Walking in heavy rain for two and a half hours doesn’t make much sense. You don’t see much. The more time you spend outside the more of you is wet, and by the time you get home you’re cold and in need of warming up.
It’s day 57, the 11th of May. In theory Switzerland has rebooted in safe mode and we can start returning to normal life. I don’t know whether the shops or other places were busy because I didn’t go into any shops.
Today I went for a short walk in the Jura with minimal shoes and I felt fine. The shoes, despite being thin soled, felt fine on the dry dirt paths. They do get wet when walking in dew covered grass but that’s what you would expect so that’s acceptable.
When you’re wearing minimal shoes you can be barefoot or with socks but both the shoes, and socks dry quickly when there is so little fabric. That’s the bonus of minimal shoes. The other benefit is that they’re light and responsive, so I felt comfortable for the entire walk. They feel natural.
I walked with these shoes because I know the path well so I don’t worry about wondering into the unknown with shoes that are not adapted to the situation. The route is one that I know very well, thus the lack of concern about shoes.
Now is a good time to go to the mountains as there are thousands of flowers that have bloomed.
The Two Cultures
It was interesting to see the two shoe cultures today. On one side there was me, wearing thin, minimal shoes. On the other you had conventional shoes that offer a lot of cushioning. What’s interesting is that I noticed. Before wearing barefoot shoe wearing I saw a shoe as a shoe. Now I notice the difference and look and feel.
The trail gloves felt great on the walk today. So thin and light and yet perfectly comfortable. I don’t know whether wearing vapor gloves, and then trail gloves has much effect on comfort levels. I really do feel happy with the trail gloves. They’re simple, comfortable shoes. The only question to answer, now, is whether they will last 800 km of walking or not. If they do then they are a good future option.
Garmin have had challenges for years. Most of them have been about distance, or vertical climbing. Now they have new Expedition challenges. Each expedition is named after an expedition or adventure by the same name.
The Camino De Santiago challenge is a challenge to walk 784 kilometres. The Denali challenge is to climb 6190m. There are two Mont Blanc Challenges. The Mont Blanc challenge is to climb 4808 metres whilst the Mont Blanc Circular (Tour Du Mont Blanc is to walk 160 kilometres.
Due to my character I have chosen to take on the Appalachian Trail challenge. It’s 3500 kilometres of walking, approximately 4.9 million steps. So far I have completed just 17.5 kilometres of that challenge. I have walked four million four hundred and twenty three thousand steps in the last year with an average of twelve thousand six hundred per day.
In theory the challenge will take me more than a year to complete, if it wants me to walk and run the distance. If I can cycle part of it then I will complete this goal within the year.
Climbing and Stepping
At the time of writing this blog post it is possible to take on one climbing challenge at the same time as taking on one stepping challenge. Both progress bars are shown together. With climbing the progress is shown in metres, and for distance it is shown in kilometres.
Pacer Challenges
If you want to try these challenges without paying for a Garmin device Pacer has offered such challenges for years now. You pay 29 CHF per year, and you can try the Camino De Santiago and other challenges. These are based on walking distance rather than height gain.
With Garmin you get a progress bar but with pacer you get your progress shown on a map, alongside everyone else trying the same challenge at the same time. You see how you overtake or keep up with them.
A Month to Completion
I would complete most of the walking challenges within a month, except for the AT and the Camino. The climbing challenges would take me a few weeks at the moment, but if I hike in the mountains in summer then I can reach those goals within three or four hikes, depending on goals.
Frustrations
These challenges count floors climbed and steps taken, rather than distance. This means that you need to walk or run for your efforts to count. Cycling will not count. In a few weeks or months we could find that they add cycling and other challenges, as people work their way through what is already around.
Another frustration is that you can’t save the progress in one challenge, to complete another challenge, before resuming the last. The Camino and AT will take two months to over a year to complete. This means that other challenges will not be possible for that extended amount of time.
Privacy
Due to these challenges being step based, or floor climbing based, you can preserve your privacy. There is no need to track with a GPS because steps are enough. Whether you have a 96 CHF Forerunner 45S (because it’s white and less popular) or a 1200 CHF Fenix or other you’re equal.
This morning, as I was doing laundry, I found that I couldn’t focus so I started to look at all the teas that are available at a local shop. I saw that they had herb teas, mint teas, nettle teas, weed tea and more. I also noticed that tea is cheap. You can get twenty cups worth of tea for 0.95 CHF if you’re not picky about the tea you drink. What I find interesting about the broad selection and choices of tea is that it is so cheap compared to water, soft drinks, fizzy drinks, juices, coffee and more. Not only is it cheap, but it is light and easy to carry.
If I was setting off on a multiday hike I think I would transport several bags of tea, and I’d make tea. If it was in the middle of summer I would use the sun to warm up the water in which I would then put the tea, and I’d have a warm cup of tea within a few hours. If you carry fuel with you then you can boil the water, kill any bacteria and viruses and then drink it. Of course this may involve carrying more fuel than you’d like.
I noticed that some teas are cold brew, just put the bag in, wait, and within a certain period of time it’s ready. As you can tell, I have not read the instructions.
I will spend more time looking at different types of tea and I will experiment. It is easy to store, transport, and prepare. Easier than hot chocolate. This morning motivates me to be more adventurous with tea, and to find one or more that I like.
I ran my coffee experiment. I put four espressos into a single cup, and drank it, to see if I like the taste, to determine whether I would buy the grains, and a grinder. As the experiment was a success I can move ahead with that plan.
You see, pandemic life makes us eccentric. Months of solitude has that effect on our well-being.
A few months ago I walked by some nettles and I thought “it smells of mint” and today I looked up the taste of nettles and I saw that they taste of “spinach and cucumber, with a hint of mint.” I don’t mind mint and cucumber, but Spinach puts me off. Shame. It has health benefits.
We’re in day 29 of ORCA in Switzerland and I have an ever increasing desire to go for a hike. During today’s walk I listened to two podcasts about hiking and I walked yet another variant of my usual walk. Apple tree blooms are increasing in number and the Colza looks almost ready to harvest.
We’re also going into a dry summer. During this pandemic we have hardly had any rain for a month. The whole of Switzerland is either yellow, orange or red with the risk of fire. I’ve been walking outdoors with a t-shirt.
We could be under the illusion that Switzerland has beaten the virus but that’s an illusion, because the risk of a new center of contagion is possible. We have to continue self-isolating. Today two children cycled too close to me so I crossed to the opposite side of the road because they stopped and would pass me again.
Hidden among the trees in the Canton de Vaud you can find concrete blocks put there as a defensive line to slow down invading armies. The concrete blocks have a similar shape to chocolate Toblerones. There is a hiking trail that you can follow from Bassin down to the lake side. Along the way you can find concrete bunkers camouflaged as houses.
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