Author Topic: When we hike again, will we have to change?  (Read 2693 times)

gunwharfman

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When we hike again, will we have to change?
« on: 10:58:28, 03/05/20 »
I was planning to hike and camp the Pennine Way around this time but Covi-19 got in the way. I now wonder how I might, or will have to change my 'hiking style' when I get to hike again?

My 'style' of hiking is to walk all day and finish off at a pub or restaurant in the evening. I don't carry any cooking equipment, just one small plastic plate, a small plastic cup, and a lightweight knife, fork, and spoon. During the day I just snack on cold 'finger foods' like nuts, wraps, squeezy cheese, chocolate bars, etc, and I just drink water. If the opportunity presents itself I'll have coffee and cake somewhere, maybe pop into a shop for this and that but essentially I like to eat one main meal a day and that's in the evening. I'm not a 'let's do lunch' man at all!

If pubs, coffee shops, etc are still closed or are no longer in business that will present me with a problem, I assume that the only reliable resource along the route(s) will be small shops like the Co-Op so it suggests that I will have to adapt in a number of ways. So for a start, I can see me carrying my hip flask (or two?) and getting into drinking spirits, beer will just add weight to my carry load.

I'm also thinking that I may have to carry a stove and one or two other cooking utensils, because I know I can't live off 'finger foods' every day. It suggests to me that I'm going to have to acquire some new shopping skills and to buy some new 'stuff.'

Suddenly in my head, Alston springs to mind. I can see me outside the Co-Op there, no pubs open and buying my food and wandering off to a quiet spot to cook it, or wait until I camp for the night and then do it? So it raises a question for me, do people who cook combine their cooking and eating time with their putting up tent time, or is it better to separate one task (cooking and eating, early) from the other (getting tent organised and sleeping, later)?

Have I forgotten anything?

ninthace

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #1 on: 11:04:36, 03/05/20 »
I wouldn’t have thought it would be an issue.  Pubs etc are part of our culture and will reopen in due course, probably with with some sort of distancing arrangements initially, e.g. outside seating, contactless payment, that sort of thing.
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BuzyG

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #2 on: 11:26:17, 03/05/20 »
I wouldn’t have thought it would be an issue.  Pubs etc are part of our culture and will reopen in due course, probably with with some sort of distancing arrangements initially, e.g. outside seating, contactless payment, that sort of thing.
Younger folk social distancing after a few pints.  I doubt that's ever going to occur whilst they have blood in their veins.  The exit strategy for this is going to take several months minimum, or until there is vaccine/cure.  I can see those elements of the hospitality industry, that survive, being at the back of the queue.  It's a huge problem locally in Cornwall as it is our largest industry here..
« Last Edit: 12:49:22, 03/05/20 by BuzyG »

Percy

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #3 on: 11:39:35, 03/05/20 »
In that halcyon period between Boris telling us not to go to the pub and Boris shutting the pubs, my local removed half their inside seating and went cashless.

Apache

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #4 on: 13:05:40, 03/05/20 »
Mankind has survived pandemics before, a lot more virile than this virus too, and will do so again. What is different this time is the modern insistence that nobody dies - ever.


Look at warfare over time, or the space program in the sixties. Losses were uncomfortable but not game changing. Bring that forward to the Space Shuttle losses and the whole space program gets cancelled. Warfare is waged by remote pilotless vehicles to keep the friendly body count down.


The chattering masses just have to understand that people are born and they die sometime later. The important bit is what happens in the middle.


Give it a full 2 years and I would think life will have no mandatory social distancing and pubs and restuarants that survive will be available again. Personally, it won't alter much for me as I like to be self sufficient mainly because even pie, chips and a pint is £15 upwards and I just cannot justify that spend on my hobby night after night.

It depends on the situation. If I am in a dodgy wild camp (farmers field) I eat elsewhere and put up the tent late. If it is on a site and the weather is nice then put up the tent and enjoy a slow meal. If the weather is wet put up the tent and dive inside. I eat mainly an instant carbohydrate, noodles, potato or couscous with some flavourings and sometimes protein such as tuna. Not a diet to eat endlessly for weeks but the time it takes to walk the Pennine Way no harm will be done. Breakfast will be Ready brek, raisins and dried milk with nuts, protein bar and a Snickers for during the day. Oatcakes with cheese and hot chocolate before sleeping sometimes.
« Last Edit: 13:12:47, 03/05/20 by Apache »

Jac

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #5 on: 14:00:41, 03/05/20 »
To address your question - I can't imagine stopping, unpacking equipment, setting up stove, cooking/heating food, eating, clearing up, then repacking and walking on to find a spot to pitch.

When backpacking a pitch spot was the most important and it followed that that was where we ate our meal, then relaxed til morning.

