This inevitably led me to my local, friendly outdoor equipment suppliers in Betws-y-Coed, North Wales, Cotswold Outdoor. I have long valued the expertise and advice to be gleaned from the guys that work there and, in the past, have been kitted out for extended kayaking trips and ski touring in the Norwegian mountains. So it was I was there fitted out with a new Osprey Aether 70 rucksack, a pair of Salomon Quest 4D GTX boots, a Primus Eta spider stove and various other bits and pieces. The most valuable part though was the advice from James who measured me for the sack and boots, and from Dag, another staff member who had previously spent 7 months trekking through Norway. So I had plenty of worries and concerns addressed, even the more embarrassing ones, such as how to take a dump in the wild and what risks were involved. Thus I armed myself with a small plastic trowel, a set of tic removal tweezers and a mirror. I am hoping not to put the theory to the test there!!!!!
The Cotswold Outdoor Royal Oak store in Betws-y-Coed
When I decided to raise money for cancer research, I made the decision that I was going to ensure all the money donated would reach the charity. In other words, I would not use a penny of the money raised to pay for any of my expenses such as kit, travel arrangements, accommodation or food. That is a bit of an undertaking because I knew the venture was not going to be cheap. To that end, I approached Chris Hopwood, the manager of the Cotswold store, to explore the possibility of help with purchasing the gear I needed. The response from Chris was great! Full of enthusiasm for my adventure and only to happy to help out with the cost with it being for such a worthy cause and also add some of his own hard earned expertise to my growing base of knowledge. On that note, I would like to take the opportunity now to say a BIG thank you to all of them, Chris, James and Dag. In recognition of their help I will attempt, in my best amateurish pros, to give a regular update on the gear supplied and how it is holding out/performing. I also feel safer in the knowledge that the guys are there monitoring my journey and available for advise at the tap of a return key.
Chris, myself and some of the gear
And so today, after a few problems in the last week delaying the start and nearly meaning a possible postponement until next season, I finally booked my air fare with the ubiquitous Ryanair. It is what it is!!! Really though, they have come a long way since the days of the cattle stampede to board the plane. You now get allocated seats AND a very generous cabin baggage allowance. They don't, however, provide free passage for charitable expedition members! Yes, I did ask, and received a resounding "No", even though I know through experience the plane will be half empty! Or half full! I suppose that depends on your mental state. Anyway, I digress.
The plane is booked, I'm committed and am now feeling sick to my stomach with fright, anticipation, dread, excitement and a healthy spattering of fear. Can I complete the hike? I honestly don't know. Am I up to the challenge? Don't know. Am I confident? NO!! Am I stubborn enough to drag myself on bloody stumps to the front door of Trondheim cathedral? Someone very close to me would say "YEEEEES!!!"
In view of the fact I am hoping for a lot of people to be following/sponsoring me, my biggest fear is of letting people down. I know it is not going to be an easy trip, but isn't that the whole point of a pilgrimage? Isn't the pilgrimage itself a form of penance? The resounding image I have when worrying about the trip though is of my mother, half way through her cancer treatment. That I will not have to suffer the purgatory of that form of torture, otherwise known as chemo and radio therapy, which my mother and so many others have faced is a given fact. With that in mind, I am sure I can knuckle down and put my best foot forward when required.
In the meantime, however, I have packed, re-packed, weighed, re-weighed then re-packed again in a battle to reduce the weight I will be carrying on my back. Gone are the pair of trainers in favor of a pair of flip flops. Gone is the compact system camera and additional lens in favor of a compact camera. I even weighed my wallets to find the lightest!! I'm not expecting to get too much sleep tonight. I am due to arrive in Oslo tomorrow evening where I will be staying overnight with friends before starting the hike on Tuesday morning. I hope to keep updating you all on a regular basis, and for that purpose am taking with me a super heavy iPad Air and a mega 20000mah external battery, so I hope you appreciate it. I know I will face some tough times ahead, so messages of support will be greatly appreciated. You can do that by contacting me via the "Thoughts of Norway" Facebook page, my own page, "Mark Treleaven-Jones" or on my Norwegian mobile, +47 950 77 196. If my blog, or any other of my media site entries, should find their way to anyone living along the pilgrim route, and you might like to join me for a part of the path, offer me a spot to pitch a tent or even provide me with a hot meal : ), please feel free to drop me a line.
