Long Distance Walking Advice
Author: George Tod
Long Distance Walking Advice |
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The are lots of walking tips available in almost any walking magazine or book, so it is not my intention to repeat all of these here. Instead I will concentrate on the things I have found from my own personal experiences, particularly those relating to long distance walking, rather than walking in general, although there is obviously a large overlap between the two. Many of these things have been mentioned in various places throughout my walking diaries and in other pages relating to boots and other items of equipment, but it is probably more useful to collect them all together into one place.
I often have people asking me how I can manage to keep going day after day for two or three weeks of continuous walking through all sorts of weather conditions and over terrain that is often steep and difficult. To those who only ever stir from their armchairs to walk a hundred yards down to the pub and back, and go everywhere else by car, it seems an almost impossible feat of stamina and endurance, and certainly not one that could ever be enjoyed. However, it is something that most people in good health are capable of if they are prepared to spend some time building themselves up to it. With youth, it is often quite possible to embark on a strenuous schedule with only a small amount of training, as muscles and general fitness can be built up fairly quickly, though it may involve quite a bit of pain and suffering in the process. With advancing age, the process can be a lot slower, so it is much more sensible to work up to things gradually, but the end result can be the same. It is true that age limits the absolute peak of fitness that can be achieved, but walking is not an activity that demands such intensive levels of exertion; it is more dependent on achieving a moderate level of physical fitness but having a lot of stamina, which older people are quite capable of. Despite my earlier comments, I met a chap who looked like he was in his sixties walking the Pennine Way. He had not done any serious walking for twenty years and only did a couple of walks before embarking on the Pennine Way. His chosen schedule was fairly moderate over 20 days, but he was carrying all his own things, which weighed a few pounds more than mine. Although he was finding the walk a bit hard going, he managed to keep on at a steady pace, and I felt sure that he would have made it to the finish, though I left him behind a bit before the halfway point.
The amount of build up that is required for a long distance walk depends very much on what level you are starting at. If you already do a lot of walking, albeit only on a one-day basis, then it is relatively easy to gain the extra fitness required, but if you have spent many years doing very little physical activity then a considerably longer period will be necessary. Whatever your level of fitness, the thing to do is to start off with whatever level of walking you are capable of and try to do this on a regular basis, gradually pushing the limits up as you build up in fitness. For those with busy work schedules and other commitments it is not always easy to find the time to do so, but if it is only a half-hour walk out from the office at lunchtime, it all helps. Ideally, a longer walk should be attempted about once a week, but not everyone can find time to do this, so it is just a matter of fitting in whatever you can do whenever time is available. This is where retired people often score best, as they generally have much more leisure time and are also better placed to go walking when there is fine weather, which always makes it much a more pleasant experience.
One big factor with regard to sustaining the necessary effort required keeping up with a demanding daily schedule is weight. By this I mean the total weight to be propelled along the way, which is comprised of ones own body weight combined with the weight of the load to be carried. There can be a lot of time spent debating on whether items should be taken or left behind, but quite often this can be overshadowed by an excessive amount of body weight. Even for someone who is only a little overweight, this can amount to perhaps half the weight of a typical pack, and for someone considerably overweight far more. Keeping weight down to a minimum can considerably ease the burden on feet and legs, and often more can be achieved by losing weight than by limiting the luggage to be carried. Quite often the pre walk training achieves some progress in this direction, but all too often people increase their food intake to compensate and little weight reduction is achieved, whereas a combination of more exercise and restricted food intake can result in the shedding of a significant number of pounds. It has often surprised me, however, on long distance walks and in other activities, that some people who are overweight to quite a large extent are, nevertheless, very fit and able to cope without any problems. This doesn't mean that they would not benefit by weight loss, but simply that their muscles have developed sufficiently to cope with the extra burden.
You may think from my exploits that I have always been a fit and athletic person but, as a child, I was just the opposite. I was always one of the small group of boys who tried any excuse possible to get out of school games and PE, as I could never see the point of competitive sports such as football and rugby, nor could I see the point of doing exercise for its own sake. The change in my attitude came about once I found outdoor activities that I enjoyed doing, and then I was willing to exert myself without considering it a chore. Once I was introduced to mountains, I had a great desire to climb up to the top but, at this time, not to walk any further than was required to get to the summit and back. My mountain ventures were only spasmodic, so I never managed to achieve a high level of fitness and always ended up exhausted with tired and aching legs and often sore and blistered feet. I can remember few occasions in my teens and twenties when I could contemplate anything other than a very gentle walk the day after climbing a mountain, and mostly I ended up doing very little the next day.
Although I never lost my desire to climb mountains, family activities and work occupied most of my time for many years, so I only occasionally got the opportunity to do so. Note that in the early stages, my main enjoyment was from reaching a mountain summit to enjoy the view; walking was just a means to an end rather than a pleasure in itself and, had there been a road to the top of every mountain, I would have driven up rather than walk. As time progressed, I started to develop a yearning to go further; perhaps to one or two peaks further along a ridge, or round a horseshoe, but this never advanced to doing a walk of more than one day.
The turning point came later in life as a result of two things. The first was that I had a heart attack at the age of 39, mainly induced by stress, and the second was that, as my daughters grew older they no longer wanted to participate in family things, nor did they want to go away so much on family weekends and holidays. My heart attack did a very good job of focussing my mind on what was important in life, and gave my a big incentive to wind down my stress levels, whereas the second factor meant that I had more free time to do the things I wanted to do. Walking is very therapeutic in that the exercise helps to reduce the effect of adrenalin, and the wide-open spaces help to take the mind off day-to-day cares. After a good long walk, the physical tiredness helps to induce good, sound sleep that is often difficult to achieve when stress levels have built up too much.
At first I started walking around the nature reserve in the valley near to where we lived at the time. A full circuit was about five miles with a few small hill climbs up the valley sides in places. At first I found this quite tiring and would have to sit down for a good rest at the end of it, sometimes nodding off to sleep as well, but after a while, it started to be much easier and I was able to extend the walks further whilst feeling less tired in the process. After a while, I started to go walking around the High Peak District with some colleagues from work from time to time, and then started to venture on walks by myself in the same area. I took part in one or two challenge walks of 18 or 20 miles which at first I found hard going, but after several long walks, I found that things got easier and I was not quite so exhausted at the end, to the extent that I would often add a few extra miles to some of them just for good measure.
The frequency of these long walks was generally only once every three or four weeks, and less often in winter, so after each one I still tended to suffer from aching muscles and sore feet for a few days. However, I started to find that these after effects decreased as time went on, and I could often wake up the next day feeling fit enough to take on more walking or other physical activities. The one thing that always struck me about walking was that unless it was with other people, enabling two cars to be taken, a walk always had to end up where it started. This limited the scope to half the walking distance, so was often somewhat limiting. I often found that I looked out into the distance, with hills going off as far as the eye could see, and thought that it would be so much better to just carry on without having to turn back every time.
As much of my walking around the High Peak area brought me in contact with parts of the Pennine Way, I started to wonder what it would be like walk the whole way, but I still had grave doubts that I could ever achieve it. My wife sensed my desire to do the walk, even though I had never really expressed a wish outright, and urged me to go ahead. This then started me into a regime of training, which can be seen near the start of the first of my diaries. There were a number of mistakes with this, largely because I tried to push myself too hard by walking too fast, rather than just walking at the same sort of pace that I would be doing on the real thing. Although much of the training was beneficial as far as muscle building was concerned, the fast walking resulted in my setting off with serious problems caused by the rubbing of my ankle on my boot, and it was only by the last minute addition of some padding in my boot that I was able to walk without being in agony. The moral of this was that it is far better to train by walking normally in the way that you would do on the real walk rather than doing it 'at the double', which is much more likely to lead to twisted ankles, sprains and problems cause by rubbing.
