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( Mileage details behind here... )Percentage complete: 0.5% Point reached on journey: Frodo, followed by Sam, has sneaked off with the ring and we have run from Parth Galen searching for him. Attacked by orcs! Boromir mortally wounded and Merry and Pippin captured.
Where I really went... I reached Rauros Falls a couple of days ago, so as I was about to embark on the next leg of the journey, I looked for the nearest equivalent I could find locally.  Not quite the Rauros Falls, but it will have to do. :) I've photographed these falls a few times before, but I think this is the best effort so far. I wasn't hopeful because it was late afternoon and the light was already fading, but a tripod makes all the difference. Actually, I think the absence of strong sunlight helped because usually there's too much contrast between the sunlit trees above and the rocks below that are always in the shadows. Tags: eowyn challenge, exercise, walking, walking to mordor
Current Mood:  accomplished
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Next destination: IsengardMiles travelled today: 10 Miles travelled so far: 389 (1309 from Bag End) Percentage complete: 100% Point reached on journey: We have reached the lawn of Parth Galen below Amon Hen. “Rauros was calling with a great voice.” We have made camp...
Where I really went... I hadn't planned to reach Rauros Falls today. The weather forecast was not good, but I wanted to reach my destination before the end of 2009. Realising around 11 am that it wasn't actually raining, I ventured out. My plan was to do a quick cycle ride to add enough miles to put me in easy reach of the finish of this leg, which could be accomplished tomorrow. Except when I reached the point where I intended to turn round and cycle back, the weather wasn't all that bad (still no rain!) and instead I headed up the Gwynant valley, past Kings Youth Hostel and came back via Cader Road. No photos, I'm afraid, but everywhere was grey and drear. I did think a couple of times that the idea of doing the circular trip wasn't terribly bright. I had forgotten that though it wasn't all that cold down by the estuary, a few hundred feet higher, it was trying to snow, but it wasn't cold enough to freeze and the roads were clear of ice, so I persevered and eventually was rewarded with the long swoop down the hill into town. I did push the bike up most of the hills, but the extra couple of miles meant that the effort was worth it and a total of 10 miles for the day put me at Rauros Falls. :) I think I'll have a rest day tomorrow, then it's onwards to Isengard with Merry and Pippin. Tags: eowyn challenge, exercise, walking, walking to mordor
Current Mood: accomplished
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Next destination: Rauros FallsMiles travelled around London: 24 Miles travelled Christmas Day: 3 Miles travelled today: 3½ Miles travelled so far: 372 (1292 from Bag End) Miles still to go: 17 Percentage complete: 96% Point reached on journey: Just passed through the narrow chasm of the Argonath and emerged into the lake.
Where I really went... There was a brief spell of dry weather around midday and the rain/hail held off long enough for a walk down the old railway trail. As I was a bit fed up of walking the first few miles of the track, I drove to Penmaenpool and walked from there to Abergwynant and back.  ( More pictures here... )Almost back at the car, the sky turned ominously grey! I just made it to the car before the heavens opened and the hail came down!  Tags: eowyn challenge, exercise, walking, walking to mordor
Current Mood:  cheerful
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Next destination: Rauros FallsMiles travelled on Sunday: 10 Miles travelled on Monday: 1 Miles travelled today: 0 Miles travelled so far: 287½ (1207½ from Bag End) Miles still to go: 101½ Percentage complete: 74% Point reached on journey: We left the last camp site at dusk and are paddling cautiously down the river.
Where I really went... Time of day is correct as per photo, but this river is not navigable! :)  Note to self: It's no good walking 10 miles in a day if you are then lame for 2 days due to a blister and a slightly strained muscle at the back of the knee! I hadn't been out for a walk for a couple of days due to dismal weather etc, and for some reason I got the urge to do a really long walk. Probably, with hindsight, about 3 miles too long, especially as I had to keep up a fast pace because it was going dark. Anyway, the leg is more or less better today. Perhaps a short cycle ride tomorrow? In other news, I have a new walking icon, courtesy of my friend N, owner of the two collies. She sent me a couple of the photos that she'd taken on the walk up to the peat bog. Tags: eowyn challenge, exercise, walking to mordor
Current Mood:  too much to do!
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Next destination: Rauros FallsMiles travelled today: 4½ Miles travelled so far: 195½ (1115½ from Bag End) Miles still to go: 195½ Percentage complete: 50% Yes, I'm exactly half way between Lothlorien and Rauros Falls! Point reached on journey: We're still paddling along the river, which at this point swings south amid high hills.
Where I really went... Rather than paddling a boat along the foot of the hills, we climbed and climbed and climbed. Though the walk (when measured on the map) was only 4½ miles, that was two and a quarter miles of steady ascent, followed of course by two and a quarter miles of descent. :) I had actually settled in for a day attacking the in-tray, but after making some good progress in the morning, G tempted me out for a walk in the afternoon. Today we went somewhere entirely new. Rather than walking near home, we drove to an area of forest that lies beyond Corris. We've passed the sign to the car park a thousand times on the way to and from Aberystywth, but we've never turned off to explore. Well, we discovered a huge forest and lots of trails. It's not exactly exciting. One forest starts to look very much like another after a while, but there was a good view from higher up and, looking at the map, it would be possible to walk right over the top from Corris to Abergynolwyn. With a bit of pre-planning, this should be doable, so perhaps an expedition for the future? Anyway, here are a few photos...  After plodding up the forest track, the trees finally came to an end, giving a fine view of the mountains. ( ...and a few more behind here... )Tags: eowyn challenge, exercise, walking, walking to mordor
Current Mood:  tired
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Next destination: Rauros FallsMiles travelled today: 8 Miles travelled so far: 79½ (999½ from Bag End) Miles still to go: 309½ Percentage complete: 20% Point reached on journey: We're still drifting down the river. The trees are thin and the sky is grey and overcast. (So at least the weather was authentic!)
