I did not expect to be blogging so soon after completing the 2022 Camino routes however opportunity knocked. 😀 The next walking adventure will be the famous Wainwright’s Coast to Coast England Walk mid Sep 2023 with Greg (will attempt to introduce Greg later) a GWL fellow co-worker and friend (hope he will still be after 2 weeks 😂). Note a time critical reason for this post is my epiphany concerning the 2022 World Cup starting Nov 20, 2022!
Coast to Coast England Walk
While this walk has been on my wish list for many years the 2023 decision making and planning was completed at warp speed...that was fun! A very brief synopsis...skipping significant back and forth between Greg, me and Mac’s Adventures...
Oct 22- Contacted Mac’s Adventures inquiring about a 14 night, 13 day Coast to Coast England walk...received a detailed itinerary the same day.
Oct 23 - Email to Greg..."are you serious about the Coast to Coast walk...in 2023”? Quick answer “Yes!"
Oct 26 - FaceTime with Greg where we exchanged a few pleasantries... I last saw him likely 9 years ago... After a brief chat on certain points...we agreed “let’s go”
Oct 26 - Contacted Mac’s Adventures “we are ready to book”
Oct 29 - 20% non refundable deposit made...online details completed...provisionally booked
Nov 3 - Mac’s Adventures confirmed our 14 nights accommodation in B&B’s, Inns, etc were booked!
Subsequently after detailed research into flights, trains etc (~6.5 hours travel from/to Heathrow or Gatwick to start or completion of walk) we decided to an extra night at the walk start and finish. Paulo’s experience where he dashed at Brazilian speed through Lisbon airport...possibly knocking someone down to arrive at the departure gate with 10 minutes to spare...then the hide and seek we played in Madrid airport to catch a flight...convinced me...learn from the past and have an actual contingency plan!
Nov 8 - Booked Air Transat flights direct from Toronto (Greg lives in Winnipeg)
Start to finish 2 weeks...the decision making process was quick...fantastic! Clearly we are both looking forward to this famous walk.
Brief description of the Coast to Coast England Walk
'Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk is by far the most popular long distance trail in Britain, and one of the world's great walks.
From the Irish Sea at St. Bees Head, it winds its way across Northern England, 190 miles or so, to the North Sea shoreline at Robin Hood's Bay. On the way it passes through three National Parks: The Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors.
It is an exhilarating adventure, and once completed is an achievement that will remain fondly in the memory for the rest of your life.
The Coast to Coast is a tough and challenging walk; even forewarned many people still find it tougher than they expected, particularly over Lakeland. The key to success is careful preparation.
Wainwright divided his walk into 12 sections. Strong and experienced fell walkers may tackle one section a day, but for most walkers some sections are just too long. It's better to break them and take time to explore. 14 or 15 days make better itineraries, whilst still allowing the walk to fit into a fortnight slot.
Since Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk was first published in 1973 there have been a number of changes to the route, for a variety of reasons.
The Wainwright Society, founded in 2002 to keep alive the things which AW promoted through the guidebooks, took on responsibility for the Coast to Coast Walk. At the Society's Annual General Meeting in 2012, chairman Eric Robson announced that the walk would be way-marked for the first time in 40 years.
10 years later, in August 2022, the government announced that Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk was to become Britain's newest National Trail.”
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| Coast to Coast Trail |
A good You Tube video link of the walk for anyone interested is shown below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7MZaoBl2AY&t=4s
How will this walk compare to Camino Walks?
One way it won’t differ is that this will be a challenging walk...an example is Day 2 route choices:
High Route - 10 hours, 25.3km, 1.107 meters elevation gain, (1,126) meters elevation loss
Low Route - 6.75 hours, 23.3km, 539 meters elevation gain, (553) meters elevation loss
Mac’s Adventures description of Day 2...High route rated Extreme difficulty...Low route rated Moderate to Strenuous.This is what they say about the High route.
“The first section of today’s walk is tranquil and flat, hugging the shore of Water. this is the quiet before the storm, soon you will head up those lofty mountain peaks that tower above!
This route reaches four mountain peaks, starting with a challenging climb up to Red Pike (752 meters), from where you can follow narrow ridge lines to reach the peaks of High Stile (807 meters) and High Crag (744 meters). The drama unfolds before your eyes with every step rewarded with fresh glimpses to distant peaks, new valleys and cascading waterfalls. There’s a steep, thigh-burning descent on loose scree from High Crag before a rocky (almost a scramble) climb up to Haystacks (598 meters), the final mountain of the day.
The hike passes old slate mining infrastructure and quarries, including the Honister Slate Mining Visitor Centre where you can learn more and even enter a mine, before dropping into the quaint villages of Seatoller, Longhwaite and Rosthwaite, that comprise the Borrowdale Valley.
