September 15th 2014 - 32 Days to go
It's the final stretch and time for all the emotions to kick in, excitement, apprehension, nerves, am I fit enough? Contact has now been made with all the group and it's fair to say we are all feeling the same but all very determined.
I was sick of waiting for my local surgery to sort out an appointment for my vaccinations so dropped into the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and walked out half an hour later with vaccinations for Diphtheria, Polio, Hepatitis A, Typhoid and Tetanus together with a box of anti-malaria tablets. For good measure Dr Doug, our trek doctor, recommended speaking to our GP's about Diamox. He takes it on these trips and find it helps ease the symptoms of altitude sickness. I now have a prescription for that so fingers crossed it will help on the trip. My doctor did question why I was taking on Kilimanjaro and suggested I take up Taekwondo instead. I took that as a positive as last time I saw him he told me it was about time I grew up.
My mindset has changed whilst out walking now. I had a bit of a go at Tryfan at Ogwen in Snowdonia. The guide didn't really fully explain the difficulty of the path. That is, there is no path or even a discernible trail it is more or less a constant scramble up a rocky face. I would see people working their way up in all sorts of directions so it wasn't even possible to know which was the best way. I got to about 2-300ft from the top and gave in. Not out of fatigue but because I didn't want to risk injury this close to the big one. Working my way down again by the same route, sort of, I met a small group working their way up. After a short chat one of the group informed me that if I had persevered to the top there was an easier way down the other side, perfect!!. It was a good workout though.
Last weekend was my biggest test yet. I had booked myself on to the Lakes 5 Peaks Challenge promised as a 10-12 hour trek across Crinkle Crags, Bow Fell, Esk Pike, Great End and finally Scafell Pike, the highest point in England. An even bigger test was that I would be camping the night before, a first for me.
Unfortunately due to traffic problems my 3 fellow trekkers Russell, his wife Jackie and their friend James didn't arrive until well after dark; and so introductions were tricky as we could only see each others head torches. After a prolonged period of giggling from Jackie as space was fought over in the tent she shared with Russell and James I did get a good nights sleep. I wouldn't actually say it was comfortable or that I enjoyed the experience but at least I know what to expect now. Also, that I need to prepare the poor sap who will be sharing with me for regular bouts of snoring. Tom, our guide said he though Darth Vader had arrived.
I was up at 5.30 while the rest of the group had a lie in until about 6.30. The camp site was very eerie shrouded in mist and hardly a sound. A quick breakfast, I even risked a coffee to get a caffeine boost, some sage advice from Tom about the need to use the loo before we left, packed away the tents and we all piled into Tom's car to get to the start of the trek. Some quick introductions to each other about why we were doing it and do's and don'ts from Tom and we were ready to go. Further instructions about the loo, 'there is a leave no trace policy' so if we need to go once we are on the trek tough, hold it in. Going for a pee is okay though.
We set off in bright sunshine, but with a bit of a morning chill, on a nice flat path to get our legs warmed up. Tom warned us that the day involved some brutal climbs and a brutal descent with a sting in the tail. He had final say on whether we changed route, cut it short and if one person needed to stop for injury that was it for all of us. However, with some good advice about pacing, and his opinion that small groups were better, he was confident we would enjoy the day.
We reached the first 'brutal climb' up to Crinkle Crags and all I could think about to start with was that despite all the training I am the oldest in the group and I have not done anything this hard before, I didn't want to be the one that let the group down. However, everyone had been training and preparing for this so we we were all in the same boat. Half way up the first climb we had to take layers off as were were already getting hot, James also had to take on some pain killers for a problem he had before we started, no suggestion of not completing the trek though.
It became apparent that the previous nights giggling was no one off. Jackie had bouts of giggling almost from the off and this was to prove a real asset as we got longer into the day. The climb up to Crinkle Crags was achieved successfully with everyone feeling fresh. Tom was then able to describe the landscape to us and show how the whole route looked. Scafell Pike looked a long long way away.
Setting off down the trek was a good opportunity for us to get to know each other a bit more before we started the next ascent to Bow Fell. This wasn't as difficult but there were a couple of steep sections. We reached the top successfully and had a bit of rest while we took on some fuel. Jackie had developed a small blister and the first appearance of Compeed led to another fit of the giggles, it wasn't going to be the last. Here we caught up with a much larger group of people raising money for the London Air Ambulance and we would come across them several times. 2 down.
We set off to Esk Pike across some tricky terrain, by this time the descents started to impact on the knees. Tom gave some great advice on how to minimise the impact which I kept in mind all day as I studiously failed to heed it. Again the climb to Esk Pike had some steep bits but in shorter bursts, not as tough as Crinkle Crags. We arrived at Crinkle Crags with a good photo opportunity at the highest point and then headed off to find a spot to get some lunch.
