23^rd August 2015

Wow, I survived it!

I can truly say that these have been the most terrifying and awe inspiring 4 days of my life.  You’ll not be surprised to hear that my first priority on getting back to the hotel in was a hot shower.  The second was a bottle of wine (which I shared with my room mate – another Helen)

After a night's sleep in a proper bed I felt much better – note for future reference … I HATE camping, especially in the rain!  So, looking back, what was it like?

Day 1 was lovely,  and so was the morning of day 2. Physically hard of course, but nothing I couldn't cope with, and beautiful scenery. I had prepared for the altitude by taking Acetazolamide, and I was glad I did, because I had less trouble than some of the others in the group.

But in the afternoon of day 2 the cloud came down and so we climbed "dead woman's pass" in freezing fog, with snow on the ground. This was the 4200m bit, of course, and luckily was short. When I first saw it I thought "oh good, nearly there", but when I got within 50 meters I thought I would never get there! It was a question of take two steps,  stop and breathe, take two steps,  stop and breathe.  We were supposed to have a group photo at the top, but it was so cold that people didn’t want to wait around for it.

The elation of having made it quickly faded as I realised that having got up there I now had to get down the other side! It was a long and arduous climb (I am very bad at climbing downhill! ) and it got dark before I reached camp. Luckily, I had my head torch in my day pack else I don't know what I would have done.  As you can imagine I was pretty traumatised by the experience.

If day 2 was a challenge that developed into a nightmare towards the end, day 3 felt like a dreadful ordeal. Endless steps. If not up then down (mostly down), many of them very narrow, sometimes not even proper steps, and all of a very hard slippy marble-like stone, in damp and cloudy conditions. There were many times that I would have liked to say "I can't do this, find another way" ... but there was no other way!

However, day 4 dawned sunny (at last), with beautiful views of the mountains.  Actually “beautiful” doesn't do them justice – “majestic” is a much better word.  Although there was still more climbing to do, the rock was different (more gritty & less slippery) and the sun came out.  After just a couple of hour’s hike (a relative “walk in the park” to us by now) we reached the top of the valley.

Coming through the Sun Gate and getting our first view of was just awesome.  We all cried a little. The whole site is just incredible.  Mind-blowing!

We had a few hours to explore – some of it with our very well informed guides who gave us a lot of the history about the site, and some on our own, before catching the train  to ride back along the valley (which was lovely).

A word about the porters

The organisation was incredible.  For a group of 28, we had a lead guide and 4 supporting guides and 50 (yes, fifty!) porters.  They carried everything – running ahead of us to set up camp for lunch (we had a hot lunchtime meal every day on the trail) and night time.  They had to carry all the tents (for cooking, eating, sleeping and toilet), chemical toilets (yes, we had 2 chemical toilets!), chairs & tables, our sleeping bags and night-time equipment & clothes, etc, etc.  All this stuff had to be carried and set up and taken down twice a day; and they also cooked two 3-course meals for 80 odd people and filtered, boiled and cooled, gallons and gallons of water for us.

These guys were incredibly fit, literally running the trail carrying huge loads.  And although they didn’t speak English (a lot of them didn’t speak Spanish either, just their local language, Quechua), they were always kind and eager to help.

The porters earn tiny salaries, so we were all very pleased to leave not just a sizable cash tip, but any clothing or equipment we didn’t need any more (after realising that some of them were sleeping under just a blanket, I gave my sleeping bag to one).

On getting home

When we landed in airport I was so happy to be back in , and nearly home – I just couldn’t wait to see my family again and sleep in my own bed.

I week on, how do I feel?  Well oddly empowered (I know, it’s an overworked phrase), but I have survived a really difficult trek, and also raised more money than I thought I possibly could … and now I feel that I need to find my next challenge!  

I want to say a huge THANK YOU!!! to everyone who helped me.  To all the kind family members, friends and colleagues who donated money, and also to Nick Lander without whose help with both training and equipment I couldn't have done it.

5th May 2015

Thanks to donations given here, together with my camera raffle (at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Helenscameraraffle) I have now hit my target.  Thank you so much to friends, family, colleagues and other Capita employees who have donated to my challenge.

Now I just have to get fit enough to complete it!!!  I did some more training in Wales last weekend, scrambling up The Glyders (see new photos attached).  Gosh it was hard work, I need stronger leg muscles!

2nd April 2015

Happy Easter!

Firstly, I’d like to say a huge thank you to all of you who have already supported me to raise funds for The Princes Trust – you have all helped so much!

Since Christmas my training has been progressing and intensifying, with gym sessions twice a week and longer walks in the Peak District at weekends.  I think I am fitter now than I have ever been!

I have also been working with The Princes Trust:  I have presented an employability skills workshop at , and will be doing Business Mentor training in next month

Fundraising is going ahead too: I have run a Lean Processes Seminar and am planning a Games Afternoon and a Car boot sale.  Also Capita has kindly contributed some matched funding.  However I still have a huge target to meet – so please can I ask you to support me again.

12th January 2015

Woo hoo!  I've burst through the 25% mark.  Thank you so much to all my kind friends, family and colleagues who have supported me.

7th December 2014

Well the "training" in Tenerife did NOT go to plan, sadly.  We were thwarted by terrible weather;  torrential rain flowing down the Masca Gorge one day making the terrain slippery and dangerous and forcing us to cut our walk short; then snow and freezing fog the next making it impossible to get to the top of Teide (see photo).

Most frustrating!

7th November 2014

I am just starting to realise what a daunting challenge this is going to be.  We will walk 52km over 5 days at altitudes of up to 4200m.  I am posting a picture of a part of the trail.

I am genuinely worried about my fitness to achieve the challenge, both in terms of the distance we have to walk and how I will cope with the altitude.

I am taking a holiday Tenerife later in November and am planning to do a couple of challenging walks, firstly up Mount Teide (to see how I cope with the altitude) and secondly from Masca down to the coast - a challenging and steep walk/scramble, 6km down and 6km back up again!

29th September 2014

I have always admired people who take on big challenges to raise money for charity,  but never quite had the courage to join in. Until now!

Inspired and supported by my friend Geraldine, I have signed up for a massive 9 day challenge - the Inca Trail in . It encompasses 3 high mountain passes – the highest being a whopping 4,200m. This trek for will be tough and will certainly test me, but I hope that the experience, the sights, and the money that I will raise for charity will make it all worthwhile.

The charity I have chosen to support is The Prince's Trust. This wonderful organisation supports 13 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many of the young people helped by The Trust are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness or mental health problems, or they have been in trouble with the law.  I have chosen to support The Prices Trust because I feel very strongly that supporting our young people and giving them the best possible chances in life is an essential part of building a healthy society.

The expedition will challenge me physically  (training starts now!) and mentally (this is well out of my "comfort zone").  In order to succeed  I will be devoting all my spare time to training and fund-raising - this is clearly going to be the focus of my life for the next 10 months!

Please help me to raise £3200 for this wonderful charity that helps so many disadvantaged young people.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to The Prince's Trust and will claim gift aid on the charity's behalf where you, the donor, are eligible for this. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity

So, please sponsor me now!