Back from Alaska
Sunday, 18th March 2012
Well, the old blog has been neglected over the past few months, and for that I must apologise. The truth is that I was up against a good few challenges during the build-up to my recent Alaskan trip - in terms of training, logistics and management, and equipment procurement and testing - and for that my mind was focussed to the detriment of all else. I flew out to Barrow, Alaska in the last week of February, and from there engaged in daily excursions onto the sea ice. This has all been ahead of planned Arctic expeditions and world record attempts due in 2013 and 2014, sponsorship depending
Part of the plan for the trip was to test equipment and gauge the viability of an expedition from Barrow to the North Pole, along a classic route used by Britisher Sir Walter Herbert in 1968/69. The daily jaunts included an assessment of speed over the sea ice, as compared against ground speed during cold-weather races such as the Yukon Arctic Ultra. As things turned out, the findings were very positive, although there will be some unique challenges of the Arctic environment that need to be taken into account and prepared for ahead of the full expeditions in 2013 and 2014.
Now that I am returned, attention will shift to the completion of my book on Running Fitness, as well as developing fitness for a number of ultras over the coming months. Once the last of those has been completed I will begin training for the Yukon Arctic Ultra and North Pole attempt in 2013. All I need now is to find a corporate sponsor. More information is on my North Pole page.
The Fun Never Stops
Monday, 5th December 2011
Ah, they do say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Since last I wrote here my latest book, Our Natural Diet, has been released, and I have received a letter from the PM. He too, it seems, feels it would be splendid for Jerym and I to tackle a couple of world speed record attempts at Geographic North this coming February. I mean it is the start of the Olympic and Paralympic year. It would be rude not to.
As a consequence life has become more interesting. We are gathering shiny things like magpies, fretting about sponsorship for the flights, and trying to thrash ourselves into some kind of shape. We are not quite sure what the shape is we are aiming for, but remain convinced more thrashing is duly required.
Full details are on the sparkly and spanking new North Pole 2012 page.
An Improving Plan for some Cold Weather Events
Friday, 28th October 2011
Well, today was a fairly pleasant day. An early start was necessary as had an abstract to write for ACSM's 2012 conference. The college closed early as it was the graduation ceremony for last year's students. I had already primed our new first years that each year when we faculty staff entered the theatre to the sound of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance march, and exited to the theme from Superman, I died a little inside. A handful of students requested photos of me in my ridiculous outfit, which demonstrates my popularity has increased considerably. A few graduating students were particularly grateful for my help throughout their research projects, and such gratitude is what makes my job worthwhile. Perhaps one year they'll change the soundtrack and let me stroll in to Ride of the Valkyries and leave to Danielle de Niese singing Vide cor Meum.
Due to the time commitments involved in writing manuscripts, I haven't managed to invest the time needed to find corporate sponsors for a Polar expedition in the coming spring. So, the plan as of yesterday was to do a few hundred miles around the Pennines over Christmas, head out to Svalbard in the spring to take a look at the drift ice, then do the Yukon Arctic Ultra and Iditarod back-to-back in 2013. That would give Jerym and I until 2014 to raise funds for the Pole.
Then I spoke with Jerym this evening...
I was aware I could only do the first 350 miles of the Iditarod in 2013, as I would need to complete that distance before being permitted to compete in the 1100 mile race. The Yukon Arctic Ultra covers the first 430 miles of the Yukon Quest dog sled race. The full distance is about 1100 miles. So, Jerym and I are going to do that - 1100 miles from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, to Fairbanks, Alaska. Jerym had already calculated that as long as we keep to a good daily average we can reach Fairbanks in time to fly over to the start of the Iditarod. Apparently I'll be able to do the 350 miles officially, then do the remaining distance to Nome unofficially. So, that's about 2200 miles in the spring of 2013.
Should be good.
EnduranceLife Live More Lectures:
Guest Lecture on Exercise in Extreme Climates
Wednesday, 19th October 2011
In June I was invited to give a guest lecture at the EnduranceLife Festival in Devon. It was a fantastic experience to be a part of the event, although it seemed a little strange to be surrounded by athletes and not actually taking part in any races myself.
I was given the pleasure of presenting the penultimate talk of the evening, hours later than originally anticipated, and to well over a hundred (mostly inebriated) athletes. It was such a great crowd, and the atmosphere in the tent was superb.
I had originally planned to give a physiology talk, but because it had been moved back so late I chose to mostly tell stories and weave some physiology trivia in as I went along. Hence, the presentation was unplanned. Hopefully it was well-received because some of it was interesting, although I cannot rule-out the possibility that I was in a tent largely filled with individuals pleasantly merry on the local tipple.
Three Hours in the Devil's Punch Bowl
Saturday, 20th August 2011
I have been neglecting my blog, for which I apologise. I have been a slave to my writing, reviewing drafts of Our Natural Diet, in preparation for the reviewers later this month. However, the time arrived today when I packed up a rucksack and headed out into the Devil's Punchbowl, and enjoyed one of the most delightful runs I have ever had.
The pack felt deceptively light on my back as I left the house. Despite it having been raining earlier in the day, by the time I set out - at about 17:30 - the skies had cleared and the temperature warmed. I emerged from the woods at the top of the first depression, with views beneath the blue skies stretching for miles across rolling green and wooded hills.
I had not decided in advance for how long I would run, but with a jaunt along the length of the Pennine Way planned for next weekend, I wanted to put in a good effort with the rucksack. As it was, I had already been experimenting with a route along new trails, with their long, gentle undulations leading over the low Surrey Hills, sometimes over stony paths and at others across the grass and mud.
The first half-hour was through the woods, and an hour after that a long open climb brought me to a trig point by a Celtic Cross, there to ward off the ghosts of these haunted woods. A little further off, a couple of hundred yards to the south-west, I paused by the headstone of a murdered sailor, his throat having been cut by three highwaymen in 1786, after he had bought them food and ale in a nearby pub. I turned back and located a trail I had started along during a previous run and, having passed a post upon which was written 'There is no God', from there was onto new ground.
It was a wonderful run, during which I discovered new trails I followed until I reached their end, before turning back to explore another. As dusk approached I began working my way back to familiar ground, emerging from a steep climb to see the Celtic Cross, elated as I was that I had found a known landmark. From there it was a little over half an hour further to reach home, and I arrived satisfied I had made it through a good run over challenging ground.
I am now looking forward to Thursday, when I head up to Kirk Yetholm to begin my 270-mile, north-to-south journey along the Pennine Way.
London Explorers Connect
Thursday, 7th July 2011
This evening was the first time I attended an Explorers Connect meeting. We had a presentation by Jo Ruxton on the Plastic Oceans project - a project to make a documentary on the amount of plastics accumulating around the world's waters, and the damage this is causing to marine wildlife. These plastics are entering the human food chain, and are just one more unwelcome addition to the various man-generated chemicals polluting the seas.
But it was not all doom and gloom. Aside from a positive spin on the Plastic Oceans project, the purpose of the meeting was some networking. Jerym and I had a go at this, but as nobody seemed to grasp what we were trying to achieve we gave up, and instead exchanged banter with old friends. It was great to catch up with Tobias Mews and Scott Gilmour, and to meet Louise Pratt, Alex Hibbert, Leon and James. I originally met the organiser, Belinda Kirk, and her partner, James Starr, at the Endurancelife festival, and it was really good to spend some time with them again.
