Paula's advice

I went for a coffee with Paula a couple of weeks ago. She's a keen walker and an accomplished ski-er. I was happy to ask her loads about equipment and routes. Her thoughts:

• use a water bladder (fancilly called "hydration systems" by a number of manufacturers) to allow regular sipping rather than cripplingly large gulping sessions every half hour.
• don't bother with waterproof trousers in warm weather.
• don't bother with poles on flat ground.

Paula lent me a couple of Leki poles (their website: "everything else is just a stick"). I'll try them out but her thoughts that they're not worth the hassle seem sensible at the moment.