Devon coastal trek: the recce

At the end of May, in three weeks' time, I'm doing a solo trek from Paignton to Plymouth along the South West Coast Path. It's about 120 km end-to-end I'm planning to do this over four days. 

This will be the first time that I'll have done anything like this for over thirty years. I'd like to do this as solo and independently as reasonably possible while not outlaying a fortune on kit or breaking myself in the process. The general setup is a bivvy bag and tarp, plus a simple Trangia cooker.

Last night I did a recce, walking 6k to a field where I camped overnight and walked home again this morning. It was a super wild experience, albeit slightly marred by antisocial loud music blaring from a house several hundred metres away.

Everything fits... phew

The set-up

I learned a few valuable lessons on the way.

1. Sleeping under a tarp is different to sleeping in a tent. This was a bigger difference than I was expecting. You're covered, right? Yes, but whereas it can get quite snug in tents, there's no temperature difference under a tarp. It was cold! I slept in my clothes, and thank goodness I had packed a hat as a last-minute thought. It made the difference between being just-about-OK and miserable. Pack a running base layer hat as well as the woolly one. Likewise, take some base layers.

2. Dew is wet. Of course it is. The point being that, following point 1, that the tarp will reduce the dew fall on you and your kit but it won't eliminate it. This meant that when I packed up, a lot of stuff was a bit damp. Avoid living in wretched damp for four days!

3. Liquids are heavy. Again, obvs. I packed 3 x 1-litre water bottles and took along a couple of beers for good measure. Plus the 500 ml of meths. It was way more than I needed, but I erred on the side of caution. Walking home with just the meths remaining was so much lighter.

4. A good rucksack is a good investment. I'd bought a decent Vango one, and I was thankful for this. The pack weighted a ton when I picked it up (qv point 3), but it's well designed and it was comfortable.

5. Flat, stable surfaces are golden. I struggled to keep the cooker and my beer upright in the grassy field. Maybe I should pack a thin piece of plywood?