Well after 7 weeks it's time to start thinking about doing this blog again and it feels like a new beginning.

 

Yesterday would have been my 9th anniversary so seemed a perfect opportunity to escape for the day and get back to what I still love rather than waste time on what I used to. The new car provided a quick getaway from this god-forsaken town and within a couple of hours I was up in the North Pennine hills. With nights drawing the Akto is a little restrictive for spending hours on end inside, but its amazing what a difference a camp fire makes. It's not just about warmth, but the ability to sit outside for an extra couple of hours before heading inside gives an extrra dimension altogether. Luckily I'd planned for the camp fire in advance, and rather than rely on finding kindling I carried my own. What better day than this to combine a new future with burning the past for good, and what makes better kindling than waste paper?

So maya dust and the wedding album in hand, and a few sizeable lumps of wood, the fire was soon underway. For the first time since getting the jetboil it was time to use the Trangia again - the pans are so much better on a fire than a jetboil mug. Next morning I remembered my Ray Mears lessons and after raking off the ashes to scatter to the wind on November 30th it was down to the task of making sure there was no trace of the fire. The stones were all rtemoved and returned to their previous resting places and the pit refilled with the extracted turf - and a final look to check all was as it should be then back off down to the Dales and Ingleborough.

 

At the moment I'm testing 2 different GPS receivers and 3 pairs of different approach shoes - so even a day off becomes work. But hopefully with the past well and truly burned now this is just the start of a new beginning.