In subsequent long distance walks, I learnt from my earlier mistakes and realised that if I just kept up with my routine of doing a walk comparable to a day on the trail every few weeks I would not have any problems. However, over the years I have not always managed to achieve this due to pressure of work, family holidays and other such things, so have experienced long distance walking with and without the benefit of the best sort of build up. As I write this in April 2007, I have been doing what I would consider to be the ideal training for a walk. For the past couple of months I have been out about once a week on a hill or mountain walk of between 10 and 15 miles with an ascent of between 3,000 ft and 5,000 ft as well as my daily walk of 2 to 3 miles with the dog by the riverside. This is only possible because I currently have both the spare time and the convenience of a whole range of hills and mountains within a reasonable distance of where I live in North Wales. With this level of regular walking, I find that I have only the minimal after effects from a strenuous walk, feeling only a little tired at the end of the walk and hardly aware of anything the next day, with no stiff or aching muscles, no problems with my feet and only a minimal level of residual tiredness. In this state, I feel confident to embark on my next long distance walk without difficulty. The only extra things I will have to adjust to on the walk will be the extra weight of a larger pack and the continuous walking day after day. However, the mountain walking that I undertake locally is considerably more strenuous than a typical day on the average long distance trail, so I should not find too much difficulty.
On the number of occasions that I have embarked on a long distance walk having not had the benefit of the best sort of training schedule, the result has been that the first few days were much harder, and there was much more discomfort from stiff and aching muscles, sore feet and general fatigue, which made part of the walk that much less enjoyable. The first day is not generally too bad, although the weight of a heavier pack is quite noticeable and it can be tiring if there are a lot of miles to walk, and/or a lot of ascent. The next few days tend to be worse, as aches and pains start to build up and a general level of fatigue and weariness sets in, making it difficult to raise the enthusiasm to get going both at the start of the day and after every rest break. By about day four or five things start to get easier as muscles build up again and the body gets used to the increased level of physical exertion of the daily routine. From then onwards it is generally OK except that there always tend to be good days when everything feels fine and bad days when things can be a bit of an effort. Much of this is tempered by the state of the weather, the level of exertion of the previous day, and whether any blisters or other discomforts have started to become a problem. There is no doubt that, although it is possible to regain ones fitness as a walk progresses, it is far better not to have to so by following a training programme before the start of the walk.
Most of my previous comments are based on training over hills and mountains, as that is the type of walking I prefer, and thus the type of long distance walk that I prefer. For those who prefer gentler walking over lower ground, the training needs only be of a similar nature to that of the long distance walk to be attempted. Ideally I would suggest doing a walk comparable to an average day of the planned walk about once a week for a few months beforehand. However, if time or other circumstances do not permit this, then try to do one every two or three weeks, with as many short walks as possible in between.
For those who are planning one of the more strenuous walks, but who live a long way from high hills and mountains, a suitable training programme poses more of a problem, as trips to suitable walking areas become both expensive and more time consuming. There is no point in thinking that a walk of say 15 miles along easy paths in lowland areas bears much resemblance to a typical day on a hill or mountain trail, as the extra effort required on ascent and descent puts much more strain on muscles that are not taxed very much on the flat, and walking over uneven ground, boggy areas or craggy paths adds further to the problems. It may be possible to compensate for this a little by doing extra distance during training, but it still cannot beat doing at least some of the training over hilly ground. However, as with most aspects of life, things are seldom ideal and compromises have to be made, so it is often a matter of doing the best training that you can and taking the rest as it comes, even if this does involve some hardship on the walk itself.
Ever since the opening of The Pennine Way in 1965 as the first National Trail in Britain, new long distance walks have been added to the list. Some of these have official status as National Trails, some are promoted by local authorities and other interested bodies, but many are put together as unofficial walks by individuals who publish a book on a walk they have devised themselves. The advantage of official walks is that they are waymarked (although the standard of this is variable); they are normally shown on Ordnance Survey maps, and any rights of way issues should have been resolved. Unofficial walks, by their very nature, have no official recognition and generally rely on the use of existing rights of way, though sometimes disputes can arise, especially if a walk becomes popular. It is not normally expected that an unofficial walk will have any waymarking or be shown on maps, but where one becomes very popular, as is the case with Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk, waymarking may be found in at least some sections of the walk.
My preference for high level hill and mountain walking tends to limit me to a very narrow selection of walks, as so many avoid the hilltops and follow valleys and other low lying areas. The choice of walk comes down to personal preferences; some people preferring wild and rugged upland walks and some preferring the more gentle scenery at a lower level. The choice of walk also determines the difficulty of the walking itself and, therefore, the amount of effort required and the time taken to complete each section. The type of terrain encountered also determines the type of weather conditions that may be encountered and the additional equipment and precautions that may be required when undertaking the walk. When considering the relative difficulty of various walks, do not be deceived by coastal walks which, although they may never go more than a few hundred feet above sea level, can be just as difficult as mountain walks as they wind their way up and down cliffs around a rocky coastline.
In my opinion, there are a number of factors that help to make a long distance walk more enjoyable.
Once a suitable walk has been chosen, there follows what is often a lengthy process of planning each stage. The first decision that has to be made is what form of accommodation is going to be used. There are three main types of accommodation to be considered; B&Bs or Hotels, Youth Hostels or Bunkhouses and Camping, each of which has advantages and disadvantages.
One of the first essentials when planning a walk is to obtain an accommodation list. Although lots of accommodation can be found on various web sites and in books of B&Bs, most of this is generally located around a number of larger towns with very little in the more remote areas of a walk. Generally, someone will have put together an accommodation list for the walk, which will have places listed in all parts of the walk, not just in the popular areas. This may be part of a guidebook for the walk, or issued as a separate publication, but is one of the most valuable assets when planning commences. However, in some remote places, accommodation is very scarce and may either be some way from the route, or not at a convenient point for the ideal daily mileage. At busy times, places can be booked up early, often several months ahead, so cannot be relied upon for last minute availability. For this reason, it is preferable to plan and book things well in advance to be sure of a bed for the night at every stage of the walk.
The only problem with booking in advance is that it does not allow the flexibility to adjust ones schedule along the way without a major upset to all the planning. If this is the first attempt at a long distance walk, there is much more uncertainty as to whether a pre-planned schedule is going to work out right, and a worry that the walk may have to be abandoned with the loss of many deposits. For this reason, many people choose to book only a day or two ahead, armed with their accommodation list as they progress along the way. This means that adjustments can be made to either increase or decrease daily mileage to cater for the level of tiredness, aches and pains, weather conditions and various other factors. This often works very well, although it may mean having to opt for more expensive accommodation at times if everywhere else is booked, and there may be times when nowhere convenient is available and a compromise has to be made. If anything causes an upset to the schedule or a cancellation of the walk, there are then only one or two numbers to ring to cancel anything that has been booked, and deposits will not normally have been paid if they have been last minute bookings, unless credit card details have been requested by larger establishments.
An increasing number of people now entrust all the planning and accommodation booking to organisations that operate these services. On popular walks there are companies who operate guided walks and will arrange all the accommodation and transport. In remote areas they often use accommodation in larger towns or villages nearby and transport walkers to and from it at each end of each day's walk, thus overcoming some of the problems of arranging more equal lengths for each stage. They also transport baggage to the end of each stage so that walkers only have to carry light packs with their daily essentials.
