The whole point of this trip was to test my fitness after almost 2,000 miles of hiking this year.
Preperation
After a lot of hiking this year I felt pretty prepared and comfortable using a very ultra light set up. My baseweight came in at under 3kg for this hike. I only took the essentials. Nutrition was very key as I would be carrying all my food from the start. I based my meals around HUEL which was easy and lightweight. Plus less packaging/rubbish that I would need to carry for the rest of the hike. My gear and food can be seen in the pictures provided.
Unsupported
I was entirely unsupported for this hike. I carried all supplies from start to finish and followed LNT pronciples. I didn't hike with anyone. I collected water from streams which were abundant on this route.
Summary
Day 1 - Went very well. I was happy with my pace from the start. The early miles were much easier than I remembered. I only started to feel tired on the last climb up towards Helveylyn. Set up camp around 20:45. I covered approximately 3 days of hiking compared to my previous coast to coast walk, unbeliveable!
Day 2- Had a slightly later start than I had hoped for due to a poor nights sleep. The morning was really rough on my legs and feet as I finished off the final miles through the lake district. The second half of the day was much more pleasant as I headed towards the Yorkshire Dales. I decided to set up camp a little earlier tonight and get an early start the next day. Overall I was disapointed with the milage this day, but I kept telling myself the first two days were the hard part and I can make that up with the following dayss.
Day 3 - A really solid day. Managed to get a nice early start around 05:30 I believe. Heading up towards Nine Standards the sun had come out and I was loving life on trail. The climb was long and tough but I felt strong. The day turned out to be a scorcher but the easy terrain meant I was able to hit conistant milage. First blisters start to appear which I pop and plaster up that evening.
Day 4 - Game time. I had a really early start today before 04:30 I believe. I knew today was very flat so I pushed through all day with very few breaks. Lots of road walking which was boring but flat. My legs and feet arer really starting to hurt now but I push on. I was toying with the idea of walking through the night but once the sun went down I found it very hard to stay motivated. I camped up around 10:30 right on trail in the middle of nowhere up on the moors. Really happy to push over 40 miles this day.
Day 5 - The final day. I woke early, leaving just after 04:00. Despite only getting 5 hours sleep I felt strong and was very happy with my decision to sleep in the end. All morning I felt strong and able to keep a decent pace. I'm actually enjoying this. The second half of the day was a different matter. All the miles finally caught up with me and I every step was pretty much the hardest thing ever. My feet and my legs destroyed. My mind feeling okay just desperate to be done with. I had more breaks than usual this afternoon as it felt so good to be still.
Aftermath
I've ran marathons in the past where I have given it all. One huge push. This is worse. I essentially gave 4 huge pushes with one final extra huge push on the final day. My feet are twice the size as usual. I have scratches and weird spots all over my body. I gave everything to this hike.