Day 1 - Cardigan to Aberporth
Today was the first day of the Epic Hiking Fundraiser, for what was meant to be a slightly challenging 12 miles.
After the first night camping full of interupped sleep due to heavy wind and rain, I was surprised that I had to struggle to open my tent at 6am as the door was heavy with snow. Getting out to get prepped for the day was challenging for my first time ever leaving a tent to snow covered ground and ice!
I bid farewell to the fantastic hosts at the snowy Happy Campers Family Park as I left the campsite behind at 8:30am and I went on my way hoping to arrive in Aberporth by 4pm.
Getting used to walking at good pace while carrying the 20kg bag and trudging through puddles, swamp and mud, and a route diversion made it quite a challenging first day.
After a hearty breakfast at a (Tesco) cafe, I left Cardigan Castle behind and I started with what I do best. Those who hike with me know I'm prone to adding a bit of extra mileage, and taking the wrong turn at the start of the coast path meant I got my first mistake out of the way quickly.
The first few miles past Gwbert went quite quickly and I felt good. The rucksack was starting to make itself known, but as I got to fields, the bog and swamp like conditions had me focusing on other things. So far, my Mammut walking boots have done the job and kept me dry.
The rest of the walk is a similar story of quick showers, mud and seeing nobody else on the path. Heading past Mwnt, I was optimistic I was meeting the end of Day 1, but a sign saying Aberporth - 7 miles, due to a diversion, made my heart sink and the bag feel heavier again.
Still though, after another 7 miles of mud and shoulder pain getting worse, I made it to the campsite an hour earlier than I'd planned, where I was free from the shackles of my bag for the evening.
Big thank you to Pam from Happy Campers Family Park for her hospitality.
A big thank you to Mags from tonights campsite, Aberporth Cottages Sea View Camping for being so welcoming and ensuring workers fixed the showers and put a fresh gas cylinder in for me!
Now off to stretch and sleep!
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