Issue 8, December 2019 www.adventureshe.com
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From The Editor This is the 8th issue of Adventure She magazine, which means it's survived two whole years worth of issues. I really hope you've been enjoying them and find them to be empowering, educating and entertaining.
and that's what matters, for we are all individuals with very different needs. A few years ago Paula Reid found herself rushed to hospital with blood clots in her lungs. How does an adventurer deal with such a close shave with death? In Paula's case, by choosing to live out her most extreme dream, skiing to the South Pole. Like Judith and Paula, Zoe Pye has faced health issues. In Zoe's case they were the result of a skiier hitting her, a snowboarder, at full force. Her story is a massive reminder of the risks involved in adventuring.
Choosing which stories to include is sometimes really hard, then again, life too can be hard. Yes you've guessed it, we’ve had to hold over a whole load of stories including our UTMB to the March 2020 issue. Despite encountering hard times, this issue's authors have one thing in common, the resilience to deal with the tough times and to come back stronger than ever. After all, we all face challenges in life as we strive towards our goals.
We had hoped to bring you a story about Rita Bladyko's climb on Manaslu, one of Nepal's 8,000m peaks. Alas that will never be, for 50 year old Rita passed away on Manaslu this northern Autumn. The whole Adventure She team, myself included, extend our deepest sympathy to her son, the rest of her family and her friends.
The big question is, how do we face up to the difficulties we encounter? How do we handle our fears, how do we handle change, how do we react if presented with an opportunity? Do we seize the moment, or do we allow a lack of self belief to knock us down?
Enough sad talk, Clare Osborn believes in focusing on solutions, not problems. So rather than worrying about plastic pollution, Clare's article will hopefully empower and educate all of us on ways we can help in the fight against pollution.
Ginny Amanda moved to Norway for a while, to learn skills she needed, to achieve her goal. Here she shares a fun story about dog mushing. So if you fancy having a go, perhaps get in touch with her.
Plastic pollution isn't the only troublesome thing in this world of ours. Sometimes politics and reactions to politicians, bring consequences no one could imagine, some dire, some less impactful but still important. In 1998 I was lucky enough to do the 100 kms Hong Kong Trailwalker. For many in Hong Kong, doing this event is a right of passage. It is also a huge fundraiser for Oxfam. Alas because of the
Judith Thomas has faced reality and accepted she can no longer be the climber and mountaineer she once was. How has she reacted? By reinventing herself as a white water kayaker. Rachel Yaseen faced an even harder decision, one involving her son. Her life now may not be a life that everyone would want or even agree with, but it works for them
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With it being the northern hemisphere’s winter, you may notice a theme with lots of snow and ice articles in this issue. But the pictures that shocked me most, were those Sioned Eleri Roberts submitted with her article on ice swimming. Brrrhhhhhhh. I'm cold eve thinking about it. But for Sioned Eleri, ice swimming brings her calm.
recent troubles, this year it was cancelled. In this issue I share how seizing the moment to do this event the one year I lived in Hong Kong, changed my life. One of the joys of a magazine is the photographs, after all, doesn't a picture tell a thousand words? But what are the secrets to great photography? Professional photographer Rosie Dutton shares some tips with us. Part of her story also includes our quarterly UNESCO section.
If you're interested in joining the fast growing wild swimming scene, the last (but definitely not least) of the articles is for you, for Becki Read makes wild swimming in the depths of winter sound like a lot of fun. So why not check out her group or another wild swimming club. As always though, please do take care and be mindful of your ability and the conditions.
Scoliosis. What would you do if you were in agony and not yet 30 years old? Sandra Dee Owens has been there. Unable to bear the pain any longer, she choose to take matters into her own hands and mile by mile, let cycling and cross country skiing save her. Her story is absolutely amazing.
Finally, I wish you all a wonderful festive season, a happy new year and I very much hope to see you again in 2020.
But what of people suffering in other parts of the world? Mariella Scott writes about ChallengeAid's work with the Schools of Hope in Kenya. It really is amazing how even a little education in health and business skills, can help raise people out of poverty and suffering.
Jane
Following Adventure She on social media If you'd like to follow Adventure She on social media and / or join our Facebook Group, we'll be delighted to see you. Instagram
@adventure_she
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Adventure She is published by TNA Consulting Services Ltd, the address of the registered of which can be obtained from Companies House. The entire contents is protected by copyright 2019 and all rights are reserved. Reproduction without prior permission is forbidden. Every care is taken in compiling the contents of the magazine, but the publishers assume no responsibility in the effect arising therefrom, Readers are advised to seek professional advice before acting on any information which is contained in the magazine. Neither TNA Consulting Services Ltd nor Adventure She magazine accept any liability for views expressed, pictures used or claims made. Copyright Š 2019 TNA Consulting Services Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
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In This Issue Of Adventure She Magazine
Page 6 – Mushing in Norway
Page 14 – Life After Surgery
Page 28 – The Big Interview with Paula Reid - Skiing to the South Pole
Page 21 – The Way We Live
Page 48 – When Adventure Goes Wrong
Page 54– Adventures in Rubbish
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Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
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Page 76 – Book Reviews
Page 64 – Hiking Hong Kong
Page 87 – Adventures With Scoliosis
Page 78 – Photography tips from a pro
Page 100 – What A Woman
Page 102 – Schools Of Hope
Page 108 – Ice Training In Snowdonia
Page 113 – Wild Swimming
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Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
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Mushing In Norway By Ginny Amanda
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Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
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When you have a dream that is hard to achieve, a dream which, if you go for it, could easily kill you unless you’re properly prepared and equipped, what do you do? Do you allow fear, doubt and procrastination to kill your dream, or, do you make the changes you need to make, so you have the risks to pursue your goal? Brought up in the UK, Ginny Amanda didn’t have the skills necessary to pursue her goal of crossing the Greenland ice cap. So what did she do? For whilst the Greenland ice cap may not hold the romantic majesty of an expedition to the North or the South Pole, it is still a serious endeavour. Ginny’s plan, to step by step learn the skills she would need. Here she shares with us part of her learning journey, a journey which involved her moving to Norway to improve her skiing and her cold weather survival skills. We also hope that if any of you are contemplating a trip with huskies. This article might also give you a sense of what it’s like.
I wake to the sound of howling. Today light has just crept above the horizon, but often, when an elk, fox or wolverine has disturbed the dogs, then the wake-up call comes before dawn. I'm living and working with huskies in the Trondelag region of Norway. We have 43 Alaskan huskies, all with their own personalities, foibles and tricks. Take Vito, who likes to surprise me by licking my face whenever he can; Prica, who is huge and looks menacing, but with a couple of pats will be lying on his back wanting a belly
rub; or Vianna, who's managed to get loose more times than I can count and enjoys taunting the other dogs by running circles around them. Then there's Bonita, who's pregnant, round and huge - in the next few days she'll have puppies, swelling our numbers further. I came here to prepare for a trip across Greenland. I'll be skiing across the ice cap and needed to get used to the cold, as well as improve my skiing (currently woefully inadequate for a month-long journey). In return for board, lodging and free time to explore the
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mountains, I help look after the dogs and guests that come to stay. I’d expected hard work and blisters, to have all my possessions smell irrevocably like wet dog, and to be so cold my teeth ached - all of which I got. What I didn’t expect was my reaction to the wildness, and the space, to be so visceral. The knowledge that it’s just you, a cattle farm and a couple of cabins this side of the valley. The stark beauty of the winter landscape, mountains, fjords, and forests, sinking into my skin, leaving its mark. Though, in hindsight hearing the
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directions to the kennels should have given me a hint of the wild to come: “take the turning signposted Kopperå and then just keep driving, keep going until the road stops.” At the end of the road you come to the kennels, the red buildings appearing out of the trees, startling against the snow, and the noise of the dogs greeting you as they spot the car. That’s another reason for the isolation, I’m not sure how kindly neighbours would take to the nightly chorus of the dogs.
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Dog sledding requires balance and endurance - it’s physically harder work than most people expect. You stand on two struts at the back of the sled and shift your weight from side to side depending on the terrain. If you get it wrong, the sled can tip, throwing you off. Between your feet is a metal bar with teeth that act as a brake, and you use this to keep the sled line taut so that the sled follows the path of the dogs. The lead dogs set the course and to change directions you give them verbal commands;
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a short sharp “Venn” for left and a long, drawn out “Hooya” for right. But usually it’s not as simple as shouting out the command; it’s a negotiation, a discussion between you and the lead dogs, you need to persuade them to take the route you want rather than the one they have in mind. Some days the wind is powerful, rushing at your face, ice chips flying up from the speed of the sled. You squint, desperate to see the track in front of you so you can anticipate the turns, lean and not fall. On icy days, with hard packed snow, the
Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
speed of the sled is intense, causing just the right amount of fear and adrenaline as you cling on, your hands like stiff claws at the end of the trip from gripping the sled so tightly. Other days there’s an incredible stillness, hardly any wind and it’s as though the forest is holding its breath, waiting for you to pass. There’s no better feeling than the flow when your team is working perfectly together; the sled line taut, balancing your weight just right, holding a precise line around a corner.
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Of course, it’s not always like that. Sometimes you fall. Sometimes the dogs get tangled and you have to stop, put the anchor in, hoping it holds and the sled doesn’t run away whilst you try to untangle the lines with numb fingers. You and the dogs work as a team and sometimes, you have to help push the sled along with a foot, or run behind it. IN fact, a lot of the time you’re working as hard as the dogs, running behind the sled uphill, forcing your way through knee deep snow, pushing the sled as it gets stuck. What matters is
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that you keep going, that you are confident in your course; for the dogs know if you falter and then the team stops working. We’d planned a trip up into the mountains to a cabin on the border of Sweden. We were to be four teams. Two of the group hadn’t been dog sledding before, so they were to take 5 dogs each. Normally we start people with 4 dogs, but for a long trip you need more dogs to pull a loaded sled, because of the extra supplies needed.
Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
We’d had a bout of hot weather, followed by a freeze which meant the
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ground was and hard and the sled had almost no friction. The dogs were
exited and fresh, eager to get out and run so their speed, taking off was much faster than normal. By the time we’d gotten a couple of kilometres from the kennel we’d already had numerous falls, so we stopped to rethink our approach. We decided instead of having two 5 dog teams, we’d have one 6 dog team with two people. The extra weight would mean the sled would be slower and less likely to tip
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Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
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or take to the air on fast corners. The weather can change quickly and on this trip, as we headed up into the mountains, the clouds dropped surrounding us in a blanket of white. Then the snow started to fall. When the snow is really coming down all you can see are the dogs in front of the sled, for the landscape around you is all white and featureless. This time it wasn’t a complete white out, we could still make out vague shapes of the surrounding hills, but it did 11
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make spotting the trail ahead more difficult. When spotting the trail becomes harder you must trust the dogs will remember the route. Our dogs know the terrain even in a whiteout, most of them were born here and learned to run in these mountains, unlike me. When I first came here, out in the forest I couldn’t tell which direction was north, or where we were in relation to the kennels. I was too busy trying not to fall off a sled or fall over on my skis. I found myself lost, without a head torch, on numerous evening ski trips, having to try and follow the trail left by the dogs as darkness fell. I always managed to find my way back, eventually. Now, I’ve come to know these mountains and forests like the dogs, able to read the terrain and find the routes that get you home quickly and safely. The trail is never exactly the same. The heating and refreezing of the snow means rivers open up, different patches of snow are unstable, cornices fall. So
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you’re constantly having to scan and plot the route ahead. On this particular trip the recent hot weather meant the ice was thinner than normal and we could hear it cracking under our sleds, hoping and trusting it would hold. In places we could hear rivers and streams gurgling and flowing
beneath us as we glided above. On one river crossing, the ice level had fallen, so it was a bigger drop than normal down onto the river. The ice held for the dogs but the weight of the sled was too much and it started to break, the dogs wouldn’t be turned back and by sheer force they pulled the sled through the ice up onto the other bank. We managed to hold the second and third sleds back and scouted up river to find a safer place to cross.
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Coming over the final mountain range it was a relief to spot the cabin down below us and know that we were close to a fire and food. The next day was warm and still, sun lighting up the mountain peaks surrounding us and no wind to disturb the snow. Stopping for lunch we could see for miles, the mountain ranges spread out below us and distant lakes shining blues and greens. From one extreme to the other, you can’t always predict what the weather will decide to do in the mountains. Most of the time when we’re travelling we are passing through places briefly, we get fleeting impressions and chance encounters. I’m still working on my endurance and speed and I’ve a way to go before I match up. Until then I’ll just keep going, putting in the miles, not hesitating, but rather always heading forward.
Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
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About Ginny Amanda Ginny describes herself as a humanitarian and adventure guide. She’ spent time guiding in Norway, Iceland and Greenland. She now runs Wild Greenland, an adventure company based at Isortoq Reindeer station in south west Greenland running hiking, glacier and wildlife tours. Norway Husky Adventure is an Alaskan husky kennel in Kotterü, Norway, run by Bodil Bakken. You can follow Ginny on the following social media channels: Website:
www.huskyadventure.no
Instagram:
@norwayhuskyadventure
Website:
www.wildgreenland.com
Instagram:
@wildgreenland
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Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019 Photo credit Dave Brown of Acwa Terra
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Life After Surgery By Judith Thomas
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Whether you are a land, water or air person, if you find accidents, injuries or illness mean you can no longer follow your passion, it’s worth remembering the world is a big place and when one door closes, another can open. At least, that’s what Judith Thomas discovered when she was faced with a choice, to give up, or to switch lanes midlife and take up a sport that filled her with adrenaline and anxiety, in equal measure.
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I was a mountain woman. My love of the
sparkling personality, rather than extraordinary ability.
mountains started like many affairs. What was supposed to be a summer fling had turned into a 30-year love affair with the outdoors. A summer trip to a mountain town in Colorado with a friend, when I was young enough that most of my worldly possessions fit into an estate wagon, was only supposed to involve getting whatever low-wage restaurant jobs we could find,
All of that started to unravel one summer when I was 36. A grueling 11- mile hike, carrying packs heavy with climbing gear, turned into more than a decade of fighting injury. Overuse, too much time at my desk job and some physical predisposition to hip pain had reached a tipping point. I returned from that trip limping and hobbling from a torn labrum in my hip that would be incorrectly diagnosed for the next eight years: Enduring multiple painful injections, an unnecessary surgery, and endless rounds of physical therapy.
sleeping at a youth hostel and having a bit of adventure before returning to University in the Fall. It wasn't supposed to completely change the trajectory of my life. Falling in love with a handsome rock climber that summer certainly didn't hurt either. That didn't stick, but the love of mountain sports did. I learned to rock climb, canyoneer, and ski both on and off-piste, with reasonable skill. I dabbled in ice climbing, trail running, backpacking and mountain biking as well. While I was never going to do any of my chosen 'land sports' at an elite or even close, level, I'd become competent enough to generally not be a liability to a group and got invited to join trips based on my
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I continued to push through pain at my activities until a revolutionary surgery that replaced the torn tissue with a cadaver implant that greatly improved the outcomes for patients was available. I went through an intense 9-month recovery process of physical therapy and reduced mobility, and was thrilled to finally get back to my sports. Then disaster struck. One week to the year from my surgery, just when I was starting to get back to my previous activities, a simple slip on a patch of ice on a fairly easy ski run set me back almost another two years of recovery time. I broke my right leg in six
Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
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places, tore three of four ligaments in my right knee, two of them completely and lost about 15% of my meniscus. I spent a month flat on my back in bed before I could limp along with a large knee brace on one leg, a cast on the other, while I scooted along on a walker, happy to be able to get out of bed for the shuffle to the sofa. A metal rod and screws held my right leg together, while another cadaver graft reconstructed a missing ligament in my left leg. I dug deep into my well of optimism not to fall into despair. Finally, when I was able to ski again, a fall skiing, ripped a ligament from bones in my hand that required more surgery to correct. I started naming the missing parts: The walking dead part 1 (hip); The walking dead part 2 (knee); the lightning rod (leg), and the hang in there (hand). I started to become known more for my injuries than most other things. Running had left the big toes on both feet with significant arthritis in the main joint. Cortizone shots and more surgery to fuse the joint were part of the treatment. My hip pain had never fully abated after surgery, and my damaged knee was now creaky. Friends threatened to wrap me in bubble wrap
Photo credit Dave Brown of Acwa Terra
when I went out. It was getting ridiculous. I wasn't looking to change sports, but my body was rapidly demanding otherwise. Miraculously, my back and shoulders were still in great shape. After assessing my options for adventure sports activities against an inventory of my damaged parts, kayaking seemed to make the most of what was still working with my wellused body. I had tried kayaking once before some 20 years before in a swimming pool. Thanks to the bullying, sadistic person who flipped me upside down with no warning while I was in my boat, sending me into a spiral of panic, without first explaining how I should get out of my
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boat, I hadn’t been taken by kayaking. But perhaps it was time to give it a second chance. I signed up for lessons with the only white water club I could find in my area of Colorado. In kayaking, there’s little time to contemplate your next move, stop and take a deep breath, gather your thoughts. No, it's a dynamic moving environment where the feedback on your performance is pretty much instantaneous. Hanging off a rope hundreds of feet in the air on a rock climb hadn’t really fazed me, but MOVING WATER, well, that was dangerous. You guessed it, I wasn't exactly a natural. Actually, I
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struggled to get comfortable to willingly go down rapids that were more than ripples. I wasn’t one of those people who progressed rapidly, learning to roll their kayak within a few lessons, being happy to swim if their roll failed. No, I tiptoed into the sport. I did not go all in.
