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Where do ( did ) you walk locally in 2024?

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First Day Hike at DCR Breakheart Reservation, Saugus Massachusetts. The reward for a hilly 2.8 miles was clam chowder and hot chocolate for the over 100 participants. Good way to begin 2024!
 
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Looking over Loch Lomond on a beautiful crisp morning
 

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Leemac40 said:
Looking over Loch Lomond on a beautiful crisp morning
Click to expand...
Nice! Reminds me of when I was descending from Conic Hill down to Balmaha on my first day on the West Highland Way in spring 1997 ... Does the Rob Roy Bar in Rowardennan still exist? I remember them wanting to fill whiskey into my water bottles
 

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...I couldn't be bothered going for a real walk today, just a few moments stealth, not after cleaning up from the night before...most of the fat from a speckled pintade which the owner of the house had roasted the day before had solidified on just about everything. The bones and skin he'd tossed out the kitchen window, a New Year's offering ...

 
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Happy new year from the north of Norway. A cold day. -20C and the sky was beautiful. The sun will return in 3 weeks.
 

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A gorgeous New Year's Day and a family walk around Sasamat Lake in Belcarra. At the beginning, a few early polar bear swimmers in the lake and at the end of the walk many more were taking the traditional Jan. 1st plunge! The last photo... a tree with evidence of very busy woodpeckers!

 
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Arctic_Alex said:
Nice! Reminds me of when I was descending from Conic Hill down to Balmaha on my first day on the West Highland Way in spring 1997 ... Does the Rob Roy Bar in Rowardennan still exist? I remember them wanting to fill whiskey into my water bottles
Click to expand...
Pretty sure it's still there whiskey is the best way to give you energy and keep you warm...... and it certainly improves your singing voice to keep the pace
 
January 1.. 2024. A late afternoon walk in Red rock area just outside Las Vegas .
The granddaughters 6, 3 and 1 outpacing me .. . (Maybe not the 1 year old but the other 2 don’t slow down.).
I’m visiting them in USA. Certainly pleasant walking at this time of year - it’s an oven in summer.
 

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Yesterday a friend and I went for a 10 km walk over a limestone ridge down to a valley, along a few empty lanes then back up again to Pech de Plats where we had begun.


Dolmayrac viewed from afar...


...walking beside waterlogged fields twice-ploughed...


...towards Montpezat...


Pre & after-walk sustenance, "Les Pyrénéens"

directions to the chocolate factory - a 1 km's walk from the pilgrims' gîte in Oloron-Sainte-Marie (Voie de Piemont, France).
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I’ve been walking the Pilgrims Way, from London (Southwark Cathedral) to Canterbury. Lots of history along this route. Highlights included staying overnight in a Carmelite priory founded in 1242, and attending the memorial service in Canterbury Cathedral on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket. I even had a pilgrims passport and collected stamps along the way!

It did make me think a lot about pilgrimage in England. I know there are threads talking about the challenges of pilgrimage walks being…re-energised...here. I don’t think it helps that so much of the Pilgrims Way is subsumed into the North Downs Way, a national long distance trail ‘opened’ in 1978, and so you see very little mention of the Pilgrims Way on signposts. But it has its own identity and you can see pilgrims referenced in road names and house names along the way - and even the shell crops up here and there! The churches along the way are wonderful, and during the day many are open - you might have to follow the guidance of a sign on the church porch and nip over to the home of a church warden to pick up the key to the door, mind but at least you can get access.
 

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Trying to stick to my plans to do more exercise and lose some weight. 5km walk to the local swimming pool, half an hour swimming, 1km walk to a handy pub for coffee and a pint, then 6km back home along a former railway line which is now a cycle path. Doing that several times a week now. The pub is an incentive!

 
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Saturday evening the our first substantial snowfall of the season started. I was thinking of a 2:00 AM hike in the woods; I like night hikes when the snow falls. While it was bright enough, the snow at that time was just too wet. I waited until 2:00 PM when the snowfall was still happening but had turned powdery. Rather than driving anywhere I decided to walk to the woods. The snow was already 8 inches deep (20 cm) so I put on my taller combat boots. I didn't need them for the walk through the plowed suburban streets but they sure were handy once I got off them. The pictures below tell the tale of the wooded portion of the walk. I got back just before sunset and measured the snowfall to be up at 11 inches (28 cm). I had many near falls slipping on the plowed streets due to a light powder riding on top of ice.