I only wish I was doing it now.
So many paths yet to walk, so little time left

motorlaunch

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #6 on: 14:37:25, 03/05/20 »
Agree with Jac. Eat hot meals where you camp up, cold snacks during the day. For me this means only needing to find a suitable water source once, at the end of the day. I will miss the extra benefits pubs and cafes provided along the way.

fernman

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #7 on: 16:08:22, 03/05/20 »
There will be no change for me. At home we eat at continental times: a late, lazy breakfast, lunch at 2:00 pm, and dinner at around 8:30 pm. So when I'm wild camping my evening meal is timed to coincide with the end of the day and the light starting to fade, that is between 8:00 and 8:45 pm at the times of the year I go. But I have occasionally packed up quickly in the morning, set off  and stopped after a while to have breakfast; this is usually when the weather has turned foul and I want to retreat to somewhere dryer or more sheltered.

SteamyTea

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #8 on: 22:24:37, 03/05/20 »
It's a huge problem locally in Cornwall as it is our largest industry here..
I think agriculture/horticulture is still the biggest earner in the country.
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Toxicbunny

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #9 on: 22:36:12, 03/05/20 »
I'm sure after some months things will go back to normal as normal can be with social distancing in place. Many of the small villages I pass on my travels thrive on the tourist trade so at some point the pubs and cafes will open. If not this year next year.
For me i have a touring caravan so once the sites reopen i will be sticking to circular walks and back to the van and cook myself until restaurants and pubs reopen on my hikes.
I had some long distance walks planned but they are on the back burner.
Who knows there may be a vaccine in the coming months.

BuzyG

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #10 on: 23:30:42, 03/05/20 »
I think agriculture/horticulture is still the biggest earner in the country.
AndFishing/Forestry apparently.


Worth a mention that someone will have to pay for all the borrowing needed to get the country through this.
« Last Edit: 09:15:38, 04/05/20 by BuzyG »

tonyk

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #11 on: 10:20:33, 04/05/20 »
 Back packing should be easy when the restrictions are eased.Carry enough lightweight food for the entire walk and the only thing you will need to find/buy is water.


 
Quote
Suddenly in my head, Alston springs to mind. I can see me outside the Co-Op there, no pubs open and buying my food and wandering off to a quiet spot to cook it, or wait until I camp for the night and then do it? So it raises a question for me, do people who cook combine their cooking and eating time with their putting up tent time, or is it better to separate one task (cooking and eating, early) from the other (getting tent organised and sleeping, later)?


 Try and get the image of Alston out of your head. ;) When you get there it might be raining.Would you want to start cooking outside in pouring rain? Adjust yourself to conditions on the ground at the time as there are somethings you can't really plan for other than having a basic Plan A and a Plan B and even these can go pear shaped as you might break your leg or be bitten by a dog on entering Alston.


Bhod

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #12 on: 13:08:03, 04/05/20 »
I was taught many years ago that shelter was my first priority, it's something I've always followed, so in effect, no, my hiking habits won't change.  I'll normally graze (eat on the go) whilst walking, only very occasionally having a lunch break and possibly a brew.  On reaching the destination on a night time my first priority is to get the tent and sleeping stuff set up, I then have at least a windfree and dry haven in which to prepare and cook my food, I've always found it easier to cook by torchlight than to set the tent up. 
If wild camping I normally carry a hip flask with me for a nightcap but if using campsites then the nearest pub will do, not such a big drinker these days so I can actually take it or leave it.  If I haven't already seen to them beforehand then  the last thing I'll do  before turning in for the night is to sort my feet out, making sure they've been washed, dried and powdered, ready for a fresh pair of socks in the morning. 

It's a routine I've got into over many years, I can't see it altering much if at all after lockdown is raised.
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fernman

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #13 on: 14:04:22, 04/05/20 »
To be quite honest, when backpacking I'm more likely to walk on past a pub, or a cafe, if there is one. A deterrent is the weight of coins I'll receive in change from my banknote, honestly! An exception, though, was a year ago when it was scorching hot, at the right time of my first morning and with a stunning view.

There have been occasions when I've been within 3/4 of a mile or less of a pub at the end of a day but I'm always too cream crackered to make the effort, while the thought of stumbling back to my wild camp in the dark isn't too appealing either. Apart from that, while many pubs have damp, dishevelled and unwashed men as customers, there will also be freshly showered and perfumed people in newly laundered clothes who I would be embarrassed to be near.     
« Last Edit: 14:07:54, 04/05/20 by fernman »

Percy

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Re: When we hike again, will we have to change?
« Reply #14 on: 15:24:32, 04/05/20 »
Apart from that, while many pubs have damp, dishevelled and unwashed men as customers, there will also be freshly showered and perfumed people in newly laundered clothes who I would be embarrassed to be near.   
When I did the coast to coast I decided, for some reason, to do Kirkby Stephen to Reeth in a single day. Over 20 miles including crossing the Pennines on a very warm day.


When I sat down in the pub in Reeth my feet were throbbing so I took my boots off. I quickly put them back on lest I put anyone off their pie.

 

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