In a state somewhere between horror and joy I went down to the garden shed and wept. Tears of joy because I know how hard it is for Julie to walk any distance due to her arthritis and you've got to admire that level of determination. Then the brief sobbing as I totted up the weight of gear I would need to be lugging about to make this trip posibble.
Thankfully Glyn-Y-Mul farm is just about accessible by train & taxi for us so I wouldn't have to haul the kit that far once we got there. It wouldn't be easy but it was do-able, besides I love her so such burdens I bear gladly. Dog in one hand, 80L pack on a trolley in the other and the Bergan on my back, me worried about Jules getting over the mud & rocks down to the woodland, Jules worried about me having a heart attack. The only thing bothering Spud of course was which tree to pee up first.
The threat of more rain had our tent up fairly quickly with the tarp for extra cover and it wasn't long before Jules was enjoying coffee & biscuits, filtering water and generally puttering about the tent making things cosy for later. Meanwhile I was allowed out to play for a while stacking rocks, chopping wood and starting a proper fire for us to cuddle up in front of that evening
Ten minutes later she chowed down a whole Naan bread bacon butty with tomato pesto for breakfast.
Then off with her camera again exploring solo. Partly because she doesn't want me to see her in pain till the meds kick in but mainly because there's no sense of wonder or discovery when somebody says 'go this way and look over there'.
Me I got down to the serious business of camp life and some whittling, waiting patiently for the radio to chirp and her voice telling me to put the kettle on for her return.
As for Spud well he spent most of trip alternating between 'Glamping' and toasting his belly in front of the fire. Hand fed nibbles on demand with his own private supply of De-Caf coffee, it's a dogs life!
