Solo “hiking”

[ApricotDanish83]

Posting here mainly for traffic to be honest.

I’m planning a day out to Dartmoor this weekend to go on a pretty long walk up a couple of the tors. Going by myself because I have nobody to go with but I’m craving being outside 😂

the route is set to be about three and a half hours back, two hours in, and about 12 miles all together. I’m relatively fit but wha do I need to take with me??? I know I’ll need some snacks but that’s about all I can think of

Are you a walker op? The fact you’re asking what to bring would indicate may be not

What about start off with a shorter walk of maybe 5/6 miles first?

I think it avoids the firing range but I’ve checked and they’re not firing now until the beginning of November!

I’ve done a lot of long walks but never on Dartmoor, as I’ve said.

The What3Words app. Others have covered the rest. Have fun!

So you’ve done a lot of 8-10 mile solo hikes in the past?

I’ve used maps.me for walks deep into the cairngorm mountains. It’s maintained accuracy without any phone signal. It’s great for finding routes all over the place actually! I love when there’s a clear right to roam. I’ve been thinking about doing the camino… I’d love to walk along the Appalachian trail however am a bit scared of men tbh, esp the trump voting ones.

Like I’ve said I think describing it as a hike is quite generous to myself to be honest, it’s a walk. But yes I’ve done a lot of solo walking.

I’ve seen the Camino and it looks AMAZING

So it’s 2 miles longer than you usual walks

and what have you packed for those walks?

Not a lot because they’ve all been around my local area. Which is why I asked.

Oh no, I think you can describe it as a hike (and not even in the American sense 🤭). It is the highest point in Southern England after all!

Mountain rescue would much prefer a grid reference (which the OS app will give you.) There are problems with w3w - it's positively dangerous in some places. Mainly the issue is that locations with very similar sounding w3w names can be close together. For example likely.stages.sock and likely.stage.sock are a mile apart from each other, but on opposite banks of the River Clyde...

I was involved in a rescue that got badly affected by this - the location was either misspoken or misheard and rescuers ended up going to a nearby, but incorrect location.

In theory w3w locations that sound similar should be very distant from each other, so that it is obvious that the location was reported incorrectly, but this is not the case due to a fundamental flaw with the way w3w assigned location names.

A proper packed lunch, not just snacks!

Start early giving yourself loads of contingency in daylight at the end of the afternoon.

You want time to linger and enjoy the view etc. if you feel like it.

Mist can descend very quickly and weather often defies the forecast.

I have done loads of solo upland hikes. 12 miles is quite a lot. You’ll have a fantastic day, but remember that the time to decide to shorten a walk or start your return is while you are still on top of it.

The Appalachian trail looks a bit boring to me- just 2000 miles of trees! Doesn't look worth the strenuousness and danger. The Pacific Crest trail looks more interesting and varied though- have you read Wild?

Myself, I'm raring to walk the Via Francigena.

So this is quite a jump. Personally someone hiking 12 miles alone in Dartmoor having only done shorter walks in local area..,, unwise

I would suggest your cut the route

Yes, time wise I seem to do a steady 2 miles an hour on the moors. Although this does include ample time for admiring the view, having lunch and snack breaks, birdwatching and picking my way through waist high bracken/ from tussock to tussock in bogs etc...

She'll be absolutely fine.

You know the Op do you?

and can look in to the future?

Sounds great but you might want to check the forecast. The next few days are looking very unsettled and I don't know if it will carry onto the weekend. Dartmoor isn't much fun in a storm unless you are tucked up inside with a log fire!

OK. Good luck with your walk and don't forget to check back in with us, too!

You said that you were walking "this weekend" but didn't say which day. Bearing in mind shorter days, have you remembered that the clocks go back on Sunday so sunset is even earlier.

Saturday! I definitely wouldn’t head out onto the moors after Sunday for a long walk, far too dark (sadly)

I tend to walk 3-4 miles an hour as well, so my Apple Maps has estimated it to be an even shorter walk

Take a complete change of warm clothes to keep in the car. A good thermos of hot water to also keep in the car ready for when you are finished.

I know Dartmoor. I know lots and lots of inexperienced/ unfit walkers who have pushed themselves a little and covered distances they never thought they were capable of. And OP doesn't even sound that inexperienced or unfit.

A couple of years ago I led a group of friends on the Tinner's Way from St Ives to Cape Cornwall. The group included a couple of people who swore they couldn't walk more than 6 miles in a day. We covered 24 miles in 2 days.

My ex, who has to be the World's Unfittest Man, made it up to Black-a-Tor (next to High Willhays) and back, from several decades of doing nothing except sitting at a desk.

A PP says the route is all roads/ firm paths (whereas I'm used to floundering through waist high bracken following imaginary trails off the beaten track!)

I reiterate: she'll be fine.

@ApricotDanish83 have an amazing walk - you are far more prepped than I was last year when I went for a supposed 8-9 mile walk around Buxton after dropping my parents off to see something at the opera house. It was October - I had a bottle of water, my dog, proper walking boots, a waterproof, the map on my phone and that was it! Obviously (cos its me) I got lost and ended up walking about 14 miles as 1. I hadn't factored in the trek to/from the car park and 2. the map showed a path that wasn't there and I went the wrong way - three times! I was horrified just how quickly my phone battery deteriorated so would definitely advise the power bank.