Photo credit Dave Brown of Acwa Terra
Photo credit Dave Brown of Acwa Terra
Photo credit Dave Brown of Acwa Terra 18
Luckily, the club I joined was very supportive, and I quickly realized that many kayakers were kindred spirits. They became my new tribe. I took a leadership role in planning events and social activities. There were times when I was embarrassed by my lack of progress relative to the people who had started in the same beginner classes with me. But I had fun. The sport was exhilarating, kept me on the edge of my comfort zone and then some introduced me to like-minded people who loved adventures, fun and the outdoors as much as I did and allowed me to see beautiful places from the different vantage point of the river, not rocks above them. Slowly, I had gotten better. My progress was incremental, but progress none the less. But off the water I felt the need for a much needed mid-life shakeup to energize a life and marriage, that while incredibly blessed my many standards, had led to complacency and a nagging need to turn life on its head a bit.
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I'd worked out an early escape plan from my professional life in the States, my husband landed a new job in the UK, so off we went with the idea of making the most of our time in the UK by seeing and doing as much of Europe as we could. Moving though for me meant finding a new kayaking club. I was at a low-intermediate level, so it was essential I found the right group of people to paddle with, a group where I could develop my skills without being over faced. But where to start? What clubs, what rivers, what time of year? A search of Facebook kayaking groups led me to several welcoming groups and to the discovery of a vibrant and active UK kayaking scene. I joined a club and went on trips with them. But I had yet to find 'my tribe' of partners, then again, being a that lowintermediate level with no local knowledge of the rivers and various runs, I wasn't exactly in high demand as a paddling partner outside of the Club I’d joined. Then I heard of one who's name seemed to fit me perfectly, Slightly White Water. When I discovered they were planning a coached trip to Slovenia that summer, I enthusiastically signed up for a week-long kayak skill-building course, not just because of rumors I
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heard about the crystal blue Soca River with runs from expert to near novice; cheap, delicious pizza; and reasonably priced accommodations; but also because it would push my boating skills and comfort level, plus introduce me to more UK women who boated. This trip seemed like exactly what I needed. I was looking forward to it. Knowing I had an exciting adventure to look forward to, helped me cope with my first, lonely dreary winter in the UK which alas included some toe surgery. It also gave me something to work towards, for I need to practice my paddling, as I'd only taken up kayaking two years earlier and Slovenia would be a big leap for me. The thought of the trip in fact kept me motivated to push through the cold, dreary days of late winter paddling, when the siren call of the sofa was so tempting, but it would have been wrong. Being used to kayaking in Colorado where it is a Spring and Summer sport and the rivers are flush with melting snow from the mountains, white water kayaking in the British winter was going to be a very different experience. While the water is cold in Colorado, the blistering heat of summer that is required to melt the snow, makes the cold of the
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river a most welcome relief from heat. To cope with kayaking in the UK’s winter, there was nothing for it, I purchased a new kayaking suit with thicker neoprene and braved myself for those inevitable cold water swims Before I knew it, it was late Spring and time to head off to Slovenia. I was excited, but I had no idea what this trip was going to mean for me, for as I got off the plane the sight of snow-covered mountains in the distance, the smell of fir trees and the crisp air of late spring caught me off guard. They hit me with such an intensity, such a feeling of peace, it was as if I was home again, really home, in a place where my soul could sing. In the UK I live in the flatlands, but here, back in view of the mountains I was experiencing a homecoming of sorts. I couldn’t help but reflect back on the journey I’d taken, not the one from the USA, to the UK to Slovenia, but the other journey, the accidents, the operations, the rehabilitation exercises. It had been quite a ride. I may not have been there to climb those Slovenian mountains, but at least I was once again savouring the great outdoors at its most empathic best.
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More About Kayaking in Slovenia Slovenia is a destination for kayakers from across Europe, but it is largely unknown to boaters from the USA, my home country. Late May until late August is high season in Bovec, the main town many outdoor enthusiasts stay in or near. There are several hostels and campgrounds in the area for budget travelers, as well as nicer hotels and apartments to rent. Be sure to book early, as many places fill up quickly in high season. There are several reasonably priced restaurants in the area. Pizza is one of the better deals, but many restaurants can have long lines during peak season as well. There are several bakeries along the main street where you can purchase delicious pastries and savory pies for very little. Many guides and guiding services in the UK and Europe offer week-long coached trips. Acwa Terra, out of North Wales, was excellent at coaching and logistics for our trip. You will need to purchase a river access permit good for one week. Many outfitters provide this but check. At the time of writing, there was a proposal to significantly increase the costs of the permits for summer 2020, but this has not been finalized. There are a limited number of places to rent kayaks. If it's possible to bring your own boat, you might be happier. If you're hiring a local outfitter, they may provide boats. A friend from the United States who joined me in Slovenia had been told by one local outfitter that they rented kayaks, but on arrival, she discovered that they were sit-on-top boats, completely unsuited for white water kayaking. Drysuits or thick neoprene layers are essential as the water comes straight from the mountains and is quite cold. Kayaking is not the only activity to do in Bovec. Slovenia's mountains offer a wide variety of adventures. Local outfitters offer single and multi-day trips canyoning, paragliding, Via Ferrata, rock climbing, white water rafting, gentle float trips on placid sections of the river. There are numerous mountain huts to hike to and the famous Soca Trail offers spectacular walking. Triglav National Park is near and offers stunning mountain scenery and climbing Mt. Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia is considered a rite of passage for many Slovenians. Rainy day options include trips to the town of Bled and Bled castle or exploring the capital, Ljubljana. Great tourist information and resources for planning your trip can be found at www.slovenia.info and www.bovec.si
About Judith Thomas Judith does only very limited social media. If you would like to get in touch with her, please contact her via our website and we can arrange for the message to be delivered to her.
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The ways we live By Rachel Yaseen
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shameful about my inability to be fully present for these events. Chit chat and small talk were never my forte. My passion is more about authentic conversation and adventure.
Rachel Yassen is a 50 year old mother of one son. Four years ago she decided a conventional life wasn’t for her. This is her story of how she manages to live the life she wants to live, whilst being as good a mother as she can be to her son.
Without even realizing it, I spent most of my life trying to live up to what was socially expected of me—trying to fit in socially, receiving a proper education, finding a stable job, owning a home, having a TV, and celebrating holidays. This never felt truly authentic. And it wasn’t. I was living the way other people thought that I should. While I had an inner knowing that there had to be a different way, I did not know how to find it within the narrow framework of what I knew.
I am 50 years old. Since May 2016 I have lived a full time nomadic life without a home or address. I am also a mother.
Now I realize the restlessness and frustration that I carried around was partly because of my need to be adventurous and find my own path. It is only very recently that I really started to see myself as an adventurer. I was never presented with a role model for this lifestyle. While this might sound surprising, I never even knew that women could create their own adventures and do them solo. It took me 46 years to find this path of life.
My son, Wexler, was born in 2006. He is lucky and unlucky to have me as a mom because it is challenging to have a mom who you only see three times a year. These three times are not during the Christmas holidays. I grew up in a traditional upper middle class Jewish family. After university, I fell in love and married a man who was not Jewish. We created our own hybrid version of Jewish and Christian traditions. For nearly 25 years I participated in Christmas events with my husband’s family. I did that because it was a tradition that was important to my husband and his family. In all of the years of Wexler’s life, Christmas was celebrated with his grandparents on his father’s side (my exhusband).
The Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage I made in 2015 from southern France to Finistere—on the west coast of northern Spain —changed my life forever. After walking 750 km over 26 days, I found myself at the end of the pilgrimage in the pilgrim office where I was asked to write my name, age, and occupation for the certificate of completion. When one of my fellow pilgrims answered “traveler” to the occupation question, I burst into tears. It was at that moment that I knew that I needed to change my path.
As you might have already guessed, I am not a traditionalist and I am not sure how much jolly I added to the Christmas gatherings. Back then, I did not know that I was an introvert—I was
I returned to America knowing that I could not continue as I had been living all of my adult life.
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I did not go from living a pretty conventional family life as a mom to be a full time adventurer overnight. It is an evolving process with a high cost; not always graceful, definitely not clear, but filled with surprises.
One of the things that I learned on the pilgrimage was that there is a consequence for every action—-when you select one thing, you deselect another. It was painful for me to tell the man that I had loved and lived with for 25 years that I was going to end that relationship simply so I could pursue my real purpose in life. But that was nothing compared to the pain that was involved in telling our 8 year old son that his mother and father were not going to be together anymore.
Now looking back on the last 4 1/2 years, I feel like it was worth the cost. My son has a mom who now can be present for him, show him alternate ways of living, and traveling/adventuring with him three times a year. Over the last 4 years, we have trekked, cycled, scuba dived, studied Spanish, and lived in very primitive conditions. We were in Haiti, Spain, British Virgin Islands, Peru, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Oregon, and the mountains outside of Tucson Arizona.
For family and friends it was like I was coming out of the closet. It was not comfortable for them to watch their beloved family dismantled I was judged, shamed, and by a few, supported.
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Wexler typically has a big say in where we go and what we do. I let him choose a work exchange program and he picked the reforestation project in Haiti. He also suggested we do the Camino together (in 2015 I did it alone). I think he suggested it because he knew how meaningful it was for me. While in Spain, we decided we needed to improve our Spanish and chose to study Spanish in Guatemala for our next trip. Nearly all of our adventures involve living in primitive conditions. In Haiti, we lived in a village without electricity or running water where 95 percent of the population was out of work. We lived, worked and ate in simple open air constructions made of bamboo, wood, and palm leaves. We prepared our food over an open fire, using the locally grown greens and roots. And only had access to a composting toilet—squatting over a hole and then using water from a bucket or left hand to clean ourselves off. No toilet paper allowed here! On the Camino, we also learned to live communally, in Albergues, pilgrim hostels where we slept in bunk beds with anywhere from 4 to 30 other pilgrims. Wexler learned how to be tolerant and flexible in this type of living situation. Wexler got bedbugs, we slept with many snorers, and sometimes people were just loud coming in late or leaving early in the morning. The benefits of sharing the journey with friendly and interesting people from all around the world was much more valuable that the small inconveniences. Wexler does not pick all of the adventures but he definitely gets the opportunity to veto. One year we got the opportunity to work and live with a local family in a small
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Peruvian village by the Rio Madre Dios in the Amazon. The home had no insulation, an unfinished floor, no air-conditioning (and the Peruvian rainforest is hot!), chickens and ducks running around in the house and front yard, and one bathroom for 9 of us to share. But they were so hospitable with the limited resources (according to Western standards) they had and we really felt a part of the family. They had a daughter Wexler’s age. She taught Wexler to make chocolate candies that she sold at school to make money. They spent hours working and having fun even though they did not share the same language. He also had the opportunity to go to school with her for a week. This 10 year old Caucasian red head was a hit with the school girls.
year, many trails were not accessible. We chose the 650 km Oregon Coast Trail. While it is extremely beautiful, it is a harsh environment— the wind never stops, it is usually quite cold and wet, and it is extremely remote— very different than the desert that we are used to. In the beginning Wexler really struggled. His knee hurt. His foot hurt. He was tired. He stopped every 30 minutes to rest. This was not the kid that I backpacked with three months earlier. I wondered if I made a horrible mistake to undertake this 3 ½ week adventure with our 20 pound (about 9kgs) minimalist packs, an adventure where we camped every night except two nights where we stayed in a hotel.
Since 2018 when Wexler started in middle school, it became more difficult to travel during term, because his new school would not give him time off. So we made the fall and Spring adventures closer to his home - backpacking in the local mountains (which are pretty tremendous).
But, committed to perseverance and patience, we persisted and by day four he got his walking feet, rarely needed to stop, and never again complained of aches and pains. It was hard for both of us due to the harsh environment, but I know Wexler felt proud and had a sense of accomplishment when we arrived at the finish at the border of Oregon and California.
One of my favorite activities is to walk through the night. It was definitely not his idea, but I think Wexler was curious to try to do it and last spring, he agreed to walk with me. We walked 40 km from 7pm to 7am on a route that we created through a canyon, over a mountain range, and back through the neighboring canyon. We purified our water, navigated flooding, played music and built small fires to roast marshmallows and make hot chocolate along the way. It was hard and afterward, Wexler said he would never do it again. But recently he started talking about doing it with his friends when I return in March.
Wexler is so lucky that he has a loving dad and step mom plus grandparents and large extended family of aunts and uncles and cousins that can continue the family Christmas traditions; probably even better without my presence. I miss Wexler but I do not miss the holidays. I can offer Wexler something else. By not trying to live up to societal expectation and tradition, I am a more free, happy, and present person who can give my son additional values that are no longer taught which I hope will be valuable later in life. Whether he wants to continue family traditions about Christmas and other holidays will be his own choice. The biggest Christmas gift I can give him is to show him tolerance, perseverance, patience, simplicity, consequences, and diversity of life.
This past summer (2019), I decided that I really wanted to teach Wexler about hard work, perseverance, and patience. I wanted to find a thru hike in the United States but because of the extreme winter conditions earlier in the
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About Rachel Yassen After obtaining a masters degree in history at 23, Rachel Yaseen taught women’s studies at college level., before transitioning into the field of environment conflict resolution, where she developed her own education programs. At 34, she took a complete shift and opened a bar/restaurant with her now ex-husband. After Wexler was born, she taught yoga then started the “Organic Kitchen” - a solo operation where she offered catering, cooking classes and a cooking school, About a year ago together with her new partner, Rachel started riding her bike around the world. They anticipate it will take 5-7 years. So far then have ridden through Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa and Flores. They are human powered except when they need to take a ferry or when Rachel returns to the USA to see Wexler. She once sent us an email where she “ As I write you, I am laying in an open air hut on a hilltop with a view to the rice fields—after a crazy steep ride through the mountains in what started out as a hot day and ended in a rainstorm.” She doesn’t currently “live” anywhere, but, has two little bags on her bicycle and two small boxes of clothes in Tucson Arizona. She and her partner usually sleep in a different place each night.
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You can follow Rachel Yaseen on the following social media channels: Facebook:
@rachelyaseen
Instagram:
@rachelyaseen
Website:
Rachelyaseenworldwide.com
Email:
rachelyaseenworldwide@gmail.com
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The Big Interview with Paula Reid Skiing to the South Pole By Jane Harries
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The Catalyst It was another May night in London for Paula Reid, work over, it was time for a game of badminton. Only on this night in May 2012, instead of badminton followed by home and sleep, she ended the day in a hospital bed with a torn Achilles.
How on earth does a person decide to ski to the South Pole? The North and even more so, the South Pole, has fascinated our editor for years. She’s lost count of the number of books she’s read about polar journeys.
Deciding to ski to the south pole after an Achilles injury would be huge. But Paula wasn’t at that stage yet. True the North and South Poles were listed on a bucket list of hers, but at that time, the bucket list was dormant somewhere in the depths of her mind.
Yet she’s never had the grit, tenacity and bravery, to attempt the journey herself. After all, aren’t polar journeys the domain of square jawed ex-army officers, or a few extreme women from the wilds of northern Scandinavia, or the depths of coldest Canada or the freezing wastes of certain US states?
A while after breaking her Achilles, with her foot still in a plaster cast, Paula started feeling ill. For three nights in a row she couldn’t lie down, due to excruciating pain down her flank. Her then boyfriend stayed over to keep an eye on her. One night he saw something in Paula’s eyes that really worried him. He promptly called for an ambulance. The ambulance paramedics did an electrocardiogram (ECG) on Paula which disclosed several large blood clots on her lungs. At 5am she was rushed to hospital.
Seize the moment Two trips to hospital, a broken Achilles, blood clots in her lungs, it’s not really surprising that Paula felt a tad sorry for herself and cried a lot. She now wonders if it was depression.
Actually, the answer to that question is no. Our editor spent a few hours chatting with former teacher, now consultant, Paula Reid, who has skied to the South Pole.
But with time, with her Achilles healing, Paula turned her tears and low mood into something positive, for her troubles motivated, inspired and prompted her to do something significant with her life. The question which faced her, was what would that be? That’s when Paula turned to her bucket list and saw those four big words, North Pole, South Pole. Doing one of those would certainly meet her criteria of being ‘significant’. 29
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Fear and doubt
skied to the South Pole, plus the last degree to the North Pole, and had run a multitude of Polar training trips. Paula was female, about 5 feet 9 inches and wanted to ski to the South Pole. In Helen, Paula had found someone she could relate to. Helen was the person Paula needed, to help Paula turn fears, doubts and hurdles, into action steps to be overcome.
Like so many of us, Paula had assumed the Poles weren’t within her reach and capabilities, that the poles were only for famous men. But she didn’t let that put her off. Rather than operate on assumptions, Paula decided to operate on facts.
Specific training – UK
She started researching by talking to those that had been there, which in turn led her to Helen Turton.
Paula’s specialist laughed when she told him she was going to ski to the South Pole. After all, an Achilles tear takes 1 to 2 years to properly heal (no pun intended). Paula though was determined. It was already January 2014 and some 20 months since Paula had torn her Achilles. It was time to get training for her expedition to the South Pole.
Identifying with others Paula believes that to truly inspire, the audience needs to relate to and identify with what the inspirer has achieved. Helen was female, about 5 feet 4 inches and had already
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Many of us can be guilty of only doing what we like doing and what we’re good at doing. Paula may have enjoyed playing badminton, but playing badminton wasn’t going to help Paula get to the South Pole. What would help her, was listening to her physiotherapist and doing what the physiotherapist said she needed to do, in order to build up her leg strength. After all, the strength of her legs and core, would be critical as to whether or not, she would succeed.
week. It was usually for 1 or 2 hours after work, with a long pull once a weekend which maxed out (after months of building up) at 8 hours and around 10 miles. Tyre pulling alone though wasn’t enough. Body balance, boxercise and weights were key to toning up Paula’s body. In fact, Paula grabbed every possible opportunity to fit in training, such as always taking the stairs instead of the escalator. On fortnightly visits to her parents, she even turned walking their dog into an extreme training exercise, walking barefoot in order to toughen up her feet.
For polar explorers a key part of training is pulling tyres. Paula’s neighbour lent her two Porsche racing tyres which she towed around her home area (now near Portsmouth on the UK’s South coast). As she towed those tyres on the beach, on pavement, on rather hilly and sandy old Military of Defence land, Paula often felt embarrassed, self conscious, even a fake.
