Grand Canyon - rim to rim trek

Looking to do the Rim to Rim trek in the Grand Canyon - aiming for mid October, when it's not too hot.

First company we tried was Wild Land Trekking - their trips look great, but unfortunately they don't have any space on their Rim to Rim trip, and just a single space on their 7 day Kanab Creek Adventure had just a single space

www.wildlandtrekking.com


Discovery Treks only have single spaces left

www.discoverytreks.com


Pygmy Guides - have chased as they didn't answer initial query.  They replied to say that permits for Rim to Rim are sold out.

www.pygmyguides.com/grand-canyon-overnight-backpacks/


Four Seasons Guides - have chased as they didn't answer initial query.  The replied to say that their only October Rim to Rim trip with availability is at the very start of the month.

fsguides.com/rim-to-rim/


All Star Grand Canyon Tours - unfortunately don't have any availability on their Rim to Rim hikes in 2018

www.allstargrandcanyontours.com/grand-canyon-group-backpacking-trips.shtml


Grand Canyon Field Institute - unclear from their website if they do Rim to Rim trips.  They replied to my email saying that their last Rim to Rim trip is at the start of October.

www.grandcanyon.org/classes-tours/contact-the-field-institute/


Rubicon Outdoors - unfortunately don't have Rim to Rim hikes

rubiconoutdoors.com/destinations/


Backroads - unfortunately don't have Rim to Rim hikes

www.backroads.com

Just Rough In It - they will rent equipment for self guided trips (they have had their Grand Canyon NP commercial license suspended for three years, so won't be able to run trips for some time).

www.justroughinit.com



Postscript:

We ended up doing a "Packraft Rim to Rim" - where you can a little inflatable with you down from the North Rim (together with a lifejacket and paddles) ... blow it up at the bottom, and paddle across.  Then deflate it and hike out to the South Rim.

It was an amazing trip - and for a National Park that gets around six million visitors a year, it allowed us to hike in a remote location, where we only actually bumped into one person in the whole five days of hiking.

The packraft was very small (and a bit flimsy), and having to dig a hole each morning in which to defecate, wouldn't be to everybody's tastes - but this trip really does give you so much more solitude than any of the "corridor" trips that most people do.

Hill walks near London

I'm looking for some hills near London to use for some hiking training ...

I had thought about a trip to Bournemouth to take in Beachy Head and a bit of the South Downs - but then discovered that the cheapest day return fare is 30 quid - so should probably make a full day out of it, rather than just go there, walk, and return !

googling for hiking near london brought up some interesting looking options ...


the view from Leith Hill looks good
https://www.iffleyroad.com/blogs/journal/5-great-trail-runs-near-london


Box Hill is best known as a cycling hill ... but walking is also possible !
Lots of different routes / distances are possible
https://www.mapmyrun.com/gb/dorking-eng/


London Hiker has an interesting looking list - focusing on heights
http://londonhiker.com/walking-trip-ideas/biggest-hill


The ones that get mentioned everywhere are Greenwich Park, Hampstead Heath, Primrose Hill and Richmond Park

Sending luggage separately

It's not a common request amongst people I know, but I'm told it's widely used in Japan (and not just by their older citizens) ... if you want to travel without luggage there are a few options ...

One company ic called SendMyBag.com and will transport a compact 20kg bag from Ireland to the UK (and vice versa) for 25 gbp, or 29 eur if you want to pay a bit extra for the pleasure of using their irish website

The online reviews of SendMyBag are excellent.
The same can't be said for some of its competitors.

FirstLuggage.com is another company, and charge an eye watering 101 gbp to transport a 20kg bag from Ireland to the UK or an equally painful 95 gbp from UK to Ireland

Extra-baggage.com is another company that is has been mentioned - but their website appears to be down at the moment

  

Sligo to Fishguard

The ferry departs Rosslare at 08:00 and 18:10

The 18:10 departure works well for a same day journey

Depart Sligo 09:00 arriving Dublin Connolly 12:01 - time for a leisurely lunch and
Depart Dublin Connolly 13:36 arriving Rosslare Europort 16:28 - the station appears to be right at the ferry terminal.