As well as organised walks, there are also baggage transfer services available on many popular walks. These can be booked as needed and are generally charged as a price per bag per day. Some of these services deliver bags door to door, whilst some use one central pickup and drop-off point in each place. In the latter case, it is best to check properly where this is, as it may be perhaps a mile from the accommodation that you have booked. When using these services, people tend to pack much more into bags than they would if they had to carry it all the way, so it could be quite an effort to carry a heavy bag to and from the pickup point.
At one time, there were very few banks, and hence cash machines along the route of many long distance trails, and it was necessary to plan carefully just how much cash would be needed at various stages of the route. The number of banks, particularly in small towns, has decreased over the years but, fortunately, the number of cash machines has increased considerably. Many rural shops and pubs now have cash machines in them, albeit ones that generally charge for withdrawals, so there is a better chance that cash will be available. It is still advisable to top up well and not let funds run too low, as it is not guaranteed that a cash machine is going to be available when you need one. It is wise to take a cheque book along as well, as B&Bs generally do not have facilities for taking credit cards, though most youth hostels now do. It may also be possible to find someone who is willing to cash a cheque for you if you are desperate, and shops may be willing to give cashback on a debit card transaction.
The daily schedule of the walk depends very much on an individual's own walking capability. When there is a group of people involved then the schedule should be based on the capability of the weakest member of the group. This is why it is important to do a number of training walks covering similar terrain to that of the actual walk. It should be then possible to gauge what the average daily mileage should be, although availability of accommodation often means that the ideal distance cannot always be met. However, if one day's mileage is greater than desired then it may be possible to follow this by a shorter day to compensate. Rest days or rest half days can be fitted into the schedule also, but it is difficult to know at the outset whether they will be necessary when the time comes, or whether they will just hinder progress. When thinking about a rest day, it is important to consider what you intend to do with the time, especially if the weather is unpleasant, as in many remote places there is very little to do in these circumstances other than try to find somewhere to keep warm and dry.
Mileage is not the only factor to consider when planning a schedule. The amount of ascent and descent can have a considerable bearing on how quickly progress can be made and how tiring a day's walk will be. Yet another factor to consider is the roughness of the terrain - it can be very slow going over craggy hilltops or walking over rough moorland without a decent path. Of course, most of the National Trails tend to avoid difficult routes, and because of the number of people walking them, most of the paths are well trodden. In boggy areas, where progress can also be slow and difficult, path work has generally been undertaken to make the walking easier. However, this is not always the case on some unofficial walks, especially those that have not grown very popular, and extra time needs to be allowed for these. There is a rough guide to calculating walking speed by allowing three miles per hour plus half an hour for every 1,000 ft of ascent, but this does not allow for rough ground, rest stops, meal breaks, delays due to map reading and route finding, photography etc., nor does it allow for a slower speed when carrying a heavier pack, especially in the first few days of a walk. There are more accurate ways of calculating walking speed, but this is where ones own experiences of walking over similar terrain often acts as a better guide. It is not necessarily the case that walking over mountains is going to be slow, except for the ascent, as many mountains are relatively flat topped with easy ridge top paths that allow a good walking speed, whereas clambering around over rocky and craggy areas, whether on mountain tops or in lower lying places such as some sections of coastal paths, can slow things down considerably. I have encountered many places where it is difficult to achieve a walking speed of more than one to one and a half miles per hour despite the expenditure of a lot of effort. Fortunately, in most cases, these conditions do not persist for more than a short distance, so the impact on the day's walking is not too great, but there are some stretches where the going is very slow and difficult for several miles, and this then becomes a very significant factor.
A number of guidebooks show the amount of ascent involved in each stage, but for some reason most of the official National Trail Guides seem to omit this very important information. It is possible to make a calculation by poring over maps and counting contour lines to give a rough figure, which is what I have done for many of my walks, though this can be a considerable underestimate when it comes to craggy places where the route is constantly going up and down over rocky outcrops and the contour lines become too confused to make proper sense of them. Of course, where there are sections like this in a walk, it is normally pointed out in guidebooks so that people are warned to expect slow progress. When I am planning a walk, I like to average about 15 miles a day, but over steep and rugged mountains, 10 miles can be more than enough. In fairly gentle country with easy paths, it is not too difficult to do 20 miles or more, though I prefer not to have many days of this length, as there is a constant need to keep pressing on without time for many diversions or interruptions. It is also better to avoid any particularly long sections within the first few days of a walk unless it is unavoidable, as it generally takes a few days to build up to full strength and to get used to carrying a heavy pack day after day.
Once a rough idea of how much walking is to be undertaken each day has been decided upon, it is then necessary to see how this fits in with available accommodation. It is inevitable that some sections will be longer than envisaged and some shorter, but these can balance themselves out if the longer sections are not all in succession. It may also be the case that some accommodation is a considerable distance from the route in a few places, and allowance has to be made for this in the overall schedule, unless lifts are being offered from and to the route. This should now give a reasonable estimate of the number of days that the walk will take and it should then be possible to start booking accommodation, unless it is intended to book as you go along. It is advisable to book in the order in which they will be required as you may find some places where there is no accommodation available making it necessary to alter the schedule somewhat. This may mean having to change some subsequent overnight stops, which is more difficult if they have already been booked.
Of course, many people want to fit a walk into a certain period of time that they have available rather than allowing whatever time is best. This means that daily mileages may end up being greater than desirable. This is all right to a certain extent, provided that it does not result in an excessively difficult schedule. There is far more chance of failure if unrealistic targets are set, as disillusionment can soon set in when struggling to keep up a pace beyond an individual's capability. Most people who set off on long distance walks manage to make it to the finish, but those who don't have often set themselves over-optimistic targets, then started to drop behind and, before long, started to look for the next transport back home. It is much better to complete a walk in a slower time rather than suffer the humiliation of dropping out. If a walk cannot be completed in the time available it is better to choose a shorter walk or decide to do part of the walk and the rest at a later date.
Most people tend to start off a walk at a weekend, so it is generally found that there are large numbers of people walking each stage on certain days of the week and very few on others. As the walk progresses there is more of a spread as some slower walkers lag behind and some faster walkers press on ahead, but there still tends to be a few days of the week when there are not many walkers. If you find that a lot of the accommodation is fully booked, it is worth considering setting off midweek. This also helps if you like having a lot of the walk to yourself and do not want to be meeting up constantly with other groups of people along the way.
When planning and carrying out a walk, it is necessary to decide just how much information will be required to follow the route without too much time being wasted getting lost. Most recognised walks have a guidebook showing the route on map sections, and also describing things to look out for on the way to help with navigation. Guidebooks sometimes give lists of accommodation but, because these are likely to change from time to time, they are often issued as separate publications. Ordnance Survey maps also show the routes of most officially recognised walks, whether they be National Trails or other walks promoted and maintained by local authorities. A decision has to be reached as to what are the best things to use on the walk to give enough help with route finding, whilst not being too expensive or difficult to carry.
