UKC

Did my first proper long bushwack yesterday to bag 4 3500 footers in the Catskills of NY, USA, we did 8 peaks on the day, 19 miles, but 8 of those, over the 4 peaks of Lone, Rocky, Balsam Cap and Friday, were just bushwacking. No paths, thick conifers, Balsam and beech forest. At times we were well under 1 mile an hour on our hands and knees. Of the 3, 2 of us lost gear from the gear-pinching pines.

Really good fun though and a unique experience, especially in sub-zero temperatures and snow.

Something we rarely, if ever, need to do in the UK but makes you miss a nice trail..

Last night I was brutally tired. Certainly worth a go to experience if you ever get the chance. One of those masochistically funny days, you really need a sense of humour, as by the 20th pine branch whip to the face patience wears thin..

In reply to Roadrunner5:

-whacking, surely?!

Sounds like fun though. You didn't say how long it took, but a while, I imagine. Makes my moaning about a bit of snow in Scotland look quite feeble.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

I think we were out about 10-11 hours for the 19 miles, some of that was running. The 8 mile section took a good 6-7 hours, probably more.
We'd hit sections which you could get a jog going but then hit sections of hobble bush ( I think) or balsam when we'd just not be moving.

In reply to Roadrunner5:

My bushwacking has usually been following in the wake of Rob Woodall when peakbagging. He sometimes stays to bag a few humps and tumps in this area (whatever obscure list he is ticking off) and I stupidly agree to accompany him for a morning.
This involves him pointing up to a distant hill surrounded in dense forestry and making a bee line to the top (no messing about looking for a path or permissive route), on all fours through a sea of brambles. When the ground eventually levels out and still unable to stand up, he looks at his GPS and says "this should be about it" and down we go again - ripped to shreds.
An acquired taste.

In reply to Roadrunner5:

Las time i went bushwackin i got a suspended sentence bruv..

In reply to Moley:
Yeah one of the meironydd summits I talked to rob about on one of his recces was one of the only UK summits I could think of which needed a bushwhack.

In reply to Roadrunner5:

I managed to lose the GR20 in Corsica and bushwhacked a mile or so through the maquis. At one point I thought I might never escape. Frightening and painful in equal measure. But fun in retrospect.

In reply to Roadrunner5:

Carneddau Lago or Arenig fach, interesting route up there after the duck pool?