Monday 18 April 2011

Packing

Having not been away for many months my fitness levels had fallen through the floor. With medical problems currently more or less under control the decision was made; time for a few days away. Decisions, where to? The Howgills are an area of Yorkshire that I have had my eye on for sometime, it is fairly accessible and away from the busier areas of Yorkshire. A trawl through the net and to my surprise I was able  to purchase cheap train tickets for over the Easter period.The one downside of this is being tied to a fixed period of travel. This involves an early start; the 07 10am from Kings Cross. It will  mean me being up and away from the flat before the sparrows are out of their pyjamas. There is a routine to packing my rucksack, different items paced in certain parts of the bag and so forth. Also I tend to pack differently when heading out than when returning; for example, tent ready and accessible, ditto water bag and so forth on the journey out.. When coming back it is my clean change of clothes, wash gear and the likes. Routine though does not prevent the faffing around, stuff gets packed, unpacked, weight is considered, is this item too heavy, do I really need that item? April can be a tricky month weather wise; I have experienced both warm and balmy days and freezing temperatures with snow and ice. Thus clothing has to be carefully  considered. Taking a risk I am packing my lighter sleeping bag rather than my winter one. A pair of leggings can double as sleeping gear or thermal bottoms.The overall weight of my rucksack comes in at roughly 28 pounds or 12 kilo; that is with five days food and fuel on board. To be honest I am apprehensive, not having been away for so long, carrying a weighty rucksack is going to be interesting! yikes!! Mind, this is going to more of a wander than anything serious, a slack packing trip.

3 comments:

  1. packing my rucksack to a Highland Easter trip , I share our weight and confort considerations

    Enjoy great time

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  2. Fantastic, love the Highlands, enjoy and have fun

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  3. Really looking forward to hearing your adventure, Dawn. Best of luck
    Alan

    ReplyDelete