Some guidebooks such as those produced for National Trails have sections from 1:25,000 O.S. maps for the whole of the trail, as well as some small scale maps showing the overall route, whereas other guides only have sketch maps with insufficient detail to use on their own without a set of separate maps. Where detailed maps are included, it is generally possible to complete a walk without additional maps, but a few problems can occur when doing this. Although the same level of detail is contained as is on the O.S. maps themselves, it is restricted to a narrow strip either side of the route and does not give a broader picture of the landscape further afield, which may have good landmarks to use as an aid to navigation. It is only necessary to drift a short way off course before being in uncharted territory as far as the guidebook is concerned, which can make it very difficult to find ones bearings and get back on the trail again. With popular walks that are both well waymarked and well trodden, this is not generally too much of a problem, as the lack of waymarking soon becomes apparent once the route has been missed, and it is generally just a matter of backtracking a little way to find where a mistake has been made. Where there is little or no waymarking, problems are more likely to occur and constant vigilance is required to avoid getting lost. For those with a GPS unit (Global Positioning by Satellite, the walkers' equivalent of sat nav) the difficulties are greatly reduced, as it is possible to get an accurate grid reference from the GPS unit and thus to know exactly how far and in which direction it is necessary to go in order to regain the route.
For those who like to be extra secure, a full set of maps may prove to be the answer, but these can be both expensive and an additional burden to carry, especially if the more detailed 1:25,000 maps are used. Where there are a number of people walking together, the cost and weight can be shared and it is, therefore, a more reasonable option, but to a lone walker like myself, it is more than I want to either spend or carry. For most walks having a good guidebook (or guidebooks where the route is split into two halves) with detailed maps, I have managed with that or those alone, possibly taking a an O.S. map or two if I happen to have them for some sections of the way. These include the Pennine Way, Offa's Dyke Path, Southern Upland Way and Pembrokeshire Coast Path, which all have National Trail Guides, the Westmorland Heritage Walk with less detailed maps, and Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk using his own guidebook with sketch maps of the route. For some walks such as the Cleveland Way I have used only 1:25,000 maps with the route marked on and managed without any guidebook. I also did a similar thing for the Lakeland Round, which I adapted to my own youth hostelling route and used 1:25,000 O.S. maps. The guidebook for the Cambrian Way is not sufficiently detailed to follow without additional maps, but for this I had only the 1:50,000 maps rather than the 1:25,000 maps that are recommended.
One of the most significant differences between the 1:25,000 maps and the 1:50,000 ones is that the former show field boundaries, whilst the latter do not. This is particularly useful when navigating across farmland, where a path goes through several fields and is often not very clear on the ground. The smaller scale maps are still useable in these circumstances, with a little care, but there is then more reliance placed on spotting where stiles are over distant walls and fences.
As you can see if you read my diaries, I have made my fair share of navigational errors, whatever maps or guides I have used, but these have often been because of my own failures to concentrate on route finding rather than shortcomings in the maps or guides themselves. There is no doubt that a full set of detailed maps can make things easier, but I have never considered the expense and extra weight to be justified for the few times when they are really necessary. It is only in recent years that I have owned a GPS, so all my earlier walks were undertaken using normal map reading skills, with occasional compass readings and I never found that I went so far wrong that I couldn't find my way back to the route by conventional means, though I am not saying that this can't happen. If there is any reason to believe that you are not following the right route, the most important thing is to stop and check before going too far astray. With the use of a GPS, it is still just as easy to make mistakes and to go astray, unless you have input waymarks for the whole route and are using the GPS all the time. However, the great advantage is that whenever this happens, it is possible to get an exact grid reference for where you are at the time and, therefore, to know exactly how far and in which direction you need to go to regain the trail.
One thing to note is that whilst everything is going well with route finding it is possible to walk for miles without much thought of the passage of time. However, as soon the route is in doubt and you start to get that nasty feeling that you are lost, time seems to go very slowly. This is often the case when the weather closes in and visibility is very limited so you are left wondering how far it is before you have to take a turning somewhere. In these circumstances, I have often thought that I must have walked about a mile since I last saw a landmark that located my position but, on checking my watch, found that it was only five minutes ago and that I had probably only walked a quarter of that distance. If you know your typical walking speed, it is possible to get a fairly good estimate of where you are by keeping a note of the time each landmark is passed.
The use of a GPS raises a few additional issues that seldom present themselves with conventional navigation techniques. Normal map reading relies on being able to match landmarks and other features with those shown on the map. Grid references are seldom needed unless they are specifically referred to in the text of the guidebook. With a GPS, though, the opposite is true because everything is driven by grid references. Some old style guidebooks such as those produced by Wainwright make little or no use of grid references thus rendering a GPS useless unless additional maps of the route are carried. Even the Ordnance Survey have not put much thought into this. Grid lines are normally numbered at the edges of maps and at every 10 km boundary in between. On a 1:25,000 map that is folded in a map case, only a square of about 6 km by 6 km of the map is visible, which means that there is only about 60% chance that grid numbering will be visible on either axis, giving only about a 36% chance that both sets of grid numbers will be visible on any particular folded section. It is a considerable nuisance to have to remove a map from a map case just so that it can be unfolded enough to find sets of grid numbers, especially in the wind or rain. Fortunately, this can be anticipated in advance and repeats of the numbers can be inserted with a marker pen close to the route for ease of use on a walk. This problem seldom arises on the 1:50,000 maps, as there is normally a repeat of the numbers within every folded section, nor is it a problem in the National Trail guides, as each map section has grid numbers shown within its boundaries.
If it is decided not to carry a full set of maps, there may places where accommodation is some way off the route and not within the bounds of the map sections in the guidebook. In this case it is useful to work out where the most convenient turning off point is and to mark this in the guidebook, as well as noting down directions. With the availability of free maps online nowadays, it is also possible to print off small map sections to use in these or similar circumstances. The Ordnance Survey's own Get-a-Map service allows this to be done for maps at a whole range of scales down to 1:25,000. These give the full detail of the equivalent O.S. map including contours and all other features, although they are taken from an older archive and do not show the very latest revisions - but what do you expect for free!
Whilst on the subject of maps, they are not much use if you don't have the basic skills to read them. I have met a number of people on my travels who have been unable to interpret maps or to take compass readings and were relying to a large extent on waymarks and on meeting other walkers who could point them in the right direction. This can be fraught with danger, especially when weather conditions deteriorate, so it is well worth while spending time before the walk gaining proficiency with map and compass.
One of the most important things on a long distance walk is the correct choice of footwear. On walks that traverse a lot of rough terrain that is hilly and often muddy, then walking boots are the most suitable answer and you can find a lot of general information on the choice of boots in my walking boot review. Boots are not always the most comfortable items of footwear and many people find either trainers or walking shoes to be easier on the feet. For walks that are predominantly over good paths and tracks where there is not much mud or wet ground, it may be quite feasible to walk in trainers, but where there is a lot of boggy ground to contend with, boots are generally far better at keeping feet dry. Wet feet are more prone to suffering problems such as blisters and other complications, so it is advisable to keep them as dry as possible but, at the end of the day, it is a matter of individual choice.
On a long distance walk, particularly if you are not used to it, weight can be one of your biggest enemies. I would strongly advise keeping the weight of a pack down to the minimum possible without sacrificing safety. Spare clothing can weigh quite a bit, so this is one of the key areas to target. It is best to forget about having lots of spare sets of things to change into and narrow it down to just a few things that can be easily washed along the way. Drying things can be somewhat of a problem when there is only a limited time from washing them to when they have to be either worn or packed the next morning. B&Bs and hostels vary greatly in what washing and drying facilities are available for clothes. In some cases it is possible to get everything dry overnight, but more often things are still damp. One of the main problems is in getting rid of the bulk of the moisture before leaving things to dry, especially when hand washing, as no amount of wringing out by hand achieves a great deal. I often resort to wrapping the wet clothes in a bath towel and then wringing the whole lot together, or even resort to trampling on the whole lot with my feet to apply more pressure. Sometimes washing machines are available, but I seldom have enough things to wash to be worth using a washing machine, though when there a few people together it is more economical to do so. At one time, many hostels had old-fashioned mangles, which did an excellent job of squeezing out water, but these days most of them have gone. Similarly, spin dryers were often available and extremely effective, but these have mostly been abandoned in favour of automatic washing machines.