Today, after posting this, it will be time to shovel.

The start of the wooded walk was down a dirt road. You can see that a fat-tired bicycle had come by in the morning.


Once off that road the trail passed along the ridge of an esker.


At the bottom is this pool. It sometimes dries up in the summer.


Heading back uphill the path of the trail was occasionally hard to find.


Here's a view of the woods to the side of the trail.


Down at the bottom of this trail there is a cleared spot at the edge of a river. It is usually frozen over in January but there hasn't even been any freezing along the bank this year. A woman that we often meet on our walks in these wood spends several hours of her work day here with her laptop and, this winter, a portable wood burning stove.
 
My sister tells me the snow where she lives, Prince George, BC, Canada, is powdery, so nothing at all like in my part of the world. Looking now at your photos, my goodness, I am glad to have my Peruvian wool cardigan!
 
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Villar d'Arène-la Grave, France
photo taken January 11, 2018



Facing La Meije

Six years ago today my husband and I walked into a mountain paradise in the southern Alps west of Grenoble/east of Briançon off route D1091 to stay in an historic albergue.
This was our view facing La Meije.

...Now in 2024 we are thankful to "walk" this in memory.
 
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Bonjour @mspath

I've just had a look on Geoporteil.fr to see if any Grande Randonées pass close by Villar-d'Arêne, et voilà, the GR54, known as the ‘Great Tour of the Écrins’ or ‘Tour de l’Oisans’ (184 kms), is right by. What a magnificent circuit. I wouldn't mind having a go....



...oh no. I've just read the FFRP description...

'Considered one of the most difficult GR® in Europe, due in particular to its late snowfall, steep slopes with slippery shale, the GR® 54 circumvents the Oisans and Ecrins massif in around twelve days .'

Hats off to you, @mspath. Chapeau!
 
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Out the front door, through the sports ground and into Fairlop waters, a ten minute walk
Around the lake twice and off to the high street for a coffee and a five minute bus ride home …walk about 5 miles
Weather has been cold and sunny but with all the rain last we’ve been keeping to the gravel path
It does get a bit repetitive after a few days but the numerous paths are muddy right now
The smaller lake has doubled in size and with a lot of flooding amongst the trees
 
You are an amazing woman mspath
Walking this in winter with snow and ice
and as they say in today’s lingo “respect”
memories for us too but it’s given me “a hunger” to get back there but not sure if we could even walk half of it now
I had to look up my diaries and to check when we walked there
2012 and 2016 we stayed in La Grave where we cheated and got the cable car to the Meiji and then onto La Bararde the most amazing place and Ref Piatte
Then it was Vallouise valley
you must know all these places
Someone took a photo of us at refuge Pilatte
Yes memories
 
Annette,

Thank you for your kind comment.

Since it was winter we mainly walked for 2 weeks on beaten paths usually off the plowed lanes. La Grave was great with magnificent views south to La Meije.

Margaret

 
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Meandering to visit a friend this morning, I could not resist the vegetable stand at the Sunday market in the People's Park. A quince from France, avocado from Spain, tomato from Spain and a piece of turmeric from who knows where. I also got a few skinny potatoes that I have never seen before, and the Polish guy behind the counter said they were Irish. I will try them tomorrow. Now to see what to do with the quince.
 
Looks like a sweet potatoe?
They contain more Carbohydrate, vitamin c and minerals than the white potatoes
 
Some inspiration!

Quince recipes | BBC Good Food

Quince is great for making jellies, jams and other preserves, such as the Spanish quince paste, membrillo. Discover our favourite recipe ideas for this seasonal fruit.
www.bbcgoodfood.com
 
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On the way between the swimming pool and the pub. Spotted these converging contrails which seemed to be pointing towards Santiago! Which reminded me of another view of clouds some years ago - walking from the lighthouse back to Fisterra and glancing backwards to spot what looked like a scallop shell picked out in clouds.


 
Reminds me of the boat that left the US west coast heading to Hawaii with no navigational gear onboard. The Coast Guard found them not too far away from their destination. When asked how they managed that they replied that they followed the contrails.
 
