Ripon Rowel

Mission - Complete the 50 mile route of the Ripon Rowel unsupported.

 At 02.15am on the 9th March 2012 we began our mission and departed Ripon along the canal towpath heading towards Bishop Monkton. It didn't take long before we renamed the guide book we were using and aptly called it the rough guide book, no wonder it recommended that you should also take maps and a compass. The powerful head lights we were using certainly helped to locate the distant gates or styles that we needed to be heading for. Time flew by and it wasn't long before we had passed through Bishop Monkton and then onwards we travelled towards Burton Leonard. We seemed to be keeping to our preplanned schedule but it wasn't as easy as I had expected, the soft going through fields and the relentless interruptions tackling gates and styles did away with the time we were making up with the pace that we were achieving between each set of obstacles. From Burton Leonard we crossed the A61 Harrogate road to make our way to Markington which was to be our first of five pit stops. We were trying out some self heating Hotcans and after piercing the out layer of the can we swiftly changed socks and as soon as that was done our food was hot and ready for consumption. The hot can was good and easy to use but the weight of the can out did it's usefulness especially as we had them to carry. From Markington we headed back towards Ripon and the valley of the seven bridges at Studley Roger, I have been there hundreds of times to say the least and with out a doubt that was our most favourite part of the walk. After the scenic walk through Studley Roger we made our way to Masham. We made our second pitstop at Eavestone lake  this time we tested out a self heater meal which was basically a boil in the bag meal which you place in another bag with a heat pad and a small amount of water. It doesn't take long before the bag is boiling away and ready to be eaten, the food was slightly better than the Hotcan and only the weight was the weight of the food itself so we will be using the self heater meals for future treks. We eventually made it to Masham just after 3.30pm but by this time instead of the thirty five miles we should of clocked up we had almost done thirty eight miles. We took our third pitstop and with tired aching feet we set off to West Tanfield, at first the going was good which helped boost our moral as we though about making up some lost time, that soon ended as we entered the woods, ankle deep mud and roller coaster terrain slowed us down once again. The fuel we had taken on board to boost our energy was wasted on the effort we were having to put in just to maintain a three mile per hour pace, as quickly as the energy rush comes after a pitstop the quicker it departs the further you have travelled. Each mile seemed like an eternity and as we passed through the village of Mickley we found ourselves discussing  the possibility of not achieving our mission. When we made it to West Tanfield the light was fading fast and our hydration packs were empty, with eight miles to go and with it starting to rain we decided we would have to call it a day a further two miles down the road at North Stainley. Just after 6.30pm we stumbled into the Stavely Arms at North Stainley and swiftly ordered some drinks as we phoned for a taxi to take us back to our start point at Ripon. It was a sad day not being able to complete our mission but I'm sure if it was a case of life or death than we could of done it, but as it was we were better to save ourselves for another mission in the near future.
 Forty Seven miles completed unsupported and we had trekked over three hours more than what we have achieved before so at least we have something to be proud of as we look for and plan our next mission.