Hey Elli really enjoyed your TGO vlogs, great route and excellent presentation. For others if it helps I find Garmin basecamp on the go useful for sending to inreach/fenix devices / outdooractive website/app for pre planning useful too and also google earth to some extent for remote places not been before. Respect your honest video's, they have a lot of integrity. I think they are a credit to inspire all, but especially women to be brave and enjoy the great outdoors. A point to note that 99%+ of men would be disgusted at anyone making unsolicited advances anywhere, but especially in bothy's, a place of sanctuary, and would be the first to defend a female in that situation and tell the offender to shut up. Regarding wild camping a great point I often say to one of my friends (who is female) is that once your in your tent, most people coming across it would think it's a man or men anyway, be that right or wrong. A dog also means that it is impossible for anyone to get close without you being aware. Fear is the primary inhibition to stopping enjoyment and freedom so I think it's fantastic how you take a risk based approach to your walking and setups and enjoy the trail. I forgot to mention on one of your vlogs the other day you where saying about losing weight and nutrition getting enough calories in (your pre meals and resup packages are such a good idea its something i am now considering on some trips) but I find peanut butter decanted into a plastic sealable box invaluable as a nutritional high energy source, also Dates (and oddly they taste nice together to add to things when cooked). Both help with electrolytes loss too. Stay safe, injury free and good luck with your next adventure, hope your both enjoying your time at home with Otto and Partner.
Excellent summary and advice. Another tactic for route planning is to have alternate easy and harder days which gives flexibility. Also don’t be afraid to adjust routes according to weather and how you feel even if you don’t have a Foul Weather Alternative for that day. I think the ability to hike solo or to walk with different like minded people along the way is a great attraction. On my Challenges I’ve generally split my time 50/50 hiking solo and in company. Well done on completing your first Challenge.
That's excellent advice too, thank you so much for sharing :) yes, that's really great about the event, that you can walk solo or more in a group... or a mix of both :)
I'd never heard of it before but I happened to be on the train with lots of challengers getting ready to start as I headed up to start my Hebridean way trip. It looks great but I don't like to hike without my dog
Really insightful, thank you Elli 😊 The degree of route planning is intimidating, but I can completely understand why it's necessary and it's comforting knowing that experienced people have checked it, to ensure that you have the best experience. I guess that it's like having your own support team.
That's so true, yes! And as I've said in the video, the vetters showed me options that I didn't even consider which made my route even more interesting. It can be a lot in the beginning, but I feel like if you have a couple of places that you want to see, the route just slowly comes together. And after all, it's beautiful everywhere in the Highlands 😊😍
It’s worth noting that even the ‘quieter’ starting points will start with a group and separate out due to different pace, stop targets, weather and fitness. I started at Shiel Bridge and walked solo after a couple of hours. Shared my first and second night camps with small groups but was absolutely solo from day 4 although I met the occasional TGO participant.
@richardanderson9340 thank you for sharing :) I had a different experience and know from others who had too on quieter starting points, but maybe coincidence too. I didn't meet any of the 8 other challengers from the same start point and walked solo for my first 5 days....
Your attention to detail is quite impressve, but it is obviously something that you find really satisfying, and regard as extremely important to the eventual success of your hike. I totally understand that. But I do wonder how you will manage on one leg ! Joke ! Cheers. Sheffield South Yorkshire
It's stands to reason that if more men partake in serious hill walking then more men will likely take part in long distance walking events than women. Nothing to do with 'they don't want women' or any such similar nonsense!
That's not my view, but that's something I heard from other women and that's why I made this video about my experience. I don't think anyone is thinking that women are not welcome there, but still I think it's a fair question to wonder if women will stick out or will maybe feel intimitated (especially since 25% women is on the lower end for long distance hikes where there are usually more women than just 25%)... as I've explained in the video, that wasn't my experience at all, I really loved the community and I thought I might talk about it to encourage other women to register as well :)
well said, as 2x challenger fitting right in the statistical middle, I'd day that anyone using their sex or age as a reason for not entering is just looking for an excuse, it's an event for hikers. Entering the first time is scary for everyone, if you feel it's something you want to do, go for it, you will be welcome (unless you're an arsehole 🤣)
Yes, that's true - I felt very welcome and really loved it. But I can still understand that younger women especially might be wondering about the vibe of the event or maybe feel intimitated. Made this video to talk about my experience and show that there's imo nothing to 'worry' about :)
Great info Elli , and I feel more women are getting out especially younger ones and shouldn't stop them. Found that true hikers of all ages look after each other with everything. But truly nice catching up with all different people on the trails too. Take care Elli 🌷
Informative Q&A Elli 👍🏻 Appreciate the knowledge and experience you’re passing on. Very useful tips and ideas for organising a route, (even if there’s no plan to do The Great Outdoor Challenge at the moment). Looking forward to the Coast to Coast series.
Thanks a lot for this interesting Q&A and the insights you shared. Really looking forward to the coast-to-coast series.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate the kind words and you following along. That means so much!!
Hey Elli really enjoyed your TGO vlogs, great route and excellent presentation. For others if it helps I find Garmin basecamp on the go useful for sending to inreach/fenix devices / outdooractive website/app for pre planning useful too and also google earth to some extent for remote places not been before.
