The Plan - A day-by- day schedule for the E4 Walk

"The best-laid schemes o' mice an men

Gang aft agley"

I might be mad but I have a plan, a schedule of where I'm going to be every day of the E4 walk (attached to this link).  Although it's almost certain to go wrong, it's necessary for the people who want to join me (my wife, Christine for example) to plan their journeys and book leave.

I'm now pretty certain about the route and the stop-overs.  The main issue has been about rest days, how many to take and where.  There is a lot of conflicting advice on this. Some people saying I should stop on a regular basis (every 2 weeks for example), while others have said "crack on" and build up contingency to cope with the things that will inevitably go wrong.

My schedule combines both approaches (typical).  It's got 10 stop-overs in places that are accessible and where it should be possible to do some essentials, getting my hair-cut for example.   I'm planning to take two days in Tarragonna because it looks such a like a nice place and there is lots to see. 

If all goes to plan I should be in Budapest by the 8th of September, which is a couple of weeks earlier than I anticipated when I started planning. I want to get well past the Alps by August, so I have two to three weeks contingency. 

I've been particularly encouraged by Nat Severs' experience on his walk around the UK coastline (great blog by the way).  Nat describes how he struggled at the beginning with 20 miles a day, but after a while found 30 miles easy.  I know Nat is 30 years younger that me, but I'm not carrying anywhere near as much as he did, and only rarely will have to do 30 miles.

Stamina, I think, is one the attributes you can hold onto as you get older (my memory went years ago).  On my recent trip to Nepal, there was a big American who, at 67, played with the Kanchenjunga, and who, a couple of years ago, climbed Aconcagua in Argentina, which is just shy of 7,000 metres.  

Well the first person I need to convince is myself, and I have a plan!

I will get to:

• Alacala la Real by the 14th of March;
• Cazorla on the 21st;
• Montanejos on the 18th of April;
• Tarragonna on the 29th of April;
• Carcassonne on the 21st of May;
• Malataverne on the 8th of June;
• Grenoble on the 18th of June;
• Konstanz on the 13th of July;
• Salzburg on the 31st of July;
• Kozeg on the 21st of August;
• Budapest on the 8th of September.

Of course all the things I will miss while I'm away are starting to become apparent.  Perhaps the best one will be the dodgy start my team usually makes to the football season - by mid-September, the mighty Spurs will be all guns blazing.

Budapest in September

E4 through Spain - missing miles

So based on the plan so far it looks like I can walk the Spanish section of the E4 in 69 days (thankfully it's not a race).  I say "plan so far" because there is a good chance that I have got (a) bits of it wrong and (b) will have to adjust it to fit in with available accommodation.

On the length of the route I have say that my calculation is a bit different to some of the others I have seen.  I make it about 1,860 kms whereas the European Ramblers Association Website has the number at 2,750.  Much of the difference is probably explained by the inclusion in the ERA figure of all the variants (for instance and extra 450 kms for both options in Andulucia) but there is still a gap.  Anyway if I'm right (I think I am) than the daily average is about 27 kms or 16 miles which sounds OK.

On accommodation there are 4 or 5 places where at the moment it looks less than straightforward. Perhaps the worst of the these are around Benali in Valencia and Segas in Catalonia - the other ones just involve leaving the trail.  None of this is enough to suggest to me that I have to carry a tent.  I want to be more specific on accommodation as I get nearer the walk - it would be nice to see if accommodation could play some part in the fund raising efforts for the walk.

I will need some rest days and at the moment I'm planning to spend a day at Alcala la Real on the northern stretch of the Andalusian GR7; a day and a night at Cazorla (which has a parador); a day and a night at Moratalla in Murcia and then go all the way to Morella in Castillon.  Walking to Morella will involve 23 days without a break and will take me through the more remote parts of Valencia.  After Morella the next rest day will be Tarrogona and then perhaps another stop at Montserrat 4 days later.  If I stick to this plan it would add another 4 days to the 69 and the walk through Spain will take a total of 73 days.

The plan is to start at the beginning of March and follow spring up through Spain.  If I start on March 1st at Tarifa than I should be in Puigcerda on the 13th of May.  As the 13th of May 2011 is a Friday than it will probably be a case of the best laid plans of mice and men etc ....