What Paula did stop was running, for she decided the risk factor of a running injury was too high. After all, with her past Achilles issue, she was very aware how an ill timed injury could stop her training, and thereby potentially kill her goal of skiing to the South Pole. Why risk the bigger picture for the sake of a few runs?
Had Paula given up to her initial feelings of embarrassment, her dream would have been over. Instead, she kept at it, despite those feelings and the strange looks she got from others. The more she did it, the less self conscious she felt. With time, the self consciousness floated away and was replaced with a sense of validation.
Specific training – Norway Whilst mental and physical strength are essential to the success of any polar journey, they alone are not enough. As Paula put it, “to thrive in polar regions, it’s not enough to simply survive, one needs to feel as one with the environment”.
Word about Paula got around Portsmouth. It’s a naval town, and squads of naval trainees would give her signs of respect. The bus drivers too got talking amongst themselves, for on seeing her out towing tyres, buses stopped, and passengers smiled and waved. Some people even threw her loose change which she added to the pot of money she was raising for charity.
But how to learn those skills when you live on the UK’s south coast? Enter training camps in Norway. Nowadays there are a few of these camps in Norway where people can learn the requisite skiing and camp life skills. Paula attended two, organized by Helen Turton. The first, a week long one training camp held two hours north of the capital Oslo. There in deep thick snow Paula had her first practice sessions at cross country skiing and snow camping. Later, she returned to Norway for a second camp, a two
It’s all well and good to talk about tyre pulling, but how much training did Paula actually do? After all, the whole point of the training isn’t to break oneself, but to build oneself up so one can successfully complete a challenge. According to Paula, she tyre pulled 5 days a 31
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week long trip which included an expedition on the Hardangervidda plateau. In case you’re wondering, the Hardangervidda plateau is the largest mountain plateau in in north of Europe. It’s a place where temperatures can drop to minus 20 degrees centigrade. A place where ferocious winds and whiteouts can happen. A place so tough, Amundsen trained there before he and his team became the first people to make it to the South Pole.
as she would be when setting off for the South Pole.
Risk assessment and management One of the things I’ve noticed in films, is how on polar and high altitude mountaineering adventures, participants cook on stoves inside their tent, whereas more or less everywhere else, people cook outside their tents to minimise carbon monoxide poisoning and fire risk.
In chatting to Paula one of the things that amazed me most, was learning that the first time Paula tried cross country skiing, was during her first Norwegian training camp! In fact, prior to Antarctica, the only cross country skiing she’d done, was during those two Norwegian training camps. Paula admits she was nervous about keeping up with the others on her Norwegian trips, for not only was she new to cross country skiing, but she was also still building up her fitness, and wasn’t yet as fit
So how come do extreme adventurers cook inside their tents? I asked Paula about this. Turns out “the key is to calibrate the risk of what one can and can’t do”. So, in polar environments where there’s extremely low temperatures and possibly gale force howling winds, to survive, one needs to do stuff one
Melting snow both for drinking water and to rehydrate food, in Antarctica
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View from the tent in Antarctica
wouldn’t do in a temperate environment, and that includes cooking inside a tent.
course, foot care, all essential for a successful ski to the South Pole.
This was another reason why Norwegian (or similar) training camps are so key to Paula and other less experienced Polar explorers. For at those camps, Paula could learn from experienced explorers, what is the best way to behave properly in a Polar environment, without first accidentally developing bad habits that need to be overcome later. Skiing and cooking inside a tent weren’t the only essential skills Paula learned in Norway. There was hygiene, housekeeping, pulling a pulk and of
They say never wear a new pair of shoes on race day, for the risk of blisters or hot spots is just way too much. The same applies to an Antarctic expedition. Fortunately for Paula, a glitch with her new boots was identified in Norway (it was an issue with the inside of her boots where her heal went), not Antarctica. By Antarctica, the glitch had been fixed and her boots worked perfectly. But in Norway, on her first seriously steep up hill, her boots rubbed against her heels. As Paula says,” it’s so ridiculous how much pain you can feel from a 33
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silly little blister”. She thought it was a silly little blister, but that night, discovered her heels were red raw.
Goal Setting
Mental strength What’s your long term goal?
It can be very easy when talking or thinking about an expedition to focus on the training, the skiing, the kit. But what about the mind? On reaching the final destination at the end of that Norwegian training camp, Paula cried with relief and pride. Despite not yet being South Pole fit, despite not being a graceful cross country skier and despite those blisters which caused her such intense pain, she had done it.
Identify medium and short term goals, to help keep you focused and to give you satisfaction as you journey towards your long term goal
She also believed the experience had toughened her up mentally, which could only help her in Antarctica and was certain that skiing to the South Pole couldn’t possibly be as bad as what she’d gone through in Norway.
Seize the moment and start your journey towards your long term goal
It sounded to me that Paula was in a strong state of mind, ready to cope with the difficulties Antarctica would undoubtedly throw her way. But whilst a general positive state of mind is great, what about the specifics. How does one cope with the temperatures, tent life, blisters etc? When I did the Marathon des Sables (a 150-mile race in the Sahara Desert), I rarely thought further ahead than making it to the next checkpoint before it closed. What about Paula, did she have any strategies she could share?
Hit your short term and medium term goals and keep going, even if you need to take occasional breaks, but keep going
Turns out Paula had three sets of goals. She divided each day into sections, either time or distance. As she attained each of these time / distance mini goals, she recalibrated her mind to focus on her next time / distance mini goal. Secondly, she had medium term goals like her next snack break or evening campsite.
Congratulations goal achieved
Finally, there was her long term goal, skiing all the way to the South Pole. 34
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Hearing this fascinated me. For when you think about it, each one of us can subdivide our own life and goals like this. If our long term goal is to gain a promotion, then what medium term goals do we need to achieve say on a monthly basis, and what steps do we need to undertake on a daily basis, to give ourselves the best possible chance to achieve that promotion?
such as how many people could she name with each letter of the alphabet.
Pre trip planning - Kit Paula told me she found researching kit options and shopping for kit to be extremely time consuming. But this was essential work, for having the right kit would be imperative, if Paula was going to make it to the South Pole. For with temperatures of -40 degrees centigrade not unheard of, and wind chill potentially making it feel more like -50 degrees centigrade, the wrong kit options could lead to failure, amputations from frost bite, even death.
Less relevant to our work day but certainly relevant to other possible goals such as training for a long distance hike, a triathlon or perhaps a marathon, I was also intrigued to learn how Paula used mind game to help her,
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Rather than ski solo, Paula chose to join a group. There would be 5 of them, none of which had previously skied to the South Pole. One of the 5 (who was ex-military) had however previously worked at the base camp operated by Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE) in Antarctica, at Union Glacier. He would be the group’s guide
Food wise, the group decided on 7,000 calories a day. I know, 7000!!! How on earth does one manage to eat 7,000 calories a day? This would be a tough task at home with a big breakfast, huge lunch, massive dinner with desert and snacks in between. But in Antarctica, there would be no lunch break. It was just two meals a day plus quick breaks for snacks whilst out on the ice.
ALE has a monopoly on flying people into Union Glacier, the place from where nowadays most Antarctic expeditions seem to begin. They also provide support to people on expeditions going via Union Glacier and give advice to groups, such as the one Paula was a part. Part of that advice included tips on kit. The group of course also discussed kit amongst themselves. At the end of the day though, the final decision as to what she packed and what she didn’t take, was down to Paula.
To make matters worse for Paula, she admitted to me, that she struggles to eat much for breakfast, as she generally needs two hours after getting up before she can eat anything much at all. Getting the requisite calories in would be a challenge. Enter food planning, or rather, calorie consumption planning. For one thing they decided on and did, was to add coconut oil – an extremely rich and high calorie ‘food’ – to hot drinks. Just imagine it, a hot chocolate drink, became more like drinking a Bounty bar. Protein drinks and isotonic drinks also became essential items.
To ensure she had all the necessary stuff and no more, no less, before leaving home Paula packed and repacked her pulk 4 to 5 times. After all, what she took, she’d have to haul on her pulk. What she didn’t take, she’d have to do without.
For evening meals, they took freeze dried, foil packaged meals, which they selected based on calorie content – about 1,000 to 1,5000 calories per meal.
Unsurprisingly, Paula’s parents whilst fascinated with her forthcoming expedition, were also worried for her. She may well be an adult, but they were still her parents and still very much loved and cared about her. Whilst some parents might try to persuade a child (even a middle-aged child) of theirs not to do something like this, that was not their style. All they needed, was to know that Paula knew what she was doing, and that Paula did.
The food wasn’t all bad though. Paula’s mother baked tasty high calorie ‘blocks’ with chocolate, for Paula. There was also cheese, salami, chocolate and nuts, bought in Punta Arenas in Chile, from where they flew to Antarctica.
Pre trip planning - Health
Pre trip planning - Food
Having had blister issues in Norway, Paula was extra wary of the need for good hygiene in Antarctica. What could she do in order to make life easier for herself? As far as her feet were concerned, this meant becoming an expert in foot care. Paula bought a book on
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the subject footcare and even corresponded with the book’s author. By the she headed south, Paula was very capable in foot care. But what about other personal matters? Rather than have to deal with having a period out on the ice, Paula chose to use the pill. One potential ‘hardship’ resolved, what about peeing? She knew going to the toilet would be a challenge and certainly didn’t want to get frost nip on her bottom or private parts. So Paula practiced using a She Wee (a funnel like contraption, which would supposedly enable her to pee inside her tent, rather than have to go outside). Alas, even with an extension designed by an engineer, whilst it might be for others, it wasn’t really a success for Paula on her Antarctic expedition. Still, she’d done her best to minimise a potential issue and could do no more.
Pre trip planning - Sacrifices All that time spent pre trip kit, food and health planning, plus the Norwegian training camps, would however come to nothing, if Paula wasn’t fit and strong enough to haul her pulk for the requisite daily distances. Despite all the hours needed to deal with kit, food and health planning, she still had to find the time to keep and further build on her physical training. I asked Paula how could she find enough time to do everything? The answer lies in one word, sacrifices. Paula had to sacrifice time with her boyfriend, time with her family, time with friends, time to read, time to watch TV and time to simply relax. Time management became essential and as she said, “I got more functional with stuff”. Every evening she did something. 37
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Finally, though, it was time for Paula to head south, she was fit and raring to go. She had planned as well as she possibly could. She had managed expectations from family, friends and her consulting clients. Now it was going to be Paula’s time.
ALE flies its personnel and clients to their Union Glacier basecamp in Antarctica. Punta Arenas is also where Paula finally met the other 4 with whom she’d attempt to ski to the South Pole. With drunken games and quizzes, all intended to help each one of them to learn about the others, Paula’s curiosity as to what they would all be like, was soon answered.
South to Punta Arenas Punta Arenas is a city of over 125,000 people in the far south of Chile. It’s also a key gateway to Antarctica, the place from where
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ALE’s base camp at Union Glacier
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To Antarctica’s Union Glacier
It wasn’t however drunken fun. There was also the serious business, particularly a big chat about behaviours and rules of engagement whilst out on the ice.
Everyone I’ve spoken to who’s been to Antarctica talks about the flight from Punta Arenas to Antarctica’s Union Glacier by the spectacular Ellsworth Mountains on the west of the continent, for to us civilians, it is quite possibly the only time one would ride in the belly of a Russian Ilyushin transport plane.
There was also important last minute food shopping. ALE have a warehouse in Punta Arena for that exact purpose. Fresh fruit, nuts, salami, cheese and chocolate were all bought (after all, why pay excess luggage on flying food from home to Punta Arenas, if it could definitely be bought there). As chocolate, salami and cheese freeze in Antarctica, every morsel bought, then had to be chopped up into mouthful sized chunks.
After landing on the world’s only natural blue ice runway, Union Glacier becomes home for expeditioners, whilst waiting for an internal flight by ski plane to the start of their expeditions. For Paula, this meant a De Haviland Twin Otter, which is a popular choice of plane in remote Arctic as well as in Antarctica.
Finally, gear needed to be weighted. Paula’s an experienced adventurer (having previously sailed around the world in the Volvo Ocean Race (often referred to as the Volvo Round the World Yacht Race). She’s used to packing only the bare essentials. Now at weigh in she was concerned, for her loaded pulk, including kit, food and fuel weighed 80kgs, far less than most people’s loaded pulks. Paula couldn’t help but wonder that she’d left something critical behind. But no, the lower weight was down to her efficient packing and in fact the team was impressed with her effort.
Skiing to the Pole After landing on the Ronne Ice Shelf, it was finally time for Paula and the rest of the team to start skiing. First though, they checked their GPS to ensure they were starting over the frozen sea, not on snow and ice covered land. Position confirmed at 82 degrees 20 south, this was it. I asked Paula how she felt at that time
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Packing up the Twin Otter for the flight to the Ronne Ice Shelf
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Flying over Antarctica in the Twin Otter enroute to the Ronne Ice Shelf
with her massive ski to the South Pole ahead of her. Paula’s reply, “I felt super ready”.
given the difficulty of surviving in such and extreme environment and her frustration and upset at falling over in the first few days.
Despite feeling great on starting, within the day, Paula realized how long and hard they would ski each day. That was a bit of a rude awakening, a shock, for somehow that fact hadn’t really hit her before. Perhaps it’s because they went in hard, for there was no easing in. Perhaps it was because the pulks were at their heaviest. Perhaps it was because Paula kept falling over on that first day, which in turn frustrated and upset her. She described that falling over as an “absolute nightmare, physically and mentally rubbish.” Yes, she admits to crying a bit, not surprising
In life though we all endure tough times. Some tough times are thrust upon us, some, like Paula’s trip, are from choice. So how did Paula deal with this tough situation? The answer, she realized she simply had to put in the required energy, effort and grit, to deal with it. Hard work is often (if not always) rewarded and Paula’s grit and determination was rewarded as she found her stride, her rhythm, her pace. She started to smile and look up at the stunning scenery, for the weather was better 40
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too. Appreciating that scenery, appreciating finding her rhythm, she felt mentally better and claims that feeling mentally stronger, made her feel physically stronger too.
Paula, who had initially found it tough and emotional, had built herself up and into a zone where she felt good. But now Polar Thigh threatened her dream. She was on an emotional rollercoaster, low, high, low again. Would she have to give up?
Polar Thigh
Paula and the guide spoke with the medics at Union Glacier Base Camp using their satellite phone. Evacuation was discussed.
Alas for Paula, her troubles weren’t over. In fact, they were only beginning. For on day 7 of her 46 day ski to the South Pole, Paula developed a condition called Polar Thigh on both of her thighs.
But in Antarctica, evacuation takes a few days to organize. They kept skiing and as they skied, Paula talked the situation through in her head. She had a “mental narrative of how strong and capable” she was and worked round to the fact she probably could keep going.
Nasty sores are not something you want at the best of times, especially when on an expedition. The early polar explorers didn’t suffer from it, so whilst no one is certain what causes it, there is one school of thought that man made fabrics might have something to do with it. But why to some skiers using synthetic thermals get it and not others? Some polar expeditioners even have to be evacuated for Polar Thigh.
The second night she and the group’s (exmilitary) guide talked. Paula asked if she really had to be evacuated. The guide recognized Paula’s mental toughness. They rethought the
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Starting out for the South Pole
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situation and decided as Paula was mentally tough, determined and a person who doesn’t give up, she didn’t need to give up, she could keep going and that the medics had been “too sympathetic’.
So, what happens on a daily basis as one pulls a pulk ever closer to the South Pole? The answer, a warmup ski leg of 15 to 20 minutes, rearrange kit, ski 75 minutes, break 10 minutes, repeat for about a total of 12 hours, until it was time to camp.
Had they been in the tropics, evacuation might have been imperative. But here in Antarctica, in a pristine freezing cold environment, infection was less of a concern. So now, instead of planning an evacuation, the issue became a practical problem of how to manage the pain and how to keep it free from infection.
With 46 days of skiing, you’d think a person might get bored, what with the repetitive motion and all that snow all around them. But Paula didn’t get bored. What she wanted, was a distraction from her leg pain and repetitiveness, not boredom. Inside her hood and her goggles and her mask, she like all the others, were effectively isolated from each other. Yes, they skied together in a line, but they were so wrapped up, communication was almost impossible. They weren’t alone, and yet in a
Paula was back on an emotional high.
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way, they were alone, at least alone with their thoughts all the time whilst skiing.
days. She equated it to a depressing suffocation. It also made navigation harder, for there was an obsessive fixation with skiing 3 feet apart, yet in a total white out, even seeing 3 feet ahead was challenging.
When her iPod worked, Paula happily listened to audio books and music. In fact, when her music pumped and crystals of snow glittered, Paula got a real ‘wow that’s beautiful’ high.
Whiteouts weren’t the only challenging weather conditions Paula and the others faced. Despite all the snow in Antarctica, it’s actually a desert, as there is so little precipitation. Most of the snow in the air, is simply being carried around by the wind, as opposed to being fresh snow. Though Paula and co did experience a fresh snow fall.
When her iPod didn’t work, then she reflected on her past, her present and her future. Her immediate future goal of her next break, her medium term future goal of the next camp, and her longer term future goal of the South Pole, plus her post South Pole future when she could eat and drink whatever she wanted on returning home.
The wind was also an issue. On Antarctica, the wind comes from the South Pole, so they were skiing into it. On about 4 to 5 days, the wind was so strong, they had to walk at an
When the weather closed in, with a whiteout all around them, as it did for approximately a third of the time, those Paula found to be the worst
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Tent life in Antarctica
angle. One day, it was too strong for them to leave their tents.
It took Paula and the others 3 hours a night simply to melt enough water for hot drinks (with that coconut oil) and for water to pour over a foil bag’s worth of dehydrated food.
Tent Routine
Clothes washing, washing oneself with a flannel, first aid and diary keeping, was all done with one eye, as the other had to be kept on the boiling water. After all, they didn’t want to lose any water to a spill.