I always favour walking in shorts, as I am generally walking around midsummer when it is not too cold. One advantage of this is that it is much easier to wash muddy legs than it is to wash out muddy trousers. Shorts still need to be washed from time to time because of sweat, but not as often as trousers would be, especially in wet and muddy conditions. If I find myself in a situation where it is too cold for shorts, the most convenient thing is to put on my waterproof over-trousers, which keep off the wind and generally do the trick. Generally, though, there is enough heat generated in my legs when I am walking for me not to find it too cold. It is only if I stop for any length of time that I find a problem, but then it is better to keep going in cold, exposed places and stop in more sheltered spots. In an emergency, I can always put on clothing that is normally reserved for evening wear as well as my waterproofs and that should be enough to keep out the cold.
As most of my walks involve a lot of time over hills and mountains, I carry a plastic survival bag in case of injury, or in case I get caught in exceptionally bad weather condition, which can occur even in summer. So far, I have never had to use this, but it doesn't weigh very much, so it is worth taking just in case. I have never bothered to take a sleeping bag, as I consider that this would weigh too much just for use as an emergency item, though some modern ones are quite light. However, if you have the intention of using bothies or mountain refuge huts for overnight accommodation then a sleeping bag is essential if you want to keep reasonably warm. Similarly, a tent may seem a good option in case you are caught out on the hills, but the extra weight is hardly justified unless you have the intention of making significant use of it rather than it just being for emergencies. The situation may be different for anyone contemplating a walk either early or late in the year when there is a much greater chance of extreme weather conditions and hence more need to worry about mountain safety. There are not many places in England or Wales that are so remote as to cause major problems in reaching safety if the weather deteriorates, though in blizzard conditions, it can still be difficult to walk even a few miles. Generally, by taking the first reasonable route down to lower ground, the weather conditions are likely to improve, and more shelter is likely to be available, though it pays to check on the map to see which route is likely to lead to somewhere with habitation. In some parts of Scotland, there may be much larger distances involved reaching a place of safety, and dropping down into the nearest valley may still involve a very long walk to the nearest road or inhabited building.
Though some people take only their boots to wear at all times, I always prefer to take something else to wear on my feet in the evenings. As with everything else, weight is an important factor, so I spent a long time looking around for trainers that were as light as I could possibly find, regardless of whether I liked the look of them or not. Also, I always like to change into a different set of clothes in the evenings after having a shower, as the ones I have been walking in all day are invariably sweaty.
Normal towels can be bulky and heavy, so I now only take a lightweight sports towel which, though not very nice to use, keeps down the weight and is not too difficult to dry. When using B&Bs, there is not really any need to take a towel, but many hostels and bunkhouses do not provide them, so taking one becomes a necessity.
There are many items that are taken to cater for all sorts of things - toothpaste, soap, sun lotion, antiseptic cream, deodorant, boot wax and many others, and these can weigh quite a bit when added together. To cut down on weight, it is best to take part used containers of things with just enough to last the walk rather than full ones. For washing out clothes, hand wash powder is much lighter than liquid wash, especially as quite a bit may be needed for a long walk.
These days, mobile phones have become an essential part of everyday communication. However, in remote areas and around hills and mountains, mobile coverage can be very limited and certainly cannot be relied upon. I still find it worthwhile to take a mobile, especially as modern ones are generally quite light and, more to the point, battery chargers are so much lighter than they used to be. It is important to realise that mobile communication is pretty much a line of sight thing, so if a mast is blocked by a hill, it is likely that there will be little or no signal. In hilly terrain, there is much more likelihood of a reasonable signal at the top of a mountain or hill, even if the nearest mast is several miles away, than down in a valley closer to, but out of sight of a mast. When wanting to make a call, it is better to think about doing so from high up, watching for signal strength as you walk along, rather than trying to do so after dropping down where any signal may be lost completely. Although mobile phones can potentially be a lifesaver, they cannot be relied upon at the present time. This could change with the use of satellite technology, which gives coverage to everywhere outdoors, but the last satellite phone system was abandoned because of the weight of the phones and their cost. As technology improves though, this may become a more workable and cost effective system, and may come back into use again. It is also proposed that a new European satellite system to rival the American GPS system will have the facility to receive distress signals from hand held units, which will be a great aid to mountain safety and rescue, but this is still some years away.
I couldn't go on a walk without a camera to record some of the scenery along the way, but this is a luxury item rather than a necessity. My own digital camera, a FinePix S7000, is rather bulkier and heavier than many of the very compact digital cameras on the market these days, but I like the camera and its facilities, so I am prepared to put up with the extra weight. One advantage of digital cameras is that there is no longer a need to take several films on a walk. Modern memory cards can hold hundreds of high-resolution photographs and weigh very little. One problem arises because of all the equipment that requires batteries, which either means carrying quite a number of spares, or using rechargeable batteries and taking a battery charger. Recently I have opted for taking a battery charger and this adds to the weight, as it is not as light as one for a mobile phone. In fairness, my camera will take a lot of pictures on one set of batteries, provided I am not using flash, and also that I don't spend a lot of time composing the photos or looking at the ones I have taken. My GPS can run through batteries at quite a rate if used continuously, though I generally switch it on only when I want to confirm my position. It takes longer to get a reading when first switched on, as it has to search for satellite signals rather than being already tuned in, but this way battery life can be greatly extended. Cameras built into mobile phones are improving in resolution as time goes on, so it is possible, if you are not worried about obtaining the maximum quality of images, to kill two birds with one stone and use the phone instead of a separate camera. This also cuts down on battery requirements.
Although I have stressed the need to cut down weight to a minimum, I must confess to taking some non-essential items with me, such as a small pair of binoculars. On some walks I wonder why I have bothered to take them whilst on others I use them quite a bit, so I generally continue to take them. I have also found that, with the advent of extra useful gadgets and the batteries that they require, my pack weight has increased somewhat from that of earlier walks. Having done many walks, I now know what weight I can carry without having too many problems, so I do allow myself a few little extras that I could possibly manage without. A typical list of equipment shows all the other items that I generally take, many of which weigh very little, but I use this as a checklist for subsequent walks so I don't forget things.
When carrying a considerable weight in a rucksack for long periods day after day, it is essential that the load is being carried in the proper way to avoid a lot of aches and pains in the shoulders. A modern rucksack is intended to place most of the weight on the base of ones back, where it should be held tightly in place by a broad, comfortably padded waist belt. There should be little weight taken on the shoulder straps, which serve mainly to stop the pack swaying around, and shouldn't feel as if there is much load on them. It pays to take a little time adjusting the various straps on a rucksack until the best carrying position and height is achieved, as this will avoid a lot of pain and discomfort as time goes on. More care is also required when climbing stiles and any other activity that requires balance, as the extra load reduces stability, particularly in the early stages of a walk, until the body has adapted itself to the extra load. I always consider it best to have as many different compartments as possible in a rucksack, as it allows things to be stored in their own particular places and makes them easier to find without having to empty out everything to unearth them. I prefer to have side pockets to hold my water containers, as that ensures they are kept upright and are therefore less likely to leak. If there are any leaks then water is less likely to get onto other items that are being carried.