Where I really went... I went on the kickbike down the old railway track to Aberwynant I haven't ridden the kickbike for about 2 weeks, what with going away for the weekend and just getting distracted by other things, but I now seem to have found a nice steady pace, 4 kicks to each side, that I can maintain for quite a while, even going up a slight gradient into a head wind. This makes the third day in a row that I've done an exercise session and I've started to cut down on carbohydrates again. With luck I might start to lose a few pounds, which in turn should help the blood pressure. As today and yesterday were just routine local walks, I'm going to post pictures of Thursday's walk in Aberystwyth. G had to go there to receive his certificate for successfully completing the course on teaching bilingually, so after dropping him off at the posh hotel, I went back into Aber and parked in the main car park. I did a quick walk round the shops in the rain -- there is a new Pets At Home and what used to be a supermarket is now a Matalan -- then down the high street and back to the car to eat my picnic. At that point, the rain eased, so I decided to cross the river by the new pedestrian bridge and see if I could find the way up Pen Dinas. I did this walk many time when I was a student in Aber, but that was getting on for 40 years ago and my sense of direction isn't all that reliable, however, for once it did not fail me and though there were now big new houses where there used to be fields, I did find the start of the footpath up to the top. I had George the monkey with me, so I took several photos of him too. I really want to take him for a day at the seaside. I have some ideas for cute photos, but I need better weather than we're currently having. The rain just about held off for my walk, but it was spitting throughout and as you can see from the skies, more rain was on its way.  ( More photos behind here... ) Almost there! The monument at the top was to commemorate the battle of Waterloo. The site is actually an good example of a hill fort, but there really isn't anything much to see on the ground. ( Read more... )Tags: eowyn challenge, exercise, kickbike
Current Mood:  Tired but refreshed
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Next destination: Rauros FallsMiles travelled today: 4½ Miles travelled so far: 31½ (951½ from Bag End) Miles still to go: 357½ Percentage complete: 8% Point reached on journey: End of day one for the Hobbits. (My progress is really feeble compared to a real Hobbit! It's taken me 2 weeks to get to this point.) There are bare woods on both banks. The land is silent. It is misty and dusk comes early. We are about to camp in the woods on the west bank of the Silverlode. The weather is dreary and cold.
Where I really went... This was the longest expotition on the kickbike so far. It wasn't anywhere exciting though, I just went down the old railway trail to Penmaenpool and back. Thankfully I had nice weather than the Hobbits, but only just. It's been grey and overcast all day and I had to put on a sweater this morning as the thin cardigan wasn't warm enough. Anyway, I must be getting fitter because it's starting to seem easier to kick along. I seem to have developed a steady pace that I can sustain for some time and I don't swerve around as much when changing legs as I did at the start. It's still fun and as I arrived back out of breath and sweaty, it's making me work harder than the bike. The next step is to experiment with getting it into the car boot. As it has quick release wheels, it's supposed to fit. That would mean I could explore the forest and other trails that are further from home. Oooh! More variety. Tags: eowyn challenge, exercise, kickbike
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It occurs to me that I may have some new readers since I last explained about the Eowyn Challenge and walking to Mordor. It was ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) matociquala who brought this site to my attention. She started on the journey before me and is currently way ahead. Anyway, I thought it was a fun way to add interest to my exercise goals, so I set up a spreadsheet to log the mileage and set off on the long trek. As it says: Walk, run, hike, bike, blade, swim - if you can measure the distance, you can do this challenge. Keep a log, and record your daily or weekly miles and the type of exercise. I no longer post every time I progress a few more miles, unless I've reached an interesting point on the journey or I have photos of where I really went, but I'm still plodding along. Today I took the kickbike out again and managed 3 miles in 26 minutes, which I reckon is about 7 mph. That's twice as fast as I walk, though of course not as fast as I could cycle. (I was overtaken by a bike on the way back.) However, it is a more complete workout than the cycling and it adds variety, which is good because boredom is my enemy. Next destination: Rauros FallsMiles travelled today: 3 Miles travelled so far: 5 (925 from Bag End) Miles still to go: 384 Percentage complete: 1% Point reached on journey: We left Caras Galadon after breakfast. Provided with Lembas, cloaks and rope, we were guided by Haldir south and east through rolling woodlands, which fall away toward the rivers.
Where I really went... Just a quick kickbike ride to Llanelltyd and back. The weather wasn't as nice as in this photo, but it is a lovely peaceful place.  Tags: eowyn challenge, exercise, kickbike
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I haven't done one of these for a long time, but I am still logging my mileage. It looks like I will arrive in Lothlorien around my birthday, sooner if I get the bike tyres pumped up and start cycling again. Walking to Lothlorien Miles travelled today: 1 Miles travelled so far: 411 (869 from Bag End) Miles still to go: 51 Percentage complete: 89% Point reached on journey: A few miles back, we crossed the Silverlode on ropes. The Fellowship is now blindfolded as we are led along smooth paths. We can smells the trees and grass.
Where I really went... Just a quick walk around Ruthin in search of a tweed jacket for G. It was a case of third time lucky. I'd already tried to go to the shop in Porthmadog where he got the last one, only to discover it had closed at some point in the intervening years. I'd tried ordering off the Internet, but then was emailed to say that the jacket he wanted was out of stock. G hasn't seen it yet because he's working late tonight, but it's very like his current one, so should be OK. (Indeed it is! G has just arrived home and tried it on and he's delighted with it.) Here's a picture of the church in Ruthin taken from the short-stay car park.  Tags: eowyn challenge
Current Mood: accomplished
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