On a sunny weekend in August last year I took on the persona of a Pilgrim of old as I walked the length of an ancient route known as St Peter’s Way.
St Peter’s Way is a 45-mile-long walk through the countryside of Essex starting from the village of Chipping Ongar and going all the way to the ancient 7th century chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall on the remote Dengie Peninsula. Continue reading “Walking ‘St Peter’s Way’ a Summer Microadventure”
It is now less than a week until I travel to South America for the first time in my life and quite naturally I am absolutely stoked at the thought of going there.
For many years is has been one of my dreams to trek along The Inca Trail and see the magnificent ruins at Machu Picchu and finally that dream is being realised.
We fly to Bogota next week to catch an onward flight to Lima and then on to Cusco. After a couple of days acclimatising in Cusco and the Sacred Valley we’ll finally get to start our five day hike to the fabled city in the clouds.
I am guessing that by the remoteness of the trek in the high Andes there will be a period of radio silence in regards to updating this blog but rest assured when I get back I’ll be posting all the usual trip reports and photos etc plus an article detailing my own unique take on what it takes to walk one of the world’s most famous hikes.
So stay tuned and speak soon.
I found myself sitting at a table overlooking the famous square of Djemaa El-Fna in Marrakech chatting to four people that I had just met a few seconds earlier while at the same time trying to wolf down a tasty chicken tagine that had promptly arrived in front of me! Continue reading “Jebel Toubkal Challenge – Day 1”
The Route: Jebel Toubkal | Distance: 10.6km | Time: 7 Hours Height gain: 1866m | Max Altitude: 3207m | Start: Imlil Village | Finish: Neltner Refuge Map: Orientazion – Toubkal Hiking Map ISBN: 9788493560003 | Date: 07/06/2014
I arrived with my new best friends in the village of Imlil. Imlil is the gateway to the Atlas Mountains and the start point for our trek. From here on in there was only one way and it all led uphill! We all stocked up on water supplies from a small tea shop on the edge of the main street through the village while our newly acquired muleteer loaded up our mule for the journey. Our main holdalls would be carried by mule up to the Neltner Refuge, beyond that point the mule don’t go, so we would be carrying our daysacks from that point on. Continue reading “Jebel Toubkal Challenge – Day 2”
JAMES HANDLON 