The Practice Run

I’ll be back to walking the coast later in the year. In anticipation, I need to sort out my pack and get the weight down. I think I was carrying 13KG last time and it was too much. I changed my pack to a lighter one and made some other adjustments.
I did a trial walk close to home and stopped overnight in a friends field.
Carrying just over 10KG including two litres of water. I wanted to see how comfortable it is to carry and do I have the essentials with me. This time I’m carrying a stove and food too. It all packed down quite neatly.

My walk was around 9 miles to Bramshot taking in Chapel Common and Weavers Down. This might in reality be too far but, I wanted a decent walk as a try out.

I walked along the bottom of Rake hangar through beautiful Beech woodland shady and quiet apart from the bird song. Eventually it comes out on an unmade road with some gorgeous old houses.
I walked at a slowish pace as it was hot. Drinking often from a water bladder, this is the first time I’ve used one, it tastes disgusting but I got used to it.
Chapel common and Weavers Down were full of bird song including a tree pipit. I remembered my Dad identifying the song to me a long time ago, strident and ending in ‘tree tree tree’.
I nipped off the path at one point to have a wee. I was just thinking this is snake country and hoping I was making enough noise to keep them out of my way.

Afterwards as I emerged back onto the path, “Oh Shit!” a female Adder doing the snake version of “Oh Shit” by coiling up as if to strike. We both froze (I was standing on one foot!) Then she slowly moved off into the brush! I only found out female adders are brown later. She was quite beautiful, around 45cm long and light brown with darker markings.
I’m amazed I didn’t see any lizards, apart from out if the corner of my eye as they scuttled away.

Stopping later at a pub for a well earned drink I met a chap with his young daughter who were also walking through Weavers Down. She told me she had seen common and sand lizards on their walk! I’ve never seen a sand Lizard so I’ll keep my eye out!.

It was lovely to be welcomed at my friend’s house after my nearly nine mile walk. I was shown to potential camping spots and pitched were I would get a good sunset.
Well I hadn’t forgotten anything and although I was cheating and having dinner with my friends, I had carried dinner with me to make the walk authentic.

We actually ate not far from my tent, watching a Kite zooming about causing chaos with the rabbits cropping the grass in the evening light.
That night, laying in my tent, insect repellent on my face, I lay with the side open watching the rabbits, and the sunset, listening to owls calling.

I woke once to close the tent as it was a bit chilly.
I never sleep that well camping, but it was enough to feel refreshed in the morning.
I made my breakfast, packed up and was ready to start the return journey when Sarah wandered up the field and offered me another cup of tea and a yoga session looking out over her lovely garden. That was a good move, it freed up my rather achy back.
The return journey would have taken me across Longmoor but the army had different ideas and thier red flags were up so I skirted this as went back over Weavers Down and just over 8 miles back home.
Conclusion? I’m happy with the weight but the pack is too flimsy and hangs off my shoulders. So what I need is a more ridgid pack that sits on the hips and is not so big that it increases the weight too much.. Now I’m drooling over potential new backpacks!