Hiking Without Supervision

Defeated! Thats’s what comes to mind for today. We were full of piss and vinegar, ready to get on with the trail and get some serious miles in. Breakfast was good with French press coffee (missing my DB), and the weather was supposed to be nice and great temps for hiking. Went to the post office and sent a package to Dundee of things that were not needed but taking up space. Then off we went. Up the bastard hill out of Portreath. Abosolutely stunning views all the way.

The trails were really muddy so we thought we would stay to the road. Well the road had a dead end at the MOD (Ministry of Defense) fence. Backtracked to get on the path. Muddy, slippery, and very dangerous along the cliff edge. About a mile and a half we came to a man made staircase that was a wind tunnel for gale force winds. It was NOT safe. So we turned back, extremely defeated, and came up with plan B.

Plan B was to get back to the village, take public transportation to Newquay, our destination for the night, and walk the trails within Newquay to get in the miles. It was a long journey getting there. By the time we did get to Newquay, the wind was blowing and again, no chance to get on the cliff path.

At this point, I started wondering what the f**k I was doing. I could be totally defeated and at home with my family in Texas or I could be figuring out how to improvise, adapt, and overcome (Heartbreak Ridge, Clint Eastwood). So I decided on the latter and was going to make this work.

Because of the weather, our itinerary is basically dictated by where we can find accommodation. Whether it is hostel, B&B, or hotel. We gave up on tents long ago. However, there is no way that we can do 20 mile days with full packs to start. So, the adjustment is, we find a place to stay, do as many miles as we can, and then public transportation to where we stay for the night.

I have to explain. When I planned this journey, I had lots of criteria…

• Walk all the way , occasional ferry is allowed.
• Must be in Dundee on June 10 for Kirkton High School 50^th reunion.
• 70 days or less of hiking/walking.
• Must camp the entire way except Pennine Way with DB and Eric
• Walk some of the South West Coastal Path.
• Must visit Bath and Stratford Upon Avon, if possible
• Completely walk some national trails: South West Coast Path, Cotswold Way, Pennine Way, West Highland Way (done this in 2015 ) Great Glen Way, and John o’Groats Trail
• Detour to Little Dean Lees on the borders 😊

Well, I am only three days into this and have to totally adjust expectations. At first I felt totally defeated, seriously, especially this morning when having to turn back. But after much reflection today, I’m okay with adjustments. The weather sucks, the wind is an abomination and unsafe on the edge of 200+ feet cliffs, so we will hike as much as we can that is safe and take public transportation where needed.

As I sign off tonight, I’m truly grateful that I get to experience this whether it is what was planned or what was destined. We went to a pub in Redruth, called the Oxford Inn while waiting for our bus. A man in there was really f’n and c’n about his woman who was trying to take his house and his money. He kept giving me dirty looks, I’m assuming because i was complicit in just being a female (I’m almost 68 just saying). Not a person in that pub had five teeth among them. Later that night, we found a great tapas bar (yes on the west coast of cornwall), had some nice wine, and laughed about the tipsy+ people in the pub. It sure beats a day in the office.

Murrayism for the day: I fucking hate jazz. It’s the doobie-doobie-doo shit that is not fucking on. Eric Clapton on a guitar, ok, but this fucking shit. No way!