Our Trek Day 3

Monday 22nd April 2013

Okay so slept a little better last night, think I was too tired to care!

So today was mainly up and down the valley's, not so much climbing as yesterday, it was such a lovely day a very varied path and again challenging in places. The amount of support from other people is amazing, everyone helping each other, over the tricky parts, some were quite scary, we are still in one piece though :-), we walked over a few ridges this morning some were quite wide, but still scary and nerve wrecking.

Again the ground staff were fantastic, they have lunch ready for us when we get to our stop, anyone for rice and pasta :-)

Have to say today was fantastic, its been a really good day and I feel good!!! our kind of walking and back at camp quite handy. With what we thought was Lamb for dinner but I'm afraid it was goat oh well suppose its better than the horse we've been eating back home.

Early night tonight, lets see what tomorrow brings :-)

Our Trek Day 2

Sunday 21st April 2013

I didn't sleep too well last night, it was to dark. I now know I have a fear of total darkness! I kept imaging thing, and could hear either dogs or wolves howling for most of the night. So I felt soooo tired this morning.

Breakfast today was cheese, cakes and eggs and terrible tasting coffee, but the Bedouin tea is very refreshing and is meant to give you energy so a couple of cups were drunk.

We knew today was going to be one of the toughest days, after breakfast we had a 4 hour hike to the beginning of our climb. On the way we passed a brand new Bedouin school, it looked so strange this brand new building in the middle of the desert. We had an early lunch, it was all set up ready and waiting for us, rice and pasta again good job I like them :-)

After lunch was the start of our climb, here is where we enter the Black Mountains, this is the part I had been dreading for so long, now I was at the point of no return I had to do it! we were originally meant to follow the Jeep trail, but there had been bad weather a few weeks before and some of the roads had been damaged. So the route had to be changed we were now going to follow the Goat Trail.

Off we go, climbing, it was sooo steep, the group started to split as people were struggling. at one point we were on our own, I was beginning to get a bit panicky in case we got lost. We decided to just stay put and wait for someone to catch up with us, eventually they did and luckily enough there was  guide with them. The limb went on forever, it was a zig-zagged steep incline, but the scenery was just out of this world, I don't think I have ever seen anything as beautiful.

After approx. 7 hours of climbing, we came to where our camp should have been, and guess what there was nothing there!!! one of the guides climbed up onto a huge rock, and was making lots of different noises, sending signals, the next thing is mobile was ringing, again you just wouldn't expect that in the desert. For some reason they had to move the camp, we were told it was another 1.5 hour hike away, I really didn't think I could walk another inch never mind another hour and a half. But we had no choice, so off we set again :-( at this point I was thinking if its going be like this everyday there is no why I can do it. As we climbed over the next slope, there was a group of people waiting at the bottom, they were waiting for jeeps to come and get them, as apparently it was much more than 1.5 hours away. This 2nd day we were meant to walk 17k we had now done 22k and climbed not far off 4000feet. Not bad going hey :-)

We eventually got into a jeep, huddled in like cattle it was beginning to get dark, the roads were very steep and narrow, that was the scariest ride ever! I was beginning to wish I had walked!!

Finally back at camp, fed and watered and ready for bed, lets see what tomorrow brings.

Our Trek Day 1

Saturday 20th April 2013.

So we were up for 7am! Clive was eager to go in the Dead Sea, its a 5 minute walk from the hotel, me I am  a big wuss when it comes to water, I took the pics.

After it was breakfast, showered and day back pack packed ready for the off. We had a group meeting first, to explain what we were going to be doing and the kind of things to expect, then it was lunch and at 1.30pm the coaches arrived to take us to our starting point, oh shit here we go :-/

Once at the starting point we had a 2.5 hour hike to our first overnight camp, this is when I had to have my first call of nature, I found myself sharing a bush with another lady, its okay for men they can just stand up its a little more complicated for a woman.