Skiing over for the day, despite being physically tired, it was time for hard work of a different type, camp duties. Pitching tents, constructing a wall for protection from the wind, shoveling snow into a sack, hauling it into a shared tent, pouring a small amount of water from the day’s supply into the bottom of a pan, adding snow and melting that snow to create more water, plus of course, cooking dinner. `
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could mean death. Yes, if there was an emergency, they could call for a rescue plane, but there was no guarantee the weather at Union Glacier and wherever they were on the ice, would be good enough for a plane to take off and land. So, keeping one eye on the stove and the slowly melting snow, was absolutely imperative.
fitness and on her kit and food planning. She had endured Polar Thigh that was now so bad, during the last few nights she felt feverish. But now, it was almost time for Paula’s epic journey towards a significant goal, to be over. She had just one more day to ski to the South Pole. Seeing the Antarctic Research Station as a dark blob on the horizon was a particularly exciting moment. Then, as if Antarctica was teasing them, it clouded over, and the Station disappeared from view. So close, but so far. It was too far for them to reach it on day 45, they had to camp one more time.
It sounds tough and it was hard. But as the expedition developed, Paula and the others got into a routine. That routine became core to maintaining discipline and control, even down to basics such as cleaning one’s teeth, for routine meant following a plan designed to minimise risks, thereby helping them do the right things in the right order.
And then on day number 46, after skiing about 23 to 26 kms every other skiing day, there was just another 14.5 kms to go.
As for mornings, they too were hard work, with yet more water needing to be melted. The thought of leaving the comparative warmth of the tent for another day’s pulk hauling, was also a tough one.
Reaching such an iconic destination such as the South Pole after such a journey of recovery, determination and resilience, was of course a special moment for Paula. But at minus 40 degrees centigrade, she couldn’t cry, for any tears would have frozen on her face. There they were though, at the South Pole, where the only direction one could look in, was north. Despite everything, Paula had done it.
Christmas Alas, there came a point where it was clear one of the others in the group was struggling. Eventually he made the call to be evacuated out. Call made, now they needed to find a place where the ski plane could land. As they were close to a known resupply area, they made for it rather than having to dig out a new ‘runaway’ in the middle of nowhere.
That night, they dined in a big tent at the South Pole (owned by the expedition company).
Once at the evacuation location, now all they could do was wait. It meant a break from skiing which coincidentally coincided with Christmas day.
The Last Day All good things come to an end. For Paula, she wanted to do something amazing after tearing her Achilles and developing blood clots on her lungs. She had worked hard on her 45
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Instead of a reconstituted dehydrated meal plus a hot drink enhanced with coconut oil, it was scallops, steak and chocolate pudding, real 5-star cuisine. Then the following morning, back to the South Pole landmark itself, for more photos, after all, the journey had been long and hard, it was now worth relishing the moment and the feeling of having arrived, before flying back to Union Glacier and from there on into the future.
herself that smelled, or rather her legs. For in some places, thanks to the Polar Thigh, her legs were going rotten. The tally, 20 open wounds. She was put on 4 different drugs and her dressings had to be changed daily. The drug combination had such a load, Paula felt spaced out for the 4 months which it took her legs to recover from Polar Thigh. On the upside, whilst still winter in the UK, Paula was now so acclimitised to the cold, she didn’t need a winter coat, but rather walked around in a mini skirt and t-shirt, just as if it were the middle of summer.
After the South Pole Paula’s South Pole journey didn’t however finish at the South Pole. Driving home from the airport, her boyfriend remarked “you really smell”. It wasn’t her clothes, or her hair, or her kit, it was Paula
About Paula Reid Paula Reid business, adventure and positive psychology. She is a trainer, facilitator and coach as well as a speaker, author and adventurer and has a master’s degree (MSc) in Positive Psychology and Coaching. Her four books are Boat to Boardroom, The 7 Racing Rules, Live Life to the Full and World's Most Dangerous Jobs. You can follow Paula on the following social media channels: Instagram:
@ThePaulaReid
Twitter:
@ThePaulaReid
Website:
www.paulareid.com/about-me
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When Adventure Goes Wrong By Zoe Pye
enture goes wrong
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I first met Zoe Pye when six of us met up for a training hike prior to Marathon des Sables. It was early 2017. Whenever I’ve met her since then, she struck me as someone who was in control of herself and who knew what work she needed to put in, in order to achieve her goals. Imagine my surprise then when she sent me an email with this story. A story of hurt, pain and suffering. It only goes to show that regardless of what people might think of us, behind our exterior, can lie turmoil, doubt, and anger. So next time you catch up with someone you haven’t seen for a while, please share this story with them. After all, it might encourage them to share another side of them self with you. And if they do, please, consider yourself privileged. For when a friend is brave enough to share the tough times, then more than ever, they deserve our respect, our kindness and our generosity. For the record, we still think Zoe is awesome. She might have suffered deeply from this experience, but she has still managed to pursue other dreams and since the accident has successfully completed the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, Ultra Tour de Oman and France’s Ultra Tour de Mont Blanc, as well as work on her snowboarding. So as the new year fast approaches, let’s all take a leaf out of Zoe’s book and when the tough times come, yes we can rest, but the, let’s come back stronger than ever, even if we have been changed. Incidentally, Zoe doesn’t really do much social media, so if you’d like to get in touch, please send a message marked for her attention, via the contact page on our website.
Unfortunately, he didn't miss me, instead he hit me head on with his full force.
The damage that one reckless man can cause. That may seem harsh, but it is how I feel.
As he prioritised his journey down the mountain over the safety of others, my trip, which was a month in the mountains that I had dreamed about for months, ended prematurely whilst he continued skiing with his friends
I had significant trauma to my face in 2016 (and still have a permanent damage); because one man thought, he could ski at full speed towards me, with the intention of narrowly missing me at the last moment.
How did it happen? I was off-piste on a natural half-pipe. No, I am not badass in the mountains. Yes, I am very scared of speed. The natural half-pipe was a
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way an instructor told me to practice turns while controlling speed (the off-piste is between two piste runs and reasonably safe); before turning, the side naturally slows you down, making turning less scary. The man in question, saw me going up on the side, knew I would turn and come back, but thought if he went down from the other side (which he was on) with full speed, he could narrowly miss me. The moment he hit me, I am not sure if I have ever hated someone so much in my life. Unfortunately, I was by myself, about to pass out and bleeding from my nose, so I needed the man who hit me to stay with me until the rescue crew arrived. His friends left to get the rescue crew. I waited wondering if I would pass out whilst being informed that this man’s friends often told him off for skiing too close to them, but he never listened.
After a while, it became apparent that no one was going to ‘rescue me’. I carefully boarded down the mountain until I met the piste. At the bottom, the supposed 'rescue' people were waiting. The man told them he hit me, but in France, when you don't speak French, some people don't care about you…I think they want an easy life and it is easier for them to say I had a collision and not document details of the person who hit me.
He clearly saw me, saw that I was being careful and went full speed towards me anyway (if I was a child I could be dead).
I was in shock, hadn't seen my face, and was using all my energy not to lose my temper at the man who hit me. Once I was with the supposed ‘rescue’ people, I asked the man who hit me to leave; as I didn't want to yell at him. I didn’t know that I should have taken his details… “when you know better, do better” (Maya Angelou). Lesson learned: if anyone hits you, get his or her details, even if you think the injury is minor. At the time, I thought I had a black eye and that I would be able to board goofy
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foot, with my good eye, for the rest of my trip.
Armed with the scan images, a bag of medicines, the knowledge that something was broken and a note banning me from flying; I set off on a day of train travel, carrying everything that I had brought for a month’s trip in the mountains.
Getting to the hospital… The ambulance was only going to take me to the local medical centre in Argentiere (20 minutes by car from Chamonix). If I went there, there would be no way back, to Chamonix, when the ski busses and trains stopped. I was staying opposite a hospital in Chamonix; luckily, some people heard my dilemma and offered me a lift to Chamonix.
People in the local trains were nice and helped me. Getting in the train to Paris, I booked first class because I thought I would get more help, but no one helped me. The attendant tried, but she was wearing high heels and not strong enough to help with all my bags. After a while of struggling, I got the bags on. By the time I sat down, I was crying. I was hoping to have some time to myself, but the train was full.
I discover that the 'hospital' in Chamonix is actually a shell. Chamonix got a brand new hospital, but due to cuts, it wasn't operating as a hospital, there was a doctor and not much else in the large new building. The doctor said that because I have a beautiful face, I need to go for a scan - I am not sure what happens to people who don't have ‘beautiful’ faces? I went to a second hospital, which was ~ 40 minutes away by ambulance. I asked the doctor how to get back from the hospital, he said I could hitch hike.
Arriving in Paris, a friend who was in Paris at the time helped me from one Paris train station to another. I have never been so grateful to see a friend in my life - a familiar Australian accent and someone to carry my bags when I most needed it. Another friend met me in London...Thank you both!
The Hospital… By the time I had the scan, I had gone without food and drink for hours. I asked the doctor if I could please have some water. They forgot. When the doctor told me I had a break, I passed out (probably a mixture of no food / water and shock). The upside of passing out, was a night in the hospital and no requirement to hitch hike home. The next day I got a message from a friend of a friend (now a friend) asking if I wanted to go snowboarding, when I said where I was, he offered to pick me up; I have never needed a lift so badly.
Getting back to London…
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Finding a Doctor…
Maxillofacial was amazing, he talked me through the operation, assured me that they do more of these operations than anywhere else in the UK and that being operated in the NHS was better than being operated on in a private hospital (due to the theatre set-up and assistants he works with frequently).
I first went to A&E at the Royal London Hospital. The doctor there was excellent; however, I did not intend to be in a NHS hospital for my operation, so requested a referral to a private hospital. I imagined watching movies in a hospital in Chelsea with Molton Brown products in the bathroom.
From this moment, I was a very good NHS patient, patiently waiting hours, because having a great surgeon was the most important thing.
Doctor 1… I chose my first Doctor, so that I could have my operation in a hospital in Chelsea. The first Doctor said that he could do the operation, but that I couldn’t do no sport for three months after the operation. When I questioned this, he said, "Ms. Pye, have you read the peerreviewed literature?” No, I hadn't, but as this Doctor looked like he hadn’t done any sport in his life, I was concerned that perhaps there was a bias in the articles he selected to read.
Post operation… Not being able to fly home to be with my family in Australia was hard. Whilst I was happy to meet with friends for a coffee or a chat, I was tired and could not be around friends for more than a few hours. I craved my family. One day I woke up with an eye full of blood, which was a particularly hard day, my parents didn't answer the phone and I cried on the phone to my grandparents, despite the fact that there was nothing that they could do to help from Australia, and I was just distressing them.
Doctor 2… I saw an excellent Doctor on Harley Street. Unfortunately, he specialised in jaws (my issue was under my eye), he said he could operate, but it wasn't something that he had done before. He asked me why I left the Royal London Hospital, as they are the best at this kind of operation.
Overcoming trauma… I was scared to walk on the street, ride my bike, cross at traffic lights. I was permanently worried that someone would recklessly drive on the footpath, through a red light etc.
I saw another specialist to check my eye, he told me that private doctors don't like to specialise in the emergency operation I needed, because it is an injury that people often get in drunken fights on Friday and Saturday nights and being a specialist in this particular operation ruins your family life.
I am gradually getting better, but am still incredibly scared of men in vehicles, men riding bikes, men on the slopes, men in general.
Focus on training...
Back to Royal London…
The only way I got through the accident was through focusing on the functional vs. the physical. I was back training a couple of weeks after the operation and the incremental
I went back to Royal London with my tail between my legs, begging for readmission so that I could have the operation. The head of
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improvements, in strength and speed, were the only things that got me through when my face was deformed (I had purple marks under both eyes for months).
do this safely via group trips with mountain guides (although this can get expensive). I have also discovered ski touring, not many people want to get to the top of the mountain using their own energy, so this can be a great way to avoid crowds (and has benefits for my running).
The NHS has been amazing in understanding that permanent marks on your face contribute to the trauma. They have done everything that they can to get my face back to how it was and I am incredibly grateful.
A big thank you to... The amazing surgeons at Royal London Hospital and to my friends who helped me get from the hospital in France, safely back to London.
Lesson learned I now have accident cover, as whilst normal private health cover will cover an operation, it won't cover the cosmetic procedures required to restore a damaged face.
About Zoe Pye Zoe does only very limited social media. If you would like to get in touch with her, please contact her via our website and we can arrange for the message to be delivered to her.
Back to snowboarding... I am back snowboarding; my focus now is to be as far away from other people as possible. I
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Adventures in Rubbish By Clare Osborn Kayaking photos courtesy of Evoke Adventure and Kayak Summer Isles Brighton Clean up photos courtesy of Alex Bamford
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Oh no, not another article on plastic pollution, we hear some of you say. Don’t worry, it’s not. We all know the problem is out there and well here at Adventure She magazine, once a problem has been identified we move on to solution building. So rather than depress you we really hope this article will bring you hope. Since 2015 former solicitor Clare Osborn has been researching plastic alternatives and solutions. She’s worked on several projects including putting together an exhibition of oceans solutions, for an Incredible Oceans installation that was part of a Daily Telegraph Outdoor and Travel Show at London’s Excel and another installation at an event held at the Royal Geographical Society in London. She’s also created a network of experts who are working on a variety of solutions to our current issues with rubbish. We don’t all need to be a leader like Clare and turn our life upside down. But leaders need helpers, and we can all help to some degree. In this article Clare talks about key moments in her journey, the leadership roles she has taken and the techniques we can use to reboot ourselves, when it all becomes simply too much.
The Life Change
is to start on that path and as I have discovered, doors start to open where you didn’t know they existed.
A few years ago my life flipped upside down when my mum spent two months on life support fighting for her life. Plastic saved her life which proved to me that it is not the material that is the problem but the way we use and dispose of it. The experience also taught me about my own inner strength and so I let go of previously held fears of the unknown and preconceived ideas of what life should be.
#PaddleCleanup Campaign I am a scuba diver as well as a relatively novice paddler and like many of us, have watched as over the years our supermarket shelves have infiltrated our beautiful blue planet. Plastic is now so ubiquitous that it is in the air we breathe, the food we eat, in our bodies and our natural environment all over the globe.
So I quit my legal career in pursuit of my passion for marine conservation and for proving that you can live the life you want to, because you can, can’t you! All you need do,
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Photo courtesy of Evoke Adventure
Photo courtesy of Paddle Summer Isles
Photo courtesy of Evoke Adventure
Photo courtesy of Paddle Summer Isles
After I took up sea kayaking I joined an expedition, led by kayak guide Erin Bastian, cleaning up plastic out of our inland waterways. From the very beginning I became the ‘go to rubbish expert', finding upcycling and recycling solutions for what we found and taking the waste to public events to reach a wider audience.
Our latest trip involved Erin, myself, 11 other women of all ages, a local kayaking business and the Scottish Wildlife Trust Living Seas. Through our team work we removed 5 tonnes of waste, mostly industrial fishing waste and plastic bottles, from 8 beaches. The #PaddleCleanup campaign is more though than just the annual expedition we run. It’s about everyone taking responsibility and helping clean up the mess us humans have created.
Through our shared passion to empower all paddlers to do their bit, Erin and I launched the #PaddleCleanup campaign, which runs an annual paddle cleanup expedition. After all, us paddlers have such a unique access to the waste due to our manoeuverability on the water and our ability to access hard to reach river banks, uninhabited beaches and beyond.
Whilst many people agree there’s too much rubbish lying around, a lot of people don’t know what to do about it. That is one of the reasons I worked with British Canoeing on a Paddle
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Photo courtesy of Alex Bamford
Photo courtesy of Alex Bamford
Photo courtesy of Alex Bamford
Photo courtesy of Alex Bamford
Each year in Brighton there’s an annual citywide weekend Pride festival. In 2018 City Clean staff collected over 100 tonnes of litter left behind by an estimated 450,000 attendees. The Ocean's 8 Brighton team believes it’s our duty to support the city cleaners and protect the ocean. So this year we organized a beach clean after Brighton Pride which we believe to be the biggest beach clean in Britain to date, with over one-thousand people signing up to clean the beach between 7am-4pm.
Cleanup toolkit (which launched on 22 September 2019). The toolkit gives advice on cleaning up local waterways and getting out there with a local paddling club. It also deals with off water stuff like land cleanups and engaging your community at large.
Festivals and rubbish As part of my community involvement, I am now part of the Oceans 8 Brighton team, a cooperative consultancy working together to tackle marine debris solutions and am honoured to be part of this alongside an a-list team of women leading the way for ocean plastic.
Recycling and Upcycling I am now working with various artists, outreach experts and fashion designers to make sure that the waste we found is diverted from landfill
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Britain’s biggest beach clean in Brighton after this year’s Pride festival, I have seen so much rubbish. At times looking at this manmade devastation has horrified me so much, I’ve sat in tears on beaches strewn with manmade crap.
and continues to educate and inspire. After all it is vital that people know that every small thing that they do makes a difference and collected waste doesn’t end up being dumped once more.
Eco-Anxiety So yes, it’s easy to get caught in a spiral of ‘what’s the point? I know as I have been there and to be honest with you, I fell out of love with plastic and rubbish activism.
The combination of my own activism and my work as a NLP practitioner has made me realise there’s a new anxiety issue which people aren’t yet really discussing. It’s name, eco-anxiety.
But then I realised there is a point! So I have returned. After all, if we all don’t do something, who will? And if we all do something, wow!
So, I’m not surprised that people are losing sleep, feeling anxious, having panic attacks or obsessively worrying about the future. After all we are living in an era where wildfires, plastic pollution, melting ice and dying oceans are a regular feature on all media channels.
Dealing With The Overwhelm Should you find yourself tripping into overwhelm, here are my top tips for how to reframe it into positive action:
The good news is anxiety is a completely normal reaction for we are hard wired to experience stress, as it acts as our personal internal warning system. The tension caused tells us something is wrong and we need to act.
