Preperation.

I now have myself a new bag, new waterproof jacket, new boots, a tent, sleeping bag, wind up torch and the guide book arrived today, 1 month after I ordered it. "Through the Spanish Pyrenees: GR11" By Paul Lucia. I have heard that this book is not 100% accurate and I will not be souly relying on it. I have found a 1:250,000 OS map covering the entire route but still need to find some 1:40,000 or 1:25,000 which I would be able to take with me and hopefully use to plan a route with.
I have now e-mailed my brother in Orleans to ask for his help in organizing transport to Hendaye and back from Cadaques. It will soon be 3 months from the date I plan to depart. If I book train tickets soon then I should be able to get a cheap fare. I must soon create a facebook group and a charity page at www.justgiving.com and start the drive to raise sponsors for Sustrans and I think this will be the next step. By doing so will also mean effectively handing my notice in at work although I have already discussed this with my team leader, it may be news to the boss and everyone else.
One more problem to solve is that of food. The way I see it there are 3 options; One person I have heard of simply carried bread and cheese with them on the walks and only ate cooked food while staying at places. This could be done as bread and cheese would provide pleanty of carbohydrates and would also be easy to carry and prepare, however I intend to do some wild camping and could not rely on finding somewhere to eat properly very often. The second option is to carry a camping stove and things like sausage and beans or boil in the bag paster etc. This would be filling and not to difficult to prepare however a camping stove would add to my weight and fuel could be difficult to get hold of in places. The other option is military style ration packs which contain a light weight cooker with them and provide everything a person can need during a day or even longer in an emergency. These are large however and could take up a lot of space. It would not be possible to carry many days food at a time and replacing them could be difficult along the way as they are difficult to get hold of unless ordered. It is a problem I shall give some thought and do more research into.

The idea.

Working in a very boring and yet stressful office job and craving adventure and escape, I began to save up some money in October 2007 with the intent of getting away for sometime in the summer and finding a new job when I return.
About a month ago I began to seriously look into this. What would fulfill my passions for hiking, the countryside, photography, writing and at the same time allow me to help raise awareness of the depletion of oil and climate change? The idea of an epic journey around Europe seemed like the perfect chance and I began my research around the end of March.
After reading the inspirational blog of Iain Purdie, who walked 1000 miles across Europe and raised over £2000 for the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, I knew that a long trek was what I was going to do.
I spent several nights reading blogs, journals, guide books and studying maps and Google Earth before I read about Barrie Fairhurst and his journey across the GR11 trail. I have since been in touch with both of these people and thank them so much for their advice so far.
The GR11 is a trail running from the Atlantic on the West of the Spanish Pyrenees to the Mediterranean on the East side, a distance of around 450 miles.
It is my intent to walk the route's entire length in the months of August and September 2008 and raise money for the charity Sustrans which promotes sustainable transport and raises awareness of climate change and the depletion of oil recourses. From now on I will document my efforts in organizing and then walking the GR11. Please watch this space.