We have too much food. Kim bought a range of things to pick from but of course we ended up picking most of it and fitting as much into our bags as we could. We have dehydrated meals too. And it’s going to be hot so I have 3 litres of water. Of course each litre of water weighs a kilogram. This is why I carry a smaller 38 litre bag – you always end up filling your bag. If you carry a bigger bag you carry more stuff.
We are off to try to walk half of the South West Coast Path. The half we want to walk starts in Minehead, Somerset and runs through Devon to Cornwall, Lands End and around the tip of Britain to Falmouth. By that point I expect it will be time for me to go back to work to greet the new medicine students and prepare them for their anatomy studies.
I had forgotten how heavy the backpacking bag is. On the one hand it’s grounding that I can fit everything I need for 3 weeks into a bag on my back (some of it shared with Kim’s bag, like tent poles and gas for the stove, I’ve got the tea bags while she has the coffee) but I had romanticised the weight in my memories from two years ago. When you walk for weeks you get fitter and your bag gets lighter.
We have little in the way of direct plans. I know what I am doing today. I am travelling by train, train and bus to Minehead and then walking to a National Trust campsite about 25 km along the path. Tomorrow I will be walking on the SWCP but I don’t know where I will get to or what I will see. The day after that will depend on the day before. Every journey starts with a single step and after that step it is never entirely clear what will happen. I see that when looking after students sitting supplementary exams.
It is uncomfortable to leave work and disconnect myself completely even though I know the next few weeks will be quiet and capable hands hold the reins. it feels lurching to leave the house first thing in the morning and poke our two kids into semi-wakefulness to say goodbye and leave them to look after themselves even though mathematically I know they are adults now. My bag doesn’t feel so heavy when I lift it. Walking to the station it fits well and hides the weight. Three and a half hours to Taunton, and a one hour bus to Minehead. One step and we’ll see where it takes us.