1. Acknowledge it By acknowledging your concern you take control of it, which you need to do if you are going to take action.
Although eco-anxiety isn’t a recognised mental health issue itself, it could enhance pre existing conditions.
2. Get specific and plan Give yourself some quiet time to work through your thoughts and to identify your biggest concerns, e.g. climate change or plastic pollution.
Me and Eco-Anxiety I discuss eco-anxiety with most of the environmentalists and campaigners I come across, it’s been talked about on my podcast and it’s an area that I am continuing to explore.
If you have several concerns, try writing them on post-it note. By playing with the order of the post-its it could help you identify an order of priority.
Psychologists suggest that eco-anxiety is more common in women and I, for one, have had first hand experience of it.
Acknowledge you’re not superhuman, you can’t fix all the world’s problems single handedly. This will allow you to focus on your main priority.
Through my work with river and beach clean ups, including that clearing up 5 tonnes of rubbish from the Scottish wilderness, and
3. Dealing with ‘what if’ scenarios
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Don’t get so caught up with what the future might hold, that you stop living. It’s so easy to wind ourselves up by running ‘what if’ scenarios, even if the reality is these ‘what if’ scenarios may never happen. So how to handle a ‘what if scenario such as ‘what if I can’t stop buying single use plastic?’ In my work as a mind coach and NLP practitioner, I suggest a three step process.
it is you are doing and sitting with one’s breath for a couple of minutes. Remind yourself that all we have at this exact moment is now. Finally, to find something you are grateful for. Then spend a few minutes acknowledging and allowing that gratitude to percolate through your whole being. For instance, I might be grateful to be healthy or that the sun is shining, or that I got to look at the ocean that day.
First, to look back at challenges one’s had to deal with in the past. As you’ve successfully dealt with those challenges in the past, then why would dealing with future challenges be any different?
By going through this three step process, I escape the ‘what if’ cycle and can then focus on creating an action plan to deal with my first priority.
Secondly, to take some time out to get present and real. Doing this means stopping whatever
4. Look for positives
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As we humans tend to focus on the negative, this means we can distort the picture of our life, by deleting the good stuff. In that way, life can look more negative that it really is. But we can change that by choosing to focus on the good stuff, for where our attention goes, our energy flows.
It can be really easy to place blame on others, but the truth is, we all need to take responsibility and we all have a part to play in developing solutions. Taking responsibility is one thing but don’t overwhelm yourself. It is really easy to assume responsibility for everything, but you also need to take care of yourself and understand your personal limitations.
Whilst the world is facing a number of challenges, there are also lots of hugely inspiring people and initiatives out there, which are already working on solutions. So rather than focusing on the problems, take positive action by engaging with those initiatives.
Far better to do something, no matter how small, and to share what you have done and learned, so that you too can inspire others and create a ripple effect of positive change, rather than to burn out.
5. Take responsibility but be ok with being average
Realising this was an eureka moment for me in my personal journey. I ‘d found so many
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amazing projects that I wanted to be a part of it all. But by chasing all the ‘shiny things ‘I’d ended up tired, exhausted and not much use to any project let alone my own, and none of us can help a cause whether the environment, women’s rights, wildlife protection, or something else, if we are running on empty.
Dealing with the overwhelm Acknowledge your concerns
So remember to take care of yourself, before you take care of others. It sounds counterintuitive but believe me, it helps everyone more in the long run. And accept that you are not a superhuman, it is ok to just be ok and to just do what you can, progress over perfect.
Get Specific
Once I realised the trick was to take time out to self-nurture, I got my balance back. Now I am so much more useful to other people and planet!
Identify your biggest concerns Create an action plan
Final thoughts By taking ACTion, we can all start to chip away at our own guilt and then in turn, knock down the foundations of our eco-anxiety. Dealing with what if scenarios
Remember, ACTion means: Acknowledging concern and reframing it so you are ready to act Creating an action plan of achievable goals, that are realistic for you and your lifestyle.
Look for positives
Thinking of the planet when deciding what to eat, how or where to travel and how to shop. Action doesn’t however mean perfectionism, for there is no such thing as perfectionism. So we need to shun the idea of perfection, because that is an impossible goal, but taking ACTion, that is definitely doable and if we all take ACTION, then together we can create a wave of change.
Think, take responsibility but be ok with being average
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More About Clare Osborn Clare Osborn is an ANLP accredited NLP Coach, Practitioner, Time Based Techniques Practitioner and Mindfulness Coach. She is currently working towards her NLP Master Practitioner. In 2018 both Clare and her #PaddleCleanup co-founder Erin Bastian were appointed as British Canoeing Women’s Paddle Ambassador for 2018. You can follow Clare using these social media links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/claretalksrubbish/ Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ClareTalks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claretalksrubbish/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clareosborn/ For tips and inspiring stories from every day heroes who have decided to take action, tune into the Clare Talks Rubbish Podcast at: https://claretalksrubbish.com/clare-talks-rubbish-podcast/ Finally, for practical advice on carrying out clean ups and engaging your community in solutions check out British Canoeing’s Paddle Cleanup Toolkit at: https://www.britishcanoeing.org.uk/uploads/documents/Paddle-Cleanup-Toolkit.pdf
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Training for the 100kms Hong Kong Trailwalker By Jane Harries
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These days Hong Kong is in the news for very sad reasons. Adventure She magazine has to be non political, as we want to be empower, educate and entertain people across the globe, and that means, staying clear of politics so we don’t get barred by censors. Sometimes though it’s possible to share a story about a place currently facing strife and uncertainty, without commenting on the politics. We very much hope we have achieved that in this article. In 1842 after Britain defeated China in the Fist Opium War, Britain took over the island of Hong Kong. Following the Second Opium War, in 1860 Kowloon being the land opposite Hong Kong island (and from which you now get amazing shots of the Hong Kong skyline), became British. Then in 1898 Britain entered into a 99 year lease of land known as the New Territories. Technically, only the New Territories had to be returned to China after that 99 year lease expired. Instead the British and Chinese governments negotiated and as a result of those negotiations, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, were all returned to China under an agreement whereby for 50 years, Hong Kong would be governed separately from China, other than for defence and foreign affairs, under a “one country, two systems”. On 1 July 1997, the first day when HK was back under Chinese hands, as our editor watched the news on television in her flat in London, she saw Chinese tanks enter Hong Kong. It was a display not just of strength, but of sovereignty. In some ways, it looked worryingly fearful. At the time many expats chose to leave Hong Kong. Our editor certainly couldn’t imagine living there. Yet somehow, a few months later in February 1998 she found herself on a plane bound for in new job in Hong Kong! This is her story of how moving to Hong Kong changed her life, not because of work, or skyscrapers, or city living, but because of the hiking the Oxfam Trailwalker, which prior to handover was known as the Maclehose. Why write this story now? Because unfortunately, one of the victims of the recent troubles in Hong Kong has been the 2019 Oxfam Trailwalker which had to be cancelled. So this article is meant to be an ode to Hong Kong’s Oxfam Trailwalker and is written with the hope that it will be back next year. It is however a long story, so we’ve decided to split it over two issues, rather than gloss over things. After all, none of us change our life through ‘glossing over things’. This issue is about the training, next time, will be about the event itself.
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Days that change our life
“Sounds amazing” I instantly replied “let me know when the next one is”.
Can you pinpoint certain days as being days that were pivotal days, days of such magnitude, that they changed your life? I can.
“Oh that’s easy, it’s the Maclehose and it’s in November”.
Isn’t it too tough for me?
Of those days, 1st March 1998 is probably the one with the most positive impact. For 1st March 1998 is when I first heard of the Maclehose.
A couple of weeks later whilst walk jogging with some others, I once again heard of the Maclehose. I turned to a rather podgy long term expat and asked him "What exactly is this Maclehose thing I keep on hearing about"?.
I’d arrived in Hong Kong three days earlier to take up a new job. A strange city (though admittedly I’d spent a few days there in 1993 as a backpacker), in a strange land, where everyone was a stranger. There was nothing for it, if I was to survive Hong Kong, I had to get out there and meet people.
"Oh you mean Trailwalker, they don’t call it the Maclehose anymore since handover. It's a 100kms charity walk for Oxfam. I did it last year in 30 hours. It's easy." I looked at him again. He didn't look fit. In fact, there was nothing particularly remarkable about him. Just like most of us, he seemed to be a perfectly ordinarily person. That made me think. If he, an ordinary person could do it, then why not me?
The best friend, of the sister, of my former Spanish teacher, had also just moved to Hong Kong, arriving a mere few weeks before me. In those days we didn’t have text messaging, Facebook or WhatsApp. Yet various messages got relayed down the line and on that fateful 1st March 1998, in one of the few non sleezy bars in Hong Kong’s Wanchai district, I met Fran.
Commit to the goal Roll on another month. It was a mellow Saturday afternoon. A few of us expats from work lounged around at a, for once, rather quiet bbq. We sipped our drink, savoured the sun’s warm rays and relished in the fact the mosquitoes hadn't yet descended upon us. I casually mentioned how I was thinking about doing Trailwalker.
I was 31, an okay size, but certainly not fit. Yet one of the first things Fran asked me was “What are you doing next Saturday?” "Why" I replied. "Well there's a 50 km charity walk and a few of us are doing it. Since you're new in Hong Kong I thought you might be interested in joining us?"
Instantly everyone jumped up. "You're crazy".
It certainly sounded interesting. But there's interesting and lunacy. I may have loved the great outdoors, I may even have visited and played in the great outdoors, but I was nowhere near hiking 50kms fit. Perhaps 10kms, but 50kms, absolutely not.
"You must be mad.” “Don't do it, you'll wreck your knees." Yes, the responses came fast and furious.
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I can’t remember what exactly Caroline said, but whenever it was, it was after Trailwalker.
Yet amidst those voices was one lone voice attached to a proud, beaming, joyous face. He calmly uttered the words "I did it last year.”
Of course, poor Caroline had no idea why Vicky (support crew extraordinaire not hiker) and I were leaping up and down in our seats. We managed to calm down enough to explain Trailwalker to Caroline. Now she was the excited one, instantly signing up for this 100 kms charity hike. We’d found our first ringer.
The look on his face was all the reassurance I needed. Now I knew for sure, I definitely wanted to do Trailwalker, all 100 kms of it. So what if I’d never even done a half marathon let alone a marathon. I enjoyed hiking, I wanted to do, so why not do it?
Seize the moment That conversation was another pivotal moment for me, for those work colleagues of mine had been in Hong Kong much longer than me. They knew the who’s who, including who was talking about doing Trailwalker that year, so I asked them for names. Thanks to their introductions, a month or so later I found myself part of a team. Actually, there were 5 of us girls from work eager to sign up, but teams consisted of only four people. Rather than form one team with a reserve, we decided to scout around for three ringers. Enter Caroline. She was new to Hong Kong and had been introduced to us KPMG girls (for yes I worked at KPMG in those days), by one of her work colleagues, a guy who desperately wanted to date Vicky, my best KPMG friend. You know how it is, you make small talk like, have you been on holiday anywhere recently? She replied, trekking in Nepal. I instantly screamed at Vicky “Trailwalker”. Viicky knew exactly what I was thinking and leapt in with “when do you leave”?
The other 4 women from work who wanted to do Trailwalker, during our first wet Lantau hike..
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First hike Training session number one was an afternoon walk up Victoria Peak, yes that mountain which towers over the Hong Kong skyline. This was meant to be an introductory hike. Yet most of us who were there that day struggled, as we walked up the narrow steep lane to the mountain top. It was most definitely a rude awakening to me, if not to all of us. Already June, we had a mere 5 months to go from out of breath strugglers, to hiking 100 kms. This was going to be tough. The Tian Tan Buddha of Buddha Shakyamuni, situated on Lantau Island, in Hong Kong and scene of at least one training hike, though not the ones mentioned in the text of this article.
Another Rude Awakening Have you ever flown into Hong Kong? If so, you’ll know that since July 1999, the airport is tagged onto the rather mountainous Lantau Island. You may even have seen some of the island’s rugged peaks before your aircraft descended, or after lift off. Those mountains on Lantau Island can make for some tough hiking. Of course, as we set off for Lantau Island and our first day long training hike, I being new to Hong Kong, had no idea how tough hiking could be on Lantau. Sight problem, we hadn’t checked the weather forecast, nor had we factored in our lack of fitness and Lantau’s rugged terrain. Let’s just say that by the time we landed on Lantau, a bit of wind and drizzle had evolved into a howling contemplated turning back. Yuck. Still, no one even contemplated going home. Instead, it was up, up, up, up, up.
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Despite the rain at first It was hot and humid as well as wet. Then as our coats got soaked through and we got wetter and wetter, we got cold. Yet we kept climbing. Every now and then someone would utter something like "Will these steps ever end?" As for rests, we stopped every once in a while, but only when we absolutely had to.
in such awful conditions. Jelly legs or not, step by step we descended that mountain, fear and hope floating in and out of our minds in equal measure.
The brutality of the uphill though was nothing compared to the steep, intense and wet descent on slippery wet rocky steps. In fact, at that time in my life, it was the most intense downhill I’d ever encountered, so no wonder my legs felt like jelly (and yes my quads hurt for several days afterwards).
“I can’t see”.
“Surely it couldn’t be?” “It might be”.
Then, it’s ours” as someone with better eyesight than mine made out KPMG’s emblem on the junk’s flag. They were there. Hooray. But would they still be there by the time we’d make it down?
Yet the bottom of that descent was still only half way. We had another mountain to climb up and over before our rendezvous with Vicky and some more work friends, who had KPMG’s boat (a traditional junk) for the day.
"Will they wait for us?" "Of course." "Are you sure?"
Fear
"No, but surely they wouldn’t just go and leave us catch a bus and the ferry."
Ascending the second peak we feared we’d missed the junk, for the hike was so much harder than we’d envisaged, we’d be around two hours late for our rendezvous.
"But we’re going to be around 2 hours late." And so the conversation continued.
Would they wait for us in such miserable weather? If not, we’d have a very long and slow journey back to our homes.
We made it, just, in fact they were about to go as they saw us. The relief all round was palpable.
As we summited the peak, through the rain and the clouds we could just about make out the bay we were aiming for and in it, we spotted a boat. Gradually bit by bit we realised it was a junk. Could it be our junk? There was no way of knowing. The only way of knowing was to get closer.
Ongoing Training Of course, when working towards a huge goal, like Trailwalker was for me, one big effort isn’t enough. Frequent and sustained effort is needed.
Action needed
We needed to build up our fitness and our endurance. For all 8 of us (a full compliment of ringers having now been recruited), this meant
It that was our junk, action was needed, for we couldn’t expect them to hang around all afternoon
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lots and lots of hiking. Sunday after Sunday throughout Hong Kong’s humid summer we trained, regardless of the weather. In late July and August, a combination of high temperatures and steaming humidity had us roasting as early as 8am. Sweat dripped into our eyes and all over our faces. Several Mondays my face was covered in dozens of tiny spots, thanks to a combination of sweat and sunscreen.
Motivating A few weeks into training it was time to tackle Needle Hill as part of a 20kms training hike. Only problem, it was around 36 degrees centigrade with humidity of over 90%. To quote one of the fittest amongst us, “Needle Hill is horrible with a capital H” and “I hate Needle Hill”. Yet, she reserved these comments for after our first trip up Needle Hill. For on that brutally hot day, every step hurt in the unforgiving heat. We didn’t need to be demotivated, we needed to be motivated, to be inspired, to be empowered. So instead of rubbishing Needle Hill’s steepness, she went a little way ahead and called out to us stuff like "there's some shade up here”. Of course, there wasn't, but her ploy worked and kept us moving ever upwards. Thankfully, after descending Needle Hill we came across a shaded picnic area. We lay there over an hour. We had to, for it took us that long to cool down and recharge our batteries after Needle Hill. As for me, on returning home that night after 11 hours on the trail, I sat on my bed supposedly for merely a second or two, before I changing. When I woke, it was to the sound of my alarm at 7am the following morning.
The infamous Needle Hill
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Objectives
was given to follow, was one designed to help me succeed at Trailwalker.
With only about 2 months to go, it was time to decide who should be in what team. Rather than teams being divided along friendship lines, they were created based on fitness and objectives.
So after 11, 12, 13+ hour work days, I’d hit the gym. In fact, treadmills, rowing machines, exercise bikes and teeny tiny weights, ruled my late evenings.
Sacrifices
The fast team hoped to do the 100kms with almost 14,600 feet of accumulated ascent in under 30 hours. In the slow team, our objective was to finish.
As for socials, this was Hong Kong and there were a lot. But now, some of those social were timed with us 8 Trailwalker girls in mind. Birthday dinners and other meals out started late enough, so us Trailwalker girls could put in a cardio session after work, and still make it to dinner.
I was in the slow team and was thrilled to bits, for I was in a team. Slow me, formerly obese, spotty me, geeky me, bullied me, chosen to do a 100 kms event. Yippee yippee yeehah.
The gym
So far as alcohol was concerned, which in Hong Kong was very much a part of life for us expats, it too was almost abandoned, especially as we got closer and closer to the event itself. In fact at a birthday dinner thrown for one of the Trailwalker girls held just a few weeks out from the event itself, there were too many of us for a single long table. So us Trailwalkers sat on one table where we carbo loaded for that weekend’s mammoth training hike and abstained from alcolhol, whilst the other table indulged in whatever they wanted. But the funny thing is, it wasn’t a sacrifice on our part. For the people on the two tables now had very different wants. The other table wanted a great night out. We wanted a great night out that would help, as opposed to possibly hamper, the preparations for our bigger goal.
