Every year I set myself a birthday challenge – something that looks feasible from a distance but turns into a living hell close-up. Last year, I wandered across the North York Moors in an 8-hour October rainstorm (and ended up writing it up for the San Francisco Chronicle). On my birthday this year…well, I was busy. Too much writing, too much on – something had to hit the wall.

So, two months late….I’m hitting the wall.

I’m walking this:

And I’ll be sleeping in one of these:

No – the one on the right.

It’s called a bivvy bag.

Its unofficial name is “the GoreTex sack of misery“.

Here’s a photo of the last time I was at Hadrian’s Wall:

This is what it looks like in July.

Here’s when I’ll be walking it this time:

From Ronald Turnball’s magnificent Book Of The Bivvy:

“What happens when it rains?”…..The answer is surprisingly simple. What happens is, you get wet.

But everything will be fine. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

Images: paul.mcgreevy, Wikimedia Commons, Stu & Sam, Greg Pye and Mike Sowden.