience of being serenaded by the kindly (and we believe sober) PK (because Paul Kelly (according to him)is too boring).  PK (a rock star in his own mind) not only gave us his best rendition of  Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," he also enthused about the US Civil War while helping himself to our leftover fish and chips.  It was after all, Friday night in St Bees -- who knows what Saturday may bring?

Packing List

Donna's C2C Gear

The guys I work with always laugh about how small my travel bags are.  What I know for sure is you'll get pretty darned light if you have to carry it yourself.  While our gear will be sagged from point to point on the C2C -- arriving at our predetermined overnight each afternoon before us (we hope) -- we still have to schlep everything through airports and train stations AND meet a sag weight limit.  So the gear you see includes just the essentials (and really, I still think I have too much).  Packing success in my mind means every single item of gear MUST be worn or used.

My gear pack:

• Deuter pack (Futura 30 SL)
• Lowa boots (well broken in and waterproofed)
• Gaiters
• Smartwool socks heavy hiking (8)
• Smartwool sock liners (8)
• Hiking pants (Arcteryx long, REI convertible)
• Hiking shorts REI (optimistic me -- we'll see if I need these) -- Cliff, by the way plans to wear shorts everyday.
• Waterproof pants Arcteryx and jacket Mamut (expect to wear these a lot)
• Hats: beanie, light running cap (again, likely wishful thinking), waterproof oiled hat
• Hiking shirts (long sleeve: wool and nylon - two each)
• Underpants (2 -- wash one, wear one), sports bras (2 -- same thought)
• Bandanas (2) -- critical for damp, cool hikes where my nose will run like a sieve (I sportingly tie these to my pack chest strap to be viewed by all 😏)
• First aid kit
• K (kinetic) sports tape and knee brace (just in case)
• Garmin GPS
• Headlamp (actually hope not to have to use this)
• Leki hiking poles (ultra lite carbon fiber -- a new add last year for the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim and they are a tremendous improvement over the old (heavy) sticks).
• Hiking umbrella (Don't laugh, Cliff found these and after protesting for weeks that I would not carry one, after reading blog after blog about many (mostly) rainy days on the C2C, I gave in.  Like the headlamp, I'll be perfectly happy to carry and not use this).

So this is the last of the practice blogs.  I logged  tonight's two posts from the iPad, so we're tested and ready to go.  

"See" you in St. Bees!

The Training

We approached this training using an endurance periodization plan (base, build, peak, taper) over ten weeks.  As I write this, we're in taper mode -- and two days out from event!  Approaching training for a major hike like any endurance endeavor, we started with our base (always fit, working out six days a week), to build (adding hard training walks to our weekly regimen at a rate of 18-26 miles a week (two or three walks)), to peak -- for me a vertical mile on the versaclimber at the gym (5,280 feet), for Cliff, a 40-mile plus bike ride, which we jointly followed with two consecutive days of hard 15-mile hikes in boots with packs.  We read this threshold readiness marker in a coast-to-coast blog, set it as the culmination of our training (peak), then backward planned from there.  Peak week, by the way put those two back-back 15-milers on our anniversary weekend.  So we celebrated 33 years of marriage with ten hours of training hikes.

Our average travel time in hilly terrain is 3mph.

Observation: I've had more than one client over the years ask me how to train for a specific demand (running hills, building distance, increasing speed).  The best answer I can give is what shaped this training -- train in your event and complement the training with strength conditioning for balance (lots of core) and development of specific muscles to meet demand (in our case, lots of lower body work).  So, if you want to run hills, run hills -- consistently and with intention -- each time you'll likely get a little further (and eventually you'll crest that hill).  It's the same with long-distance walking or trekking.  Get out and do it.  Walk consistently replicating the event conditions as best as possible.  And in peak phase, achieve a goal that builds self-efficacy as well.  While there's little that compares to the cumulative effect of walking many miles day after day, knowing we've tagged three tough consecutive days gives us the all-important "we've got this" experience.

Why the blog?

For most of our married lives, we've been hiking and exploring together around the globe.  The thing is, for the first fifteen or so years -- it was all just part of the job.  As married army officers, the idea of hiking and camping on vacation sounded like a real busman's holiday.  After all, in military parlance leave (the term for vacation time) seemed to suggest we were leaving some part of our everyday lives behind.  And although we had played with segments of the Appalachian Trail and day hiked in the Rockies, it really wasn't until 1999 that we took our first true trekking holiday.  That spring we flew from Seoul Korea (where we were living) to Katmandu, Nepal where we backpacked into the Langtang National Park, then took a smoke-inspired diversion (there were fires in the Langtang) across the high-altitude lake chain of the Gosainkund with little more than a guide book, a GPS, an idea and some hugely heavy packs.  Complete novices, we tackled the altitude without a clue of the dangers (or symptoms), shared a GI bug that left us weak, fell in love with the people and the country of Nepal -- and fell in love with the trekking vacation.

Since that trek we've tramped on the South Island in New Zealand (and learned why the Kiwis race to the mountain huts at the end of each day), summited Mount Kilimanjaro, explored the ruins of Choquequirao in Peru, completed the remote, high altitude Snowman Trek in Bhutan, circumnavigated the Torres de Paine in Patagonia and traveled the Haute Route across the Alps from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland.  Along the way we've recorded our trips in photos and journals.  This blog is our first experiment with an electronic journal to give others a glimpse into our adventures.  It is meant to be both informative and entertaining.  For that reason, we've decided to present our two+ week walk across England in all it's real time glory.  It's kind of a TeamBoltz off the hook look at the ups and downs (literally and figuratively) of walking long distances through the best and worst of times with one's life partner.

And to the groomsman in our wedding party who prophesized "It'll never last,"  -- it's amazing what thousands of miles together on the trails can do for a relationship . . .

Over the next couple of days we'll share some information about our training for the Coast-to-Coast walk, give a peek into our packing list (informed by over-heavy packs in Nepal 16 years ago; and Donna's experience of wearing one pair of hiking pants for a month in Bhutan (no laundering, of course)) and generally refine our blogging skills posting related information.  If you want to follow the blog and get updates, just add your desired email address to the "Follow by Email" line below.  The walking will go live on 27 June 2015.