In only 25 days, I start the Tankwa Camino. It is a 256 km hike through the Tankwa Karoo. It takes place over 10 days, starting at Calvinia and ending at Ceres. I fear that I am not nearly fit enough. I "wasted" 10 days of walking time while doing a locum in Ceres recently. I belong to an informal walking group that does a fairly tough hike with lots of hill climbs three times a week. We usually do about 3 to 5 km per walk at a fairly fast pace. I have been walking regularly for several months, but have only done one full day hike. The Camino takes place over mostly flat terrain on a rough gravel road and one does it at one's own pace, so I am hoping that I can do it. The organisers require a letter from a doctor if one is over 65. My doctor issued one. I also had a rabies and tetanus vaccine this week - not for the walk, but because I was bitten by a Pit Bull while doing the locum! It reminded me that I had not had any boosters for a very long time.
I am sure I am cardiovascularly fit enough. What concerns me is whether my joints - especially my knees - will stand up to the long distances day after day. I have stocked up on anti-inflammatories and glucosamine. Now to remember to take the latter regularly!
Tomorrow I am doing a locum in Cape Town, so no hiking. However, from Monday onwards I have to start increasing my daily distances. It is difficult to walk alone because the environment is not safe for a single woman. I walk round and round my neighbourhood, but it does get very boring! I considered joining a gym about 20 km from here, but they insist that I join for a year, and I really do not enjoy working out in a gym, so am not likely to use it once the walk is over. The September issue of Getaway magazine has an article about the walk - written by a young lady who did the walk with minimal preparation. She did however use state of the art everything which will cost a fortune to buy! I trust my old clothes which do not wick, vent or UV protect, will get me through. I did splurge on a Oztrail Eco swift pitch tent. Struggling with fiddly poles on my own after a long day does not appeal. I watched a few videos on folding it up again. That does look a bit tricky, but I am sure once one has the hang of it, it should be easy.
My shoes are well used, though I did buy one pair of light walking shoes a size bigger than normal as advised. Apparently one's feet swell on such a long walk. The other problem many people strugggle with, is blister formation. I will go prepared, but in my younger days when I hiked long distances in the mountians, I rarely had blisters, so I am hoping that this will once again be the case. I am taking a pair of sandals along too, just in case.
One advantage of the regular walking, and not eating any sugar, is that I have lost a few kg. I am hoping to lose a little more before the start of the walk. I am unsure what food and snacks to take with me. The organizers provide supper and some fruit daily, but walkers must provide all other meals and snacks.
I will update this blog post as the time goes on. Hopefully I will be able to report that I completed it successfully.
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