Problems often occur when trying to decide where to put items that are in frequent use on the walk, such as maps, guides, compass, glasses, camera etc. Many small items could be conveniently placed in pockets, especially if wearing trousers or shorts with several pockets and a shirt with top pockets, but there are some drawbacks to this:
Many people do not like using map cases, so put maps into rucksack pockets. The problem with this is that it is generally not possible to access them without removing the rucksack each time, which can be a nuisance. When two or more people are walking together though, it is possible for one person to get out the map from another's rucksack, which is much easier, but this is of no use to a lone walker. Pockets in clothing are more convenient, but are not always large enough for maps and guidebooks, and often, large pockets in jackets are obstructed by the waist belt of the rucksack. In addition, maps and guides get a lot more wear and tear when not protected by a waterproof cover, especially if they get wet.
I always carry my map and/or guidebook in a map case slung over my shoulder. If I am using both a map and a guidebook at the same time, I face one each way so that both are visible. Carrying a map case like this can be a nuisance in windy conditions, as it can blow around, but I also carry my camera case slung over my shoulder in the same way so that the much heavier camera rests on top of the map case thereby stopping it from blowing about. In addition, I tend to rest my right hand on the top of the camera case as I walk along, thus stopping that from swinging about too. The only time that this is a problem is if I need both hands free to scramble over rocks, in which case the camera and map can swing around and there is a risk of the camera striking the rocks. This can be avoided with care, but if there is a lot of scrambling to do I pack the camera away first. Although this arrangement works for me, many people take smaller, more pocketable cameras, so it would not work in the same way. When it is raining, I also have a problem, as I pack the camera away and then have to hold onto the map case to keep it stable.
I tend to minimize the number of things I carry in my pockets for the reasons given above, but this still leaves me with the problem of what to do with my glasses, as I tend to walk without wearing glasses, but need them to read my map. The ideal place is in my shirt pocket, but this can lead to the 'jogger's nipple' problem that I have already mentioned. If this starts to become a problem, I can put my glasses inside the map case, which is not as convenient, but still leaves them reasonably accessible. After a while, I can generally start putting them in my shirt pocket again until it starts to cause discomfort again. This may seem like a lot of bother about a small thing, but it is surprising how much of a nuisance little things like this can become on a long walk if a suitable solution is not found. The last thing that you want to do is to be stopping every five minutes to fish out items from a rucksack.
One of the things about long distance walks, especially those involving a lot ascent, is that a lot of energy is used in the course of the day. This means that there is a constant need to consume food to provide that energy. Even when eating quite a large amount of food, it is seldom enough to provide all the energy required, so most people lose weight by the end of the walk. This can vary from a few pounds to twenty or more depending on how much excess fat a person starts out with and the amount of food they manage to consume. A note of caution, however, to those who want to maintain this weight loss - during the walk appetite is increased considerably and it is all too easy to continue eating at the same rate as on the walk but with much less expenditure of energy. Consequently, all the weight that has been lost can very quickly be regained.
On my earlier walks, I could eat anything that was put in front of me and still have room for more, but as I get older I find I cannot eat the same quantities as I used to. My own experience tells me that it is important to have a good breakfast, as I can soon start to suffer from low blood sugar levels if I do not. If ignored, this can be quite dangerous as it can result in light-headedness leading to loss of balance and falls. This seems to affect me more in the middle of the morning than at any other time of day, though other people are affected in different ways. If I do start to notice this, I now know to stop and have something to eat straight away rather than trying to ignore it or think that I can stop a bit later. Generally, by the afternoon, having had some lunch, I am alright for the rest of the day, though some people find the need for regular snacks all the time they are walking.
Whilst walking, it is preferable to eat small amounts often rather than a lot of food at one time, as the latter requires a lot of blood to be diverted to the stomach for digestion, making less is available to supply leg muscles and other parts of the body. It is possible to suffer from pins and needles in fingers and also to feel rather weak and cold when walking straight after a big meal, so it is better just to have regular snacks or to have a rest before setting off after a larger meal.
The constant exercise of walking generally results in quite a bit of perspiration, so a considerable amount of fluid may be required. This varies very much depending on the temperature and the difficulty of the walking, but I generally reckon to need about half a litre of liquid for every five miles in moderate temperatures and average walking conditions. However, in very hot weather the requirement can increase dramatically and may double or even treble in the worst conditions. I generally start off the day with two litres of water, though I may reduce this if the weather is chilly and there is not a lot of steep ascent, and this is generally sufficient to see me through a day's walking. I work on the basis that I use about a third of the water every quarter of the distance, and then the last quarter can be covered without any water, as there is no point arriving at the end with any more than a small amount of water left. If I find I have more than I really need by about half way, I tip some of it away to save weight. As an example of how much difference the temperature makes on the amount of drink required, on one occasion I walked from Dufton to Alston on the Pennine Way, a distance of nearly 20 miles with over 3,000 ft of ascent in terribly cold, wet and windy conditions. The only drink I had was one 250 ml carton of fruit juice, and I didn't feel the need for any more, whereas in very hot weather I have sometimes had as much as four litres to drink and still been thirsty at the end of the day.
One problem I have always found is that water only tastes palatable when it is cold, and once it has warmed up in the heat of a sunny day it is neither pleasant to drink nor refreshing to taste. Sometimes I have bought concentrated orange squash to mix with my water, but this then means that I have to carry the remainder of the bottle as well as everything else until it gets used up over a period of a few days. I have often thought it would be a lot better if I could buy some powdered flavouring to add to my water rather than liquid concentrate, but have never seen anything suitable in the shops. This year, however, by searching on the Internet, I have found a couple of products that appear to be suitable. One is called O2GO and another Kool-Aid, and both come in sachets of various flavours. There are also a number of sports energy drinks available in powdered form, but these are more expensive and not necessarily the type of thing I am looking for anyway, though they may suit some people. I have tried out the Kool-Aid and found this to be fine, the only thing being that the instructions say to dissolve the sachet in four (US) quarts of water, about two litres, and add one cupful of sugar, more or less to taste. This seems an excessive amount of sugar and I have used only a fraction of this, though the drink then has a rather bitter taste, but is quite refreshing. The large amounts of sugar somewhat defeat the object of having something that is light to carry, but the alternative is to use artificial sweeteners, which are much easier and more convenient to carry.
On a long walk on a very hot day, the amount of water required is generally considerably greater than I am prepared for, so it becomes necessary to plan where I may be able to replenish supplies. If there are shops or pubs along the way then it is possible to buy drinks to supplement what I am carrying, and where there are mountain streams, they can be used to refill my water bottles. The problem is that in times of drought, many of the watercourses dry up, particularly near hill and mountaintops, so that streams shown on maps may only start to flow much lower down the hillside. Also, the quality of water may be poor and the level of E. coli may be much higher than recommended safety levels. Water flowing from springs in a hillside is generally of good quality, but in areas where there are impervious rocks, which means that water has to drain over the surface, there is much more contamination from sheep and other animal droppings, thus increasing the risks of drinking it without treatment. One solution is to take water purification tablets such as Puritabs, which can be used to kill off bacteria, but they do affect the taste of the water considerably. I have heard of other people who use domestic bleach with one drop per litre of water. For many years I carried Puritabs everywhere I went walking, but never ever used any as I always managed to find something suitable to drink without them. However, they weigh very little, so there is no harm in having some just in case.
