The first weekend of November was the annual Tyne Tour trip, although it was a first for me. Against a backdrop of snow-capped moors we ran the Tyne and the Tees with an all-night party and ceilidh in between.
Armed with the International Handbook of Technical Mountaineering, we finished the weekend playing at Gunard's Head setting up Tyrolean traverses. Then it was time for Cornish cheese before the long drive back to the Midlands.
I have done very little solo backpacking, but I had the chance to extend a work trip to Umea in Sweden by 3 days. Leading north from the city is a 39km trail know as The Tavelsjöleden. Over the two and a bit days of hiking I saw almost nobody else, and certainly didn't see the monster of the lake the route draws its name from. It was also ridiculously flat, a highlight being the summit of the region's tallest peak - Mount Tavelsjöberget at 284m!
A second trip up the Doppelsteig route on the Untersberg with Erinna. This time, without a big covering of wet snow, we completed the route!
What better hike for our first post-lockdown adventure than a trip up the Dopplersteig to the summit of Untersberg. A dusting of fresh snow was there to greet Chris on his first ascent of this iconic Salzburg mountain.