Already we have seen some spectacular views, we saw Bedouins tents, they have started to build brick houses, but they are so attached to their tents, they cannot bring themselves to live in them, so they stay in the tents and their livestock live in the houses.

When we got to our first Camp, we were pleasantly surprised, it was very basic yes. There were 3 tents, 1 big one and 2 smaller ones. We were given a mattress and then had to choose somewhere to sleep.

Then there was dinner, again it was very basic, rice, pasta, chicken and salad. We had our own chef, who goes to the camp before us and prepares food. There is also a little bar, yes a bar a local man brings cans of col lager, coke, Fanta, crisps and snickers :-) at a cost of course.

There is also a generator so we have lights till 10pm, so I'm off to my bed it going be a long day tomorrow.

Departure Day

Friday 19th April 2013

So the day is finally here departure day! we are both feeling very calm. This I wasn't expecting, while waiting at the airport we met some lovely people already, their own story to tell, their own reasons why they are doing this.

Everything went smoothly, from check in to boarding and taking off, the flight was about 4 and half hours, it was gone 2 in the morning when we arrived at our hotel by the Dead Sea, very tired and well and truly ready for bed.

Tomorrow the adventure starts :-)

Little Adventures :-)

Okay, so Easter Sunday we finally managed to get up to the Lakes. After getting stranded in a blizzard the week before, which was very very scary!!! you know you see those people stuck on the roads when it as snowed on the news, and you sit and there and say why do they go out, how stupid can you be, well guess what that was us the other weekend. How stupid were we!!!!  we were 15 miles away from where we needed to be, but had to turn back, once we were rescued and go home :-(

So Easter Sunday we set off quite handy and headed for Grassmere, it was a lovely sunny day, freezing cold but lovely and sunny with blue skies. First of all we had to have breakfast in Baldry's, now if you ever in Grassmere you really need to pay a visit to Baldry's Tea Rooms, they do the best bread and butter pudding I have ever tasted. Of course we didn't have that for breakfast we were good and had Rarebit with poached egg and bacon and it was yummy. This set us up for the day :-)

We decided to walk up Helm Cragg, then do the extended version of the  walk, along the ridge edge and over the next Peak. Off course with us nothing is that simple and straight forward. The climb up to Helm Cragg was very steep, all the climb was in one go, we have never climbed this steep before so that was a challenge and we did it, with only a couple of little stops for a few minutes, my excuse is I'm taking in the scenery. Clive seems to fall for that one. Once we were at the top, the views are stunning well worth the effort of the climb.

When we got over the ridge we were greeted with snow, yes snow lots of it it came from nowhere, one side of the Cragg was green, the other white over! strange. So me and snow do not go together very well, anyone who knows me well enough will know that I am not the safest person on dry ground never mind on snow. But we had 2 choices, to carry on or turn back, the thought of that steep climb, it was bad enough going up but going down would be twice as bad, so we decided best to plod on. We came to a fairly steep bit, which was icy, I did my usual I can't do this!! Clive gave me the usual pep talk and trying to tell me the best way to get down, on your bum he said, no way!!!! I went to sit on a rock for a minute just so I could think of a plan, the next thing I go whizzing down past Clive on my bum, what a site I must have been, my arms waving everywhere trying to stop! of course Clive thought it was highly amusing and is gutted he couldn't get his phone out in time to video me!

When I eventually came to a halt, up I got and carried on wishing no one had seen me :-( but I wasn't the only one that came down that way, there were a few others that followed my lead. In some parts we were knee deep in snow and of course as usual we went off track, and had to try and re-track our steps, this added at least 2 to 3 miles on. Walking in the snow and ice is hard work, if anyone ever suggests doing Everest think I might jut give it a miss.