The high route is featureless in places, and requires a basic rock scrambling ability; if bad weather is forecast, either low visibility or heavy rain, please ensure you take the low route”
🤔 Now which would be more fun...High or Low route? Guy remember the blog posting about Fear of Heights and the infamous "chicken out" on Mt Rundle many years ago? Greg and I will have to talk this through however...If the weather is good...and we are feeling good... No question “Go for it!!!"
The Coast to Coast appears be a similar challenge to the 2022 Camino Primitivo
2022 Camino Primitivo
- 317 kms over 12 days or 26.4 kms per day
- 7,847 meters ascent, (7,764) meters descent
- Using my time adjustments for ascent/descent the overall estimated walking speed works out to 4.52 kms per hour (5.5 kms per hour on flat terrain)
2023 Coast to Coast Walk in England
- 304 kms over 13 days or 23.4 kms per day (so a little easier here)
- 7,584 meters ascent, (7,578) meters descent
- Using my time adjustments for ascent/descent the overall estimated walking speed works out to 4.51 kms per hour (5.5 kms per hour on flat terrain)
In many ways this walk will differ from previous Camino walks
- I can speak English...no translation required unless of course i have difficulty understanding the way English is spoken 🤣...very close to Scotland!
- Mac’s Adventures is taking care of all travel logistics...booking accommodations, bag transfer etc. That has only happened once...4.5 day Kumano Kodo route in Japan.
- Bag transfer...The only other time I walked with a light day pack only was the 2015 Thames River walk (110 kms or so) from Oxford to Windsor with our merry band of 4 walkers + good friend Dennis. Reflecting we should have taken the additional option of either a pony or red wagon pull for Dennis 🙂 I am still debating whether to utilize the bag transfer route...but current mindset...why not...not that expensive and this walk might be very wet!
- Terrain...Looks quite varied...there will be road walking...clifftop walking and in one specific area navigating through bogs...oh that should be interesting!
- Poor waymarking...no Camino arrows to guide us...Mac’s Adventures has provided GPS tracks and an App to utilize the tracks. This was extremely useful on the Camino San Salvador and useful on the Camino Primitivo...on the Coast to Coast it will be an essential. Apparently brushing up on compass reading with maps skills is recommended...well how hard can that be 🤔. Will see if the MEC store in Toronto offers a course in this.
- Equipment...Gossamer Gear Backpack will stay at home...possibly even the Packa 😒🥲...will need a good day pack and a Duffel bag for stuff carried by Sherpa Van. Geez...a little weird...but all will be back for the 2024 Camino!
- Passport...Not a difference but a question to anyone who has recent experience renewing a Canadian passport. My passport expires Jan 2024...which means it will expire within 6 months of the trip...not acceptable in many places. How early can you/ should you renew a Canadian passport?
Greg
In my last 10 years at GWL I was involved in large scale legacy system redevelopment...where I worked with Greg a System Architect.
What is a System Architect? There is no definition possible for this role other than it is the world’s best job ever...steer your children/grandchildren towards this career. Remuneration - High, Requirements - Ability to talk & talk & talk, draw fancy cloud diagrams, utilize every geometric shape possible, draw squiggly lines between all these shapes...and stand back with a smile as poor Business people try to understand “OMG...what did she/he say?”
Greg and I were part of the IT and Business teams respectively...teamwork was essential. The two of us had many spirited discussions...Greg is not shy about expressing his works on many matters and well I sometimes had something to say in return. ☺️.
I have never been big on “official" job titles...let’s say Greg’s was Senior System Architect and I was Business Lead. At times Greg fashioned himself to be Junior Business Lead or Junior Business Analyst and frankly I did the same...Junior Senior System Architect, Junior Senior System Analyst, Junior IT Project Manager and occasionally straying into Junior IT Program Director territory. Oh my...
What I do strongly recall in working with Greg (and all IT folks) though is an ability to laugh...working hard and a focus on coming to a consensus...good teamwork.
Having said this I expect Greg and I will have the occasional time where we both feel we are right...like the good old days. A likely scenario...trail branches in 2 directions...Mac App says to take the right branch...Greg will contend that the left branch is the right one...I will say we must take the right one as Business people were involved in mapping out the route. We will stop...discuss...I will pull out a Snicker bar and offer it as a bribe to take the right one...what is super funny is that it WILL happen at least once where the App was wrong 🤣
Greg is an athlete...a long time runner who will be competing (60 - 65 category) in the February 2023 Canadian Masters Championships in Toronto and other meets through the spring and summer 2023.
When I worked with Greg he was focused on long distance running...
Marathon Greg PB 2:42 hr/min..My PB (in 1987 or 35 yrs ago 🤔) - 3:38 hr/min (rounded up)
Half Marathon Greg PB 1:18 hr/min..My PB (in 1986 or 36 yrs ago) - 1:40 hr/min (rounded up)
If you golf the difference between my PB times and Greg’s are VERY significant...let’s say me shooting a 100 and Greg shooting 67 type of difference...not even close!