Where there is little or no possibility of obtaining water along the way, the only thing is to stock up with extra cans or bottles of drink at the start of the day and try to ration drinks along the way, although this can still lead to dehydration in extreme weather conditions. If this starts to become a problem then it may be necessary to consider diverting from the route in order to obtain drink. This may mean dropping a long way down a hillside until a stream is found, or diverting to some inhabited place where water can be obtained.
It may be very tempting when encountering a pub along the route of a walk to partake in a few pints to quench ones thirst, especially on a hot day. The only problem with this is that it tends to have a detrimental effect when it comes to summoning the energy for steep climbs afterwards. If the remainder of the walk is fairly level and easy then it is not too difficult to undertake after a few drinks, but when faced with a steep ascent up a mountainside, it is a completely different story and it then takes a great deal of willpower to overcome the lethargy that sets in. Some people who are accustomed to doing hard manual work after drinking may manage to fare better, but for most people it is best to avoid or strictly limit the amount of alcohol consumed in these circumstances and leave the drinking until the walking is over for the day, or at least until any strenuous sections have already been completed.
Most people, unless they are very fortunate, suffer a few problems with their feet on a long distance walk. This is hardly surprising, as the feet take a lot more pounding that they would ever get normally, with several hours of continuous walking over all sorts of surfaces, carrying more weight than they are used to. This is why it is so much better if footwear is comfortable with a good fit and, in the case of leather, properly broken in before the start of the walk. If boots give a few minor problems on a one day walk, it is almost guaranteed that this will get worse after a few days' walking, although the problems may go away later as things get bedded in, or feet get hardened.
By far the most common problem is blistering, which is generally caused by excess rubbing. There is no sure fire way of preventing blisters, but a few things may help:
Sore and aching feet can result from there being too much pressure on small areas of the foot around the heel and the ball of the foot. This is made worse if boots have a very flat, hard footbed that is not shaped to the foot. Ideally, the weight should be spread over as large an area of the foot as possible, and this can be achieved by using shaped, padded insoles and/or arch supports. When buying boots, it is best to allow extra room for additional insoles when choosing the right fitting, as boots that are too tight can restrict circulation and cause as many problems as the insoles are trying to cure. Whilst walking, each time a foot is lifted it should feel as if all the pressure on the sole has been removed so that blood is allowed to circulate freely. If this is not the case it means that the boot is too tight and ways should be investigated to reduce the tightness, possibly by slackening the lacing. Good boots generally have hooks half way up the lacing that are a tight fit on the laces to enable half of the lacing to be tightened whilst the other half remains looser. If boots do not have this facility it is possible to thread the laces in different ways so that some of the lacing is missed out, thus relieving the pressure on that part. It is also possible to knot the laces half way up with a reef knot then continue the rest of the lacing as normal, which again allows different tension in two halves of the lacing. Even with all these precautions, there is still a tendency for feet to start aching towards the end of a day's walk, though a few good rests can help, if time permits.
Despite best efforts to minimize foot problems, I have found no way to guarantee that they will remain problem free throughout a walk. One thing that I have found is that wet feet give far more problems than dry feet. Wet feet go into wrinkles and folds that start to rub, and these are far more likely to cause blisters and other aches and pains. Good boots will keep feet dry for a while but, in very wet conditions, water will eventually soak through and problems will start. Changing into dry socks can help, but on a long distance walk it is not easy to keep enough pairs of socks dry in prolonged periods of wet weather. Foot problems vary considerably from one person to another; some people being capable of walking long daily distances with few problems, whilst others suffer considerably doing much shorter distances. Like many other things, it pays to find ones own limitations and then plan a walk accordingly.
Although feet may be sore at the end of a long day's walk, it is surprising how well they can recover by the next morning. Blisters can cause a lot of discomfort, but they do not have to put an end to a walk unless they are very bad. After bursting a blister, it remains painful for a couple of days or so, but then starts to heal over and recover. By using gel blister treatments, the discomfort is greatly reduced, as it is like having a new layer of skin. Generally blisters feel worst when just starting off on foot, but after about half a mile the pain tends to reduce considerably as the nerves become numbed by the constant walking. Each time a rest is taken, sensitivity returns and it takes another half a mile of walking for the pain to diminish again.
When trying to burst blisters, it is generally not much good just pricking them with a needle, as the white blood cells in the fluid block any small hole almost immediately and stop the fluid from escaping. It is better to make small slits in them; a small pair of scissors work very well, but only if they are very sharp.
The weather is something that cannot be planned, as it can change so much on a day-to-day basis. The only thing is to be prepared for as many types of weather as possible and hope for the best. Even in the middle of summer, severe weather can be experienced in mountainous areas, so there is a need to carry waterproofs and enough warm clothing to cope with this possibility. When out walking for a day, it is easy to cancel or abandon the walk if weather conditions get too bad, but on a long distance walk it is not so easy, as it may affect the whole of the remaining schedule. Because of this there is a tendency to press on regardless whatever the weather, though there comes a point where a line has to be drawn and other options have to be considered rather than putting oneself at too great a risk. On some walks there are alternative low level routes to avoid high and exposed places and, if so, these should be considered - there is little point in battling along a mountain ridge in driving rain or worse when there is no view beyond fifty yards in any direction, if there is an easier and safer alternative. Where no official alternative is offered, it may still be possible to find a low level route on the map, even if it is only along roads. Those who have not booked too far ahead can always consider having a rest day to avoid the worst of the weather and then either extend the end of the walk or try to fit in extra miles later on to end at the planned time.
I must say that in all my walks so far I have never had to abandon any part, although there was one occasion when I seriously considered doing so. I was scheduled to walk from King's Youth Hostel at the foot of Cader Idris, through Barmouth and then over the first half of the Rhinog Mountains. A ferocious wind was driving heavy rain into my face as I headed from the hostel and I thought that if it were this bad lower down then it must have been terrible over the exposed mountaintops. I decided to head to Barmouth and see if there was any improvement by then and, if not, to stay overnight and try to reschedule the next part of the walk. When I reached Barmouth, it was not quite so bad, and I realised that part of the walk at least could be done along the sheltered side of the mountains rather than along the ridge. When I eventually had to ascend the ridge, conditions had improved somewhat and, although I was still in rain, mist and wind there was a wall along the ridge to give some shelter, so I was able to reach my planned destination, but it wasn't a pleasant experience and I arrived somewhat behind schedule cold, wet and tired. On many other occasions, I have walked on through bad conditions, but not so bad that I considered myself at any serious risk, though there is always a greater risk of accidents in these conditions with wet, slippery rocks and strong winds to upset ones balance, as well as swollen streams that are difficult to cross and mist to hamper visibility and make route finding more difficult. At the end of the day, discretion is the better part of valour if you don't want to end up with a mountain rescue team searching the hillsides for you.
On the other side of the coin there are conditions of blazing sunshine and scorchingly hot conditions where any strenuous effort becomes extremely difficult, and when there is a serious danger of heat exhaustion. In some ways, this can be worse than bad weather - at least in bad weather it is possible to put on extra clothing to keep warm, but when it is too hot there is no escape, though a hat can be used to protect ones head from the sun and sun block can be used to avoid sunburn. Fortunately, on high level walks, the initial struggle up a hillside is often rewarded by lower temperatures and a cooler breeze, though there are times when there is no breeze at all even high up and the effort of climbing there can be exhausting. The quantity of liquid required in these conditions can be staggeringly high and few people manage to carry enough for comfort. If these conditions persist for long they are more likely to be the cause of a walk being abandoned than bad weather conditions. For most people a long distance walk will not involve too much of either type of extreme weather conditions, but when planning it is best to bear in mind that some such conditions may be encountered and to be aware of the dangers.
