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Tag Archives | Coast and Mountain Walkers (CMW)

Packing and planning for the best trip in Europe

By on 4 July, 2019 in Walks
One of the wonderful things about walking in Europe is the accommodation available to walkers.  Amazingly, this remote mountain refuge (Rifugio Pramparet), on stage 9 of the most beautiful walk in Europe, had the most interesting and delicious food of all rifugios on the trip!

 

Local communities and mountaineers have been walking these routes for generations. So to make it all a lot easier, they have built places to stay called rifugios (refuges). Rifugios provide bunkbed accommodation, a cooked breakfast and dinner, alcoholic beverages, cakes, and a packed lunch. To top it off you can often even get a shower … though some of them are cold!

 

All this in a cozy hut, high in the mountains surrounded by amazing beauty. The speck in the middle of this incredibly steep forest is Rifugio Vassoler:

All of these luxuries can reduce the weight of your pack to a sleeping sheet, towel, your walking snacks, toiletries, and the gear you will need for the wide range of weather and track conditions you can encounter in the mountains. But don’t forget your walking sticks – they are essential equipment for the Alta Via 1 walk which is unbelievable steep in places:

The best way to learn how to lighten your pack is by joining a bushwalking club like the Coast and Mountain Walkers (CMW) and heading out on some overnight walks with them. Super-experienced bushwalking club members, like those from CMW, have so many tips and tricks for keeping you comfortable and happy in all conditions out in nature 🙂

 

Having that kind of experience behind you means you’ll enjoy your trip so much more.  Nothing beats knowing how to thrive in the wild. It’s like opening a doorway to a world of adventure.
The other thing you can learn in a bushwalking club, is how to pack a light meal and save yourself some money for more trips like this! Then lunch can be a picnic spread out in the middle of all that beauty!
Here is where you can find a club near you that will help you discover the most beautiful places to walk in NSW, the ACT and the world: our clubs.

The most beautiful walk in Europe

By on 21 June, 2019 in Walks
One of the awesome aspects of being a member of a bushwalking club is discovering new places to walk and knowing what are the most beautiful and amazing places to explore. By joining a club walk, you often save yourself weeks of time researching destinations, maps, routes, access logistics, weather conditions and all other trip details. Amazingly, the trip leaders do this mountain of work for you – for free!
When I joined the Coast and Mountain Walkers (CMW), a Sydney-based bushwalking club specialising in overnight walks, I was looking forward to discovering fabulous new adventures within NSW. The CMW certainly didn’t let me down. They took me on stunning walks in NSW and across Australia. I was amazed and impressed. I learnt so much about how to walk, how to camp with the lightest-weight gear, as well as, of course, where to walk!

 

 

But my amazement didn’t end there, because what I wasn’t counting on was the CMW members’ amazing knowledge of walks in Europe. CMW members have walked in so many places in Europe and can tell you so much about the walks, how to get there, and how to have the best time while you are there.

 

 

Of all those fabulous walks in Europe their trips to the Dolomites, in northern Italy always seemed the most stunning. So, when I finally got the chance to go to Europe last (European) summer, a walk in the Dolomites was a must. But knowing the region doesn’t necessarily make it easier to be sure you’re going to get the absolute best walk for those precious few days you have in Europe.
To start my planning for this very special trip, I called a friend from CMW!  I asked him for walks he would recommend and he kindly shared loads of knowledge with me. He told me the best guide book to use, how to get around there using local transport, when was the best time to go, what the accommodation and food was like, what I needed to pack (and not pack), and what it was actually like being there.
I took his guidance and planned our walk. I choose to do the last six days of the Alta Via 1. These photos give you just a peek of that stunningly beautiful walk.
 

 

On the walk I ran into an old neighbour from Tasmania who had done the full Alta Via 1.  She exclaimed how the scenery just keep getting better every day.  I was delighted with yet more confirmation that my CMW guidance had paid off!
Stay tuned for more details of this amazing walk in our next newsletter! And in the meantime, find a club near you that will help you discover the most beautiful places to walk in NSW, the ACT and the world in our map of our clubs.