Greg has turned his attention to short track and will be competing in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1,500m events...some info WR - World Record, PB - Personal best, AG - Greg PB Age Graded. As you can see hie AG times are in the 20%+ range higher than World Record times!
200m WR 19.19 sec, Greg PB - 28.2 sec, AG - 22.4 sec
400m WR 43.03 sec, Greg PB - 60.6 sec, AG - 48.7
800m WR 1:40.91 min/sec, Greg PB - 2:17 min/sec, AG - 1:48 min/sec
1,500m WR 3:26 min/sec, Greg PB - 4:52 min/sec, AG - 3:52 min/sec
Ok so Greg has speed and I absolutely do not...however we are going on a long distance walk where endurance over many hours is really the key. So we should do ok together however IF there is an encounter with dangerous animals then I can see Greg having a very distinct advantage over me...the 5 dangerous animals covered in a previous blog were...
- Cows/Bulls where sprinting will be a definite advantage combined with hurdling over fences...I am dead last here.
- Dogs where basically one must stand your ground...wave walking poles if you must and walk slowly away...no advantage for Greg unless he decides to sprint in which case he may be in trouble
- Chickens, Slugs don’t think Greg’s sprinting is much of an advantage here
- Bee swarms/Snakes for both I will be sprinting as fast as I can however Greg will clearly be way ahead in which case I will be in BIG trouble!
What is Greg concerned about?
Only two things that I have come across so far
1) Snacks - Greg had a standard office desk...his middle drawer where most people keep office supplies was crammed full (no joke) full of candy bars etc...Snickers a favourite. So Greg is concerned about his ability to buy and carry snacks on the walk. His day bag will likely be 50%+ full of snacks. He has started packing already!
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| Leftover Halloween candy at Greg’s Winnipeg House for Coast to Coast |
However when it comes to snazzy walking shoes...Greg has a very steep hill to climb and his first attempt shown below simply doesn’t cut it
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| My shoes - Hoka Speedgoat V5 |
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| Greg’s Feeble Attempt |
2024 Camino Planning
The last time you listened to me you bought a Packa so now I’m brimming with suggestion! Have you thought about the Sanabres? Actually I wonder if that’s what you mean, and not Sureste??? Start in Zamora and nip onto the Sanabres at Granja de Moreruela. Might be a wee bit too long - more like 16 days and quite a few over 30km BUT a stunning route. As good as the Primitivo!
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel! Great to hear from you...yes I meant the Camino Sanabres and not the Sureste! Thanks for catching that...funnily enough I woke up a 3:00am and looked at my phone (rarely do that during the night)...noticed your comment...crawled out of bed and changed the blog posting to Sanabres as I knew that MailChimp sent the post email at 4:00am 😂. Perfect timing! I know very little about the Sanabres so I found your comments very interesting...will post something on the Forum to see what others think about different options however I will definitely look closely at this option. I found your blog on the Sanabres so will have a read. 16 days from Zamora is likely more realistic or maybe start in Granja de Moreruela. Rome 2 Rio indicates one bus a day so not too appealing an option. First though I am looking forward to a totally different experience on the Coast to Coast walk in England...should be fun! Hope you have a walk in the near future! Take care Guy
ReplyDeleteHi Guy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing all the Business Lead work in collecting the Coast 2 Coast information and presenting it in a way for easy approval.
You forgot that one of the main duties of Systems Architects is doing ADRs (Architecture Decision Requests). I looked over all the non-functional requirements (long legs, likelihood of illness, packing Trekking poles, etc.), and I'm sure all the decisions we made to this point will be justifiable to our business sponsors (aka wives). I can do up an ADR document if required ... I may bring a copy of an ADR Template in case we need to make a directional decision while on our walk.
I am looking forward to this adventure, it should be fun!
P.S.I am waiting for new colours for walking shoes before I decide which ones to go for.
P.P.S. Maybe you should email the Japanese director to see if they would like to tag along to document this walk.
Hi Greg, Nooooo....you had to go there with ADRs...the bane of Business Lead existence...going to have nightmares for a few nights. Please leave the ADR template at home 😂
DeleteAs to walking shoes I regret to inform you that today I bought a pair of HOKA Speedgoat V5 for our trip...they will be in storage and not used for next 10 months or so. They were 20% off Black Friday...and these shoes never go on sale. The problem is that I could not get the same ones I have so I bought the Thyme / Fiesta colour. Now they are very snazzy however when I brought them home I heard “those aren’t as flashy as your other ones” 🥲...I never win on the “look good” side of things!
As to the Japanese director that is a very good idea...I need to thing of my sales pitch...however I don’t want to impeded my chances of starring in the Camino 2022 documentary. I will have to tread carefully 😂
Keep running and I will keep walking
Guy