Wed Jan 25, 2017 @ 00:59

Week 2. 148 miles. 275/643 complete (days turn to weeks)

Due to the patchy nature of phone coverage the further West you go on the SWCP it's been harder to get to a place where I can comfortably blog. I may unexpectedly get a signal on a windswept hillside at 7am but frozen fingers aren't very good at typing.

The hike has been going well, with no further injury and strength building on what are now becoming incessant short, sharp hills. Before I set off I made a mileage chart between major towns and colour-coded it with severity. All the green and yellow (easy, mild) are now gone and we're into big blocks of red.

The daily mileage has dropped, mostly due to my aversion to walk clifftops in the dark, so now I'm limiting the day to 07:00-17:00.. 10 hours hiking into which I have to fit the regulation Full English Breakfast, lunch with a pint of local ale, and an evening fish supper. This is turning out to be more a culinary tour than a hike.

The weather has been amazingly good so far, with crisp clear sunny days and mild nights. I've only had bad frost once which froze the condensation inside the tent, but my layers and down bag coped well, and I still have a fleece and long sleeve top in reserve. I think it got down to -7c and not knowing what temperatures I'll encounter on the AT, I may add a microfleece liner to the bag. Just to be on the safe side. Nobody wants to be carried off the mountain as a human popsicle.