We would like to thank all those of you who sponsored us for the trek we undertook in March in aid of Living Springs.
Our goal of climbing to the top of Poon Hill (3210m) in the Himalayas was
achieved! Four days’ walking, which included a whole morning of climbing up steps one day, got us within a height of 300metres of the top. On the fifth day we got up at 4:30am, dressed warmly, then ventured out in the dark to climb the last few hundred steps, puffing and panting in cold air which contained less oxygen than our bodies were used to. Standing on the top of Poon Hill we watched the sun rise over some of the world’s largest mountains: Annapurna 1 and 2, and Dhaulagiri which stood a further 5000m above us.
The trek was amazing in many other ways, too. It showed us what we could achieve when we put our minds to it – neither of us are as young as we used to be! Facilities at the tea-lodges where we stayed were not up to the standards of even our most basic accommodation in the UK, but we were ready for the freshly-cooked vegetable fried noodles or dhal bat (rice with a lentil curry) each lunchtime and evening. All drinking water had to be boiled and treated to make it safe for us to drink.
The group of ten of us got on well and were entertained by some of the livelier ones. We were wonderfully looked after by an excellent guide, porters, and a doctor (who had a couple of upset tummies to sort out, and one badly bruised hip to keep an eye on). Along the way we saw wild orchids, local people, an Egyptian vulture, spectacular views of gleaming snow-covered peaks, a few monkeys and the odd yak.
Would we do it again? Yes, probably. We might even go for something more challenging next time…look out Everest, here we come?
Although all the money is not yet collected, we have raised thousands of pounds in sponsorship for a project to support parents and children who move out of Living Springs and back into the community, which is a time when there is the potential for many things to go wrong.
Thank you so much for your support,
Jane and Beth