We'd been walked for nearly 6 hours, when we came to a point on the map we recognised, yay we were back on track, panic over :-) then we were met with a narrow footpath, and it was narrow and full of snow, rocks on one side and a drop the other, not a big drop but big enough to do a bit of damage if you slipped, now in the summer this would be easy, but in the snow, well that's a different story, I froze, I was on the verge of crying, I can't do this!!! again 2 options turn back, bearing in mind its taken nearly 6 hours to get to this point or just go for it, of course we went for it. Poor Clive had to walk across backwards, it was only a short part of the path, approx. 150 yards, but god it felt like miles, we did it a step at a time, all I could see out the of corner of my eye was the steep slope and sheep at the bottom, even the sheep moved out of the way!! we did it and were very proud of ourselves, after that we were safely on more or less lower ground.

In total we walked for 7 hours and 45 minutes, our legs were even aching at the end, which is good. I think we are now well and truly ready for Petra. After we were in the pub for a well earned Crabbies ginger beer and Clive confessed that a few times over the day he was getting a bit panicky and worried, so glad he left that till after to tell me.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Baldrys-Tea-Room/267282139778

Carry on Regardless

Well Millie is 5 this weekend, wow 5 years old. Not a baby anymore she's a little girl and a gorgeous one too :-) Millie is the double of Claire, sometimes i look at her and have to think twice and remind myself it's not Claire it's Millie. So beautiful inside and out.

Millie doesn't really remember her Mummy, she knows who she is from pictures and she knows she couldn't stay to look after her because she was very poorly and that now she is a very special angel in heaven, but most importantly she knows that her Mummy loved her very very much and tried everything possible to stay alive.

Claire went through so much, the pain she was in was horrendous but she carried on regardless, her girls came first, nothing came in the way of looking after them and seeing them happy. Thinking what she went through keeps me going when i am training, as soon as i feel like i want to quit or can't be bothered, i think of Claire how she fought and what she did to try and stay alive, i think what i am doing is nothing compared to that. On my ipod i use when training  I have a playlist called Claireabell. It has all Claire's favourite songs on, so each song reminds me of her, some more than others. The last big thing Claire and I did together was to go and see Take That, little did we know that day that 2 weeks later we would be told she was dying. She loved Take That and Robbie, we went to see Robbie in 2006, a joint present for my 40th and Claire's 21st that was such a fantastic day, memories i shall keep forever locked away in my heart.

Claire's Little Princess's

Getting Close Now!!

Well I can't believe that in less than 2 months we will be trekking across the Jordan Desert, oh dear the nerves are setting in now, excitement and fear!!!

We've been doing lots of walking in the Lakes over the last coupe of months, we are getting there on the climbing now, thank god :-) this time last year I don't think I could climb 500 feet without getting puffed, now I know I can do approx 1500 with comfort still a way to go yet though, a lot to do over the next few weeks, my aim is to be able to climb Scalfell Pike which is 3500 feet give or take a foot or 2. We have a weekend away booked for the 22nd March this is when we are going to attempt it, so watch this space!!!!

Scalfell Pike is in the Eskdale Valley, we have been there a few times over the last few months, have to be honest I have fell in love with the place, it is so quiet and peaceful, not a bit like the Southern Lakes at all. You can walk all day and not see another walker, there are that many walks and not so many places to stay round there. Its just an amazing place to visit, and the scenery is so beautiful. We always stay in The Woolpack Inn  a real ale pub with its own little brewery, their Damson cider is not one to miss out on, with a leaf or 2 of fresh mint in, mmmmm just what you need after a long days walking, and the food is amazing too.

We went the Southern Lakes this weekend for a change, only for the day, we went to Coniston, its beautiful yet, but its way too busy we have definitely been spoilt by the Eskdale Valley.

The walking is going great, we can cover 15 miles easy with a bit of a climb, the most we will do in a day in Petra will be 10-12 miles, so with the distance  I know we are okay, its just the climbing, but I think to myself when I feel I am struggling, I think of Claire. If she can go through what she did to try an stay alive, then god this is easy, and that keeps me going, and I put my ipod on, I have a play list called Claireabell, this is all Claire's favourite songs, each and everyone reminds me of her and they too keep me going.

Until next time :-)