The annual New Year post to wish all readers and fellow bloggers the best for 2013, and to reassure everyone that we haven’t been swallowed by a fearsome bog in Wales or the North Pennines. This photo is from a pitch on an unpublished short backpack in June.
2012 was an unusual year, the highlights being two superb Scotland backpacks in Spring in what turned out to be the only sustained fine weather of the year.
After July we were occupied full time with other projects for months, and now the appeal of winter backpacking is waning with each passing year, in particular the travelling to the hills. There were few good opportunities anyway, even the local country lane was closed due to flooding for a while curtailing the possibilities for short walks. Fitness may be a significant problem when we finally start the ascents, it will be a slow business!.
19 Comments
Best wishes for the New Year. Hope it’s not as wet as 2012.
Ian.
All the best for 2013. lets hope for some decent weather.
Look forward to more trip reports from you Geoff. Happy New Year
Hi Geoff - I have missed your fab blog entries - but like you my walking has been interrupted by the weather. October was a good month for me having 2 great walks in Wales - one of the Glyders and the other around Capel Curig. But like you my fitness is less now as I have torn a cartilage in my knee walking over Moel Y Gamelin just before Christmas - and it wasn’t even that hard a walk! So I am going to have to rely on your photos my my mountain fix for the next few months!
Happy New Year - hopefully lots of trip reports from you in 2013.
Thanks very much all.
The best weather - in fact the only sustained good weather - in the last couple of years occurred around April and May, so almost certainly Scotland if the trend continues.
deb - ouch!. The knee is the worst place for walking injuries, I hope the recovery goes well.
Happy New Year to you too, Geoff. I had wondered how come you not been out much of late. Admittedly the weather has been somewhat unpredictable to say the least. Hope to see more of your fab trips out in 2013!
Terry - hello again, it’s high time I recovered the mindset for pitching in the hills.
Happy new year Geoff ,glad to here your both well, and lets all hope for better weather and more wild camping for everyone
this year
John - Thanks very much.
I deleted the second copy of the comment - the blog code is intermittently giving a PHP error and causing visitors to submit the comment again, I don’t know why yet, I haven’t changed anything. I assume that’s what happened in your case.
Hi Geoff. Happy New Year to you both. It’s good to know you’re well and hopefully, there’ll be some great backpacking adventures this year - once the weather can make its mind up!
Thanks Jim, we’re eager for the first backpack this year. Not looking good right now.
All the best for 2013 to you too - surely it can’t be as wet as 2012?
Hi Geoff, Good to hear it’s nothing more sinister than other projects and bad weather that cut your output for 2012. As for the hill fitness - The muscles have a way of remembering, they’ll be rusty for a bit but you will soon be flying up those Deweys etc again. If it helps to spur you on I have a wee tale.. 2012, whilst very wet was spent by me zipping up the M6 from Shropshire walking all 214 Wainwrights in one calendar year. Your website was my default source of information on the internet. so a really big thank you from me. All the best to you Sir.
Mark - Thanks very much - I sure hope not, 2012 was the wettest ever here.
stig - Thank you. That sounds like a cracking year, although much luck would have been needed to enjoy many of the summit views I would think!.
On the occasional supply trip to Manchester, I park a couple of miles out and walk in and back with a backpack, quite heavy on the return, that’s the most strenuous walking I’ve done for six months!.
Glad to learn you’re alive and well, Geoff. Must admit I was getting a bit concerned when you hadn’t published a trip report since July!
Howard - Oh yes, still here and busy as ever - we need to recover the backpack mindset soon.
hi geoff,
re: viewless Wainwright summits.
As a man who clearly likes his stats here’s how I faired
sunny summits 104
dry but cloudy summits 91
no view summits 40
rainy summits 19
earliest summit 4.40am (Harrison Stickle)
latest summit 10.00pm (pavey ark)
63 walks in total - 667km - 42,150m of ascent.
It took nearly as long with the stats as it did the walking.
There must be literally months of work on your website.
The only very detailed stats I kept (in my head) was our round of the 181 (at the time) Welsh Nuttalls in less than a year: we had 175 of them to ourselves - nobody else in sight - and I think the same number mist-free with a view.
I dread to think how much time I spent altogether on the website in its early days, I must have enjoyed learning more then.
One Trackback
[…] More… […]