Minimum checkin time is 30 minutes - so even if the train was late, should have plenty of time

The ferry is due into Fishguard at 21:25


On the way back the ferry departs Fishguard at 13:10 and 23:45

The 13:10 departure arrives into Rosslare at 16:25

There is a train departing at 17:40 or 17:50 on Sundays which arrives into Dublin Connolly at 20:51
Every other day it departs at 18:00 arriving into Dublin Connolly at 21:00

The last train to Sligo departs at 19:05 - so an overnight stay in Dublin would be required

The other option would be to stay overnight in Rosslare, and get the train the next morning - which would take about six and half to seven hours to Sligo.

It's worth searching the web for Stena discount codes - at the time of writing there's a 25% discount available - MELTING25

Stena also have their own "day out" fare from UK to Ireland which makes it cheaper to book a day return from the UK to Ireland for the inbound leg

Apsley to Gunnersbury

Apsley is just outside the Oyster card area - which starts at Watford Junction.

A normal through ticket from Apsley to Gunnersbury costs:
£13.60 peak
£11.50 off peak (after 9.30am)


If you were to buy a ticket from Apsley for the two stops to Watford Junction, alight at Watford and tap in using Oyster / contactless - it would save £4.20 for a peak journey and £5.00 for an off peak journey:

Apsley to Watford Junction
£5.30 peak
£4.70 off peak (after 9.30am)

Watford Junction to Gunnersbury
£4.10 peak
£1.80 off peak


Many of the routings require a change at Harrow & Wealdstone - so splitting the ticket there would be a bit easier - and would also save £3.50 for a peak journey and £2.30 for an off peak journey compared with a through ticket:

Apsley to Harrow & Wealdstone
£7.70 peak or off peak

Harrow & Wealdstone to Gunnersbury
£2.40 peak
£1.50 off peak


Another option is to buy a ticket from Apsley to Willesden Junction (where you'd have to change anyway), and then use Oyster / contactless from Willesden (where you would have to change anyway) - but the savings are just a few pence:

Apsley to Willesden Junction
£11.80 peak
£9.60  off peak

Willesden Junction to Gunnersbury
£1.70 peak
£1.50 off peak



What about the maths when buying travelcards.  A standard travelcard from Apsley to Gunnersbury costs:

7 days - £83.60 - or £8.36 per journey for a standard 10 journey week
1 month - £321.10 - or £7.65 per journey assuming a 42 journey month


A travelcard from Apsley to Harrow & Wealdstone

7 days - £57.40 - or £5.70 per journey
1 month - £220.50 - or £5.25 per journey

A travelcard from Harrow & Wealdstone (zone 5) to Gunnersbury (zone 3) doesn't exist - so you'd be using the standard Oyster fares

£2.40 peak
£1.50 off peak

A travelcard from Apsley to Watford Junction

7 days - £32.80 - or £3.28 per journey
1 month - £126.00 - or £3.00 per journey

A travelcard from Watford Junction to Gunnersbury (which needlessly includes Zone 2)

7 days - £60.10 - or £6.01 per journey
1 month - £230.80 - or £5.50 per journey


If you put Apsley to Willesden Junction into the National Rail season ticket calculator - it also offers Apsley to Willesden Junction plus London Travelcard zones 3-6, which would cover the journey from Willesden Junction to Gunnersbury (and give unlimited bus travel in London)

7 days - £88.30 - or £8.83 per journey
1 month - £339.10 - or £8.07 per journey

So whilst this is £4.70 a week more expensive than the basic travelcard - if you were to do more than three bus journeys in a week, it would work out cheaper.