Belinda and I had had a conversation a little while ago about me presenting at one of these, but I could not help but think Jerym would be the better man for the job. Whilst I can babble on about various extreme races, and the physiological consequences inherent in each of these, Jerym would doubtless impress everyone with his antics so far this year. In February he completed the Yukon 430-miler in about 11 days, and then went on to complete the Iditarod 1100-miler in a further 27 days. Fewer than 40 days on foot and a total of 1500 miles accumulated. Yet people still seemed dismissive and unable to grasp the concept of an even faster crossing of the North Pole, from Russia to Canada. All we need is the funding for the flights, and preferably with some of the equipment costs too. Realistically this will require about £60k, but a target of £100k will no doubt see us through. We need to find those corporate sponsors who want to see a British team accomplish something very special at 90 degrees north. If the funding is in place then we will leave in February.
Obscure Holidays Part 1: The Jungle Marathon
Saturday, 2nd July 2011
Well, I have been away from my blog for far too long (or not long enough, you might say). But, the birds are singing outside my window, the sun is shining, and tomorrow I shall go for a gentle run around the Devil's Punchbowl. Hines is in his heaven, and all right with the world.
Anyway, we must dismiss this gay banter and turn our attentions to matters of far greater import. The race I consider to be the single most fun and enjoyable ultra-endurance adventure race in the world, the Jungle Marathon, has an abundance of places still available. This is a situation that will simply not do, and if you bear with me I shall endeavour to explain all.
In the beginning, people learned to run, and they saw that it was good. Then, it began to dawn on these runners, that if a little running felt good, then more running might feel better. Soon enough, people were running super-long distances, and yearning to travel the world so that their passion for running could be married to their desire for high adventure. Breathless joy, wonderment and satisfaction were what lay ahead.
To answer this call came the race organisers. These were runners who shared this desire for both ultra-distance running and grand adventures, and they directed their passions into action, and soon enough the multi-stage ultra-endurance adventure races were born. Patrick Bauer was one of the first, with his ever more popular Marathon des Sables. Shirley Thompson, along with a few others, followed on soon after. Shirley's race is the Jungle Marathon, which entails about 135 miles of racing through the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Competitors run along jungle trails, cross refreshingly cool rivers, and emerge onto white sand beaches. Nights are spent in hammocks, with a gentle breeze blowing across from the Rio Tapajos, whilst Howler Monkeys wish you a good night and cicadas sing you to sleep.
When I wrote that I consider it the most fun and enjoyable race, it is because every few yards the scene before you changes. One moment you are moving through trees and the next you are wading through a cool swamp. On some days there are stretches of river to cross, giving you the chance to swim and see the Amazon from a new perspective. On the long stage you emerge from local community villages onto the white sands that border the Rio Tapajos, a tributory to the Amazon further north. Most competitors reach the sand after nightfall, when the stars shine down on the equatorial land and appear clearer and nearer than I have ever experienced them before. Mile for mile, the Jungle Marathon is an incredibly demanding race, but it is a beautiful race too, and one which caters for the fastest runners and the most committed plodders too.
I do not only support the race because I think it is so incredibly wonderful as an event. The Jungle Marathon is a form of eco-tourism in the Amazon, and the money is driven directly into local communities. It would be nice for their government to see that eco-tourism can produce a far more profitable and sustainable future for the area than logging, and other schemes that harm the environment. Even more, the Jungle Marathon is still one of the great and original ultra marathons. Now there are competing races, some of which offer new opportunities to racers, but which might aim to be predominantly financial enterprises. Such competition can mean larger organisations ruin the business of the originals, and with that we racers lose the events organised by the people best suited to direct them - the racers like us who had the drive, passion and committment not only to realise their own dreams, but to realise our dreams too.
So, now I have talked myself into it yet again, I need to beg the boss for a week and a half off in October. Having written all this, maybe you think it might possibly be a good idea for you to head out there too. I do hope so - I really cannot recommend it highly enough. If you need any further persuading, then I shall have to direct you to my book on the event, which gives a far fuller account than anything I can produce here. See you all in October - if we do not meet at the airport then you will see me quick to have my hammock put up on the boat, before we spend the night drifting down the river to our start point. See you there. M.
For more information, please see the Jungle Marathon's race website
Our Natural Diet
Sunday, 12th June 2011
Still not finished, but coming together well. I have been reliably informed the press release has been completed now for Our Natural Diet, and soon all booksellers across the land will hear the news that the great diet book cometh. The press release will also hopefully get me some much needed media attention.
Despite initial plans to simply write an instructional version of Human Evolution, Diet and Health, I am now busily researching for the new book. In two weeks' time all the background reading will have been completed, and the almost-final manuscripts will be ready at the end of July. That will be good timing for publication, but bad timing for sending out the manuscripts to the bookshops and press. Still, can't be helped.
The improved version will contain chapters on oxidative stress and free radicals, the true meaning of toxins and what to avoid, a few home truths about hydration and tap water, and some very important information about tea (and why we need drink nothing else!). Tea is, in fact, the secret to lifelong good health and hunger-free weight loss. You read it here first. So, something for everyone, I fancy.
In the Press
Saturday, 4th June 2011
This month Men's Fitness has included a five-page feature, written by yours inevitably, on the Yukon Arctic Ultra. I say 'written', but I mean I wrote the original article, to which they applied their own styling. As a consequence, it is five pages of content influenced by me, but the language is not really reflective of my character. But then, that is probably why television interviews I have given are typically cut from the final edit: I am simply too chipper and give entirely the wrong impression.
During the Jungle Marathon in the Amazon rainforest, I was to be found reassuring others that the event was not inherently dangerous, but rather that a failure to train adequately increased the risk of serious problems arising. It became fairly obvious later on that the theme of the programme was 'the most dangerous race on Earth', which was a nonsense. The Jungle Marathon is the most fun, exciting and challenging multi-stage race there is. I have the Yukon Arctic Ultra pipping it to the title of 'toughest race in the world', but the YAU is a single-stage race, whereas the JM is not. In the jungle you spend your nights sleeping by a beautiful, white sand beach, with the sound of the wind and circadas in the trees. In the YAU it might be fifty below zero, with rest times limited to a few hours at best before having to push on.
Both races hold a special place in my heart, and I would love to return to both for many years to come. Such pleasures allude me though, due to the realities of work, finances, and my enduring passion to seek out and complete that 'next big thing'. Anyway, the article is a pretty good insight into the nature of the YAU, and I hope you might enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The book is available on Amazon and Waterstone's, and a couple of chapters for this year's race are to be found on this website. Pip pip, M.
Logistics Coming Together
Monday, 30th May 2011
It has been a long weekend, spent successfully avoiding any writing for my new book. What has been achieved, however, are the first steps in organising logistics for a Polar expedition in 2012 or 2013. My team-mate, Jerym, and I have been exploring options. We both like the idea of a classical route, either from Svalbard to the Pole and back, or else a crossing from Cape Arktichevsky to Ward Hunt Island. Alternatively, we may be forced to do a return trip from Ward Hunt to the Pole. Where we begin and end up will ultimately be determined by the ice conditions, as confidence is now growing we will be able to secure funding (well, we haven't had anyone say 'no' yet, which is a good confidence boost. Of course, nobody has said 'yes' either, but that is purely because we haven't asked anyone).
This morning I was pleased to receive two emails, one from Jerym to confirm logistics for a Ward Hunt start/finish, and one from a contact in St. Petersburg, confirming logistics for a Siberian start. Jerym and I will head over to Svalbard in July, to establish what the quality of ice was around the northeast coastline last March. The ice in Siberia and Svalbard are determined by the currents and winds, and so are hugely variable. After Ben Saunders had to take a helicopter ride 50 km from Cape Arktichevsky to the solid ice, we want to begin wherever gives us the best combination of good ice and epic adventure. Ward Hunt is the cloest and most achievable, and is therefore our last option. Having said that, Ben was unable to get a flight there this year, due to weather conditions. Ultimately we might not know our start point until days before we expect to step out to begin our journey.