With 3 down I was feeling very fresh and confident that I could do this. James had developed a couple of blisters, cue the reappearance of Compeed. Tom warned us that the climb to Scafell Pike was deceptively longer than it looked from where we were sitting so reminded us of the need to pace ourselves. Apart from a couple of blisters and some painkillers we were all feeling good about our chances. Tom was pleasantly surprised that so far none of us had uttered a single negative word about the trek, he was used to that happening before reaching the top of Crinkle Crags. He was confident we could all do it.
Setting off to Great End we were all relaxed enough to be chatting about great TV series we liked, Tom shared some stories from other treks, domestic disputes and punch-ups included. So with the pressure now on Russell and Jackie to avoid the domestic dispute trap we neared Great End. As we reached the summit there were spectacular, if a little hazy, views across great swathes of the Lake District. Personally, I found the climb to Great End the easiest part of the day.
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I was sick of waiting for my local surgery to sort out an appointment for my vaccinations so dropped into the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and walked out half an hour later with vaccinations for Diphtheria, Polio, Hepatitis A, Typhoid and Tetanus together with a box of anti-malaria tablets. For good measure Dr Doug, our trek doctor, recommended speaking to our GP's about Diamox. He takes it on these trips and find it helps ease the symptoms of altitude sickness. I now have a prescription for that so fingers crossed it will help on the trip. My doctor did question why I was taking on Kilimanjaro and suggested I take up Taekwondo instead. I took that as a positive as last time I saw him he told me it was about time I grew up.
My mindset has changed whilst out walking now. I had a bit of a go at Tryfan at Ogwen in Snowdonia. The guide didn't really fully explain the difficulty of the path. That is, there is no path or even a discernible trail it is more or less a constant scramble up a rocky face. I would see people working their way up in all sorts of directions so it wasn't even possible to know which was the best way. I got to about 2-300ft from the top and gave in. Not out of fatigue but because I didn't want to risk injury this close to the big one. Working my way down again by the same route, sort of, I met a small group working their way up. After a short chat one of the group informed me that if I had persevered to the top there was an easier way down the other side, perfect!!. It was a good workout though.
Last weekend was my biggest test yet. I had booked myself on to the Lakes 5 Peaks Challenge promised as a 10-12 hour trek across Crinkle Crags, Bow Fell, Esk Pike, Great End and finally Scafell Pike, the highest point in England. An even bigger test was that I would be camping the night before, a first for me.
Unfortunately due to traffic problems my 3 fellow trekkers Russell, his wife Jackie and their friend James didn't arrive until well after dark; and so introductions were tricky as we could only see each others head torches. After a prolonged period of giggling from Jackie as space was fought over in the tent she shared with Russell and James I did get a good nights sleep. I wouldn't actually say it was comfortable or that I enjoyed the experience but at least I know what to expect now. Also, that I need to prepare the poor sap who will be sharing with me for regular bouts of snoring. Tom, our guide said he though Darth Vader had arrived.
I was up at 5.30 while the rest of the group had a lie in until about 6.30. The camp site was very eerie shrouded in mist and hardly a sound. A quick breakfast, I even risked a coffee to get a caffeine boost, some sage advice from Tom about the need to use the loo before we left, packed away the tents and we all piled into Tom's car to get to the start of the trek. Some quick introductions to each other about why we were doing it and do's and don'ts from Tom and we were ready to go. Further instructions about the loo, 'there is a leave no trace policy' so if we need to go once we are on the trek tough, hold it in. Going for a pee is okay though.
We set off in bright sunshine, but with a bit of a morning chill, on a nice flat path to get our legs warmed up. Tom warned us that the day involved some brutal climbs and a brutal descent with a sting in the tail. He had final say on whether we changed route, cut it short and if one person needed to stop for injury that was it for all of us. However, with some good advice about pacing, and his opinion that small groups were better, he was confident we would enjoy the day.
We reached the first 'brutal climb' up to Crinkle Crags and all I could think about to start with was that despite all the training I am the oldest in the group and I have not done anything this hard before, I didn't want to be the one that let the group down. However, everyone had been training and preparing for this so we we were all in the same boat. Half way up the first climb we had to take layers off as were were already getting hot, James also had to take on some pain killers for a problem he had before we started, no suggestion of not completing the trek though.
It became apparent that the previous nights giggling was no one off. Jackie had bouts of giggling almost from the off and this was to prove a real asset as we got longer into the day. The climb up to Crinkle Crags was achieved successfully with everyone feeling fresh. Tom was then able to describe the landscape to us and show how the whole route looked. Scafell Pike looked a long long way away.
