Breaking the 15km barrier

After two walks of 9km each this week we went for a long walk today. A total of 15.6km on a mix of roads and forest tracks. There were a number of hills, one very steep at 1 in 10 for 1km. We had a lunch stop about halfway round. The weather was just right for walking, sunny and warm much of the time although there was a chilly wind in places.

The photos are from our various walks this week

The roe deer print was seen in the woods.

The sea wall walk is alongside the railway

Tiny fish in the lake.

The cows watching the walkers going past.

Terry's Packing List

Terry is carrying the full kit he expects to carry on the Camino:-
T-shirt x 2 = 300gm
Shirt x 240gm
Trousers x 400gm
Long johns x 120gm
Underwear x 160gm
Socks x 200gm
Waterproof trousers x 350gm
Poncho x 340gm
Towels x 480gm
Sleeping bags 850 x 2 =1kg 700gm
Crocs x 220gm
Fleece x 350gm
First Aid/toothpaste/Tel charger/cable/sporks etc x 470gm
Rucksac x 1kg 67gm

Total weight 7kg  excluding water. Terry has 2x 1lt bottles which could add a further 2kg when full. If it is very hot then the extra fleece weighing 300gm will go in the rucksac too. If we do need to carry full bottles we will drink Terry's first to get the weight down quickly.

Valerie's Packing list

I am walking with the following in my pack as practise:-
2 shirts  340gm
3 T shirts/vests  345gm
Terry's shirt x 175gm
Trousers x 400gm
2 Long sleeved T shirts 300gm
Longjohns 240gm
Underwear 150gm
Socks 200gm
Dress/nightwear 160gm
2 Fleeces x350gm = 700gm
Poncho 340gm
Waterproof trousers 200gm
Wash bag and medical:- shampoo, soap, pegs and elastic line etc 340gm
Towel 100gm
Rucksack 1.06kg
Water bottles 2x 500ml =1kg when full
Total weight = 6kg 250gm

This is the maximum I would have to carry if the weather was hot and I was wearing shirt and trousers without needing the T-shirts or a fleece. In reality I would expect to be wearing some of the 'extra' items at present in my pack bringing the weight down to around 5.5kg including water. This would enable me to carry our snack bars or food for the day without being overloaded. (The 7kg was a bit too much I decided)

Spring is coming

We walked for about 7km this morning carrying our full packs. Valerie's weighs 7kg and Terry's 8kg. This included water, snack bars, extra fleece each and all our cool weather clothes. (We would expect to be wearing some of these unless the weather is so hot that we only need shirt and trousers without T-shirt/vest layer or a thin fleece.)
When we have time we'll make full list with weights like we did last year. (October 2009 posts if anyone wants to look back) It will be interesting to compare what we took then and what we plan to take this time.

At last it is possible to use the footpaths across the fields again and we started off with a steep uphill climb before settling down to the main part of the walk. On our way we saw an old chaffinch nest from last year which had fallen out of the hedge and also white violets growing on the bank side.