At least it is coming together. Jerym and I will meet up this week to discuss the maps and charts, begin settling options for logistics, and start writing out our kit lists. Fortunately we have accumulated most of what we need from our previous exploits in the Frozen North.
Getting Needy - Need Help!!!
Saturday, 28th May 2011
Mostly, I need sponsors. I already have sponsors for the best equipment in the world - Rab and Salomon give me full sponsorship, and Snowsled have historically given me huge support. I would not be at all upset if I managed to get Suunto or Garmin onside too, but it is not a priority. Biltong Canada have fully supported me in the past, taking care of the majority of my protein, fat and energy requirements.
What I need are good financial sponsors, preferably who I happen to like. I have been looking at maps of the Arctic, and am growing restless and figgety about heading out to Svalbard in July to take a look. There is a very real possibility of strolling onto Arctic ice next Spring, and I like the idea of a classic route from the island (rather than starting somewhere that is only convenient in modern times). However, the thickness and spread of the ice from Svalbard is hugely variable, and is affected by the winds and currents. Hence, I will not know until Jerym and I rock up there in Spring, whether or not we can take a perusal any closer to 90 degrees North.
If Svalbard is not a possibility, then we will have to set off from Russia or Canada, and the cost will run into tens of thousands of pounds. Once we are flown out to one of those start points, then the distance to Geographic North will be less than 500 miles, which is at least 150 miles closer to the Pole than Svalbard.
The thing is, we are planning to smash the current record by a huge margin. In fact, we want to take a look together, try for the unsupported and unassisted record, and then head back the following year to each independently have a crack at setting a new solo and unsupported record. Both the team and solo attempts will be return journeys, so whoever does not get the solo record can return the following year for a one-way journey to the Pole. I/He will be carrying less food and equipment, and so the one-way trip will easily enable him/me to set the next new record. We think it's rather sporting. Oh yes, and this is just the beginning.
We will set those two records, after which we will commence planning for a couple of very interesting world firsts. Following on from the Endurancelife festival, one of the goals that came out of it for me, was the desire to do one or two events so epic (or epically horrendous), that my hunger for That Next Big Thing is sated, after which I can look forward to a career wearing slippers, smoking a pipe, and savouring good single malts by an open fireside, and a wee nipper or two to sit upon the knee and tell long yarns about adventures past. The North Pole will only ever be a new beginning, and from there Jerym and I will aim to define 'extreme' for ourselves.
So, if you happen to have any leads to help with sponsorship, or alternatively a means to help us sell a million books or more, then please do not keep it to yourself :)
Writer's Stress
Sunday, 22nd May 2011
Perhaps that is a tad too melodramatic, I mean it is not a proper medical condition like writer's block. Nevertheless, Stress is rife and has paid me a visit. Having given the door a fairly thunderous tap, it has since invited itself in, and between us we have attempted to get to the bare bones of the matter. I want to be running, I want to be in the great outdoors, but instead I have forced myself to stay at home and work. I do this at weekends and in the evenings. Historically, I would spend several months producing a book, and then begin training for a race. However, I am beginning to see that the training needs to be granted a much greater focus.
Part of the problem is that I have a lot going on, and I am far behind schedule with the next book, Our Natural Diet. The reason I have fallen behind is that, rather than make the book an adjunct to Human Evolution, Diet and Health, I am writing the new title as an entirely independent volumn. There might easily be four hundred references going into this one, and it is causes delays as I read through each to find the salient points, and deliberate upon whether it ought to be included. It is a lovely weekend, after all, and I really should be running about in it.
So, I have made some decisions. I got into writing because I enjoyed it, and I still do. I had also hoped it would generate sufficient income to earn me a living, but that has so far not been the case. I am also suffering a bit with the feeling that my writing style is not appropriate for the mass market. I mean, I try to write each race book as a homage to PG Wodehouse, because I adore his writing so much. But then, not everyone is really into that sort of thing anymore, and that is a pity.
I currently have three books to write for Healthy Body Publishing: Our Natural Diet, Running Fitness and Our Natural Health. I would like to write one other diet-based book with friend, colleague and mentor Simon Dyall, although decisions are yet to be made on the most appropriate publisher. Once that lot is done, I have two academic books I would like to write for Human Kinetics. Although that seems like rather a lot, I will be drawing a line under those, and then calling it a day for the time being. I will continue to write books on my adventures, but as those contain only one research-based chapter each they are easy enough to rattle off. Further, as my next adventure is to set a speed record to the North Pole, I have a bit of time before the book is a concern. But I would like to begin training for the Arctic.
And this is what it all comes down to. I enjoy writing, I find it rewarding, and I believe my books are important. But, I also enjoy reading, learning, planning and training. Next for me has to be the North Pole. I need to find sponsors and I need to plan logistics. My work in general is going well, and I am making progress with my PhD, but the writing is becoming a little too much, and I need to be getting some miles under my belt. So, expect some of my best work to be available over the coming months, because I will be writing these books as my last on each subject. After that I will be taking a rest from it, so as to complete my PhD and break a couple of Polar world records. It does feel good to have ambition again; to be so hungry for that next great challenge. Now I just need to finish this book so I can get around to it. Who knows - perhaps it will make me so rich I will not need the sponsors to fund my Polar adventures after all?
EnduranceLife Festival
Sunday, 8th May 2011
I have just enjoyed a fantastic weekend in South Devon at the EnduranceLife Festival. They organised two days of races, including marathons, ultras, wild swims and cycling. I featured as part of a series of presentations, under the general heading of the Live More lectures, with the intention that we ordinary folk tell stories of our extraordinary ventures. Mine had the heading of 'Coping with Extremes', and with an original billing for around 7pm, I thought I'd be able to share some good, in-depth extreme exercise physiology banter. When I actually stepped up to talk, not long before 10pm and to a tentipi filled with more than a hundred athletes, many of whom had been enjoying their beers and ciders for some time, I felt a more general presentation was indicated. I shared tales of my exploits and those of others in extreme ultra races, including details of really awful consequences of coming unstuck in the desert and jungle. Interwoven with the stories was the physiology of how the body responds to extremes of distance, heat, cold and humidity. I was bowled over by the level of the applause at the end, and it was truly moving to feel so appreciated by fellow athletes. I hope I'll be invited back to do more of the same again sometime. The talk was recorded and should be available online soon (watch this space).
I was particularly inspired by the presentations given by Belinda Kirk, John Wilton-Davies, and Alistair Humphreys. These reinforced my intentions to go on and do that 'next big thing'. To that end, I will be investigating the possibilities of a return journey to the North Pole from Svalbard, if the ice continues to extend beyond the island during its March maximum. If not, then focus will have to be turned to the shorter route from Ward Hunt Island. Once completed the attention will shift to a crossing of Antarctica, although the real limiting factor in these is corporate sponsorship, as costs are prohibitively expensive. However, with a commitment to attempt these comes the acknowledgement that funding is simply a very boring part of the overall challenge, and hopefully an organisation with cash to spare with want to be associated with these great journeys.
Extreme Gardening
Saturday, 30th April 2011
Having moved into a new place with a friend in September of last year, I have been looking forward to the day that we would have the garden in some sort of order. What is particularly important to me is the fruit / vegetable area. This is not hardcore endurance training, I accept, but the side of me that enjoys healthy foods and healthy living has been aching for some veggie patches for years.
Five patches have been arranged in steps leading from the back of the shed down to the slightly lower level of the rear driveway. Having finally completed most of the physically demanding work, today I took great pleasure in planting three of the five sections. Into the first I planted bushes of blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, redcurrent, and blackcurrent, along with a few varieties of tomatoes. Into the next two patches I planted beetroots, sweetcorn, runner beans, broccoli, carrots, swedes, parnsips, butternut squash, onions, sweet peppers, and no doubt a few other things I've already forgotten, but will appear as a pleasant surprise when I dig them up.
