Hi Lloyd, I did it (N-S) with a friend a couple of years ago. We used
YHAs and travelled fairly light and did 9 days. I suffered a fairly
deep blister on a haglunds deformity (pump bump) but had a sac full of
dressings to keep it going.
Another friend of mine did it many years ago - and his achiles heel was
the same as mine. He also used a sac full of dressings to keep himself
mobile.
So, know your weaknesses and plan to manage them.
Whatever advice you take - and there is much available, my advice is to
travel as light as you can without compromising safety. Carrying a tent
etc is good for the spirit but it can become a heavy session.
We did N-S because on the map it looked downhill.
We were also 'going home' and that felt better than going 'away from
home' if you get my point.
There are some longish stretches without obvious hostels. I guess a
tent is tempting but travelling light and perhaps covering more ground
to make the overnight stops may make more sense.
I have trecked using tents also on other long(ish) trips, and getting a
shower, washing the undercarriage, and having a good night's sleep is
more rejuvenating than crawing into a wet pit.
We also used the maximum daylight available. Rising early and setting
off with first light, getting the fullest days possible, and often
getting in under torchlight after dark.
Not sure what you mean by 'about two weeks' but even if you mean 14
days you need to be sure you are not carrying anything that isn't
absolutely necessary.
I know that taking one's time, and say doing the PW in 3 weeks is more
leisurely, but Denis, my mate had a race on the Sunday (the 10th day)
and he had entered so we had to be back. (I know. I didn't speak to him
for 2 weeks when he told me (part way through the first day!!!)
Hope helpful and good luck
Peter
