O.M.G

Don't really have to write anymore then the title to sum up my first experience walking with the Cornwall & Devon LDWA group yesterday.

Firstly lets set the scene...
Having been woken up at 01.00am Sunday morning by my lovely daughter (who shall remain nameless, it wasn't Kate), she needed rescuing, locked out of her own house. Not too bad your thinking, it's Sunday so there is probably a lie in coming, not so. The alarm was on for 05.45 so I could get to Callington to be picked up for my inaugural hike with the above mentioned group.
OK, now I'm up having slept another 15 seconds or so after the rescue. Everything is just about ready, I just need a bit of breakfast and make up my large flask (which I realised was way over the top for a days walk but hey ho, I'm quite used to looking like an idiot so I wasn't to bothered).
Made my way to Callington, all the while thinking I'm sure I've forgotten something. Within a few minutes of arriving David and Marian pulled in and off we went, into the wild blue yonder or Wiveliscombe in Somerset as it is better known. Which was a pleasant enough journey, although, mostly in the dark, which just happened to mask the overwhelming theme of the day, RAIN.
We arrived in plenty of time without much fuss and prepared ourselves for a wet foray into the countryside of Somerset (20, that's twenty miles of it, (19.1 really) but I slipped about .9 of a mile so I'm calling it 20).

Now before I go on, you will need to know a little about our leader for the walk. I've never met her before but was assured that she was a lovely lady called (let's leave real names out for now shall we) Joan. She must have been around the mid sixties at least, was around five foot nothing and probably weighed a couple of bags of sugar. In fact she made Gordy (he of Kawasaki fame) seem of average height. I had been informed, or as I now know warned that she could and probably would set a good pace.
Now, was I wrong to have imagined that any pace this little, fragile old lady could muster I would have no trouble in keeping up with, in fact she would more then likely hold up this fit and healthy outdoors man.
Good grief was I wrong, YES, in the most monolithic, cataclysmic and nuclear explosive way. She never even made an impression in the mud while everyone else was slip sliding around, some of them on their posteriors. (One thing I didn't do was fall over, which is lucky cause I don't think I would have been able to get back up).  As the miles ticked away my stride length became smaller and smaller until I was walking like a Japanese Geisha Girl. At first I was managing to keep up with the leaders of the group and then gradually I went backwards until I was keeping company with Norm (another thoroughly nice chap) who I suspect was at the back to take care of stragglers of which, I appeared to be the only one out of around twenty people (or freakishly fit athletes). The group was made up of around 50% men and 50% women of which most of them appeared older and as I know now much fitter then myself.
At this point I feel I should point out my lack of sleep from the night before, the man flu I was recovering from, the fact that it was my first long distance walk, it was raining constantly and that Dame Kelly Holmes was leading the forced March.
Anyway lets not linger on the hardest thing I have attempted in a long time and the fact that my ego and my belief in my own physical well being are way out of line with reality. lets wonder why twelve or so people along with Marian opted to walk a leisurely more sedate twelve miles. I think that I will be listening to Marian a little bit more in the future. A future that at this moment in time is all about aching limbs.

Now the big questions...

Did I enjoy my debut walk with the LDWA and Joan of Arc?


NO.

Will I be joining the group again to attempt another challenge?

YES.
but not with the lovely Joan, at least until I'm a lot fitter.

Have I bitten off more then I can chew in believing I can walk from Lands End to John O Groats and back?

YES.
Is the short answer at the moment.

To wrap this up, I will write in conclusion that it was a real eye opener for me and hopefully the beginning of the proper fitness I will need for my future hikes.

I've now just remembered what it was I'd forgotten on my drive to Callington, it was of course my brain.

Man Poorly (and that's proper poorly).

Hi to every man that's had the dreaded and debilitating Man Flu. Probably the nearest thing to total wipe out you can get without popping off of this mortal coil we call Earth.

Okay, I hear you Ladies...  Blah, blah, blah, childbirth, husbands etc, etc.

Well let me tell you...

Okay then, maybe I was exaggerating a tiny bit. Alright, for goodness sake, I admit to being a bit of a wuss (is that how you spell wuss).

Anyway, I'm knackered at the moment and laid up in bed, trying to recover sufficiently for my first walk with my local LDWA. This is happening on Sunday at Wivelscombe and I do not want to bale/bail on my opening outing, that will not look good at all.
Although saying that, my lift has not yet been in touch, so maybe it will not happen anyway. That will be annoying though as I have been looking forward to a gentle 20 mile stroll for a while now and seeing as this was supposed to be the start of my Ten Year plan, it will not be an auspicious start I was envisaging.

"Chin up Mr C, I'm sure Marian or the chappie from Liskeard will be in touch shortly".

Is that third party writing, or second party?

Anyway let's hope my slow recovery from this Monolithic Elephant stopping illness will allow me to participate in Sundays hike.
I will report in after the event, so please stay tuned in to be the first to hear what happens next...

LDWA Debut

Attended my eagerly awaited debut meeting of the Cornwall & Devon Group LDWA at Bovey Tracey (after getting lost driving over Dartmoor, great start). Met Hazel who introduced me to a whole host of people who's names I duly forgot immediatly.
There was a great deal of discussion about the forthcoming Camel-Teign 100, forthcoming in 2013 that is. This is a challenge which I think happens once a year and is hosted by a different group every time. I believe that to participate (and it is well subscribed), you have to have qualified by walking a recognised walk of 50 miles. I should have plenty of time to do that before the 2013 date.
This assocciation sounds like just the right group to help me in my quest to walk L.E.J.O.G.L.E.
I've made a date to join the group at a walk in East Devon/West Somerset on the 13th February of about 22 miles, sounds like a long way, hope I'm up to it. Could be a little embarrassing if I cannot finish it for some reason. Hopefully I will be travelling up with a couple of people from Liskeard, if they get in touch that is.
I definitely need to pick the brains of an experienced long distance walker on the merits or not of a GPS system. They are very expensive and the cost escalates when you need to buy SD map cards. I'm sure that there will be people amongst the group who would be willing to pass on the knowledge they have acquired over the years.
Lets hope so for my sake.