If you put Apsley to Willesden Junction into the National Rail season ticket calculator - it also offers Apsley to Willesden Junction plus London Travelcard zones 2-6, which would cover the journey from Willesden Junction to Gunnersbury (and give both unlimited bus travel in London, and also trips as far as Earls Court, Shepherds Bush or Paddington)

7 days - £92.50 - or £9.25 per journey
1 month - £355.20 - or £8.46 per journey

So whilst this is £8.90 a week more expensive than the basic travelcard - if you knew you were likely to have some Zone 2 underground travel, it could be useful.


The Apsley to Willesden Junction plus London Travelcard zones 1-6 costs £111.80 per week.

Mount Kōya / Koyasan - getting there

The guidebooks say that for travellers with a Japan Rail Pass to get to Koyasan you should take a long winded route to Hashimoto (Wakayama) which takes about 2 hours from Osaka station

Everybody then has to pay 850 yen to take the Nankai line train from Hashimoto to Gokurakubashi station (from where you get the cable car to Koyasan station) - since there is no JR owned line to Gokurakubashi.

However, if you use your Japan Rail pass to get to Shinimamiya (about 17 mins from Osaka station) and then take the Nankai line from there - it costs 1260 - just 410 yen more than you would be paying anyway from Hashimoto.  And from Shinimamiya it takes about 46 minutes to Hashimoto - so about 70 mins in total from Osaka station (with a reasonable connection time).

So for the extra 410 yen, you save about 50 mins.  And since there is a gap of a couple of hours around lunchtime in the cable car service to Koyasan - those 50 mins saved may make an ever bigger difference !

Be aware that on the Nankai line - the 1260 fare does not allow you to use the "limited express" trains to Hashimoto - which require an additional 780 yen fee.  The "express" trains are marginally slower and don't require a supplement.  The extra fee may not even save you any time - it just may mean you don't need to change trains at Hashimoto.  But Hashimoto is a small station, so changing trains isn't a problem.

Japan Rail Pass - calculation

I booked a trip to Japan with just a couple of days notice - so I asked FB for advice ... and one of my friends texted me straight away to tell me to go get a Japan Rail pass before I left for Japan.

Having already looked at train travel, I'd realised that it would be expensive, so had assumed I would end up getting internal flights, as they are reasonably priced, and if you redeem points the taxes/fees are tiny.

But the Japan Rail Pass meant that I was able to cancel my internal flight, and spend a week travelling around by train.  The 7 day pass cost me 29,110 yen (188 gbp) - also available in 14 day, 21 day, child and first class variations - and for this I did the following travel (priced as individual journeys):

Tokyo - Kyoto via Nagano

9830 plus 8230 for seat reservation

Kyoto - Nara

710

Nara - Osaka

800

Osaka - Shinimamiya 

180

Osaka - Tokyo

8750 plus 5390 for seat reservation

Tokyo - Kagoshima Chuo

16410 plus 13450 for seat reservation

Tokyo - Yamanote Line loop

200 x 4

I had also planned to take a daytrip to Kawaguchiko (private line from Otsuki, so that part not covered by the JR pass) - but after a late night out in Tokyo, I decided against !

Tokyo - Otsuki (return)

1320 plus 1700 for seat reservation

1320

If I had taken the trip to Otsuki, I would have achieved a total value of 68,890 yen from my 29,110 yen Rail Pass.

If I hadn't bothered with any seat reservations (the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagano was only reserved seating, but I might have been able to take another train with unreserved carriages) I would still have gained 40,120 yen worth of value.

As it was (without the Otsuki daytrip) I achieved 64,500 yen worth of value from my 29,110 Rail Pass - so I'm quite happy with that !

As I was booking the Rail Pass at such short notice, I needed a company where I could go in and pick up the voucher (which you exchange for an actual pass in Japan) on the same day - but many of the companies want at least a day's notice.