The nearest patch will have a composter, a cherry tree, some mushrooms, sweet potatoes and other potatoes. Into the farthest patch will be planted an apricot tree and an apple tree. If I had any woods nearby in which I could hunt game, and a river from which I could catch fresh fish, then I would have everything I could possibly need to survive here in pleasant Surrey. As it stands, I think I am doing well with what I have available. And the Devil's Punchbowl is good for a run too. Happy days. M.
Initial Approach to Guinness
Sunday, 17th April 2011
Having looked at a few maps I decided to submit a world record application to Guinness today. The current record for the quickest solo and unsupported expedition to the geographic North Pole was set from Ward Hunt Island, in Canada's far northeast. The distance from there to the Pole is just shy of 500 miles, and in fact all unsupported expeditions have left from Ellesmere or Ward Hunt island, or alternatively from a site in Russia. No unsupported expeditions have left from Svalbard, an island group just north of Norway. One of the reasons could be the distance, as it is approximately 625 miles from Geographic North. However, Svalbard is accessible, and the ice sheet encapsulates the islands fully at its extent in March. If there are other reasons for not beginning from there, then no doubt I will find them out soon enough, and have to change my plans.
So, I have submitted an application to Guinness to see if they will accept a solo and unsupported speed record attempt from Svalbard. If not, then it will have to be from Ward Hunt Island instead. One of the reasons for Svalbard being my preference is that it is so accessible from the UK, meaning that I can head out onto the Arctic ice for training from as early as next Spring. I partly submitted the application to ensure that should one of those training expeditions evolve into a record attempt whilst out there, then everything would be in order and I would not be applying after the event. Now I just have to wait to hear from Guinness - I should get a response around the middle of May. Watch this space...
Back to the Blog
Saturday, 16th April, 2011
It has been a while since last I was here to update things. Must have had something to do with settling back into normal life after the YAU.
I do now have a plan for the year ahead. I am thinking of a non-stop circuit of the Isle of Wight, a non-stop run along Hadrian's Wall, and taking a week off work to run along the Pennine Way. I'd love to get out to the jungle marathon this year, but that's dependent on work.
Future plans include a couple of training expeditions in the arctic circle during 2012 and 2014, and a return to the YAU (if I can get the time off) in 2013. Well, it would be nice to make it three out of three, especially if I can win it this time.
Currently, I am doing some research on PubMed for the next book - Our Natural Diet: Optimal Nutrition for Health, Looks and Life. I had planned to use Human Nutrition, Diet and Health as the basis for this new book, but it seems I cannot write anything along these lines without a pile of research papers at my side. Oh well, so it might take longer to write but at least the wait should be worth it.
Pip-pip, cheerio,
M.
New Online Chapters
Wednesday, 30th March 2011
Following my return from the Yukon, I have now written a couple of chapters on this year's race. 'Returning to Whitehorse' is a short chapter that covers the build up to the event, whilst the main chapter on the race itself is 'A New Journey to Dawson'.
Both chapters are available via the 'Online Chapters' tab. I think that both give a fair insight into the nature of the race and the training, but obviously far more information is contained within the Yukon Arctic Ultra book itself. In any case, I hope you enjoy the chapters.
The Best Equipment for the Most Extreme Conditions in the World
Wednesday, 9th March 2011
I had only made one change to my kit list from 2009, and that was the inclusion of Rab's Summit Batura jacket. The jacket is down-filled and waterproof, and beyond doubt the greatest single piece of equipment I own. I simply cannot explain emphatically enough just how fantastic this jacket is. If I had to bin all but one item from my outdoor clothing, then this is the one thing I would keep my hands on. My top three all-time favourite outdoor pieces of kit are my Terra Nova Quasar tent, my Rab Neutrino 400 sleeping bag, and my Rab Summit Batura jacket. At minus fifty degrees Celsius I was perfectly warm and secure in this jacket. During breaks lying back on my pulk I would have the jacket wide open so I could keep my hands within my mid-layer, and I never once felt cold. I do not know at what temperature this jacket approaches its limit, but I certainly did not come close to finding it in a Yukon winter.
Aside from the jacket I was wearing base-layer thermals top and bottom, Rab Vapour-Rise jacket and trousers, Rab Neutrino vest and Rab gaiters. The gaiters were excellent at preventing snow from finding its way into my shoes and melting over my socks. The Vapour-Rise, Neutrino vest and base layer were sufficient to keep me warm even at minus thirty. My hands were protected by Rab Powerstretch gloves as a base layer, and Rab Expedition Mitts over those. My hands were only ever at risk when I left them exposed during breaks, although usually I kept them safely within my mid-layer. Again, at minus fifty degrees Celsius, my hands were safe when inside my mitts. I used a Rab Powerstretch balaclava to protect my face, with a rolled up woollen balaclava over as a hat (sometimes I used a Rab Mountain Cap, but liked having the balaclava ready in case the my face became cold).
A full equipment list from my 2009 race is included in my book on the event.
Self at the finish in Dawson City
The Best Sleeping Equipment for the Extreme Cold
Wednesday, 9th March 2011
My sleeping kit comprised a Thermarest Ridgerest insulating mat, which was thick and comparatively lightweight, and which acted as a perfect insulator. Some competitors had struggled with inflatable mats, which were fairly heavy and tended to lose air in the night, and the smaller size of many other insulating mats had left some racers with cold feet. I used a Rab Superlite Mountain Bivi, which is a single-skin bivi but closer to the scale of an ultra-lightweight tent. The added space was useful as a shelter and to give room for tending to feet and such like. I had been recommended against using a normal bivi because they can compress the down of larger sleeping bags, thereby having a negative effect on insulation. The bivi had two poles, and no pegs were necessary as the bivi was only ever erected when I was in it.
I slept in a Rab Expedition 1200, which was absolutely superb. At minus thirty-two Celsius I was perfectly warm and comfortable, and the bag did not even move out of its comfort range until it was below minus forty-five Celsius. Even then I would have to question how much better it would have been if I had removed my base layer and ensured I was fully hydrated and well-fed before sleeping. In any case, my body remained safe and warm for the duration of the coldest of nights. Within the sleeping bag I slept in a Rab Vapour Barrier Liner (VBL), which protected the main sleeping bag from any moisture from me, and so ensured the down operated optimally. Inside the VBL I kept my shoes and all the clothing, mittens and so on that I would put on in the morning. A fellow competitor left his shoes outside his sleeping bag one night, and in the morning they had frozen. By the next night a quarter of his right foot and three of his toes were frostbitten.
The Best Footwear for the Arctic Ultra Races
Wednesday, 9th March 2011
It is hard to know where to begin, in describing the incredible equipment that kept me safe during this year's Yukon Arctic Ultra. As before, I was wearing Injinji and Sealskinz socks with Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra GTXs as my trail shoes. My feet never felt even slightly cold until the temperature was down to minus fifty degrees Celsius. All that told me was that if the temperature was to drop lower, then I would need to pull on thicker socks. The footwear was incredibly impressive to have carried me through without any problems.
The Injinji socks prevented abrasion blisters, the Sealskinz prevented water reaching my skin, and the Salomons kept my feet perfectly supported and protected. In fact, although I never saw what the winner was wearing, two of the three other finishers in the foot category were wearing XA Pro 3Ds, as were the next two racers who managed 413 miles before running out of time (and they had no foot problems). Jerym, who finished fourth and was then due to leave for the Alaska UltraSport 1100-mile race, had complained about the poor insulation in the sole of his shoes, and went off to buy some XA Pro 3Ds before starting his next race. I have used those shoes in deserts, jungles, over mountains and twice to successful finishes in the Yukon Arctic Ultra, and they are phenomenal.
