No 332 - David Lintern 500 Miles on the HRP - Part 1

You may remember the series of interviews with Chris Townsend which I released earlier on this year, where Chris was joined by David Lintern up in the Cairngorms for a series of interviews discussing conservation, writing and the art of long distance backpacking. No 321 to 323 if you're interested. Well the interviewer David Lintern himself has recently completed a 500 mile journey along the border of France and Spain, using the high mountain routes of the Pyrenees, mostly the HRP, wild camping on the way, including a week's detour into Spain and the Ordesa Canyon during the 60 days trip. This is the first part of a two part interview where he talks about the walk, his preparation, emotions and practicalities of taking 60 days off work. Please view his blog while you listen to this, which is www.selfpowered.net as it is full of images from the trip, and there plenty of eloquent, amusing and interesting observations of the people he met and the places he traveled through. In this part he describes the route and how he came, as a recent convert to lightweight backpacking, to undertake such a committed walk and the changes in emotions and approach which gradually took over.