2024
Trip No. 4 of 2024: Pembrokeshire, Wales
Destination: Pembrokeshire coast, Wales.
When: August 2024
What: A week at The Van with Steffi and Hazel.
How: Organised by Steffi.
Why: Walking! Wine! Women friends!
Trip No. 5 of 2024: Makalu Base Camp, Nepal
Destination: Makalu Base Camp in the Makalu-Barun National Park, Eastern Nepal
When: October / November 2024
What: Trekking to Makalu Base Camp (4800m) and back, via the Shipton La (4257m) and with optional trekking to advanced base camp (5500m) and Swiss Base Camp (5150m).
How: With VP’s knee still out of action, I’m going with a commercial company and settled on Jagged Globe. I’m member 6 on their Makalu Base Camp trek, flight inclusive, flying LHR-DOH-KTM and back with Qatar.
Why: Hiking high in the big mountains – Makalu is the 5th highest mountain in the world – and completing another chunk of the Great Himalayan Trail as the route starts / finishes at Num where we finished up last year’s Kangchenjunga & Lumba Sumba trek.
It’s small but significant section of the GHT as Makalu Base Camp is just the other side of the Sherpani Col (6180m) and West Col (6190m) passes from the Hongu Valley which we trekked back in 2018 to get from Mera Peak to the Amphu Lapsta pass.
2025
Trip No. 1 of 2025: “Off the Trails”, snowshoeing in Eastern Finland
Destination: Hossa National Park, Eastern Finland
When: February / March 2025 <– Similar dates to my one previous snowshoeing holiday when we encountered the Beast from the East!
What: Snowshoeing in Finland, with trains, plane and ferry to get there….
How: Upitrek’s “Off the Trails” trip, which starts / finishes in Kuusamo.
To get there we’re taking the train and ferry route to Helsinki suggested by The Man in Seat 61 (Eurostar from St Pancras to Brussels, ICE (!) train to Hamburg, sleeper train to Stockholm, overnight ferry to Helsinki), and flying Finnair from Helsinki to Kuusamo (expensive!), and having an extra night in Kuusamo before flying Finnair back to Helsinki (expensive!) and then I’m returning to London (Stansted) on Ryanair (cheap!). Plus there’s the train to / from London at the start / end.
Why: I’ve been wanting to do another snowshoe holiday for ages, and J&C from the walking club heard me extolling the delights of snowshoeing on a recent walk and invited me to join them on this trip in the snowy wilds of eastern Finland – Snow! Sauna! Ice swimming! – and taking the train and ferry route there is the icing on the cake.