What I did know, was if I was to succeed at this unknown, I needed to be prepared. I’d never properly trained for anything before, I’d certainly never followed a training program. But this was so much more than slow jogging around the school cross country course, or going on a bit of a hike for a few days. This time, I knew I needed to train and train properly. Fortunately, Trailwalker was such a part of the fabric of Hong Kong life, there were plenty of past Trailwalkers around to ask for help. Actually, when I first arrived in Hong Kong I was told, “it’s not a case of whether you join a gym, it’s a case of which gym you join, for otherwise you will put on weight”. They were right, in my first two months I’d put on weight thanks to all the alcohol and food eaten whilst “tiddly” and within a couple of months, I could no longer fit into my jeans. That’s when I joined a gym.
Another night one of our fittest Trailwalkers turned to me and asked, whether I thought a second glass of wine would adversely impact her hiking performance on the morrow? Yes, it might sound obsessive, but Trailwalker meant so much to all of us and we so wanted to achieve our goal, we were prepared to make
My gym induction also coincided with my deciding to do Trailwalker. I mentioned Trailwalker and surprise surprise, the program I
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sacrifices if that would mean the difference between success and failure.
I also noticed I was getting fitter than my teammates. Why was this? After all, each one of us was putting in a lot of effort.
Trailwalker didn’t just however consume us. It consumed others too. As social organiser Vicky said "you've got to be involved in Trailwalker, either doing it, or crewing for a team, or manning checkpoints, otherwise you’re excluded from all expat dinner party conversation in Hong Kong for 6 months.”
The answer is chanceI was in Chicago airport and bored, thanks to a multi-hour layover. I perused the newsstands and that’s where I saw it, a magazine that dealt with sporty stories and adventures endeavours. (Years later, disappointment in the lack of females on the pages of that magazine is one of the reasons that led me to setting up Adventure She magazine, so that women also have a place to share their stories).
Giving it the best shot I was getting noticeably fitter. I know, for real runners at a monthly social running group which I went to, remarked on it. The really fast ones who tended to hang out with each other afterwards, were now actually talking to me! Yes me. A few months earlier I struggled to jog 3 kms. Now I was flying.
There was an article explaining that when a person exercises, with time, their fitness level plateaus and so to keep improving, one needs to do more. I bought the magazine. I devoured that magazine. I became that article. From then on, each fortnight the treadmill got steeper, the intensity on the bike harder, the
As for endurance, I had it nailed. I seem to have found my distance, and it wasn’t sprints.
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ultralight tiny handheld weights were dumped and replaced with light handheld weights. I had lucked out on the right article, for the right person at the right time.
ferocious, they’d had to turn back, as the wind had tried to pick up the lightest of the group! This time there was nothing for it but to head off the mountain and go home.
I still didn’t know if I could hike all 100 kms of Trailwalker, and I wouldn’t know until the event itself, but I was giving it my best shot.
Returning to my flat share in Hong Kong I switched on the TV to discover we hadn’t been wimps for bailing out of that hike, we’d been sensible. Mind you, we had been stupid for not checking the weather forecast, as there was a typhoon 3 in progress!
Typhoon season Gym work alone though wasn’t enough. Each weekend, most of us hit those trails. So what if the weather forecast was miserable?
Still that didn’t stop me, another time when I couldn’t hike with my team on a rare Saturday hike, I did my own thing on the Sunday, after all there was only about another 4 weeks to go before Trailwalker so I couldn’t afford to miss out on a decent hike.
We mainly hiked on the trail itself, but occasionally went elsewhere. On our second trip to Lantau Island, that’s when the weather really got bad. If we’d thought it was bad the previous time, on this occasion, it was savage. At the time the two teams were still training together. As I started climbing up the second peak I met up with a couple of the faster ones coming towards me. The wind was so
Why oh why did I do that solo hike? After all, having experienced one typhoon I knew they were bad and being typhoon season, by now I really should have learned to check the weather forecast. As I hiked up and down the
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Cattle roaming free and resting with Needle Hill on the right behind them.
steps of Violet Peak on Hong Kong Island, the wind was so bad at one point, I got scared. What on earth was I doing out there all alone? Most people had been sensible enough to stay at home. Mind you I still met another two or three people out in the mountains that day. One of them ‘kindly’ explained there was a Typhoon 3 in progress and it might go up to a Typhoon 5!!!!!!!
tougher and weren’t properly worn in. What to do?
Please please please, don’t be a me, whatever you do, check the weather forecast before you go hiking and stay at home, if a typhoon’s heading your way. I learned my lesson that day. I was fine, just scared.
Now there was just one more task to do before I headed off to join the others for our afternoon start. They say an army marches on its stomach. I am no army, but I do like my food. It was time for a quick visit to the deli downstairs, where I could indulge in the most perfect cup of coffee imaginable and pick up Hong Kong’s best foccacia sandwiches for my lunch and dinner. After all, I was heading off to hopefully hike 100kms. For once, calorie counting didn’t matter, for I would definitely be burning way more than I be eating.
Rather than risk blisters from those new boots, as the weather was perfect and there was no danger of muddy trails, I opted to wear my runners. After all, at least I’d worn my runners on some long trail runs, whereas the boots were an unknown.
The day dawns Finally, it was mid November and time for the Oxfam Hong Kong Trailwalker. I woke on event day to a blue sky day and the most perfect temperature. No danger of overheating during the day, and no danger of hypothermia at night. Definitely no danger of rain.
With that, off I went. Months of thinking, planning and training were behind me. Would it all be worth it? To read the answer to that question, I’m afraid you’ll need to wait for the March 2020 issue of Adventure She magazine.
Looking at the weather outside and the weather forecast, it was last minute decision time. They say never use something new or different on race day. But I had no choice, for my faithful hiking boots had developed a hole just a couple of weeks earlier. I’d bought replacement boots, but they were harder,
Reflecting back
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Writing this article (from notes made by me around and just after that time) I realise that Trailwalker truly changed my life. Firstly it opened up the world of long distance hiking. Secondly it opened up the world of being part of a team and working together towards a goal. Thirdly, it opened up the realms of what a human body is capable of doing. If it hadn’t been for that meeting with Fran, the best friend of the sister of my Spanish teacher, and herself a new arrival to Hong Kong, on the 1st March 1998, I would undoubtedly have still heard of Trailwalker. But, would I have done it? I don’t know. What I do know is that if I hadn’t gone for the Hong Kong Trailwalker, I certainly wouldn’t have successfully raced across New Zealand’s South Island in the 2001 Coast to Coast. Nor would I have successfully completed the Sydney and Melbourne Trailwalkers. Without all of those, I’d never have contemplated yet alone done the Marathon des Sables in Morocco. What’s more, I’d have missed out on making some amazing and hopefully life long friends, for one of the ringers is my best friends and another is one of my most amazing friends and confidants. Given the recent troubles in Hong Kong, I understand why the Hong Kong Trailwalker couldn’t alas happen this year, but I really do hope that you will be back. For Trailwalker doesn’t just change lives by raising money for poorer people and communities, it can also change the life of its participants, just as it changed mine life, very much for the better.
The author, summer 1998, before she knew of technical fabrics and when she still wore cotton for hiking, Spot the skyscrapers way in the distance.
About Jane Harries A former tax lawyer, Jane who also has a post graduate qualification in professional development and education, now pursues her passion for helping others be the best they can be. She does this by helping organisations with their training sessions, running presentation skills workshops, and by founding and now editing Adventure She magazine which aims to empower, educate and entertain its readers, via adventure stories. You can follow Jane and Adventure She magazine on the following social media channels: Instagram:
@adventure_she @adventurebyjane
Twitter:
@adventure_she
Facebook page:
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Facebook group: Adventure She – adventure and travel magazine Website:
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Books Reviews As we’ve said before, as much as we love adventuring, sometimes (once you've finished the latest issue of Adventure She magazine of course), nothing beats a good book. Once again, this time we’ve raided our bookshelves, so we can share with you some of our favourite books. Remember we'd love it if you our readers, sent us reviews of your favourite books. You never know, we might include your review, in one of our issues.
Call of the White By Felicity Ashton This is one of our favourite ever adventure books? Why? Because the author doesn’t just describe the experience of leading a team to the South Pole, she shares her experience of deciding upon this adventure, raising sponsorship, advertising for, shortlisting and selecting team mates. She writes about the highs and lows of expedition planning and she’s candid about the importance of bringing your best self so the team can operate at its best. If you are planning an epic adventure, then we definitely suggest you read and reread this book. Our copy is now battle worn with many sentences underlined in a variety of colours, so that time and time again we can return to the author’s motivating and inspiring words and continue to learn from them. Oh, if you just want an adventure story, it’s great for that too.
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Stolen Lives By Malika Oufkir and Michèle Fitoussi Not all books that are fascinating make for happy reading. This powerful book is a must read for anyone who is interested in the world at large. The story of a woman who as a child lived the life of utmost privilege, then as a young woman was, together with her mother, siblings, another relative and family friend, imprisoned for about 2 decades. It it their story. It is the story of power, privilege and fall from grace. It is the story of abuse and abandonment of the innocent. It is the story of a country many of us have visited and yet, like many nations has in some respects a troubled past than no one talks about. It is living history. It is an insight into a life hopefully none of us will ever encounter. Today that country (we won’t name it here but let you find our for yourselves), is a very different one to the country written about in this book. It is a country many of us have probably visited and it is a country that has been mentionedd in Adventure She magazine at least twice, including in this issue. We definitely recommend reading this book. What the author endured will undoubtely appaul most people. But surely it’s important to know about the bad as well as the good in this world, so that we can hopefully help maximise the good and minimise the bad.
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Photography tips from a pro Words and photos By Rosie Dutton
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UK has an equal amount of beauty, mystery and a fantastic history to accompany it.
Rosie Dutton is a regular contributor to Adventure She magazine. So far she’s written on how she became a professional photographer and also on wildlife conservation projects she was asked to film and photograph.
I want to share with you some of my favourite photographs of natural history spots in the UK and explain how I got those shots.
Experimentation I’m so familiar with this site, I’ve begun to really experiment with my shots, pushing myself to see what type of images I could achieve. I’ve used long exposures, I’ve taken several images and stitched them together in post, I’ve taken shots with and without people, and of course I have photographed the area at different times of day! I find the best time to photograph is just after the sun has disappeared over the horizon. That’s when the colours start to show amazing and when they bounce back off of any clouds in the sky to create wonderful silhouettes.
Here she shares some tips on how to take professional quality photographs.
When you think of outstanding landscapes and wildlife, the UK might not be the first place that springs to mind.
Equally, on the foggy days, the fog can engulf the area and then it’s hard to see where ocean meets the land. This can completely change the landscape photographed just a few hours before!
Landscape and wildlife photography to so many of us means adventure, wilderness, crystal clear oceans, big predators and phenomenal natural structures; but to me, the
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Tripod I always used a tripod. For landscape photography, a tripod is essential. It keeps the camera still so there is no blurring in the photographs. Plus for these photos, the rocks were extremely sharp and jagged, so it stopped any chance of my camera tumbling down the rocks if I placed it down. With my tripod, I can manipulate the length of the legs, so that I could get very low to the ground and get some rocks in the foreground or have it high so that only the sea and sky were in the shot, But the steadier the tripod, the better!
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Underwater photography I do a lot of my underwater photography in the UK. Underwater photography requires resilience, patience and skill. Handling the water is one thing, trying to stay neutrally buoyant, remembering to breath, checking your air etc, but trying to do all this while photographing wildlife and keep tabs on your dive buddy, is a skill that builds up over time. But the rewards are amazing! I’ve viewed places not many people have the privilege of seeing. At times, I’ve become part of the water and enjoyed seeing all its underwater quirks. I could review the amazing qualities of each creature I photographed, and it was made more special that (for safe diving reasons), I could only see it for around 40 minutes each time Diving close to shore each tide has brought something new to my attention, including a new type of fish and a bloom of jellyfish. I’m never bored of diving in my favourite UK spot, and being just a few hours from home, I’m lucky that I can return again and again.
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Lenses and filters For landscape photography, whilst not strictly necessary, I always use a wide-angle lens because I want people to see as much of the stunning area as possible. Filters are important for me for landscapes as it really lets you play with the light. The darker the filter, the longer you can expose the image for, meaning in the case of the ocean, the water becomes more milky looking, and the sky becomes a blur of wonderful colours.
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The contrast of a milky sea or a blazing sky against sharp dark rocks is beautiful. Vibrant green patches of sea algae covering the rocks adds just a bit more depth and detail, plus when water collects in small holdings like puddles in the rocks, you get stunning reflections from all the colours in the sky. It’s all just so beautiful! It’s so beautiful it can be easy to overlook the small things, but a lens cleaning cloth and brush are essential, especially when near the sea. Sand and salt can easily cover the lens and create spots and blurs in the
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images which is really not what you want to see. There’s a few places like this in the world, accessible only at low tide. Here there’s a cobbled road, but when the tide is high, you need to use a small boat. The area makes for an endless amount of compositions, from low perspectives with the sand or stones in the shot, to capturing only ocean and the mount. It’s so beautiful, most results are spectacular! The hard task with this location is deciding just where you want to be for your images, because there
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are so many places that work. One of my favourite locations is where a stream meets the ocean, as this creates a fantastic point of interest in the image, leading the eye straight to the mount. This also works with a long exposure for that milky water effect! Another way to photograph the mount would be from where the waterline hits the shore. Close to the water, the sand turns to small colourful pebbles and this creates a whole new texture. The movement of the waves is slowed with the long
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exposure, and it turns not milky, but smoky or ghostly, with a light which I really love! It feels like such a fresh image.
Ruins and other old buildings – UNESCO World Heritage Site You might recognise this area as the homeland of a rather handsome Mr Poldark, a television series that was filmed up on these cliffs. It’s known for both its breathtaking scenery, and its remaining mining buildings which are stone towers where the mining work used to take place.
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This old mining area in Cornwall and extending into West Devon, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, because of its importance to the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. In the early 19th century the area produced two thirds of the world’ copper. Tin was the other metal mined here. The buildings make for truly amazing photographs at all times of the day. My particular favourite however is at sunset on a summer’s day. Composing the camera facing out to sea, with one of the old stone ruins situated on one third on the camera makes the ruins the focal
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point but doesn’t take away from the stunning colours of dusk. Photographing at sunset means with each passing minute, the day loses light. This gives the perfect opportunity for long exposures. With the tide ebbing and flowing, it creates an opportunity to capture a photograph with the water looking fantastically milky and colourful. But the best part is because you are high up on the cliffs, you have a massive amount of ocean in the frame. The ocean reflects the softness of the sky and creates the most
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amazing horizon where they join. Usually in summer, the heather is in full bloom and adds more depth with a deep purple created by the setting sun. I have tried to capture this location at night to get the stars, but unfortunately every time I went to do this, clouds came over! Typical!
Wading birds With these wading birds I tried a high key set of images, meaning everything was very bright and plain, but the details in the small birds were captured. Photographing any animals however can involve lots of patience and sometimes discomfort, like crawling along the cold wet sand and getting covered in it. Birds
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like this can also make for a good photography session if the weather isn’t suitable for a landscape shoot.
Sunrise Unfortunately, the first time I came across this field of daffodils, I didn’t have my proper camera. But that meant I could take a couple of quick snaps on my phone and think how I would go about photographing this field and these daffodils on a proper shoot. The rows and rows of daffodils offered so many composition issues. I struggled to find how I could photograph them, but once I had wandered from top to bottom, I knew I could use the rows to my advantage, using them as leading lines, drawing the lines to the ocean at the bottom of the hills. The next day I went back, at, you guessed it, sunrise. The first thing to mention is that when doing a sunrise shoot, you must stick it out
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until after the sun has risen a considerable amount before calling it quits. Why am I saying this? Arriving somewhere for sunrise means you’re arriving somewhere in the dark and in the cold. You might be hungry too, or not yet had a cup of tea or coffee. But, assuming you have checked the weather forecast and it is looking good, handing around can be worth it, for as the world moves from darkness to light, you can potentially capture amazing images. The second thing is, you need to give yourself plenty of time to set up, find a perfect spot and composition, attach your filters and make sure you have your lens focused etc, all in the dark. These sound like small things but are essential to get right, as they can make or break the image. As it gradually gets lighter the
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colours will start to come through!! With this field of daffodils I wanted to capture the whole scene because the vast number of daffodils was so breath taking. I thought about doing a panorama! This involved taking around 9 to 12 separate images panning from left to right, with the daffodils in the foreground, the ocean in the distance and the dramatic colours in the sky. In postproduction, I stitched these together and created the image that I really love! I also did this in portrait mode so I could get closer to the flowers and pan upwards to get more sky too. This is a location to return to year after year when the daffodils are ready to bloom. just to experiment with different techniques! I hope sharing how I got some of these photographs, will help you think about the photographs you take and the effect you want to achieve with your images.
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About Rosie Dutton Rosie Dutton is a photographer and film maker who believes in not just in pursuing her dreams, but in taking the necessary steps to make them happen. Here at Adventure She. We love that attitude. After all, we only live once, so let's make that one life matter. You can follow Rosie on the following social media channels: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosieduttonphotography/ Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/rosieduttonphotography/
Website:
http://www.rosieduttonphotography.com/
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Adventures With Scoliosis By Sandra Dee Owens 87
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At various times in our life, we all face challenges. As Sandra Dee Owen knows, there is no easy solution to dealing with tough times. We appreciate that Sandra Dee Owen’s approach may not work for everyone, for we are all individuals and everyone’s challenge is different. But, we think her story is definitely worth sharing, for her growth trajectory since she hit rock bottom is simply phenomenal and so inspirational. We very much hope that as well as being an enjoyable read, you too will agree she is one amazing woman and are motivated by her grit, tenacity and love for life.
I was devastated and terrified. Life in a wheelchair seemed a very real possibility.
It was easy to ignore the diagnosis as a child, because I had no symptoms. But at age 20 and pregnant with our first child, the degenerative spinal condition, called Scoliosis, began to matter.
Around this time, my husband and I received a notification that the apartment building we lived in had sold and our rent would be double the next month. We were barely making the rent as it was, so we gave away our belongings, bought a camping tent and moved our family outdoors. I was 8 months pregnant with our second child and a nurse at the hospital I worked at threatened me that if I did not move out of the tent soon, she would make sure the state took both our children.