Best Food for the Arctic Races
Wednesday, 9th March 2011
The best foods to take on any race, in my considered opinion, are the high-energy, lightweight freeze-dried meals from the Expedition Foods range. However, because the Yukon Arctic Ultra is a single stage race, my preference is to carry food that I can eat on the move, without having to stop to get the stove going. Water is also precious during such an event, and it takes a long time to melt snow. Besides, using up fuel preparing food means that more has to be carried for melting snow, if necessary.
During this year's YAU I filled my mini Trangia's burner before the race, and had refills available in each of my drop bags. It was there purely for emergency use in case I needed to melt snow for water or to cheat at getting a fire going. By not having to cook food I was able to keep all my breaks down to less than fifteen minutes.
I was very fortunate to be supported by Biltong Canada, who I had used as a supplier during my 2009 race. For this year's event they offered to make me an especially high-fat batch of droewors and biltong, and it was perfect. The protein content was good, but the fat was my main energy source during the event, and far healthier than from vegetable oils or butters. The dried meats were also fine at all temperatures, even down to minus fifty degrees Celsius.
In addition to the dried meats I also ate Rolos, Fruit-to-Go bars, and banana bread. This was not great, but good carbohydrate sources are hard to find, as natural, carbohydrate-rich foods have a high water content and so freeze easily. I am still to find the perfect solution there (the search continues).
The Yukon Arctic Ultra 2011
Tuesday, 8th March 2011
This year's race was an epic compared with that of 2009. During my first year in the Yukon I had enjoyed the best conditions the race had ever had, which meant the conditions could only go one way. I had also piled more stress on myself in terms of expectations. In 2009 nobody had finished the race before, so my only goal was to reach the finish line in Dawson City. This time I had not only to finish, but to push myself hard and do well.
The race started in perfect conditions, but it warmed up after the first couple of days and the ground softened. Shortly afterwards the snows came, and I endured sixteen hours on a section that had taken me ten in 2009, and even in snowshoes I had found myself in snow up to my waist. I had thought that my greatest troubles were caused by the jumble ice - over a square mile of ice blocks the size of small cars, all pressed together and presenting a phenomenal risk - but in fact it was hidden open water that would have finished me off if given the chance. Towards the end of my race the temperatures plummetted to between minus forty-five and minus fifty degrees Celsius.
I have now written two chapters as updates to the existing book on the race, and those will be available on this website soon. There are various clips from the race now available on YouTube.
Self at first checkpoint, enjoying some soup before moving off. Photograph by Yann Besrest-Butler, www.ybbphotography.com
YouTube Clips:
Part 1, taken from the first day:
Part 2, taken from the third day:
Part 3, taken whilst en route to Scroggie Creek:
Part 4, approaching the summit of Eureka Dome:
Part 5, from the final approach to King Solomon's Dome:
Part 6, from the summit of King Solomon's Dome
The Hidden Lakes
Friday, 4th February 2011
In 2009, John, Sophie and I had intended to take part in the pre-race survival training at the Hidden Lakes in Whitehorse, where we would have been expected to build a fire and cook ourselves a meal. Because our sleds had arrived so late we missed the chance to leave with the others, and so tracked them instead but reached the lakes too late to join them. Again, in 2011 our sleds did not arrive with us on our internal flight from Vancouver to Whitehorse. So, John and I put some kit into our rucksacks and decided to go ahead of the others, so as to get a proper fire going and do things in comfort. The afternoon and evening was great for building our confidence and reinforcing some basic survival and campcraft skills.
Video clips from my visit to the Hidden Lakes can be found on YouTube
Back to the Yukon
Wednesday, 2nd February 2011
The past couple of weeks have been like Christmas in my office, except when I had never ending hordes of students pawing at the door, obviously. First of all it was the Rab kit, then the delivery from Salomon. I strongly believe that Rab makes the best kit for the most extreme environments on Earth, and Salomon makes the best kit for runners. As someone who runs in extreme environments, I am covered.
From Salomon I received some XA Pro 3D Ultra GTX trail shoes, their predecessors having done me proud in deserts, jungles, across the Alps and over the Yukon. I also received a fantastic hydration pack, which will fit between my base layer thermals and mid-layer jacket. From Rab, I will be using their gaiters, vapour-rise trousers and jacket, Neutrino vest, powerstretch gloves, expedition mitts, summit Batura jacket, expedition 1200 sleeping bag and superlite mountain bivi. As mentioned, between these two great companies (and thanks to their great staff) I am covered!
The temperatures in the Yukon have been all over the place, from minus 50 C last week to plus 3 in Whitehorse as I write this. Anything above minus 10 C is annoying, as the ground softens up, making the sled harder to pull (so I have to work hard, which is unsporting). There have also been a few blizzards reported. All I hope is that the temperatures drop a bit (no no - not too much now), for a good start. I know James Cracknell is going to be there, but it's not fair if he thinks he'll be rowing along the rivers and not walking/cycling over them. Grrr....that Cracknell...
The nights will be a little under 17 hours in length, and the daily mileages high. When I'm out there I'll have nothing to do but let my legs take me to the finish line, some 430 miles from the start. No work, no stress; just good times with good people, and my own mad mind. I can't wait to be out there, and no doubt I won't want to come back. I'll start as strong as I can, ease into my pace, and go for that finish line whilst wishing it always further on. The Yukon Arctic Ultra is a journey, and despite the hallucinations, the fatigue and the tiredness, for the next two weeks there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be, and nothing else I would rather be doing. I can't wait to see that start line.
My adventures can be followed via the race website: www.arcticultra.de, with regular news updates scheduled to be appearing as the race progresses.
Christmas Training session in the Brecon Beacons
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
With less than six weeks to go before my return to the Yukon Arctic Ultra, I spent my Christmas enjoying some training and kit checks in the Brecon Beacons. The Yukon Arctic Ultra is a race across more than 430-miles of Canada's frozen north, and having finished the event in 2009, this February I'll be heading back to push myself a little further. Hence, I headed to Wales to make the most of some snow-covered hills and to test my kit. The weather, skies and hills were perfect, although with a sled the narrow paths and frequent stiles quickly became character-building!
The sled, harness and ropes were supplied by Snowsled, and in only three days I had managed to ruin it all! British footpaths are too narrow to drag a sled on ascents, which meant that I was carrying it on my back until I reached the flatter tops and ridges (I was keeping my kit stored in a rucksack on the sled, having anticipated this). In any case, what I found was that I okay pulling the sled, and in that respect the trip was a good confidence-booster.
On Christmas Eve the temperature in the night dropped to -17/-18C, which had I foreseen I would have brought my trail shoes into my sleeping bag. As it was they froze and the next morning the Gore-tex split when I started moving in them. Fortunately they were due to be replaced before the Yukon anyway, but I had been surprised that the temperature had been so low. I was testing my Rab Expedition 800 sleeping bag, so as to become accustomed to the style before taking the 1200 out to the Yukon, and the temperature inside was a super-toasty 33-35C!
I was dressed up in base layer thermals beneath Rab's Vapour-Rise trousers and jacket, and with a Neutrino vest over that. This worked perfectly, with the vest coming off as I warmed up. When the rain started on Boxing Day I exchanged the Vapour-Rise jacket and Neutino vest for the Microlight Alpine. In the Yukon I'll be wearing the same, but with a Summit Batura jacket rather than the Microlight, but there was no way the temperature would be cold enough for that to be tested. I used the Summit jacket previously, and I am going to give the Batura a go because I think it is such a superb piece of kit. The Vapour-Rise worked really well, as always, and it is so comfortable and good at letting the heat out when I'm working hard.
