Finally I am underway! Last night was spent packing and tying up all the other bits of admin that needed to be sorted out. Before I knew it I was on the steps of the Senedd this morning getting ready to go. As I was about to leave, it suddenly dawned on me that I was getting ready to walk more than 1000 miles. What on earth was I doing?? I asked Linda Reardon, a fellow pancreatic cancer activist and she confirmed that I might be slightly adrift. Who was I to argue??
It hit 10.56am and off I toddled on my way. I had weighed my bag before leaving and it came in at 44lbs but the weight felt comfortable on my back.
As I walked through Cardiff Bay towards the East Moors I was inundated with messages on social media from well wishers. So a big thank you to everybody who geed me up on my way! It must have been that which accounted for the blistering early pace I was setting (and which I soon reigned in when I came to my senses).
On the way past the sewage works in the East Moors, I met a man walking his dog who asked me if I was out hiking for the day. I told him I'd be hiking for the next eight to ten weeks and he was rather shocked. He asked me why I was making the journey, and was I on holiday. When I told him that I was doing it for charity, he reached into his pocket and gave me a fiver. He wouldn't tell me his name, so he is now known on my donations page as 'kind man and dog'.
I've walked 15km today. It's not as much as I'll be doing further on into the trek. But I'm going to take it easy for the first couple of days. Now though, it's time to set Clark Tent up and get some rest.
Cooking, and eating in general, is one of the areas I've given the least amount of consideration to. My thinking is since I'm not traversing the Sahara or hiking the Pacific Crest Trail solo, there really isn't that much to worry about. I'm walking the perimeter of Wales after all, which means that there will be plenty of places to stop off at. However, this doesn't mean that I'm going to be lording it up in expensive restaurants along the way.
I will be cooking along the way using a Jetboil MiniMo, and replenishing supplies in shops along the route.
What I love about this device is the speed at which it cooks. It can boil a cup of water in less than a minute. This means that I won't be going short of coffee. It can also simmer, which is perfect for cooking rice and the like. Another highly desirable feature is the push button igniting function; when it's windy, rainy and generally miserable, the last thing you want to be doing is fumbling about with matches.
I may not be Delia Smith, but I certainly won't be going hungry.
Never in my life or career as a journalist did I envisage sitting down to write an article about socks. But here we are. This stuff just needs to be said, because as any backpacker will know, the whole socks issue is a burning one (or certainly can be if you're not wearing the right pair).
Put simply, a good pair of socks are what could stand between you and a great big honking set of weeping blisters. As with shoes and boots, socks are a personal thing and you should always listen to what your feet are telling you.
Back in 2013, I discovered what – to me – felt like the Holy Grail of socks….the 1000 Mile Socks. Before my epic find, I was forever in bother with my socks. I would find them rubbing in the wrong bit, pinching my toes or worse, gathering under the arches like giant, frustrating sock pillows. Ugh!
However, the 1000 Mile Socks are to socks what the Clifton Suspension Bridge is to engineering.
They consist of two layers, meaning that one layer stays with your foot whilst the other moves with the shoe. This means no friction, which means no blisters. And incredibly they work. And no, I'm not being paid to say all this.
The 1000 Mile Tactel Liner sock is what I'll be wearing for Walking Wales. I'll have a few pairs of these little bad boys in my rucksack.
Choosing a tent turned out to be a bit more complicated than I had expected. A tent for a ten week expedition requires a bit more thought than a weekend in Glastonbury or a three day surfing trip to the Gower.
Walking Wales requires something that packs up small, and is light, inconspicuous and rugged. I'm going to be wild camping in all weathers and terrains so a barely-waterproof, neon pop-up tent with a packed size larger than my rucksack just wouldn't do.
So after hunting around the internet, I had my eye on a few suitable candidates. But ultimately it really did come down to weight, size, and of course, price.
I have chosen the Snugpak Ionosphere ™ (yes it really does have a ™ in the title) as my home for the journey.
It's light, takes a couple of minutes to pitch, packs up small and is waterproof. It was £129.00 from Outdoor GB, which I think is a bargain compared with other ultralight tents in the same category.
What more could a hiker want? A shorter name perhaps? Snugpak Ionosphere ™ is a bit of a mouthful so instead I'm christening him Clark Tent. I'm sure Clark and I will have many happy hours together in the driving rain come June 1st.
My biggest consideration when I started to put the kit list together for this trek was undoubtedly the rucksack. Never before have I undertaken an expedition such as this, where I'd be trekking long distances daily for weeks on end; and also travelling alone, I might add. Previously, I've only mountaineered or hiked, at high altitude and in groups, meaning I've only ever had to carry a light pack. So Walking Wales is an entirely different beast.
A good quality rucksack is designed to distribute weight evenly, and also in the right places. A decent pack will minimise stress on the back and shoulders.
Being a small woman meant that my choice of appropriate rucksack was cut right down. Yes, there were plenty of female-specific packs about, but were there ones catering for us shorties too? Not really, no. My choice, after looking through scores of reviews by short female backpackers, eventually came down to two 65L packs, both by Osprey: the Aura AG 65 or the Ariel 65.
After reading up on the pros and cons of both, my heart was set on the Ariel – it had top and front access, a hydration chamber which loaded at the rear (thus avoiding my pet hate of having to stuff a bladder in through the main section of the pack), and was basically perfect and the pack for me. Going to fetch it from the shop was merely a formality.
But when I got to Cotswold Outdoor I thought I'd give them both a try.
So the assistant kindly measured me and fitted the Ariel pack specifically to my size (he diplomatically remarked that I was the most petite person he'd fitted). Then he started loading weight into it. 5…10….15….20…25 kilos went into the rucksack. And yes it felt a bit uncomfortable. It just didn't sit right somehow. So out came the weights and off went the pack.
We then did exactly the same with the Aura AG 65, and oh my! Putting the Aura on was like getting a warm hug and gliding over a cloud at the same time. The weight inside it – half my own body weight – felt like nothing! Suddenly I could see why AG stood for "anti gravity". All thoughts of getting the Ariel went out of the window immediately and I was sold on the Aura. To hell with carrying a bladder anyway, I'd carry a water bottle instead.
The Aura and I have a few long hikes under our belt already, and I have christened him Buddy because of the very friendly hip hugs he gives me. I can't wait to hit the trail on June 1st with him on my back.
When Walking Wales is finished, I'll write a review of how the pack held up after more than a 1000 miles worth of use.
Behold the first piece of publicity about my walk! It's courtesy of "Y Dinesydd", Cardiff's Welsh language magazine.
Diolch yn fawr i'r Dinesydd am yr erthygl. Rwy'n gwerthfawrogi pob gair!
On the 1st of June 2016, I will be setting off on rather a long stroll: a complete anti-clockwise circumnavigation of Wales. The route will take in the entire Wales Coast Path and Offa's Dyke Path. In total it's a journey of around 1047 miles, give or take a few. It's not about getting around the route as quickly as possible; I think it'll take me between eight to ten weeks to finish it though.
My walk is dedicated to those with pancreatic cancer, and my father, who died from the disease in 2012. Since then, I've been on a mission to raise money and awareness of this little known yet deadly cancer. All donations are going to the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK.
Walking Wales is a pilgrimage.