I ended up using Japan Experience - as long as you make the payment online by 4pm, you can go into their London office and pick it up before the office closes at 6pm (Monday to Saturday).  I gave them a quick call before making the payment, just to double check that they were open, and that I would be able to pick up my Rail Pass voucher.  It was ready and waiting for me when I arrived at their office an hour later.

The Rail Pass is also available for purchase in Japan (on a trial basis, which may continue to be extended) - but for the higher price of 33,000 yen for 7 days.  Still decent value if you are making a few trips.

London to St Anton - Easter 2018

flights to Munich have gone up a bit over the last week that i've been looking - unsurprisingly :(

on Friday 30th March the cheapest is 180 gbp - that would allow a train connection
on Thursday 29th March the cheapest is 178 gbp - they had previously been 100 gbp
on Wednesday 28th March - the 100 gbp flight is still available

dep LHR 08:00
arr MUC 14:25 (via DUS)

another option would be to fly to Nuremberg on 29th March for 106 gbp - and get the train to Munich for 20 eur

dep LHR 12:10
arr NUE 17:15 (via DUS)


flights to Austria on any of these dates aren't great.

flights to Zurich on any of these dates aren't great either - the best on Friday 30th would be 155 gbp

the best value flight seems to be to Basel on Thursday 29th - there are Easjet and Ryanair flights for 77 gbp and 83 gbp

the train journey from Basel to St Anton would cost approx 62 gbp




there's a couple of Easyjet flights that are reasonable

dep MUC  21:40
arr LTN  22:45
102 gbp - excluding baggage

dep MUC  21:55
arr LGW  22:55
121 gbp - excluding baggage

or if you wanted to spend the night in Munich - flights the next day cost 54 gbp to Luton and 70 gbp to Gatwick


the cheapest late flight out of Zurich would be 194 gbp for a 21:30 departure to Gatwick.

the same flight the next evening costs 81 gbp


if staying longer - Ryanair have 10 gbp flights out of Nuremberg airport - and incredibly, train tickets are available for 30 euro on Wednesday 4th April.  journey time is just under 5 hours.

there is a flight from Salzburg to Luton on Wed 4th April for 40 gbp (dep 20:30 arr 21:35) - and the train from St Anton to Salzburg main station is available from 20 euro (some departures are more expensive)

there is a flight from Innsbruck to Gatwick in the afternoon of Wed 4th April for 62 gbp - and the train from St Anton to Innsbruck main station is available from 17 euro

there is a flight from Munich to Gatwick in the evening of Wed 4th April for 50 gbp - and the train from St Anton to Munich airport is available from 19 euro (some departures are more expensive)

Dublin to St Anton

going to St Anton for some Easter skiing ... a couple of different options:

on Friday 30th March 2018 - Ryanair to Munich

dep DUB 06:10
arr MUC 09:40
67 eur - excluding baggage fees

the 13:00 train cost 60 euro
the 15:00 train cost 45 euro
the 17:00 and 19:00 trains cost 30 euro

alternatively could flight to Zurich

with Eurowings
dep DUB 12:10
arr ZRH 18:20 (via DUS)
100 eur - excluding baggage fees

with Aer Lingus
dep DUB 07:10
arr ZRH 10:40
132 eur - excluding baggage fees

the 12:18 train (under 3 hours) costs 52 eur
the 20:18 train (3.5 hours) costs 61 eur


on Monday 2nd April 2018 - the same routes are available

dep ZRH 21:40
arr DUB  23:00
195 eur - excluding baggage fees

the 16:57 train (arriving 19:42) costs 53 euro

alternatively from Munich there's a Ryanair flight

dep MUC 21:10
arr DUB 22:40
134 eur - excluding baggage fees

or an Aer Lingus flight

dep MUC 20:25
arr DUB 21:55
165 eur - excluding baggage fees

the train timings aren't as helpful for this route, it's a longer journey and there's only a train every two hours - so it would be the 15:03 departure (arriving 18:55) for 69 eur