Living the Life in the Great Outdoors
trekking, hikking, travelling
Breakfast has already become an exercise in fuelling up for what turns out to be half a morning (depending on how many hills there are). This includes downing two large cups of coffee, except more often than not the coffee is served in bowls and if you want milk (lait), then this has to be …
Continue reading “Tales from the Via Podiensis- b) Traversing the Aubrac plateau”
Even now I can recall my excitement at having arrived in Le Puy following a scenic trip on the train from St Etienne. I dropped my bags at the accommodation and set off to explore. This is when I first became familiar with the French 2 hour lunch break (with the shops all shutting down) …
Continue reading “Tales from the Via Podiensis in France – A) Departing Le Puy”
Having walked along the Via Podiensis in France in 2018, I have wondered ever since whether I could encapsulate my journey into a series of blog posts. This is not as easy as some of you may think because each day on the route brought with it a myriad of new experiences, from the time …
After close to a solid 10 hours of sleep punctuated by one trip to the unisex latrine (which mercifully is not outside), I awaken to peer out the hut window to see the same misty surrounds as the evening before. In fact the visibility is so limited that I do not even entertain going outside …
Continue reading “Trekking in Iceland- the Fimmvorouhals Route – Fimmvorduskali Hut to Skogar”
After a solid 8 hours sleep I slip out into the brilliant morning sun and gaze at the nearby scenery including the magnificent Eyjafjallajökull glacier. The local bird life are already frenetically busy for the day (there is a lot of chirping going on nearby). My legs have recovered from the rigors of the Laugavegur …
Continue reading “The Fimmvorouhals Trail in Iceland: Langidalur to Fimmvorduskali mountain hut”
After a more restful night I sneak out of the bunk room, go down the stairs of the hut and head outside. There are no views of the nearby mountains due to the low cloud ceiling but the nearby birds have already launched into action for the day. I spot some of the smaller birds …
Continue reading “Trekking in Iceland – Day 5: Langidalur and nearby Porsmork”
After a restless night, mainly due to us all being so close together on mattresses on the bunks in the small mountain hut, I head outside early to look at the surrounding scenery. The cloud ceiling has dropped again overnight so the views are limited, but one added bonus is that it feels slightly warmer. …
Continue reading “Trekking the Laugavegur Trail Iceland – Day 4: Emstrur to Langidalur”
I am up early because basically it is daylight, and there are the dulcet tones of snoring reverberating around the hut. So I head out to the shower block and find that I am not alone in having a quick face wash etc at the sink. It is cloudy and the wind is blowing but …
Continue reading “Trekking the Laugavegur Trail in Iceland – Day 3 : Alftavatn to Emstrur”
Sleep is to prove elusive due to the snoring in the bunk chamber through the so called night which has also rendered my head lamp redundant for this trip. A trip to the latrines is made in what seems daylight but as the thick cloud continues to obscure the sky it is hard to tell …
We head on towards another valley as the weather is holding – ie there is no rain! This involves crossing over snow fields including on ridge sides. The wind is blowing and it feels cooler as we are now at a higher elevation. The snow is not always clean and white courtesy of the wind …
Living the Life in the Great Outdoors