Training starts (in earnest) for TGO Challenge 2014

Leaving the Little Barn at Rivington all seemed well – but I was quickly reminded of the realities of walking with a full backpacking load when I encountered the first squeeze gate. Luckily there was a very climbable wooden fence at the side…

Ascending the paths through the Chinese Gardens towards Rivington Pike, with the plan to cross the moor to the TV masts and summit on Winter Hill, I realised the cloud was down low, and the wind – which had been ‘cheeky’ down at the barn had turned into a full tearing gale. I hid in the lee of the monument for a few minutes to gather my thoughts, fish out map and compass and work out my bearing on the mast, and as I crossed over the stile separating ‘civilisation’ from ‘wilderness’, I just knew all was right in the world. This was true training for the ‘unmentionable mountains’, with a full weight pack, navigating through a 20m visibility cloud bank in a howling gale across a bog! The predicted good day shown by yesterday’s weather forecast seemed to be totally absent as I drew my hood tight around my face and periodically stopped to wipe my glasses so I could see where I was putting my feet. Ah, happy days!

On a better note, I realised all the gym work and pavement and path tramping over the winter was certainly paying off, as I carried my pack easily all morning, climbing from Rivington barn via the Pike to the top of Winter Hill, down to the main road at Belmont and back up to the top of the hill. Here I had a bite to eat, escaping from the blasting wind in the partial shelter of one of the big fences that surround the aerials, and then stopped for a few more minutes to chat with a kindred soul who was walking her dogs.

What to do next? Answer: drop down to the bottom at Belmont again and once again climb up to the top. This is training after all. I set out in the grey clag just after mid-day, hit the bottom and turned straight round – going well. As I returned up the steep slope the cloud suddenly cleared, and at last I could see the reservoirs below. There were even a few hints that the sun might actually come out….

From the top I struck out across the moor once more. I could see the tower at Rivington Pike this time, and crossed country, yomping across the tussocks and avoiding the worst of the bogs. About half of the way across my legs gave out on me. I found a slightly higher mound (possibly a ruin – there were a few stones around) where I could sit down without fear of being sucked into the ooze, and had something to eat. While I was there I noticed some other walkers on the customary route twixt mast and tower, so decided to swallow my pride and follow them, as I was finding crossing open ground so hard. This brought me to the mud motorway – but at least I was not having to lift my legs miles on each step to break my way across the tussocky grass.

My legs were happy, my back was happy – until the last punishing descent to the barn at Rivington when my knees started to scream at me. Not bad for my first ‘Heavy Pack’ walk of the year. A cup of tea and ginger flapjack restored the equilibrium and I was happy again setting off on the walk out to Horwich and my pick-up. What a great day!

What made me even happier was plotting my route on Memory Map and realising that I had just about modelled one of my toughest days from this Year’s TGOC. Today I climbed 758 metres and descended 780 metres, so climbed and dropped the same height as that day, although in Scotland  the distance on the ground for the climb and descent is less as the ground is steeper, with a ridge walk between. There is often low cloud/navigation to contend with on the top too - like today. Now – I need to extend the distance by about five miles to model my longest days in Scotland, keeping the climbing. Guess a longer walk-in and walk-out than today should fix that.