Next my travels took me to Snowdonia for my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, we had an amazing team of three boys from the air cadets, myself and a girl from school.
The boys set a fast pace which was no trouble for us girls however somehow on the first day I managed to rub huge blisters on each heel. Note to self..never wash blisters out with freezing cold water from a pump tap and then rub sterilising solution on them - they didnt get infected but oh my life it hurts!!!!!!
I was determind to push on though and not to hold the group back..this theory worked fine until the next day when we were walking through bogs to get to our spot in the mountains where we were to wild camp that night. I attempted to jump over one of the bogs and where one leg hit solid ground the other went straight into the bog right up to my crotch - and still I didnt find solid ground so when it came to pulling myself out it was actually impossible..one of the guys had to grip my leg and pull me out - which in the process also removed all of the skin from my left heel as the boot pulled my blister off..! So I was in agony by the time we made camp but that evening there were huge gales and copious amounts of rain so we all remained in our tents anyway which gave my feet a good rest and I ate my extra food to give me energy!
The next day was absolute torture..we had to walk down the mountain through bogs again (I managed to remain out of them this time..) but it took us over 2 hours to walk a simple 5k. We reached the car park at the foot of the snowdon trail and I removed my boots to clean and dress my blisters..it was the first the boys had seen my heels and even they the strong stern army guys flinched at the state of my feet!! However..two nice fat dressings later and I was ready to inch my way up the snowdon pass before we could drop back down into Beddgelet Forest..wonderful scenery but it wasn't something I could appreciate this 7 k was actually the most painful km of my life..the last two were the worst..I had tears pouring down my face from the exertion - now I'm not trying to big myself up here..but I am not an unfit person, however the pain of these blisters and my leg muscles from trying to counteract the pain was excrutiating! Later Boo said that she had never been so scared on the walk as then - she said she could have coped with anything other than me having a breakdown! haha! Goldie, one of the guys and a good friend of mine turned around when we reached the campsite at last and said "lonely you must be in absolute agony" and that was when I really started crying!! Was good though..they made me sit whilst they put the tents up - Boo is a bit of a failure at tent positioning so in the end I did walk on my knees and help her! That campsite though was luxuary..pine bathrooms, hot showers..we took very long showers - but just in case you hadnt grasped that I was in pain yet (lol) I will describe it for you..the exhaustion was so complete that I couldnt actually stand up in the shower if you've ever seen someone get off a horse after a long days riding..thats how I was walking..bow legged and hobbling!
However!! I treated my blisters and put some new plasters on and after a jolly good meal of lancashire hot pot I was feeling pretty good! The gang were brilliant..Boo is the funniest girl I know and the boys were hilarious..this post makes me sound like a right complainer..but I wasn't unhappy..I loved every minute of d.o.e..being in pain made it more of a challenge but my group made it a breeze..every night was full of laughter and card games and it was super!
Finally..our last day, I was painkillered up to the eyeballs, strapped feet and walking poles and I was ready to go! This day was a breeze! We got to the end and whilst I couldnt have gone much further it was nothing like the previous day yet we covered the same distance (19km) we sat in Petes Eats for hours eating carb hit after carb hit and chatting along ot our assessor about our experience.
I'm glad the experience is over..but my boots are made for walking..and that's just what I'll do...and I'm looking forward to my next adventure!