With the strain of pregnancy, came constant pain and episodes of ‘ghost leg’ (a sudden loss of feeling in my legs, causing me to collapse on the floor while walking) and intermittent ‘locked back’ episodes, that left me bed ridden for days at a time.
We moved out of the tent and into a tiny trailer. Two years later, my husband and I purchased a small piece of rocky, hillside land (read undesirable and therefore cheap), in our rural New England state of Vermont.
I was told by more than one doctor I would be wheelchair bound by age 40. “You're scaring me,” I told an Orthopedic surgeon (who treats Olympic skiers training at our nearby ski areas) who stared at the MRI of my back for so long, I thought he'd forgotten me.
Thrilled to finally have a place of our ow and salvaging anything we could, we turned the garage into a 'temporary' home, whilst like the pilgrims, we set out to build our own home.
“Your spine is twisted in two directions and ground the disks between each vertebrae, completely away. Your spine is bone on bone. What you really need is a new spine...but we don’t know how to do that yet.
Old shelving became a makeshift floor, a large cast iron sink was dragged up the steep embankment it had been thrown down, and a portable camping toilet placed inside a refrigerator box, became our bathroom.
I'm sorry, I cannot help you.
Life revolved around cleaning up the burnt
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Right there...with the phone to my ear, I heard a crack . . . a broken bone like - internal sound of impact, as if I had crashed into a concrete wall at 1000 miles an hour. I felt myself come loose from the earth and careen over a vacuous cliff . . . that no one else could see.
down house site, caring for our sweet daughters, making jewelry (our work) in a corner of the garage and hauling, fetching and dumping all the firewood, water and waste needed for a family of four. It took us two years to clear away (with wheelbarrow and shovel) the old burnt down house. It took another two years with a jack hammer, pick axe, shovel and wheel barrow to create a cellar hole in our rocky hillside.
I felt logic and reason slip out through my skin, leaving me mentally incapable of handling simple, daily challenges. It would be three, long and painful years before they returned to me.
With an extreme lack of funds, experience and tools to build with, our progress was painfully slow. By year 4 in the garage, (we ultimately lived there for 8.5 years), relentless back pain, anxiety and fear took its toll on me and I suffered a nervous breakdown.
“Without realizing it at the time, I had begun the daunting and empowering journey of taking ownership of my own health.”
I thought if I just moved my body, I would get rid of the angst I felt. I had been used to that kind of thing as a very active person. . . but it wasn't working and my anxiety grew. One particularly difficult day, a series of stressful things happened which pushed me into a full blown panic attack. My husband seeing how distressed I was, suggested I take the kids and visit one of my beloved, though far away, sisters. Getting out of the garage for a while, felt like a good idea, so excitedly, I called the airlines, only to find out that the cost was so outside our realm of financial means, that there was no way we could afford for me to go.
Sandra Dee Owens
Insomnia became a constant and the hours most under attack of fear and anxiety. With our girls tucked safely in their homemade bunkbeds, I‘d pull on my winter coat, hat and boots and spend the night hours pacing exhaustedly up and down our rural back road...stopping occasionally to vomit under the
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street lights as my mind - cannibalized my stomach.
back to the couch but I knew it was something. So, I allowed myself to lie on the couch for a 5 minute rest (read whine), then I crawled back to the floor and repeated the whole process.
I watched my former strength and vitality vanish day by day as I felt myself literally disappearing like the disks in my spine.
Without realizing it at the time, I had begun the daunting and empowering journey of taking ownership of my own health.
Then one particularly difficult day, I realized that I was not even 30 years old and that I had a long time yet to live . . . like this. And the thought occurred to me . . . that I simply could not live like this much longer.
But this journey was plagued with one step forward and two back. Just as I would feel a bit of flexibility and confidence returning to my spine, I would bend over to pick up a something from the laundry basket and lock up like a statue, then fall stiffly, into the basket. Back to the hospital we would go, followed by painful weeks of recovery.
So I moved to the floor and began to very slowly stretch my body. It only took seconds before I felt the hot sting of pain in my back. But, instead of retreating from the pain as I had for so long, I pressed forward . . . and suddenly a bull's eye appeared (in my mind's eye) and I focused on it with all my might.
I felt trapped in a body that no one could fix until one day, after another discouraging incident, I went outside. I was desperate to be free of the physical pain, discouragement and
It only lasted a second before the pain sent me
Do we as people choose to stand still and accept our position in life, much like a stone placed in a memorial, or do we like Sandra Dee Owens choose the harder option, that of seeking out our best possible life?
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fear I had been living with for so long. I lifted up the kid's bike, inched my leg over the seat and slowly coasted down our driveway, desperate to feel moving air. I saw the intersection ahead and fear pummeled me with doubt. I could drag my feet to stop the bike (my back was too stiff to pedal) and painfully walk back uphill to home, or I could go through the intersection, turn and keep coasting, further from safety and the known. Logic and reason had not fully returned to me and the mental agony of this situation was so severe, I shook with it. I wanted to retreat but suddenly, I saw the bullseye again and knew that to retreat, meant a life of endless pain and anxiety. So I focused on the bull’s-eye . . . and slowly and fully
“But this journey was plagued with one step forward and two back” Sandra Dee Owens
shaken, I coasted through the intersection and turned. With tears of pain, I willed myself to pedal that little bike and rode one mile away from home . . . then back again. It was a massive personal achievement, one I did not think I could do. That was the last day I looked to someone else to fix me . . .and the day I began going solo. I realized jubilantly, that I had the tools to heal myself of so many things, I just needed to learn how to use the tools. So on my next birthday (30th), I asked my husband for a bicycle. We found a used bicycle that though, much too
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big for me and heavy . . . was decent and cheap. I was thrilled to have a bicycle again, having sold my beloved 10 speed Univega in Ireland, while solo traveling as a teenager. My new bike meant freedom from 'sick' and I began to ride longer, more challenging rides as my physical and mental health grew stronger. For the one year anniversary of my 'intersection moment', my own twisty spine and I celebratory rode 100 miles down the twisty spine of Vermont's Green Mountains, something so much more than I ever thought I could. I felt my confidence begin to solidify and knew the path to wellness I was on, was a path I would follow for the rest of my life. Having grown up doing cross country skiing in my Mother's native Canada, I embraced her love of the north, cold and snow. Looking for ways to stay active and strong year round, I found myself returning to my childhood love of skiing. Soon branching out to other forms of Nordic skiing, preferring the natural conditions of the forest to resort skiing. A few years later, I was invited to join a group of experienced backcountry skiers on a challenging section of Vermont's Catamount Trail; the 311 mile Nordic ski trail, that stretches the length of Vermont's wilderness from the Massachusetts to the Canadian border. One of the women skiers told me she had skied the entire trail the winter before, taking 5 weeks to complete it end to end in a winter. I thrilled at the idea and told everyone I was going to do it . . . but never did. For 15 years I talked about it and finally, 5 years ago, decided it was now or never as I knew the journey would be extremely challenging physically and the older I got, the harder it would be. I took time to ponder what was keeping me
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from starting this journey and realized my lack of good navigation skills were making me fearful. I was well acquainted with how powerful fear was and I did not want it keeping me from doing the things I wanted to do.
reading glasses, deleted all unnecessary words and printed little numbered strips in colorful fonts I could see in a snowstorm or forested light. Snow sealing each strip with clear shipping tape, I placed them in my coat's breast pocket for quick access.
I got out the trail guidebook with its written descriptions, “. . . exit the woods and ski a quarter mile north past the beaver dam into an open meadow. Look for a trail marker along the northeast perimeter and ski north, northeast for 500 yards, to an old logging road that veers steeply north again�.
Contacting the volunteer trail chiefs, I invited them to ski their sections with me. The logistics of skiing these remote sections are considerable and require 2 or more people to ski safely. An unintended consequence is that I also wound up meeting many new ski friends who shared my passion for adventure, winter and skiing.
I found the language and no pictures difficult to follow, but rather than give up, instead I thought about how my own brain learns. I remembered my favorite school year as a young child, when learning was based on color and play.
While skiing the first few sections, I noticed a massive drop in my energy (bonking) in the early afternoon, usually while climbing a steep hill. It was very consistent and left me feeling nauseous and underpowered for the remainder of the day.
So I copied the written descriptions to a computer program, enlarged the fonts, so I would not need to drop my pack to get my
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The start of section 1 of the Catamount Trail on the Massachusetts - Vermont state line
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Catamount Trail wilderness, section 9 – spot the blue trail marker
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With each section being around 12-14 miles and needing an average of 5.5 to 6 hours of nearly non stop skiing up and down hills and mountains, I needed a solution to my energy problem.
half hour throughout the day. The steady supply of calories helped reduce the bonking considerably. Of the Catamount Trail's 31 sections, a group of 5 in the northern region are notoriously difficult, what with their high elevation, steep terrain and deep snow pack. Last spring, on one of those sections, I experienced a unique day of empowering strength and disheartening fear on the same day.
I thought about foods that do not freeze in our deeply cold temperatures (a serious consideration) and devised a protein rich nugget made of peanut and tahini butter, honey, non instant milk powder, dried berries and nuts. I rolled them into 2 inch logs, wrapped them in wax paper and placed as many 'squirrel nuggets' as I could fit, in the other breast pocket of my coat.
Four of us set out (later in the day than we should have) to ski 12 miles. Leaving our cars below, we skinned for a few miles up the steep, winding road, to the trailhead where our 12 mile section officially began.
Ski days I consciously I increased my food intake (harder than it sounds, at least for me) and began eating my 'squirrel nuggets' on the early morning drive to the trailhead, plus every
A spring snow had fallen the night before, leaving 10 inches of wet snow in the valleys,
Sandra Dee Owens, Catamount Trail
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that we guessed would be a foot or so in the mountains. But as we gained in elevation, we saw much more snow had fallen than we’d expected and soon found ourselves skiing through four feet of dense snow. With conditions this tough we realized quickly our progress would be much slower than anticipated as the front skier worked hard, tugging their buried ski up up up an inch at a time, until finally, they were able to advance that ski a few inches, then start all over with the other ski . . . while climbing uphill or descending a steep ravine, or even crossing a partially open stream bed.
lead. A mile in, we lost the trail due to missing trail markers! We spent the next hour traversing the steep mountain side looking for a trail marker. Losing the trail, rattled my nerves and started a chain of fearful thoughts. As I took my turn stamping down the snow and advancing our group inch by inch, whilst daylight waned, I heard the others talk of our spending the night in the woods. A minimalist with gear and small in stature, I knew I needed to keep moving to stay warm. The thought of spending the night in the woods, hunkered down in the snow, turned me silently moody with fear.
Each person behind the lead, stamped down the snow a bit more, so that the last skier was able to pass through with the least amount of resistance and rest up ahead of their turn in the
Finally, the group stopped to discuss our situation and vote on whether to turn back or continue. Fear was clouding my confidence to
Photo credit Beth Gilpin Catamount Trail Bolton backcountry - section 24
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go on, but I hated retreating more. I voted to go on and so did the rest.
'The Gremlins', they consist of short stories and poetry, of how I shift my relationship with each of the time wasting gremlins in my life.
Soon, daylight dropped behind the mountains. Now we constantly scanned the trees for trail markers with the small beam of our headlamps. “I see one ahead and to the right,” someone would call out, sending a ripple of relief through the exhausted group.
Now I thought of all mental, physical and spiritual pain and suffering FEAR had caused in my life. I decided to it was time to choose to see FEAR as something other than an enemy. I began to imagine FEAR as a person . . . so I gave her a face and a name. In my mind, I invited her to tea and met her at the door, seating us side by side at an imaginary table.
Skiing another two hours in the dark, on reaching a remote back road we happily skied off the trail and onto that road. By then we’d been skiing for seven and a half hours and completed less than four miles of that 12 mile section.
I thanked her for saving my life and told her I considered her a friend . . . like a gift that I was grateful for. “But I am strong now” I told her, “so I am going to put you in the backseat, where I can see you in the rearview mirror . . . and when I need you . . . I know where to find you.”
Despite the difficulties and challenges we’d faced, I felt empowered and happy with my physical endurance and strength that day. I well remembered that time in my life, where this level of activity would have been inconceivable. I had worked hard, come far and it felt great.
Then I peacefully but firmly, put FEAR . . . in the back seat, whilst I got into the driver's seat. As last year's ski season ended, I wrote the second book for my ‘Gremlins’ series, a book on FEAR. This book, 'FEAR', is especially personal to me.
But I was disturbed by how much fear had influenced me and I made a promise to myself to come back the next week and complete the rest of the section on my own, so I could practice shifting my relationship with FEAR, which I did.
As I write this article, Dec. 1, 2019, the snow is piling up outside and I find my spirit returning to the Catamount Trail, as I anticipate the next stage of my journey, skiing ever northwards towards my goal, Canada.
The year before, I had written a tiny book called SHOULD. The first in a collection, called
About Sandra Dee Owens Sandra Dee Owens is and author of two books, Should and Fear, and a jewelry maker, who lives in Vermont, USA You can follow her on the following social media channels. Website:
https://sandradeeowens.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/SandraDeeOwensVermont
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/sandra_dee_owens/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vermontjeweler
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Sandra Dee Owens skiing across Wilmington-Reservoir, Catamount Trail, section 4
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Alice Hunter Morrison What A Woman
Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
Alice Hunter Morrison was once a CEO who during the Monday to Friday working week, wore power suits and heals. No more. She’s now an experienced adventurer and TV personality, having presented BBC2’s Morocco to Timbuktu series. In March 2019 she became the first woman to walk the length of the River Draa in Morocco, during which she and her team discovered a lost city, the tombs of the giants and learned about the dire effects of climate change and water shortage on a once arable and lush land. She’s currently in the middle of her toughest challenge yet: a 2,000km (about 1,200 miles) trek across the Sahara, the biggest hot desert in the world. The adventure, which is expected to take three months, will see her walking from Oued
Chbika, Morocco’s Northern most point on the Atlantic Ocean, to the southernmost tip of Morocco at La Guera on its border with Mauritania. Alice is travelling with the same team from her River Draa expedition, three Amazigh (Berber) guides, Brahim Ahalfi, Brahim Boutkhoum and Addi ben Youssef, and five camels: Alasdair, Hamish, Callum, Murdo and Sausage. This time though due to water shortages, they have added a sixth camel to carry additional water – Hunter, who was named after Alice (her middle name is Hunter). Given, as Alice says “there is a serious risk of running out of water as there is no up-todate information on where viable wells currently are,” taking Hunter seems to be a very sensible decision. Risk assessment and management is something the team has taken seriously. It has to be, for potential water issues is not the only risk. Food shortages for the camels is a second potential issue, for whilst they’ll follow the nomads’ grazing routes,
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it’s possible that climate change has dried out the camels’ diet of small shrubs and acacia trees. If that happens, they will have to find and buy fodder. Temperature extremes are another problem they will encounter Day time air temperatures have been known to go up to 47 °C or 117 °, and the sand and ground on which they walk could themselves easily reach 80 °C or 176 °F, which as Alice says would be “hell on the feet”. Night time may bring respite from the heat, but has its own challenges, for once the sun has set, temperatures can quickly drop below freezing. It’s not just the weather they need to contend with, for the Sahara is home to some seriously dangerous animals, including vipers and scorpions which can of course kill a person with their deadly bites and stings. In case you are wondering, Alice and her team will be anti-venom medicine, but as she says “this doesn’t work for every species.” Expedition organiser JeanPierre Datcharry of Désert et
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Montagne Maroc who has 40 years of experience in the region, is well aware of the risks and has put a safety plan in place, including provision drops and emergency water provision. So hopefully, we won’t be hearing any horror stories about the expedition, only amazing tales of epic adventure.
there’s a reason to her journey. This time it’s to explore a virtually unknown part of the Sahara. Alice explains: “I will be tracking the deathstalker scorpion, hunting for meteorites, investigating the unique sand statues of the south, and searching for the lost great bird monuments which lie hidden in the dunes”.
Alice though isn’t about hiking long distances through harsh terrain and tough weather conditions just for the sake of it. Fluent in Arabic, when she journeys,
She and the team will also be recording the impact of global warming on the Sahrawis people and the environment of the Sahara. Investigating and reporting
the impacts is important work, for as Alice points out “In the last 100 years, the Sahara has expanded its territory by 10%, eating into arable land as desertification spreads. Desertification is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time and climate change is making it worse.” We wish Alice and the team well with the rest of their expedition which we have been following on Facebook, as and when Alice can post news.
How to follow Alice Hunter Morrison on social media Website:
www.alicemorrison.co.uk
Instagram:
@aliceoutthere1
Twitter:
@aliceoutthere1
Facebook:
Alice Hunter Morrison
Podcast:
Alice in Wanderland
Congratulations on being our December 2019 What A Woman 101
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Schools of Hope By Mariella Scott
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When you ask most people, what comes to their mind when they hear the word ‘Kenya’; they
Education, education, education. Why is it that so many children and parents in the West, don’t pay more attention to education?
invariably mention Safaris, The Big Five, heading off to Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, slum settlements and the ubiquitous jumping Maasai warriors.
Why is there delinquency? Why, when so many people of my parents’ generation were unable to afford to go to secondary / high school, do so many children nowadays choose to be delinquent?
Kajiado is a town in Kajiado County which is nestled in the Rift Valley, some 50 miles along the Nairobi to Arusha highway. Safaris to the Amboseli National Park and visits to the Ngong Hill sometimes stop there. Visitors might see a typical Maasai homestead, have a photo opportunity with the jumping Maasai and an opportunity to shop for traditional beaded jewellery. But, there is much more to this small town than a pit-stop on the Nairobi to Arusha highway.
Reflecting on my life, if it weren’t for education, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to live and work in Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia. What’s more, if it weren’t for additional post graduate studies, I wouldn’t be editing this magazine.
