29 DAYS TO GO!
Can you believe that I have less than a month to go! Omg! That thought gives me a little flutter in the pit of my stomach. I’m obsessed with watching videos from those that are starting out on their hike. Just type #PCT2023 into YouTube and it will send you down a rabbit hole of new vloggers. Some are terrible and others are great.
⛺️ OH NO! MY TENT LEAKS!
So this week I decided to spend some time building my mental muscle and resilience against bad stuff and spent a night camping in the rain. I arrived in Cannock, Staffordshire and my intention was to wild camp but mud levels were high, it was gone 7 pm and the place where I intended to stop had two lorries parked up. I got cold feet so I punched in “campsites nearest to me” on the PitchUp app. There was a site with availability that looked great and was only 10 miles away. Rather than clicking in the app to navigate, I just typed into Waze “Park Hall Farm”. 14 miles. No problem… off I went! When I arrived it looked a bit… iffy! This can’t be right. So I called the number on the booking and a nice man called David explained that there are two Park Hall Farms. His site was the nice one that hosts weddings. The place that I was parked outside was a working farm with smelly cows. David gave me his full address which I typed into Waze… 52 mins! My heart sank. The rain was coming down heavily now.
I selected 1st gear and I was on my way. Nearly an hour later I arrive at a lovely, well-kept campsite and I’m the only one there.
It’s now gone 8 pm and I’m tired, hungry and the weather is not good! I don’t want to get out of my van, or turn the engine off as it is warm and toasty in here! “Julia, this is why you came out here! Keep calm, breathe, and don’t be annoyed with yourself as there is nothing you can do to change anything”. After my little talk to myself, I set to work and set up my tent in record time. I used a combination of my chair and the umbrella to blow up my sleeping pad (I can’t do that inside my tent as there just isn’t enough room.
By 8.15 pm I’m set up and in my sleep clothes, all snuggled in my tent. Life is good.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM CAMPING IN THE RAIN.
1. Blowing up my air mat is impossible inside the tent. I have decided to take my Flexitail Tiny Pump with me now. It weighs 3oz and means I can blow up my pad inside my tent.
2. When it’s raining be extra vigilant when pitching in the dark. I hadn’t realised I’d pitched in a dip. My tent had a few puddles inside this morning and things were a bit soggy. 😞 ☔️
3. My insulating pouch for my electronics is great, but not waterproof! Everything is wet!! So, it’s going in a dry bag when I get home.
4. Meditation is amazing! After a few minutes of meditation and I was calm about having wet gear and told myself that I must learn from this experience.
5. The best thing about the rain is that the packing away was super quick! A record 18 mins from start to finish!
6. The Tyvek bivvy is frigging brilliant! Both me and my sleeping quilt were bone dry, but everything else was wet. Perhaps think about a groundsheet?
I’m praying it won’t rain much on the PCT!
IN OTHER NEWS:-
🙆 This week I started a new 30-day challenge. Each day I have been completing a “stretching for hikers” session with a meditation at the end. I’ve always known how important it is to stretch but doing Yoga once a week is not enough. I need to get into a habit of daily stretching and have a routine that I know by heart that I don’t need to think about. For those interested, here is the routine that I’m following (Chase Mountains is brilliant and a well-respected YouTuber). https://youtu.be/WQauQv4uDLs
PCT ADMIN:-
There is a whole bunch of stuff that I still need to do and time is running out! This week I have crossed some things off the list:-
1. I’ve now labelled all my gear for the PCT using a brilliant labelling machine that I borrowed from a friend. Thanks Annette.
2. I have been persuaded to buy a portable bidet. Apparently, they are a game changer for backpackers and saves packing out your toilet roll. I’m not convinced but I’ve bought one and will give it a go.
3. Purchased a new cork massage ball for my muscles. Alfie (my dog) ate my last one and during the Cannock Chase shakedown hike I suffered from a terrible pain across the bottom of my foot. It’s still sore now so I’ve made an appointment with my podiatrist for next week. Fingers crossed 🤞 it’s all ok.
4. Also purchased a new tiny pump for my sleeping mat.
I think that is everything! See you next week.
Thanks, as always, for listening to my rambles.