Thanks Rick, teacher of many useful pieces of knowledge. Next time I am looking for the way...
edit: of course, if I had looked ahead at the previous post I would have seen the pictures saving a thousand words! Ah well, tired after scouring the floors throughout the house...
 
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Arctic_Alex said:
Incredible, only 40 years ago.
I wish I had walked in those early days ...
Click to expand...
My mother-in-law walked from SJPDP as part of a group in 1985. They met Don Eliás in Santiago at the end of the walk and he signed a copy of his guidebook for Barbara. Barbara lent the book to me for my first Camino and my father-in-law gave it to me a few months ago. I half-seriously suggested making a reliquary to house it !
 
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Janet (@JWillhaus) and I walked varied terrain this year. Other than a summer camino, we walked primarily in the Snowy Range, a part of the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming.

Weather permitting, we often included a picnic in the forest.

We keep walking if the weather isn't too bad. In December, again in the Snowy Range.


Great fun even with cold and snow.

Phil
 
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And then there is Alaska. It's not local but it was fun. I know there are forum members who live in the far north and experience what I did almost daily during the winter. So here goes.


Small plane to above the Artic Circle, a first for me. Its amazing how much cargo they can haul including a few passengers.


I was able to go on a dog sled ride, it was an experience.


Four layers of merino wool and a layer of down also helped me stay warm. What an experience.

Although I was able to see the aurora borealis, my phone didn't cooperate and I didn't get an photos. It was a great experience. Not local put I did walk while there.

Phil
 
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Actually, Phil, while you are where you are, it is local!
On a side note: when I left school I was fortunate to have a chance to go on a school cruise to Nordic regions. I did not take a camera - we did not have one at home! and I said to myself: It is up to me to 'record' what I see...
 
J Willhaus said:
And then there is Alaska. It's not local but it was fun. I know there are forum members who live in the far north and experience what I did almost daily during the winter. So here goes.
Click to expand...

Glad you enjoyed it ... At least I hope you did!
 
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
That deep snow from a week and a half ago disappeared quickly but its effect is still around in that Peg took a walk ago the neighborhood shortly after my last post, slipped on the ice and fell and hurt her knee. She took a few days off and then we took some short walks on a park's dirt road (remember, the snow disappeared quickly). Yesterday it snowed again and this time, since it wasn't snowing badly, Peg went for a short walk in the woods.


Yes, Peg is in that last one. I didn't resize that picture in case you want to play Where's Waldo Wally Peg.

Here are a few non-Peg pics. I think the boulder looks agonized.


Edit: @SabsP, where I'm from we use the word slush.
 
Nicely graduated shots. Hope Peg's knee is ok now.
 
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Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
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Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
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Tuesday 16th Jan on the South Downs Way in Sussex England. Ring of trees on the remains of an ancient hill fort. Linked by an old path to other hill forts in the area.
 

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markie6 said:
Tuesday 16th Jan on the South Downs Way in Sussex England. Ring of trees on the remains of an ancient hill fort. Linked by an old path to other hill forts in the area.
Click to expand...
Hi @markie6
...is the clump of trees anywhere near Old Winchester Hill bronze age fort or the 'Devil Jumps' burial mounds? I have a video of these taken this summer past when zigzagging my way down to Lands End + beyond. Are you on a long walk too or out rambling for the day? The South Downs are wonderful....
 
Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
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No it's Chanctonbury Ring in West Sussex. Old Winchester Hill ( also beautiful ) is nearer the other end of the South Downs Way. I live in Sussex
 
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markie6 said:
No it's Chanctonbury Ring in West Sussex. Old Winchester Hill ( also beautiful ) is nearer the other end of the South Downs Way. I live in Sussex
Click to expand...
...I've just had a look on an OS map. I must have passed by Chanctonbury Ring after over-nighting at Truleigh Hill YHA.

I did see a clump of trees just like yours but thought it was a tumulus...


SDWJuly 2023

Here's a soundscape from nearby (vol= loud)

View attachment 20230708_085914.mp4

Cheers!
 