Respect your honest video's, they have a lot of integrity. I think they are a credit to inspire all, but especially women to be brave and enjoy the great outdoors. A point to note that 99%+ of men would be disgusted at anyone making unsolicited advances anywhere, but especially in bothy's, a place of sanctuary, and would be the first to defend a female in that situation and tell the offender to shut up. Regarding wild camping a great point I often say to one of my friends (who is female) is that once your in your tent, most people coming across it would think it's a man or men anyway, be that right or wrong. A dog also means that it is impossible for anyone to get close without you being aware. Fear is the primary inhibition to stopping enjoyment and freedom so I think it's fantastic how you take a risk based approach to your walking and setups and enjoy the trail.
I forgot to mention on one of your vlogs the other day you where saying about losing weight and nutrition getting enough calories in (your pre meals and resup packages are such a good idea its something i am now considering on some trips) but I find peanut butter decanted into a plastic sealable box invaluable as a nutritional high energy source, also Dates (and oddly they taste nice together to add to things when cooked). Both help with electrolytes loss too.
Stay safe, injury free and good luck with your next adventure, hope your both enjoying your time at home with Otto and Partner.
Excellent summary and advice. Another tactic for route planning is to have alternate easy and harder days which gives flexibility. Also don’t be afraid to adjust routes according to weather and how you feel even if you don’t have a Foul Weather Alternative for that day. I think the ability to hike solo or to walk with different like minded people along the way is a great attraction. On my Challenges I’ve generally split my time 50/50 hiking solo and in company. Well done on completing your first Challenge.
That's excellent advice too, thank you so much for sharing :) yes, that's really great about the event, that you can walk solo or more in a group... or a mix of both :)
Hi Elli. Looking forward to your coast to coast series. Hope you got better weather on the Lake district section xx
Thank you so much for following along. Hope you're going to enjoy the C2C videos, we had such a great time 🥰🥰
I'd never heard of it before but I happened to be on the train with lots of challengers getting ready to start as I headed up to start my Hebridean way trip. It looks great but I don't like to hike without my dog
Really insightful, thank you Elli 😊 The degree of route planning is intimidating, but I can completely understand why it's necessary and it's comforting knowing that experienced people have checked it, to ensure that you have the best experience. I guess that it's like having your own support team.
That's so true, yes! And as I've said in the video, the vetters showed me options that I didn't even consider which made my route even more interesting. It can be a lot in the beginning, but I feel like if you have a couple of places that you want to see, the route just slowly comes together. And after all, it's beautiful everywhere in the Highlands 😊😍
Thank you for this video, I'm really interested in such events, but haven't done any yet. Lots of useful info!
Aww, really happy to read that. Thank you so much 😊
Very interesting video.
It’s worth noting that even the ‘quieter’ starting points will start with a group and separate out due to different pace, stop targets, weather and fitness. I started at Shiel Bridge and walked solo after a couple of hours. Shared my first and second night camps with small groups but was absolutely solo from day 4 although I met the occasional TGO participant.
@richardanderson9340 thank you for sharing :) I had a different experience and know from others who had too on quieter starting points, but maybe coincidence too. I didn't meet any of the 8 other challengers from the same start point and walked solo for my first 5 days....
@@ellihikes I’m rethinking my choices for this year based on your comments about Oban and Mallaig 😱
Well done, Ellie
I have loved this whole series and loved the Q&A - feeling very inspired :)
Your attention to detail is quite impressve, but it is obviously something that you find really satisfying, and regard as extremely important to the eventual success of your hike. I totally understand that. But I do wonder how you will manage on one leg ! Joke ! Cheers. Sheffield South Yorkshire
It's stands to reason that if more men partake in serious hill walking then more men will likely take part in long distance walking events than women. Nothing to do with 'they don't want women' or any such similar nonsense!
That's not my view, but that's something I heard from other women and that's why I made this video about my experience. I don't think anyone is thinking that women are not welcome there, but still I think it's a fair question to wonder if women will stick out or will maybe feel intimitated (especially since 25% women is on the lower end for long distance hikes where there are usually more women than just 25%)... as I've explained in the video, that wasn't my experience at all, I really loved the community and I thought I might talk about it to encourage other women to register as well :)
First comment! 😊
Well done Elli! Great video's and they keep getting better nd better awesome young lady 😉
well said, as 2x challenger fitting right in the statistical middle, I'd day that anyone using their sex or age as a reason for not entering is just looking for an excuse, it's an event for hikers. Entering the first time is scary for everyone, if you feel it's something you want to do, go for it, you will be welcome (unless you're an arsehole 🤣)
Yes, that's true - I felt very welcome and really loved it. But I can still understand that younger women especially might be wondering about the vibe of the event or maybe feel intimitated. Made this video to talk about my experience and show that there's imo nothing to 'worry' about :)
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I’m really looking forward to the Coast to Coast series as I’m planning on doing that next summer 😊
Great info Elli , and I feel more women are getting out especially younger ones and shouldn't stop them. Found that true hikers of all ages look after each other with everything. But truly nice catching up with all different people on the trails too. Take care Elli 🌷
Informative Q&A Elli 👍🏻
Appreciate the knowledge and experience you’re passing on. Very useful tips and ideas for organising a route, (even if there’s no plan to do The Great Outdoor Challenge at the moment). Looking forward to the Coast to Coast series.
Super Elli ❤ vivement la suite 🇧🇪👍