We were delighted to welcome friends and supporters to our meeting of 13th February. The Rockies restaurant put on a very enjoyable buffet meal for these staunch allies, who had helped us run the ‘Christmas Post’ - and no doubt put in a good many miles as ‘Posties’. 

But perhaps not as many as our speaker, local adventurer Ewan Archibald - also known as ‘Aquaman’ who provided a fascinating illustrated talk about his marathon walk along the Pacific Crest Trail in American. The nickname apparently due to his consumption of water - hardly surprising considering the 2653 miles and 13,155 feet in elevation, of this trail along the Eastern seaboard - often in hot desert conditions.

We heard of Tehachapi - a city in the Tehachapi Mountains of southern California and the Tehachapi Loop, a long, spiral section of railway track.

Ewan had brought with him his kit - tent, sleeping bag, stove, water filter and shoes. 5 pairs of shoes worn out! It was good to hear that his kit was mostly from UK companies, and interesting to gain an insight to his diet. High calorie, often slow cooked in the heat of the sun and with a predominance of coffee, oatmeal, ramen noodles and cheese. 5 - 6.5 kcals a day! To sustain an average of 23 miles each day.

We heard of the importance of friendships formed, of altitude sickness, of wildlife including bears and snakes - and of the high fall out rate of people attempting this challenge.

And the next challenge? - perhaps the Circumference Trail of the North Sea. Completely awe inspiring and worthy of the warm thanks and appreciation for contributing so greatly to a very pleasant evening.