300 days zero: the last word

Day 35-36: Phoenix from London (Planes) from Bangor (Trains) from Porthmadog (Cars)

We are done

Thanks for following us.

• Chester to Bangor, the North Wales Coast Path, 80 miles, 8 days walking.
• Beaumaris to Beaumaris, the Anglesey Island Coastal Path, 130 miles, 12 days walking.
• Bangor to Porthmadog, the Llyn Peninsula Coastal Path, 113 miles, 12 days walking (minus 1 day hook).

323 miles down, there are 557 miles left to go on the Wales Coast Path.

So, about that…

300 zeros, then a little more walking

As we walked, Kate and I spent a lot of time talking about whether we wanted to finish the rest of the Wales Coast Path. It’s been our plan for a while (Kate also wants to do the whole English Coast Path), but COVID and an AT walk put it on hold. So we weren’t sure we could make it. But I guess there’s still some life left in our legs.

And I like to finish things, whether it’s a bag of chips, a long river, or a long trail. Kate says we’ll be back to finish the rest of Wales next year, after about 300 zeros. Which, by the way, I always thought would be a good name for a section hiker: “300 zeros,” as in the number of days off until your next section begins.

We have already walked the 186 mile section of the Pembrokeshire Trail, which only leaves us with 371 miles. Easy.

If you’re a subscriber, Trek will let you know when we start publishing again next year.

Or maybe before, on a completely different path.

In the meantime, you can read my latest project, ““Thirty Days Below the Rim: A Grand Canyon Whitewater Rafting Adventure,” which just came out as an e-book on Amazon. The print edition will be out in about a week.

Lessons learned: what we would do differently

Not much, is the short answer. This was a great hike, but we managed to find a few things that could have made it more great:

• Train more/better. There’s a lot to be said for getting your legs on the trail, but I think our old knees and feet could have done better with a little more vigorous walking before the trip. Specifically, more climbing and some hiking equal to the length of our longest days on the trail.
• Stretch. Why don’t I stretch daily? Especially when hiking. Isn’t Achilles’ constant pain a sufficient reminder?
• Bike the boring parts. If you are a purist, skip to the next point. Are they gone? OK. We would have preferred to hire a bike to ride the flat, sealed paths from Chester to Rhyl/Colwyn Bay. We could have covered those 47 miles in a day and still had time to appreciate everything we saw. Next time I would consider cycling the other end of the Wales Coast Path, which runs up the Afon Severn Estuary and passes through the large towns of Swanseau and Cardiff. We’ll have to do some research on the character of that part of the trail before deciding.
• Skip breakfast at the B&B and start earlier. Expecting the earliest breakfast at 8:30am at most of our B&Bs meant we were rarely out the door before 9:30. If we took a taxi those mornings, we didn’t leave for a walk until almost 10:00. I prefer to start earlier, take more breaks and have more time to visit some of the small coves, beaches and historical sites. On the other hand, those full English and Welsh breakfasts were excellent fuel for walking.
• Limit our daily miles. I used to be able to go 20 miles without regrets. Now I think we would be more comfortable at 10 miles, which would leave more time for breaks, exploration, and writing. At a minimum, we would start with fewer miles in the first week or two.
• Take more breaks. I already said that, but it needed its own point. I need to remind myself of that.
• More days of rest. This time I scheduled a rest day between each section, which left us with up to 12 days of hiking in a row. My feet would have been happier with at least double the days of rest. Plus, we would have more time and energy to explore more interesting places we passed by.
• Lighter suitcases. I was carrying a lot of extra supplies, which didn’t make us popular with the baggage handler. Plus, those steep, narrow B&B stairs were a challenge with a large suitcase. Next time, I would choose a soft-sided gear bag long enough to carry my trekking poles retracted when I check the bag on the plane.
• Get Kate a Camelback or runner backpack. You just need a place to put your phone/camera and some water. Nothing else. We haven’t figured out what might work best. Suggestions?
• Get a lighter laptop or smart tablet that I can carry in my backpack. It would be nice to write on breaks, as would not trust my computer to the baggage handler. Suggestions? Something with a keyboard. I had a Microsoft Surface in the past and liked it. Kate uses an iPad, but I like PCs.

Lessons learned: what we wouldn’t change

Honestly, if we didn’t change anything, we’d still have a great hike. Some of the things that really worked for us included:

• Flexibility. The freedom to take an unplanned day off, skip half a day, or take a shortcut (or a side walk) really helped keep our spirits up. This is supposed to be fun, remember?
• Impurism. See above. Plus, the added benefit of irritating the purists.
• Blogs. It takes a long time, but it’s something we both enjoy. I also liked sharing it with Kate. And it can be done sitting in a comfortable chair or lying in bed.
• Celtic trails. They did a good job, rescued us more than once and answered the phone after hours. We would use them again.
• Trekking poles. We continued to receive criticism for using poles the entire trail, but I wouldn’t even consider leaving them behind. I think I did a whole AT blog on why I love my poles. Nothing has changed. I still love them.
• Shoe/sock system. Altra Olympus VI trail shoes (a size larger than usual keeps my toenails from falling out), Injinji socks, and Darn Tough wool socks. I never get blisters. Kate likes her Solomon trail shoes and only wears Darn Tough socks.

Thanks for reading

We’re glad you followed it. Thanks to those of you who commented and sent messages.

We’ve been back in Phoenix for a few days. Yesterday it was 110F. I came home to a pile of bills, an unfixed roof on a townhouse, a traffic camera ticket, and found out my driver’s license expired last October. And I’m jet-lagged in the big leagues.

Forget 300 zeros. Let’s go back tomorrow.

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