I had a better night's sleep but was still glad the last night's camping was done. We sadly lost one of our team today who suffers from asthma and had a really bad cold. There was no option to be picked up on the route so she'd have had to come out all day and couldn't risk it. We were so disappointed for her.
The last day of trekking was due to be the middle in terms of difficulty. My blister was covered in Compeed and thankfully held out for the day. I could feel it but not too bad. I then developed another one on my other foot. We had quite a few uphill climbs to day but many downhill. We were heading towards Mount Eyjafjallajokull and ended the day near it. We passed a sign warning us about floods in the area due to the risk of volcanic eruptions which could cause the snow to suddenly melt and flood the area. We were advised that in the event of an eruption we should get to higher ground!
It was a nice, sunny day generally, getting very warm at times. Our pace as a group was a lot quicker today, perhaps as it was the last day and we knew we had a nice meal and a night in a hotel to look forward to!
The trekking was 7 hours and soon after we started I knew I was going to do it (well I had no option anyway!). I kept imagining the end and thinking I could say "I did it!" then I'd well up with emotion. My blisters held out OK and my shoulders were stiff and sore from carrying my day pack. I had to keep loosening the straps and pulling the straps down off my shoulders but I knew I just had to get through the next few hours.
As the day went on we saw more greenery. There are very few trees in Iceland and we passed many and our trek ended in a woodland. Not before a final cold river crossing though. We started to see a lot of flowers then, initially beautiful purple lupins. We also heard a lot of birds singing but on the previous two days there had been little signs of life.
We walked downhill, which was quite steep in places, towards the end. I was glad I had use of a walking pole. I now had Rhos' who'd brought one but not used it. Reaching the end of the trek almost seemed an anticlimax after all the emotion from earlier. We reached a hut and dashed in for the toilet! We then got on a bus to drive back to Reykjavik. Then I could reflect. I had this idea 18 months ago. I had no idea whether I could manage it but I knew I had to. I really struggled with the time to train but I managed 10 mile walks, and went up Snowdon with Emily, my daughter (age 5) and Paul. The trek was tough physically, emotionally and mentally but I'm so glad I did it. It was an amazing experience in so many ways and I've raised a huge amount of money. I'm so grateful to everyone who supported me.
No comments:
Post a Comment