Well, next on my list is a very long walk. Just over 100 miles to be exact. I’m planning on walking the full length of the Southdowns Way with my dog Millie and wild camping on the way. I’m planning for this to be totally unsupported. What this means is that I will have to carry everything we both need for the journey with me from the start. There are several practical problems that need planning for and I think the major one of those is water. Obviously I can’t carry a weeks worth of water with me for theĀ two of us, it would just be way too heavy and bulky. I *think* we will need about 4 litres per day for eating and drinking with a minimal amount for washing (I’ll come on to that bit later). A litre of water weighs one kg (2.2lbs) so a days worth of water is 4kg or 8.8lbs. So, even one days worth of water is quite a bit of additional weight.
I’m lucky with the people that I have got to know through the events I have done over the last few years and one of them, Ian Ford, has recommended a water filtration system that he used for his cross Falklands trek early last year. This was on my Christmas list and I was obviously a good girl last year because it was under the tree along with a few other very useful presents ! So I’m now the proud owner of a Sawyer Mini Filtration System. This works by you filling its pouch with whatever water you can find, fit the filter and then squeeze the water through into your clean water container….. Needless to say I’ll be testing it fully beforehand so that I’m happy that it works.
Also under the Christmas tree was a tent from my husband. Now I know this is quite different from lots of other womens Christmas presents but I’m not really a perfume sort of person and this is way more than just a tent. To me this is also my husband saying that he understands me and supports what I want to do… and that support really is priceless. It is a one person tent (well, one woman and a dog š ) that I should be able to put up in under 7 minutes. Again I’m planning a few test outings in it to make sure that I can put it up blindfolded (or at least in theĀ dark with limited visibility). I’m a great believer in planning and preparation and it would be stupid to go out without having fully tested all theĀ kit I’m planning on using. I’m also the proud owner of a Leatherman knife (a present from my children) that is full of useful bits and my birthday presents (I was a New Years Day baby) included a lighter that should be able to light almost anything in any weather and some very interesting books.
So, I’m now in to the serious planning stage…. I quite enjoy the planning side of things and working out theĀ potential problems and how I might overcome them so I’ll be documenting the planning on this blog so you can see some of the issues I think I’ll run in to…. and if you have any ideas you think might help please let me know !
I will be using this walk to raise money for Charity and when I have the charity page set up I will post some details about that here as well š