In fact, I was so happy with my kit and the sled-pulling that I only stayed in the Brecon Beacons for a few days before returning home. The kit worked superbly and I had no difficulties pulling the sled over good ground. What has been lacking in my training is endurance fitness, hence as the temperature began to rise and the snow started to disappear, I decided to drop it all and turn my attentions to running. My plan is to have three weeks of good, solid training; running six nights out of seven and covering distances between half-marathons and full marathons. After that I will begin tapering down before I leave for the Yukon on the 3rd of February. As for the Brecon Beacons, I loved the area and I'm looking forward to getting back there for a good distance walk once the Yukon is behind me.
Happy New Year everyone!
M.
RECOLLECTIONS OF A FIRST-TIMER
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Taken from the TGO Challenge Supplement with the October issue of TGO magazine.
I was but a TGO Challenge novice. A few good years of ultra-endurance adventure racing had led me into a wonderful and blossoming relationship with Rab, who support the event, and I was delighted when they asked if I would be interested in representing them in the Challenge. Having spent a few days the previous month running along Wainwright's Coast-to-Coast route, the message came through loud and clear : "No running!"
Roger assisted with the administration, Alan Hardy was an enormous help with planning the route, and Rab ensured I had all the best kit I could possibly have dreamed of. As the train rolled slowly into Strathcarron station, the sun was shining and all was all right with the world. At 11am, no more than 10 minutes after leaving the train, my kit was made ready and I prepared to launch myself into the Challenge proper. It was, however, the work of a few minutes more before I could leave, on account of a tremendous downpour which arrived to see me off on my way. So, clad anew in my brand new waterproofs, I headed east : first stop Bearnais Bothy.
During the first two days of the Challenge, the weather was too pigheaded to permit me to climb as much as I had wanted to, forcing me to use my foul weather alternatives as strong gusts threatened to pull me from the mountainsides. Following that initial baptism, the sun came out once again and I was treated to clear skies and exceptionally good weather thereafter. A quick jaunt around Loch Monar and a boat ride across Loch Ness brought me into challenging, peaty hills, ending with astonishing views of the Cairngorms. The good weather held and permitted me to enjoy several high peaks on my way to the lowlands. After the mountains, I was unfortunately forced onto a direct route to the coast , as work commitments meant I had a meagre nine days to complete my route. So, after a couple of days of bad weather, a few days of the best of the highlands, all rounded off with some fast -paced walking east, I arrived in Stonehaven and my journey's end. I pitched my tent for the final time on a low cliff-top overlooking the North Sea , and reflected that night of what a wonderful experience the whole Challenge had been. I had made countless friends along the way, and been stunned by the friendliness of the locals I had spoken with. I was grateful to Roger and the support team, to Alan Hardy, to Rab and to TGO magazine who made the event what it was for me. It was only my first attempt, and I hope it will not be my last. The Highlands are, without a doubt one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and celebrating some wild nature in the company of great new friends is absolutely what the whole event is all about.
Braemar to Stonehaven, The Coast-to-Coast Completed
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
I had arrived in Braemar with sufficient time for an afternoon off - there was no point rushing things and I spent the evening in good company at the Moorfield House Hotel; the best place for ale and internet in town. Come the morning and it was time to flee for the coast: two days, 100km or thereabouts, and a mixture of forest trails and open roads. Had I more time then I would have detoured round a little bit, but the necessity of work, my little students, and a pending renal exam I was to set them on the Monday morning wrung a good pace out of me.
The route took me from Braemar to Balmoral, but alas in poor dress and with insufficient hours to loiter and explore the grounds. From there I moved on to Ballater and had barely passed through before a thunder storm loomed over the horizon. I managed a final break a couple of miles outside of Aboyne before the heavens opened - forcing my retreat to beneath the biggest tree I could see whilst I donned my waterproofs. As I entered Aboyne I made use of a community centre to fill my water bottles, as the countryside now was of too agricultural a bent to provide safe water. I camped a few kilometres east of the town, and slept in a small area of woodland, as the tent was periodically lit up by lightening so strong the ground shuddered. Maybe it was just my nerves.
Come 7 the next morning and I was up and on my way, the skies having cleared. It was a long stretch of road walking, and some very walker unfriendly fence climbs to get onto long-forgotten footpaths. The forest trails into Stonehaven were wide and made for forestry traffic, rather than the kinder Land Rover trails of elsewhere. I slunk down into Stonehaven and strolled round to Dunnottar Castle, before finding a final home for my tent above the cliffs.
The journey had been wonderful from beginning to end, and my only regret was not having more time available to enjoy it for longer. I had loved meeting the other challengers, locals, and other folk enjoying the countryside. i wish I could have spent a day in Aviemore, and i wish I could have been in Braemar, at the Moorfield House Hotel for the Saturday night shindig. But still, I got through as best I could and I loved it all. I think that to have finished wishing only that I could have been there for longer, is the sign of a great event. In difference to some I wasn't carrying a Platypus designed for wine, nor a cask strength single malt, and I didn't take the shortest route nor the highest, but I pushed myself as hard as I needed to and I completed the event in my own typical way. The TGO Challenge is a wonderful experience, and I would probably recommend it to anyone. Many thanks to Roger and the support crew for making it happen, and to Rab for making my own entry into the event possible and for ensuring I had the best equipment available to see me through.
Until the next big thing,
M.
Into Braemar
Friday, May 21st, 2010
So, having spent the night deliberating on the local breeds - those that escape their wives, those that have their wives escape them, and those that give in to it all and drag their wives about with them - I rallied myself for an easy stroll into Braemar. Having managed most of the day's scheduled journey during the previous afternoon and evening, all that was left was finishing it off. What with my having been out in the sun a bit I felt I needed an afternoon off; plus it would give me the chance to wash my clothes and feel sparkling fresh for the final flurry into Stonehaven.
And so that was that - just shy of 20 km brought me into Braemar by noon. Since then I've been fed, showered and washed my clothes. Shortly I shall be embarking on a saunter about town to see if I can find somewhere to send these updates to you from. Less than a 100-Ks to the North Sea. Fantastic (but it'll be a shame when the whole thing's over).
All the best,
M.
Aviemore to (Somewhere West of Braemar)
Friday, May 21st, 2010
The plan for the day had originally been to head out into the mountains, camp, bag a couple of Munroes, and then make it into Braemar for the end of the following day, eating up a few more Munroes along the way. I was forced to rethink that plan and come up with an entirely dastardly new one, on account of rather changeable conditions up in the Cairngorms. My constitution had been pressed a little by some fearsome gusts when attempting climbs during the first couple of days, and so my enthusiasm for the mountains had been tempered with such concerns. The latest reports, however, suggested that increasing temperatures made avalanches a greater threat.
So, I adapted my route slightly, so as to give myself a longer walk into the mountains, taking the glen adjacent to the one I had originally planned. When I arrived at the base of the first mountain on the list, conditions appeared promising: some white cloud masked the summit of the day's main climb, but there were no indications that conditions would worsen. After a good climb I reached the ridge, and before I knew it I was ascending and bagging Munroes as if it were my very raison d'etre. By the time I had bagged what was technically the fourth Munroe, I had become resolute in a decision to plug on and get the next day's mountains bagged too. I could have camped at the top, climbed another couple of peaks, and then called it a day, but when I saw those peaks they appeared far easier than what I had already managed, and so I felt no great affection or desire to mince about running round them. The meltwater had saturated the earth too, so a good camping group would have been hard to come by. So, I favoured making haste while the conditions permitted, and found myself hurtling off the last of them by the late afternoon.
