Kilimanjaro Trek: Team Training Day 1

So here we all are then: The South-West’s “Team Kili” < well, all except for Tracey who’s holidaying abroad…nice! >

Last weekend we headed to Dartmoor for our first team training walk in preparation for our February 2011 Kilimanjaro Summit climb to support Sparks, the childrens medical research charity. The weather was forecast to be pants so we had agreed a strategic 6-mile (ish) walk, depending on how wet and miserable we all got whilst out in the notorious elements of the moors.

I had invited my friend Hannah to join us, so having picked her up we drove out to meet the others at the Two Bridges. On the way, Hannah worked out that her rucksack's water container + sucky pipe thing only works if it positioned the right way up ;-)

                          Me & Hannah                                  Paul

Whilst we waited for everyone to arrive at our meeting point, I learnt that the lovely Nicole (Sparks) had been baking and the little minx had put together an assortment of homemade biscuits and cake < I’ll refer back to these and my reference to her being a minx later > Everyone then started to either stretch their legs or carry out some other form of sensible warm up exercise….whilst I deliberated whether to pop inside the Two Bridges Hotel for a couple of poached eggs on toast and large pot of coffee!

                                                                          Nicole
The last to arrive were Caroline and her chap Matt. I mention this because I believe that both Matt and Nicole were part of a big conspiracy! This was our first team walk and as such some of us were expecting a gentle build up of walks over the course of time. Matt obviously had other ideas for us. With his Royal Marine background and in-depth knowledge of the moors, as voted-in Team Leader for the day he duly announced the start of our 9….yes, 9-mile circular walk, eventually ending up back where we started. I shot Nicole a look that said “Hey, YOU said it would be 6….that’s six…..the number that comes after 5 and before 7…..miles!!”; to which she just smiled back innocently, offering one of her delicious homemade biscuits which smelt divine and tasted heavenly. 

            Me & Nicole

Matt was brilliant! We took the Wistman’s Wood and West Dart circular route, climbing tors, tackling fierce barbed-wire fences < thanks for the lift over these Paul xx >, trekking through treacherous bogs, experiencing Dartmoor’s finest farmers < and dead livestock! >, and crossing the equivalent of white water rivers. Ok ok, so it was actually the West Dart stepping stones, but when you’re only 5’4” each stone feels like it’s a mile apart! My thanks at this point goes to Dave, Darren et al for the sudden flash photography just at the point where poor Hilary and I were half way across and deciding whether it would be far quicker and easier to swim across!

                                
                                            West Dart

We re-grouped periodically throughout the day, where Matt briefed us on our location, how far we’d walked and how far we still had to go.  

I think it was at the point when Matt announced that we were on our final easy stretch that Paul first started smelling the beer and everyone looked both happy and relieved. What we hadn’t counted on was Matt’s idea of an "easy stretch" which was all uphill and included another sneaky Bog to tackle, where at one point I stood on a tuft of grass looking back to see poor Hannah almost up to her waist in boggy water, shouting “Quuiiiick, run Jenn, I’m sinking!” Everyone was eerily quiet during this final "easy stretch" as we all considered dry feet and whether we’d ever taste beer again. I had actually started to stub my toes on the gravel track because I seriously couldn’t lift my legs to walk any more!

                               Matt (centre!) & some of Team Kili

The weather had turned out to be perfect for walking; it was dry, warm and cloudy. Of course this is also one of mother nature’s sneaky deceptions - which we all discovered when we eventually sat down at the end of our walk, having driven to this fabulous little pub (which sold Otter, yey!) and we all started laughing at each other’s sun…..err, I mean wind-burnt faces < Darren, you won that competition by the way! > 

Matt and Caroline sat at one end of the large wooden table with a map and some little measuring tool < his finger! >. We all placed bets on the amount of mileage we’d just walked. I think most guessed 9 or 10 miles. I said 11 miles as I rubbed my sore toes and wished I’d brought my Reefs with me to change into. 

Matt announced that it was 12 miles. Nicole got out her homemade biscuits and smiled innocently....the little minx!

                    Team Kili singing happy birthday to Hannah's hubby!

                                                                  

If you would like to sponsor me in aid of Sparks charity please visit my Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/jennifer-riach . All donations are welcome, no matter how small. Thank you so much. Jenn