Between our training for mountain leader and assessment we are expected to complete 20 quality mountain days, in a variety of settings and conditions. Saturday was booked into our diary for a Quality mountain day since Easter, it being the only Saturday free for a long period. We had planned to go to the Black mountains, not to do a massive walk, but to practice navigational skills and rope work. Leading up to the big day we were following the forecast which indicated drizzly weather with relatively low visibility – perfect for practicing navigation on a QMD.
I had been fighting high pain since our mountain leader training and it was just starting to lift. We considered weather a walk at this point would be beneficial or a further hinderance to my full recovery. I had purposely gone on very short walks everyday after work to help rebuild a resilience. We looked at the map, considered routes and decided to give it a shot. I was getting cabin fever from not getting out on the hills and this would have been an incredibly beneficial thing to do.
We arrived at a car park just outside of Abergavenny at 9am then started our journey by walking up through a damp valley with moss lined stones. The senses being stimulated by the sweet smell of wild garlic and scent of damp woodland floor along with the sound of the beautiful chorus coming from several birds. All of these things fighting for my attention working as a delightful distraction from my pain.
As we came out of the forest we were blown away by the incredible blue bell carpets that were laid out in front of us. The purity in the colours of the blue bells, green grass and the white of the hawthorn blossom were vibrant colours of spring and new life. We chose at this point to traverse around the hill rather than heading straight to the top and following several others in that grooling ascent. This way promised several breath taking views across the black mountains and Breacon Beacons.
As we walked this we were accompanied by the soundtrack of the cookoo echoing through the valley and rolling off the hill. Turning back on ourselves to zigzag across a little higher on the hill didn’t feel like a time waster, but it felt like we were taking in the most beautiful parts of Blorenge. Intricately getting to know every delightful scene, smell and sound that it had to offer. As we sat eating our morning snack looking down over Abbergaveny we were only 2 km from the car as the crow flies. We could see the car park through the woodland. We had been walking for 2 hrs. Our day was clearly a slow and steady day in the hills 
Starting again after our snack felt very hard. We were starting to come off of the tracks with the intention of navigating to points we had chosen the evening before. Laurie shot off ahead of me as I slowly made my way behind him. As a form of distraction I marvelled over all the new ferns that were shooting out of the ground some still curled and others showing off the beauty and majesty of their fractals.
My mind wondered off onto mathematics and how it was found in the things around me inspiring new art projects. What an awe inspiring creation the world is!
Eventually, I found myself at the top trying to navigate to a contour point. After successfully getting to the point we sat and ate lunch on a ridge enjoying the views over Abergavenny and the mountains beyond with the majestic red kites soaring overhead.
Now the walk took a bit of a uturn in enjoyment levels as we found ourselves tracking through heather and high tufts of grass making our footing very uncertain and every step a bigger strain on my back and hips. We managed to locate the 2 points we were navigating too, but when it became time to find our footpath back and off the hill, we couldn’t find it. Due to grouse farming in the area the public footpath had been covered meaning we had no chose other than back track thus adding more kms to our total walk.
At this point, my neck had started to stiffen and my head started to feel like It was going to implode. I knew I’d done too much and I was going to suffer for it once again. We were entertaining some friends that evening so it became important to get back to the car and rest. We needed a quick walk off the hill so we decided to get ourselves onto the canal, giving us a nice easy 2.5km flat walking to the car. The route had us walking down through a woodland, which had clearly struggled in the high winds of the Spring, we had to climb up and over a fallen tree. I slipped and fell gracfully and slid down the tree grazing along both arms and causing some minor bruising- yet another fall caused by walking too far. Once we met the canal we were gavin a real insight into the history of Wales. The canals would have been the industrial corridor for lime, limestone, timber, coal and iron. The canals were very narrow leaving little room for the moving stones from place to place. 
It offered us a very peaceful walk in the beautiful scenery. A far cry from how it would have felt in its 19th century heyday when it was supported by horse-drawn tramroads bringing these raw materials from the hillsides. At the end of the canal we were back to the carpark. I was quick to get my boots off and sit into the passenger seat to power nap on the way home so I was in a good position to be a good host in 3 hours time.
Walking to health; the challenge 