Diamox part 2, Malvern Hills & will all this fit into my rucksack?

This week we have decided to try "the other" Diamox, meaning the tablets I got as opposed to the bright orange capsules Paul did. After that w

e went for a trek in Malvern Hills. The day started fairly bright with an occasional light shower. We didn't encounter any rain on the hills but the wind was very, very strong and on several places I saw myself flying away towards Hereford, it was so difficult to stand on the ground.

The trek was approximately ten to eleven miles, very hilly (as you'd expect :)) but pleasant. We started in the car park under the North Hill and then went through the Worcestershire Beacon to the British Camp and then back. We didn't do the full walk over all the hills purely because of the fact there isn't any direct transport back to Great Malvern.

We tried our Buffs, which are a multipurpose headware - you can use it as a bandana, beanie, scarf, balaclava etc. etc. (more information: http://www.buffwear.co.uk/pages/product-info/ways-to-wear.php) Seems very useful although you can end up looking very silly:

And one more picture from the area:

This week there were also a few more parcels for me. I now have all my batteries, all energy bars & gels, contact lenses and a running headband, specially shaped to cover ears. We are also recommended to have some reading materials as there will be plenty of resting time (during the first few days); for this occasion I have purchased a book called "Competitive runner's handbook" which has almost 700 pages and will help me falling asleep fast during the long evenings :-)

So now I've got most of the stuff, I thought - let's try to fit it all in the rucksack. I laid out all the clothing & toiletries & other bits and bobs on the bed and it looked like this:

Lots of stuff but it's a three week trip covering various climates and any possible weather conditions. Then I tried to pack it all in my red rucksack. It did go quite well although when I was trying to put it on my back and carry around afterwards, I have almost fallen backwards... I am glad my Camelbak Commander (daypack) is quite roomy and I will be able to accommodate some more stuff there. I just need to check what luggage weight allowances we actually have for the flights!!!

Another good news is that I am (after all) getting my (swine) flu jab! I got a call from the nurse earlier this week asking me if I still wanted the jab and if so, could I please come in on Tuesday morning? :-) Wonderful. It will cost me ten quid - I guess they realised they could at least earn a few quid as these will be soon discontinued anyway...

Less than three weeks to go!