Cape Town - So what do you think about when you’re striding out on a 2 500km, 123-day pilgrimage?
If your name was Geoff Dalglish, you’d have been thinking a lot about wolves, and specifically about being a wolf yourself.
Actually, that’s not as surprising as it may sound, because this well-known motoring journalist-turned-conservationist undertook his recent pilgrimage from the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland to the ancient Spanish university city of Salamanca precisely to highlight the campaign to recreate Europe’s wild spaces, where sustainable wolf populations and other indigenous fauna can be re-established and thrive.
His route took him through some key wolf and wildlife habitat, including over four major mountain ranges – the Alps, Grand Massive, Pyrenees and Cantabrians – and through natural habitats in six countries.
He was walking as a “wild ambassador” for the Rewilding Europe campaign that was a major theme of the World Wilderness Congress, Wild10, in Salamanca, and his route was planned to coincide as far as possible with natural corridors and animal migration routes that would typically be used by wolves in the wild.
And yes, he eventually got to see them, although he had to cover hundreds of kilometres before this happened, and his first sighting of one of these highly elusive creatures was through a telescope.
“It took me a long time to actually see my first wolf and it was a long, long way away. But I always tried to imagine that I was a wolf, and I tried to think of the problems that a predator like that faces at the hands of humanity.”
He also saw other big animals that are also making a comeback in Europe, partly because of changing social patterns that see rural areas becoming depopulated as marginal farming lands are abandoned.
The best wolf sightings were during his fourth month of walking, while in Spain, and in fact the greatest concentration of grey wolves in southern Europe is in north-western Spain and in northern Portugal, he said.
“I also saw bears in the wild, and species like Ibex up close at times. That was exciting because I’m not familiar with these animals; I also had wonderful sightings of vultures and eagles that were really amazing.”
During his epic walk Dalglish, who turns 65 next month, spent many nights camping, although he also stayed in B&Bs and similar establishments. “I’d say the most enjoyable nights were the ones where I was in wild areas, in either national parks or in natural parks, because Europe has a lot of natural parks.”
He walked alone during the first half of a pilgrimage that took him through Switzerland, Italy, France and Andorra. He was then joined by John Horler, his good friend from Cape Town, and they walked together for the last two months through Portugal and Spain, arriving in Salamanca just before the start of Wild10 last Thursday.
There were many highlights during the 123 days, but “funnily enough” – given the nature of his walk – a number of these involved people, he recalls. “People were astonishingly kind and generous. I was a bit nervous about walking across countries where I didn’t speak the languages, yet the generosity of strangers was awesome.
But he also loved those periods when he was hiking daily alongside streams and waterfalls, he says.
“A couple of times I got a little bit lost and in one area in the Vercors Regional Natural Park in France that is quite wild and has very limited water, I became a bit anxious about finding springs. They were the only source of water, and if you missed a spring you could be in a bit of trouble.
L
ow points included “quite a lot of pain”, particularly in his feet – which he attributes to carrying a load of about 20kg that he says was too heavy. He wore a big pack on his back and a smaller one on his chest.
Another low point was being caught out overnight in a vicious storm – but he’s quick to acknowledge this was entirely his own fault.
“One night I was yearning for nature because I’d been working through a lot of villages and other civilisation. And then I got into a very wild area, and I was determined to sleep out. I knew there’d be a storm but I was just being bloody-minded, and I slept it out anyway, and it was horrible! I had a dreadful night!
On another evening, when he wasn’t quite sure of his location, he found himself walking along a ridge during a thunderstorm. “There was a lot of lightning. I was very exposed on ice and snow and I was quite scared there because I was so alone.
Has he had a good response to his walk and to the campaign he was promoting?
“I hope so, I believe so, because some of the people I’ve met in Salamanca have been following my blogs and they’re very excited.
“I think they feel it’s confirmation that this comeback of wildlife is happening.
He’s also delighted to find that there’s now a motivation to turn his walk, or at least parts of it, into a formal hiking route.
“I can imagine some sections will be fabulous, although some of the connectors between the mountain ranges would be tedious for people, and of course not everyone has four or five months to be able to do this.
“It must be unbelievably hard for the animals to stay alive in some of those areas. You know, I’m filled with total admiration for these creatures and their survival instincts.” - Cape Argus
l John Yeld’s attendance at Wild-10 is being sponsored by the Hans Hoheisen Trust.