The name "Kajiado" comes from the word "Olkeju-ado”, which means "The Long River" in the Maasai language. The river though is seasonal. Droughts are frequent in this region and you are more likely than not to see the river all dried up and the cattle thin and thirsty cattle. It’s a far cry from Llandovery, a sleepy town in West Wales, which is home to the charity ChallengeAid.
But what happens to those who don’t have a chance to go to school? Mariella Scott, the former grants and marketing manager for ChallengeAid, writes about how that charity is trying to help those, who don’t have the opportunity to attend a ‘normal’ school.
This region is amongst the poorest in Kenya with the Government estimating 47% of the population living below the poverty line. ChallengeAid has been visiting Kajiado since the first School of Hope was opened in East Africa in 2005. A School of Hope is an after-school study club that provides a safe, dry, secure, well-lit and resourced facility for children aged 9-18 year old
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to study. Some come after school, some at the weekends and for some it will be the only form of education they receive.
National Adolescents and Youth Survey, 74% of secondary school age children in the county don’t attend school.
Since 2005, ChallengeAid has set up 42 Schools of Hope in Kenya and Tanzania in slum areas and in some rural, predominantly Maasai communities, with Kurket (close to Kajiado) School of Hope being number 43. It is a much-needed facility as according to the 2015 Kenya
The relatively low school enrolment in the county is influenced by many factors such as teenage pregnancy, lack of school fees, drug and substance abuse and cultural practices such as female genitalia mutilation (FGM) and early marriage. Bissil is another dusty pit
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stop settlement on the highway. Not long after the Bissil School of Hope opened, ChallengeAId noticed young women, mainly the mothers of children attending the school, sitting very close to the classrooms. A Maasai woman's workload is heavy, as she is in charge of all domestic chores such as fetching water - traveling
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many kilometres each day, herding and milking cattle, as well as being solely responsible for bringing up her children. Yet here in Bissil they were listening in on life skills sessions and appearing to long to participate in music and drama sessions. It was also apparent that these mothers struggled to read the educational resources given to their children. So Challenge Aid consulted with village elders, the
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teachers and the women themselves. ChallengeAid and its partner in East Africa the ChallengeAid Africa Trust, then proposed a project to support the most vulnerable young women, the teenage mothers and wives. By now this new project is being delivered through four community resource centres, with each of the centres working with at least 100 women and girls.
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The project helps the women acquire skills in numeracy and literacy, thereby increasing their ability to nurture their families, earn livelihoods and to build assets as a first step towards lifting themselves out of poverty. Life skills training is also taught, which includes training in hygiene, childcare, nutrition, primary health (including HIV prevention) and financial literacy. Daily meals are served to the women and to be as inclusive as possible, women
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are encouraged to bring their babies and young children along. According to Sophia Kamweru, ChallengeAid Africa Trust's project manager in Kenya, who works with the women on a day to day basis: “Young women who were married while still children themselves (girls as young as 9 years are often married in Maasai culture) now have an opportunity to learn to read and write. These young wives and mothers are learning to take care of themselves, their children,
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improve their hygiene and to identify food taboos that have denied their families proper nutrition.” But helping the women with reading, writing, financial literacy, life skills, craft skills, negotiations, borrowing and saving money, still isn’t enough. That’s why the project’s main strategy is to address the root causes of inequality which have kept these women and girls in poverty, even whilst others have made progress. The project also helps women set up their own selfhelp groups. The new
groups enable the women to build social networks outside of their existing network. This has helped them to form cooperatives through which they can join to market their crafts. Marketing their own crafts is an important step forward. For the Masai women have made ornate beadwork for generations. But, rather than sell the craftwork themselves, traditionally middlemen flocked to Maasai villages and bought up the beadwork at throw away prices. It was then sold in towns and tourist
About Mariella Scott Mariella Scott has worked on a number of projects in East Africa, including in the past, working with a non-governmental organisation that ran education projects in Zanzibar. She recently left ChallengeAid and now runs the Dementia Friendly Community Project at Natural Resources Wales.
Supporting Schools Of Hope It costs £6000 to set up and run a School of Hope for three years, If after reading this article you think ChallengeAid and its Schools of Hope are worth supporting, there are several ways you can help support the young people ChallengeAid works with in East Africa To make a donation:
https://www.challengeaid.org/donate/
To get involved:
https://www.challengeaid.org/our-impact/
To set up, or to join a challenge: https://www.challengeaid.org/organise-your-own-challenge/ Website:
https://www.challengeaid.org/
Facebook:
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markets at prices sometimes as much as 500% more than the price paid to the Maasai women. So, despite beadwork evolving into a very lucrative industry, it hadn’t really benefited the Maasai women. Facts like this way make me realise the difference each individual tourist can make, by choosing to buy an item from local craftworkers rather than at tourist shops or hotels. Traditionally, a Masai wife is not expected to leave her village without being accompanied by her
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husband. This of course stopped them from going to markets to sell their own crafts. But now, as their husbands recognize the benefits that the project brings to the families, these women are for the very firsttime visiting local markets and selling their own craft. At last, they are beginning to make a decent profit. The women's savings and credit groups started as part of the literacy project should also help the women. As for the group meetings, these are cherished by the women as they get to sit together,
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talk about issues and even learn a life skill. So if you happen to be travelling on the Nairobi to Arusha road, perhaps enroute to climbing Kilimanjaro or to a safari in Amboseli, the Ngorongoro Crater, or the Serengeti, why not stop off at the local markets and buy your crafts there, rather than in central Nairobi or Arusha?
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Ice Training in Snowdonia By Sioned Eleri Roberts
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Adventure She magazine, Issue 8, December 2019
Open water swimming is undoubtedly on the rise. In the first of two stories in this issue on open water swimming, clarinetist, Sioned Eleri Roberts reveals her passion, ice swimming. We’re cold just even thinking about it! On a serious note, open water swimming can be dangerous. More on that in our second article.
It’s a small, high lake (approximately 2000ft) situated in the Carneddau range in Snowdonia. As Snowdonia lakes go, it could be described as one of the most inaccessible. The steep flanks mountains rise up from its shores, and access is via mostly pathless tussocky bog-land. It’s not the sort of lake you would stumble upon. It’s a lake you set out to reason why the Carneddau ponies consider this a safe place to give birth to their young. This lake was my first
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experience of winter swimming. A few years ago I was asked to take some friends for a hike, with an optional swim. I’ve been walking and scrambling the hills of Snowdonia for over 15 years, so I was happy to oblige. At the time, I wasn’t sure about the swimming part – I was mainly a fair weather swimmer – but I packed a costume just incase! It was late October. Conditions were not great. Low cloud and mist shrouded the tops and flooded the ‘cwm’ (Welsh for valley). Some careful navigation led us to the lake – hidden not only by the mountain but also by the elements. We were in a special place, a magical place – a place that evokes a feeling that is difficult to put into words. It was cold and wet. There was nothing else for it but
If an ice axe is required, that is a bonus. Sioned Eleri Roberts
change into my costume and immerse myself into the lake’s reedy hollow. My ice journey had begun. I don’t know whether it was years of 109
mountaineering in all seasons and conditions, or something else, but my body seemed to tolerate the cold surprisingly well. Just the feeling of being in the water settled my body and awoke my senses. A simultaneous feeling of peace, calm and exhilaration. That moment awoke an urge to seek the cold – to delve deeper into the landscape of Snowdonia by immersing myself into the beloved lakes that I had so often admired from their shores. For the past few years this is what I have strived to do. I have swum in lakes, lochs and llyns in all weathers and conditions. The colder the better, and if an ice axe is required, that is a bonus. Sometimes, getting in is tough. Standing with hardly any clothes on by a body of water, in winter with the intention of swimming is hard. The wind chill burns your skin, and gusts whip up the lake. Every fibre of my body is screaming at me not to do it – but I go in. I tell myself - If I just make it into the water, everything will be ok – and it is. It’s amazing how our bodies adjust to tolerate the cold. Over the past three years I have been extending my time swimming and building up my tolerance to the cold.
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This December I will be attempting to swim an Ice Mile. An Ice Mile is to swim a mile in water 5 degrees or under, wearing only a swimming costume, swim hat and goggles. I don’t know whether I will be able to do it, but I think I can. I have been swimming lots and gradually building up my time in the water as the temperature has been dropping. I am currently swimming for 30 – 35 minutes for every session,
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and at the time of writing, temperatures are at about 6 degrees. My average mile time is 40 minutes. I am slow. I am also a breaststroker. I have chosen to swim this stroke for my Ice attempt. After much deliberation, I decided to use my swim to raise funds for my local dementia care home. I was a carer for a parent with dementia, and I wholeheartedly believe that
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cold water swimming aided my mental capacity to be able to cope with the strain of being a care giver. The cold water clears the mind and cleanses the soul. For the past year I have felt that I have literally been swimming for sanity. Water heals and soothes, but we cannot underestimate its power. Its ever changing flow scares and inspires me. It has taught me about relationships, about
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friendships, about nature and about myself. It will keep teaching and speaking to me – as it whispered to the wild Carneddi ponies centuries ago, as it beaconed them to the lake to shelter, drink and protect their young.
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About Sioned Eleri Roberts Sioned is a clarinettist, composer and teacher based in Snowdonia, North Wales. She is also a hiker and cold water swimmer and uses the landscape of Snowdonia as inspiration for her creative projects. Sioned plays both as a soloist and a chamber musician and has performed in the UK and Europe. In recent years she has toured and recorded with Dweezil Zappa and his band Zappa Plays Zappa. In 2016 Sioned was inducted into the Gorsedd of Bards as a result of winning the Musicians’ Medal at the previous years’ Festival. She is currently working on a creative production based wholly on myths and legends surrounding water, to be premied in 2020. You can follow Sioned on the following social media channels: Instagram: @sioned_eleri_ Facebook: Sioned Eleri Roberts Soundcloud: Sioned Eleri
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“As I stand there in the silence, I become aware that the silence is not complete. Water is speaking.” Nan Sheperd – The Living Mountain
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Outdoor Swimming Wild Swimming By By ljldafkdsalfkdsalfj Becki Read
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In the second of our open water swimming articles, Becki Read explores a rather more laid back outdoor swimming scene, a scene where the women are all shapes, sizes and ages, but a scene which helps bring confidence and empowerment to its participants. So whatever your comfort level, there is hopefully something out there for you too, to get outdoor swimming. Just please, be mindful of the dangers, for outdoor swimming has killed many people.
Yes, outdoor swimming has definitely become a really big thing over the past year or so. You only have to look at the posts in the Outdoor Swimming Society, or trawl social media sites for references to cold water swimming to realise how popular it has become. And I have joined that bandwagon. In March of this year I set up Wadhurst Bluetits Chill Swimmers - a ladies only
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group for women wanting to come together and experience the joy of cold water swimming (or bobbing about or paddling!). I had very little previous experience of sea swimming and so have had to learn a lot in a short period of time. And I am not an expert. I am someone who has done some research and who always errs on the side of caution - “if in doubt don’t” seems to work quite well for me and it’s a motto I strongly recommend people adopt when first thinking about safety issues and cold water swimming. And I learned the hard way! I’ve thankfully only had one swim where I came out thinking “I really shouldn’t have gone in” and the trouble was, I was with someone who was a competent and confident swimmer (which I am not) and she seemed quite happy to go in, but judging by the size of the waves and the fact that I had never swum at the beach before and was therefore unaware of any hidden dangers, I really should have had the courage to opt out because within a few minutes of getting in I was faced with a very large wave coming towards me and before I knew it I had been swept off my feet and thrown against a submerged rock, bashing my legs.
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As I struggled to right myself I turned to see another huge wave coming towards me and had a real sense of panic as I struggled to my feet to prevent myself from becoming completely submerged and rolled over the rocks. The results were not horrific, but they scared me and reminded me that Mother Nature is always the boss and that the sea should always be respected. Swimming in the sea can be dangerous: you have to consider the tides, hidden obstructions, the wind and wave strength, under-tows, rip currents and the cold to name but a few things and that’s why I’m a fan of groups that do cold-water swimming together. There is truth in the saying that there is safety in numbers - a collective opinion about whether the waves are too big or not can keep the overly-adventurous in check, whilst having numerous pairs of eyes and ears can ensure
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that difficulties are spotted before they become a problem - and you can learn from each other. And ultimately, if disaster strikes, there are people on hand to help. There are people out there who are far more qualified than me to give information on technical issues such as rip-currents and under-tows. But if you’re new to swimming there are some easy and simple bits of information to help ensure your swim is safe:
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favourite at the beach where we swim!)
Tide Time Table
direction you are being pulled in and how quickly and can adjust your swimming accordingly.
Cold Water “I really shouldn’t have gone in” Becki Read
Observe the sea
Get yourself a tide timetable, or use one of the many apps that are available to indicate tides (along with the height of the waves, wind direction and speed etc).
If possible, observe the sea at both high and low tide. Are there rocks that are submerged at high tide that you could bash into? Or do they only appear at low tide, along with other submerged items and sinking sand (a
Where possible swim within a window that is 2 hours either side of high or low tide as this is when the sea’s ‘pull’ is at its weakest. If you are concerned about the sea’s pull, get in and just float - you’ll soon see which 115
If you’ve never swum in coldwater before, make your first few dips short ones. Your body needs to acclimatise to cold water, and hypothermia can set in really quickly. A good rule of thumb is only stay in for a maximum of 1 minute for every degree of sea temperature (i.e. no more than 10 minutes if the sea is 10 degrees). And remember there is no shame in getting out sooner than that. Our first swim in March was when the sea was 7 degrees and we stayed in for less than 3 minutes! Don’t dive in head first as cold-water shock can make
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you take a deep inhalation and doing that underwater can have catastrophic effects. Avoid swimming in deserted areas if you are new to cold water swimming, even if your are a competent pool swimmer - you never know when you might need help.
Research Do your research and ask questions of people who are much more knowledgeable than me - groups such as the
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questions and learn from them. But once you have got to grips with the serious safety issues, there are some fun ones that it’s useful to know about too.
Hot Drink It’s good to have a cup with a lid on it for your hot drink. If you get the post-swim shakes, wearing hot tea is not as effective as drinking it at helping to warm up your core and fend off the effects
your underwear back on after a swim is utterly pointless. Frozen fingers find bra clasps impossible and trying to stand on one leg whilst you attempt to get your foot through the correct leg hole in your knickers, whilst your body shivers uncontrollably, is utterly laughable.
Warm Clothes Fleecy pyjama bottoms, vests, woolly jumpers, thick socks and hats are your true best friends - and the wackier the better. Spending an eye-watering amount on a giant waterproof dressing gown which, under any other circumstances you wouldn’t be seen dead in, will be one of the best purchases you ever made. And wearing it to the supermarket afterwards, whilst still sans-underwear, can be truly liberating!
Outdoor Swimming Society are a great way of making contacts with people who swim in your area and who know the water well. Ask
of ‘after-drop’
Decorum – Forget It Trying to maintain a modicum of dignity and get
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Swimming costumes, wetsuit boots and wet-suit gloves are not just a good look, but they’re fabulously functional too. They keep your extremities warm, make staying in the water so much more bearable, and the boots protect your feet from pebbles, sea-weed and anything else that might freak you out by brushing past your feet!
Have Fun
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Laughing, shrieking, screaming and swearing are all perfectly acceptable forms of behaviour when in cold water, and how many other environments allow you to behave like that?? Safety issues aside, the joy of cold water swimming for many is the exhilaration caused by immersing yourself in very cold water and the euphoria you feel afterwards. But for me, sharing that joy with other people is the real magic.
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A few weeks ago, 37 ladies turned out for one of my Bluetits group’s swims. The sea was 15 degrees, but the sun was shining and the sea was calm. I just stood on the beach and watched as ladies of all shapes, sizes and ages shrieked and laughed, helped each other and encouraged each other and then swam, bobbed about or paddled, all with huge great smiles on their faces. Nobody swam a great distance, nobody was in the water for more than 20
minutes, but everyone got ‘the buzz’ that this amazing activity provides. Words can’t do justice to how amazing it feels, but the smiles on the faces of my Bluetits as they start to warm up and sit on the beach eating cake proves to me that setting up this group is one of the best things I have ever done and I wish that the feeling it generates could be prescribed. After all, we all need a bit of Vitamin Sea!
More About Us You can find out more about us by reading our group blog at wadhurstbluetits.wordpress.com, by reading my personal blogs camperbird.wordpress.com or by taking a look at our Instagram page Wadhurst Bluetits and please, do get in touch if you're interested in swimming with us.
Warning Whist open water swimming can be a lot of fun, it can also be very dangerous. According to the website www.teaching times.com • • •
“More than 400 people drown in the UK every year and thousands more suffer neardrowning experiences” “One person dies as a result of drowning an average of every 20 hours in the UK and Ireland” “Around 85 per cent of accidental drownings occur at open water sites, and many of these occur due to lack of knowledge and understanding of the hazards associated.”
So please, before going open water swimming, assess your ability and know the risks. Whilst swimming in a reservoir on a hot day may look like heaven, reservoirs are notorious killers. Whilst this article has attempted to identify some safety issues, this article is not intended to act as advice. Please see Outdoor Swimming Society’s website particularly it’s ‘survive’ tab which is at https://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/category/survive/ for far more comprehensive advice and also talk to your local swimming clubs and to life guards in your area, and definitely learn how to deal with hypothermia and emergency first aid. We want you to adventure, but please, adventure safely and from a position of knowledge.
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Coming Up In Adventure She Magazine During 2020 Remember, please do send us your stories Triathon Training Dubai Style
Kayaking Scotland
Hiking Lewis To Harris
UTMB Week
Ultra Running
Exploring Indonesia 118
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Cycling Microadventures
Part 2 of Hiking Hong Kong
Winter Hiking
New Zealand’s Coast To Coast
Kayaking With The Maoris
Exploring Australia’s Kakadu National Park
Cycling In South America
Adventures On Horseback 119
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