During a long distance walk, the body is subjected to a far higher level of physical stress than most people encounter in normal, everyday life. The effects of this have to be considered when getting back to a normal routine.
After all its exhertion, the body, quite naturally, wants rest and this can result in a general feeling of tiredness and lethargy. Whilst it is quite reasonable to give in to this for a while, it is all too easy to adopt a very lazy approach to everything whilst the feeling persists, but this can be very detremental to a proper recovery. If allowed to continue, it can take several weeks before a feeling of well-being and vitality returns, and during this period every little thing can seem like a great effort. By far the best way to overcome this is to undertake some good physical exercise fairly soon after the end of the walk, either by having one or two, strenuous walks or by doing some other exercise to achieve the same level of physical activity. This has the effect of overcoming the body's desire for rest and triggers it back to its normal state far sooner than would otherwise be the case.
When the body is subjected to a high level of physical stress, resistance to infection and disease can be considerably reduced, so it is not uncommon, shortly after the end of the walk, to succumb to whatever bug is going around. I read an article recently about the use of large doses of vitamin C to help prevent colds. The conclusion of the study was that in normal circumstances there was little to be gained from this, but in the case of people who had been subjected to extreme physical stress, such as marathon runners, there was a 50% reduction in the chance of catching a cold by taking large amounts Vitamin C. I would consider that long distance walkers also come into the same category in this respect, and also assume that, although the survey related only to colds, there may also be some benefit with other viruses, though this is only my own speculation.
It is not uncommon to find at the end of a long walk that the region from the ball of the foot to the toes feels numb and this feeling can remain for quite a long time, possibly for some months. I have always assumed that this is because nerves serving the toes have either been damaged or desensitized where they run through the ball of the foot by the constant pounding they are subjected to during the walk, and it, therefore, takes some time for them to get back to normal afterwards. This doesn't generally cause any problems apart from having to live with a somewhat odd feeling for a while.
As mentioned earlier, it is quite usual to build up a hearty appetite during a walk, and there is generally some loss of body weight despite eating more food than normal. It is very easy to keep on eating at the same rate once the walk is over without the level of exercise required to burn off the calories. This can result in putting back on any weight that was lost and possibly more besides within a short period of time.
It may be assumed that all National Trails and other published walks are on public rights of way. This, however, is not the case. Just because a National Trail has a bold green marking on an O.S. map does not imply a public right of way. Although a considerable proportion of these walks are on existing public footpaths and bridleways, there are often significant stretches where permissive access has been negotiated with landowners. Since the Countryside Rights Of Way Act 2002 (CROW), many areas of unimproved moorland in England and Wales have been designated as Access Land and marked with new brown signs depicting a walker on the entry to Access Land and a similar signs crossed out by a red line on exit. On Access Land and permissive footpaths, the rights of walkers are somewhat more restricted than on public rights of way. This does not cause much of a problem to walkers themselves, but does place tighter restrictions as far as dogs are concerned. My understanding of the law with regard to dogs is that on a public right of way a dog must be kept under 'close control', which does not necessarily mean being on a lead, whereas on Access Land the requirement is that a dog must be on a short lead of no more than 2 metres in length.
Many farmers and gamekeepers try to make up their own rules regardless of what is stated in the law, and put up notices insisting that dogs should be kept on leads at all times even on public rights of way. Hill farmers have a difficult job to do, and I would be the first to support their right to protect their livelihood, but they often see a dog as public enemy number one, regardless of how well trained and well behaved it is off the lead. I have had farmers threatening to shoot my dog even though he has been walking along a public right of way minding his own business and making no motion whatsoever towards the sheep. Quite rightly, farmers have the right to shoot dogs found worrying sheep, and on Access Land the law offers further protection by insisting on short leads.
When looking at Ordnance Survey maps showing public rights of way (marked in green on 1:25,000 maps and red on 1:50,000 maps), it must be borne in mind that not all of these paths are actually in existence on the ground. The reason for this is that when rights of way started to be marked on O.S. maps in the 1960s these were taken from local authority definitive maps at the time which, in many remote areas, did not accurately represent the actual route of footpaths themselves and may have been based on very old and inaccurate surveys. In some areas of the country, a great deal of effort has been put into the marking and maintaining of rights of way, so that those shown on maps are actually a true indication of a genuine footpaths. Unfortunately, in other areas such as in many parts of Wales, the local authorities have ignored their legal obligation to do so, meaning that they cannot be relied on at all, and often only serve to create confusion. To make matters worse, the actual footpaths are marked as very feint dotted black lines on 1:25,000 maps, and these are hardly visible in poor lighting. In theory, for a right of way to actually exist on the ground, the bold green dotted line should be superimposed on the feint black one, but this is extremely difficult to see. I have found instances around Wales where a public footpath is shown going through the middle of a tarn, another one going down the middle of a river for a way, and another going over the edge of a steep crag a few hundred metres from where the actual waymarked footpath runs. There are countless others that have been blocked by hedges or are completely overgrown making them impassable, as well as those having missing or broken stiles and/or being unmarked from the road (another legal obligation that has been ignored).
The situation is gradually improving, but it will still be a long time before the public footpaths of Wales can be relied upon. In the meantime, walkers need to be aware of the situation; otherwise even more confusion can arise. Of course, the routes of long distance paths have been researched by the writers of guidebooks, so these routes themselves should be accessible, but if you need to go off route, for instance to reach some accommodation, the right of way that should take you there may not exist on the ground, or may not follow the exact route shown on the map.
It is often said that in Scotland there is a 'right to roam', but there is no such legislation to support this. It has only come about by an uneasy truce between landowners and walkers whereby landowners allow walkers on their land provided that walkers respect their property and take care to avoid damage when climbing over walls and fences.
Although I regularly take my dog walking on day walks over hills and mountains, I have never taken him with me on a long distance walk. This is partly due to the logistics of finding suitable accommodation that will allow dogs, places to eat with a dog, and also the extra problem of either carrying or finding dog food along the way. However, some people are inseparable from their dogs when going for walks, and there are ways to overcome the problems for those who want to take them on long distance walks.
Many farmhouses and other rural B&Bs will cater for dogs, and may be able to provide dog food as well. Packets of dried dog food are much lighter than cans, so are not too difficult to carry if none is available along the way. However, there are a few other points that have to be considered when planning to walk with a dog.
Whilst many dogs that are fit and active are quite capable of a long distance walk, not all dogs are capable of the continual daily mileage required. I have heard of one case where a dog was taken on a walk of Offa's Dyke Path and, after the first few days, someone had to collect the dog, as it couldn't cope with the pace.
In hot weather, dogs can have more difficulty than humans in keeping themselves from overheating. They rely on blowing air over their tongues to keep cool rather than sweating, and this becomes very difficult when exerting a lot of energy by climbing hills in very hot weather. The only time I have seen my own dog having to keep stopping and resting was on a hot day when his frantic panting just couldn't manage to keep his temperature down. At the time, I found it hot work, but was far better able to cope with it than he was. In these circumstances a dog's water consumption goes up dramatically, so if faced with a long distance to walk with no water available on the ground, not only does a walker need to carry increased quantities of water for his or her own consumption, but even more is required for the dog. I have also heard a case where someone took a dog on holiday to Portugal intending to take it out walking, but faced with the high temperatures, the dog just decided that it was too hot for walking and refused to budge.
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