The Cairngorms had been utterly astonishing. Having had a jaunt up Ben Nevis a couple of years previously, my hunger for seeing the Highlands in all their glory still remained to be sated, and as I plummeted down that final Munroe I felt that I had really learned something. The Cairngorms, and indeed all of the Scottish Highlands I had encountered for that matter, are breathtakingly beautiful, and to climb in these mountains is one of the greatest privileges of good health. The TGO event itself seemed focussed on nurturing this in all of the challengers, but it does something more to. It is the social aspect that lends so much to this event, which would be lost in any kind of race or competition. I have not just whiled away the time with other challengers, but with many of the people that I have met out here. During my first night it was Diane and David at Bearnais Bothy, and then when climbing in the Cairngorms I spoke with the most wonderful man that had severed his leash and escaped into the the mountains for the day. When I camped that night I had a chat with Morris, an older gentleman staying not far away with his family, enjoying a cycling holiday. At the time when I spoke with him he was wondering where his wife had gotten to, whether I had seen her, or if there had been any sign of her or her bike at the base of the mountain I had earlier plummeted down. Good, wholesome, carefree, wonderful people. Brilliant.
M
Into Aviemore
Friday, May 21st, 2010
Yes, I'm afraid the sun rather got to me today. After a couple of days of sporadic and localised monsoons, then some pleasantly mild weather, it transpired that my longest day to date would be under the hottest sun. It was something like 50 km from where i had camped to Aviemore, and the day involved three fairly character-building climbs, and about 10 km of off-trail bush-walloping over heather, bracken, brush and bog. The climbs were interlaced with trails and minor road sections, permitting a good pace overall. Wet feet became sore feet by the time I arrived in Aviemore, but some clean mountain air soon dried them out and they were right as rain. Aviemore is a wonderfully British stab at a ski / mountain resort, and I loved it - it had everything you would expect to find in the alps, but with the addition of a Tescos, a chippy, and a woman in tartan playing the bagpipes. Utterly marvellous.
M
Cannich to (Somewhere East of Inverfarigaig)
Friday, May 21st, 2010
I had some reservations about staying in Cannich, considering that I could have stampeded my way directly to Loch Ness instead, then been in good time for a morning ferry across. Staying put, however, had been very much the thing to do. I had met with a menagerie of TGO challengers on my way into Cannich, and during the afternoon and evening I had ample opportunity to chat about all things great and small, making that day far more special than it would have been had I dashed on to Drumnadrochit (we'll assume I've spelt that wrong but you get the idea - long name beginning with a 'D' on the west of Loch Ness).
I immersed myself in woodland the following morning, and spent a goodish hour retrieving myself to a road. Kerrow Wood now featured some six foot high fences that I could not cross and so retreated for the road. Ambling along I passed various other walkers and generally had a jolly good time of things. Woodland tracks completed the journey to Drum, a ferry ride across to Inverfarigaig (probably spelt wrong - begins with an 'I' - opposite side of the Loch - you get the idea).
Having landed at six pm, time was against me so I managed a dozen kilometres or thereabouts before throwing up the tent and counting sheep. On that, before I forget, during the first two days I saw mostly deer, the next two days sheep, and the subsequent two days mountain hares. Thought I'd mention it, not that I'm keeping a log or anything. So anyway that was a long day, made long due to a few hours wait for a ferry. A good evening and a chat with a friendly farmer (is there any other kind?) rounded it all off nicely. Splendid.
M.
The TGO Challenge: People and Perspectives
Monday, May 17th, 2010
It should be far too early for me to be writing about the race as an overview, but unfortunately I won't see many people after today - perhaps a few tomorrow afternoon on the ferry across Loch Ness, but that will be it - after that I had some very high mileage days ahead.
What I wanted to say was that everyone I has met had been wonderful, and an inspiration as to what this event is supposed to be about. It is not a race, or a competition - but a challenge, pure and simple. It is intended to be a celebration of the great outdoors. Everyone I have spoken to has had to resort to their foul weather alternatives, and everyone is kicking themselves about it. Our only solace is that the goal is to travel from the west coast to the east, and that is it. How much of a challenge we can make it is up to each of us, with our overall progress being the most important thing. We just have to keep heading east until we reach the coast.
Some people I meet as we pass on the trail; some near our camp grounds; and some just while we're taking a break out on the hills. I have met some fantastic characters. There are so many couples participating in this event together, and that feels somehow enriching and makes me miss my girlfriend back home. Then I meet a three older gentleman, and they ask me how come I was allowed out, and I sort of wonder myself, but suggest it must be because this is what I have always done - it is who I am. Then the banter turned towards whisky, and how the Bowmore 17 was such a superb bottling and it was a shame that the 16 doesn't compete. I had been wondering what had happened to those three, until I bumped into them around Cannich later on, and they assured me that they had settled into the pub for restoratives before proceeding to the campsite. Nothing like good priorities.
I embedded myself in a pub to set up my laptop to send these updates and the videos (and to kick myself for not bringing my cable for the 'good' camera) - and within minutes I had other challengers sitting round my small table with me exchanging stories.
I think, rightly or wrongly, that the best people are met, often at their best, when out in physically demanding country, when undertaking some arduous feat for nothing but their own satisfaction. These people, this most staggeringly impressive and sometimes domineering land, makes this event what it is - a very real, palpable, celebration of the great outdoors.
Onwards to loch ness and beyond,
M.
Loch Monar to Cannich
Monday, May 17th, 2010
I awoke and laid in my sleeping bag, contemplating the meaning of life until I became bored that nothing sensible presented itself, and then packed everything up and headed off. I met a couple of walkers fairly early on, and then our paths separated as they remained on the main track and I headed off cross-country and up into the hills. I met another couple of walkers at the base of the day's climb, then three more towards the top. It was an easy day's climbing - just one hill to take me from the valley of Loch Monar to Cannich forest and river. It was a long walk along a road into Cannich itself, but the weather was good and I made swift progress over the hard ground. I arrived in Cannich at about 2pm. It was only when I began studying the maps that I realised I should have pressed on - had I arrived at Loch Ness in the evening I could have taken a morning ferry across and given myself an easy time for the following couple of days. As it now stood, because of the limited ferry times, I was due to arrive late in the evening with a few hours of walking into the wilds before camping for the night - because of the time darkness falls, and the wetness of the ground, I harboured concerns about setting up a camp out there - if nowhere presented itself then I would be walking through the night - not something I would ordinarily be phased about, so I will have to see how things go - so much depends upon the weather and ground conditions.
M.
Kit
Monday, May 17th, 2010
The kit is working really well - save for footwear (my feet are perpetually soaking wet - due to river crossing or just falling into streams - my waterproof socks would need to be neck-high to save me!).
Most of the time I am wearing my base layer top and bottoms, together with Drillium pants and Super Dru jacket. The combination is working really well because it is so wet all the time, and there have been plenty of climbs to keep me warm. At other times I use the vapour-rise jacket, with or without the Super Dru, or else just the base layer and Alpine soft shell. The later was perfect today when the weather was good and I had plenty of road walking to keep me warm.
The mountain cap and modular mitts have been called upon high up on occasion, but only really during the worst of the weather on the Munroes.
The kit is working out perfectly and I'm really happy with it - nothing else I'd rather be using. It's great to see so many other challengers wearing Rab clothing too - and I proud to be entirely unbiased when I say it's so clearly, obviously the best kit for the job!
M
Day 2: Bearnais Bothy to Loch Monar
Monday, May 17th, 2010
The Brew Crew were the first to stir, and David and Diane shortly thereafter. I rallied and wrestled myself from my sleeping bag, was packed away before all of them (Peter and Malcom still drinking tea), and headed out. Then I headed back in again, waited twenty minutes for the squal from the nearby loch to abate, and then headed back out again. I left the stone-built bothy, with the dead dear carcass nonchalantly decomposing by the wall, and set off by the side of a small river, across dense heather, uphill.