Setting off down the trek was a good opportunity for us to get to know each other a bit more before we started the next ascent to Bow Fell. This wasn't as difficult but there were a couple of steep sections. We reached the top successfully and had a bit of rest while we took on some fuel. Jackie had developed a small blister and the first appearance of Compeed led to another fit of the giggles, it wasn't going to be the last. Here we caught up with a much larger group of people raising money for the London Air Ambulance and we would come across them several times. 2 down.
We set off to Esk Pike across some tricky terrain, by this time the descents started to impact on the knees. Tom gave some great advice on how to minimise the impact which I kept in mind all day as I studiously failed to heed it. Again the climb to Esk Pike had some steep bits but in shorter bursts, not as tough as Crinkle Crags. We arrived at Crinkle Crags with a good photo opportunity at the highest point and then headed off to find a spot to get some lunch.
With 3 down I was feeling very fresh and confident that I could do this. James had developed a couple of blisters, cue the reappearance of Compeed. Tom warned us that the climb to Scafell Pike was deceptively longer than it looked from where we were sitting so reminded us of the need to pace ourselves. Apart from a couple of blisters and some painkillers we were all feeling good about our chances. Tom was pleasantly surprised that so far none of us had uttered a single negative word about the trek, he was used to that happening before reaching the top of Crinkle Crags. He was confident we could all do it.
Setting off to Great End we were all relaxed enough to be chatting about great TV series we liked, Tom shared some stories from other treks, domestic disputes and punch-ups included. So with the pressure now on Russell and Jackie to avoid the domestic dispute trap we neared Great End. As we reached the summit there were spectacular, if a little hazy, views across great swathes of the Lake District. Personally, I found the climb to Great End the easiest part of the day.
Next stop Scafell Pike. With spirits still high Tom warned us that we had a climb and a descent before we got to Scafell Pike so there was still a need to be careful about pacing. Off we went and as we set off up the first part of the climb we took the opportunity to fill up on energy bars and gels. Not the greatest tasting things in the world but they proved to be invaluable. The climb to Scafell Pike crossed some tricky sections where balance is everything as you ascend and descend across a boulder field. As we crossed the final descent before Scafell Pike Jackie and I were both thinking how steep that final climb looked. We took the opportunity to rest at the bottom before making the final push. As it turned out it looked worse than it actually was but we knew it was going to be tricky coming back. Reaching the summit in just about 7 hours from after we started out, handshakes all round, it was a further chance to rest and take on some fuel. I felt a couple of hot spots on my feet, fortunately no blisters but I slapped on the Compeed to be safe. This left just enough time to stuff myself into a size too small Princes Trust t-shirt and have a less than flattering picture taken. Now, to everyone who tells me I have done very well, and asks why do I want to lose another couple of stone, here is the evidence. With that lifebelt there is no chance of me going down with the ship!
By this time Tom was advising that rests should be short to avoid our muscles stiffening, better to keep moving as our bodies will think it is time to shut down. He warned us again though that the descent was long and brutal and we needed to be careful.
On the first descent Jackie's legs began to shake a little bit and as it turned out this was due to increasing fatigue. I have to say though this when you would expect someone has reached the point at which they would start complaining or talking about the struggle. However, she stayed upbeat and carried on laughing all the way down. This was the great thing about our little group, no-one complained about how hard any of it was, their blisters, pains in the legs. Everyone just checked with each other once in a while how they were feeling and stayed positive right until the end.
The descent was brutal though as had Tom warned. My knees really felt the impact of all those steep descents by the end. There was one final steep climb on the way home and it came as a bit of a relief to be going up again. That was the sneaky thing about this challenge, there may only have been 5 Peaks but there were 8 climbs. But what a day, difficult climbs, spectacular views and a small but positive group, great company and all for good causes. It was a really great day and my legs were not too stiff the next morning. We had been on our feet for almost 12 hours and the site of a thriving pub right at the very end of the trek was so uplifting it would have been rude not to have a celebratory pint. I had a shandy though as I didn't want to go completely mad.
I took on this challenge to learn about how I would cope, how fit I was and my readiness for Kilimanjaro. If I do say so myself, it was a successful trip. Tom, assured me several times that he thought that this trek was more difficult than any single days climbing on Kilimanjaro. It is now about putting together several days trekking together and fingers crossed avoiding the worst of the altitude sickness.
I will leave this latest ramble through the empty recesses of my head with a final thought, shared by Valerie, one of my co-Kilimanjaro trekkers.
"Your biggest challenge isn't someone else. It's the ache in your lungs and the burning in your legs and the voice inside you that yells "CAN'T", but you don't listen. You just push harder. And then you hear the voice whisper "can". And you discover that the person you were is no match for the one you really are."
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For more information about the Princes Trust visit the website at www.princes-trust.org.uk
Mark