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Yes Truleigh hill is near home and that is Chanctonbury Ring in your photo same as mine. Nice vid , good sounds
 
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As a Scot in exile in Wales I am marking the birthday of our national poet by adding a lunch of haggis, neeps and tatties to my regular home-swimming pool-pub-home walk. With Bell's whisky - a tribal thing as my mother's maiden name was Bell and my grandfather loved seeing his name on the bottles! I did try substituting "Spanish" for "Scots" in the first verse of Tam O'Shanter but it doesn't scan so well....

When chapman billies leave the street,
And drouthy neebors, neebors meet,
As market-days are wearing late,
An’ folk begin to tak the gate;
While we sit bousing at the nappy,
And getting fou and unco’ happy,
We think na on the lang Scots miles,
The mosses, waters, slaps and styles,
That lie between us and our hame,
Whare sits our sulky sullen dame,
Gathering her brows like gathering storm,
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.

 
Wish I could join you. My haggis will need to wait, as my companion is not well so it is plain water and light chicken broth for her. I will get it next week though. Good old Marks and Sparks always has it on the shelves. Macsween's, of course.
sorry, meant to thank you for the verse. Takes me back to English class in secondary school, not today or yesterday.
 
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Arctic_Alex said:
But I wonder, where do you get haggis in Wales? Did you hunt it yourself? I heard they are very shy. Even more so in Welsh diaspora
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I am lucky to have a Wetherspoons pub at one end of my local cycle path. They are pretty controversial here in the UK - some love them, others hate them. I'm a fan. At this time of year they have haggis available for a week. No idea whether they are wild caught, free range or intensively farmed. Wouldn't spoil the experience by enquiring too deeply. I walked half the Olavsleden from Oslo a couple of years ago. My knees gave up near Ringebu. I made sure to try lungemos a couple of times. Pretty good but I think our version is better!

 

I might be the odd German living in Northern Scandinavia, but I do have relatives in the UK and spent a considerable amount of time working, living and pub crawling in Exeter / Devon. So I had my share of food and drink at a Wetherspoons.
While it was not my first choice for an afterwork pint with the locals or to meet for special occasions or late evenings, Wetherspoons was always a convenient place to have a drink and really decent food. Of course I prefer the tiny old pubs that have been around for generations, with greasy food and filthy bathrooms and a great authentic atmosphere, but Wetherspoons is way better than what the haters claim and sometimes a safer choice I must confess.
 
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Sun was back this week after two months absent. Picture taken from the iceroad over the river Tana, open during winter. The name Tana means like the river Donau a broad , slowfloating river.
 

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ranthr said:
Sun was back this week after two months absent. Picture taken from the iceroad over the river Tana, open during winter. The name Tana means like the river Donau a broad , slowfloating river.
Click to expand...
Deatnu / Tanaelva? I was not aware you were that far away actually. I mean, that is still much closer from my place than going to Stockholm, but still quite far (750 km)
 
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Another day, another cycle path...

I had to meet with the builder renovating my house early this morning. As the weather was particularly fine I decided to walk the 20km or so of a nearby cycle path which links Cross Hands with Llanelli using the trackbed of the old Carmarthenshire railway - claimed to be the oldest public railway in the UK but which finally closed in the late 1980s.

I joined the path at Garreg Hollt - "the Split Stone". Like Copenhagen's Little Mermaid sculpture exactly as the title says but a little underwhelming in the flesh A beautiful walk almost entirely free of traffic. Many squirrels, buzzards, red kites, a nuthatch, ravens, robins and many LBJ's. Sheep and horses in the fields. Some reminders of the line's industrial past: a former open cast coal mine now a woodland park, former marshalling yards now home to a rail preservation society, the slightly ominous ruins of a brickworks, the reservoirs which fed Llanelli's steel and tinplate industry. On the edge of town I diverted a little past the Felinfoel brewery - the first in the UK to put beer in cans! It also happens to be about a can's throw from a very odd feature: a concrete baptismal pool built in the bank of the stream which flows from the reservoirs by a local Nonconformist chapel. Not much used these days.








 

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I managed to take me to the cabin (100 k drive) yesterday so I could go for some walk on the lake this morning! ...
But as it looks the weather has turned into a snowstorm tonight, so I might be stuck here for tomorrow
 

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