Diane and David were walking to Strathcarron, and the boys were bringing up my rear. The climb out of the valley was long, steep in parts, and involved crossing minor streams and meanie peat bogs, occasionally losing myself into deep water beneath a masked, mossy surface. By the time I reached the top I was tired but feeling good. My route then required a steep climb up a Munroe onto a ridge, with a ridge walk of a few kilometres before dropping down the other side. It looked rough from the base, with a climber further up pinned against the side, but I struggled myself against severe gusts from the adjacent valley and onto the wall. I climbed perhaps 75 metres, with 125 to the top, but by that stage I was being pulled from the stone I was gripping by the winds. Had I reached the top, which was unlikely with full kit acting like a sail behind me, I felt it would have been unlikely I could have made a safe crossing.
Retreating down the mountain was harder than the climb, and as I was thrown downhill at one point, despite 16 stone of combined bodyweight, clothing, and kit, I told myself again I was doing the right thing. I employed my Foul Weather Alternative and headed off into the valley that followed from the one I had climbed from the bothy. Rarely have I ever turned away from a mountain that I had planned to climb - in fact I can't recall ever having do so - so it smarted the pride a little bit to take the easy option. I had to console myself that the FWA was at least a longer route, so I wasn't making it that easy on myself.
After a long descent, a long trail walk, and a long journey across pathless heather and peat bogs, I had a river crossing to contend with before the next climb. I was fairly soaked after the crossing, but it didn't seem to affect me and I had a good long climb and and over towards Loch Monar. The weather was still apalling, so I elected a quick descent down to the loch. With no good camp ground I continued round the loch and headed off, cutting into my day 3′s route. Having been under horrendous weather all day, come the evening it brightened up and the temperature rose. As I moved away from the loch I put distance between myself and the mountains too. On a positive, that meant seeing a number of deer wandering about and upsetting the plant life. On a negative it meant that there were no streams - the ones indicated on the map had either dried up or barely had a trickle coming down them - not enough to fill a water bottle.
I pitched my tent next to the ruin of a house (because I have never been accused or irony), and collected some water from the river leading out of the loch. Having seen the waters running into the loch, I boiled the water well before making some food and tea, and puri-tabbed the rest for a dioralyte (I was concerned I might have been dehydrated following a few hours of walking in the heat with insufficient water).
I camped that night under a calm sky, with a wonderful view of some Munroes, and having completed a good amount of walking in challenging conditions.
M.
Day 1: Strathcarron to Bearnais Bothy
Monday, May 17th, 2010
Arrived into Strathcarron in good weather. Registered for the race at the hotel adjacent to the station. Five minutes later I left to organise my kit on a picnic bench. Spitting rain became torrential within the following three minutes. So, I dived back into the hotel and ensured I was fully waterproof before leaving. Ten minutes later the rain stopped. Typical.
It was a little more than 9km to Bearnais Bothy, over fairly well-marked footpaths. The ground conditions were variable, but I didn't lose myself in bogs and for the most part they were perfect.
Having left Strathcarron after 11, I arrived at the bothy around 2pm, with no delays - the time taken was due to the nature of the undulating group and map checks whenever the trail disappeared beneath the heather.
I dropped my kit at the bothy and had a rest for half an hour, after which I organised some kit into a drybag and fashioned a day sack with that and some cord. As I headed out the rains came - I met some other walkers who assured me conditions were awful up on the Munroes. I headed up to bag a couple, but had to shorted my desired route considerable, as the key Munroe that I had planned to bag was invisible behind a skirt of black cloud - with conditions fairly treacherous on the easier climbs I chose to employ my 'Foul Weather Alternative', and reluctantly retire to the bothy.
The climbers I had met earlier had by then left, to be replaced by a couple of walkers, David and Diane. Shortly after a TGO competitor, Peter from Stafford, arrived, and began apologising profusely for Malcom, for whom apologies could never be enough. Peter then went outside to inform Malcom that the locals were braced and ready for him, and had lowered their pitch forks, he entered. When asked where he was from, he responded: "I used to live in London, but then I got sophisticated so I moved to Essex".
Brilliant.
The 'Brew Crew' were carrying a kilo of sugar, apparently unaware of civilisation and shops north of Edinburgh.
With a fairly lively bothy I was in my sleeping bag in the late evening, the sound of rain incessantly drumming on the windows.
A fairly good start to the adventure, although the weather could have been kinder and more could have been achieved. Nevertheless it was good to be in good country with good people. And Malcom.
Looking forward to the morrow,
M
Before Leaving for the TGO Challenge:
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
Right-o, all the kit is packed away for the final time. I am wearing my party dress and shall shortly be leaving for the station.
I have been storing and scribbling challenge control phone numbers, and blog and ftp log-in details. I shall be taking a mini laptop with me (top of rucksack, within two drybags and it's protective casing) with a view to upload images and videos whenever I come across a coffee shop with wifi (I'm reckoning I'll find at least three).
If I don't manage this, please at least know that I gave my laptop a wonderful holiday and a spot of fresh air for a change.
I have been testing my SPOT device, and although it works as a unit, I have been unable to attract the attention of satellites, so a full test will have to wait until I'm in Strathcarron.
My rucksack weighs approximately 1900 stone, but it'll lighten up favourably as I get through my food. I'm taking Expedition Foods freeze dried dinners, to cook up along with a nice cuppa on my mini Trangia. I'm also taking flapjacks and shortbread. I was expecting to take some dried meats - droewors or biltong - but the delivery didn't come through in time (I don't use typical preserved meats because of the sulphites / nitrates).
Currently engaging myself with an encouraging cup of tea. I have noticed my shoes laces are looking somewhat worn, so I might end up replacing those before the finish in Stonehaven.
My maps are all ready - I printed off 29 A4 sheets that, put back to back, lamenated and trimmed, give me 15 protected maps to carry (far easier than carrying full OS maps - lighter and easier to use, particularly as the route is clearly marked and I can bin the completed stages as I go).
With my water bottle filled there is not much else to report - I shall report back as soon as I can.
For now I'm just looking forward to registering at the control in Strathcarron and then heading off northeast into the hills - I drop off my rucksack at a bothy a little while later, grab a few essentials then make my way across a river and on to complete a couple of challenging peaks. I'll either sleep at the bothy or camp further down the riverside.
Thanks for reading this,
M.
Hullo World!
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
Tired….tired….tired….
No reason - but thought I'd kick off by enthusing you all by tales of my boundless energy (snore, whistle…). Must be all the excitement. Possibly. Have no fear - I shall do all I can to deserve the Rab badge I'll be wearing.
Well, it's just after 8am and I shall be heading off to London Euston in the early afternoon. If all goes well I'll be arriving in Stratchcarron 10:45 tomorrow morning. I don't know but there's a distinct probability I'll be more tired - but am sure that the sight of the Highlands and the fresh air will fill me with gusto, vim, vigour and all the rest of them.
I'll feel more alert to all this after an amicable breakfast and a friendly cup of tea. Not a morning person - thought I'd throw that in - but fear not; simply drag me from the train and point me in the right direction and I'll be just fine.
Currently waiting to ascertain the URL of my SPOT device, after which I'll be able to send an OK message and ensure everything's working. I've packed and re-packed my kit a few times, partly to work out whether or not there's a better way of doing it, and partly to learn where I've stored everything. I haven't packed suntan lotion, so that should guarantee excellent weather throughout (watch this space, presumably).
Oh well - time for brekkie!
M