Thursday - BP trekkers

It was 5am when the thunder and lightning started - little did we know that the rain would last for another 7 hours. The Trekkers anxiously left the Longevity Travelling Palace Hotel with full kit on. The waterproofs made their first appearance and we all wondered what the day would bring - lots of rainwater and ancient stones make for a slippery combination...

When we arrived at the Jinshanling section of the Wall those that wanted Wallcatchers (backpack carriers) had the opportunity to choose a 'licensed' carrier which was much less stressful than yesterday as there was no aggression because each Wallcatcher had a number and they waited in order.

We spent the first 3 hours, and 15 towers, walking upwards; on mostly unrestored Wall - in reality unrestored means broken, slippery paths; sporadic side walls (with no hand rails!); combined with the steep ascents and descents which can be very dangerous - it was not unlike a rock climb in several sections and 3 of our ladies sustained gentle, but apparently quite painful, bruises on their bottoms!!

Today was very different again to the previous Trekking days. The weather gave the whole day a mystical and surreal atmosphere - one minute you could see many Lookout Towers (which are every 200 metres) and sometimes you couldn’t even see the next Tower on our route...this mixture of rain; mist and unforgiving terrain really highlighted the 'Team' that has formed over the last week or so. We only travelled as fast as the slowest individual and there was always a Trekker nearby to support you if needed - in fact, there were some sections where you could not have made it without the strength and support of a fellow Trekker.

Today was as much a test of the group's mental strength as it was of our physical fitness - for most of the day you were focussed on the 3ft in front of you and believe us, you needed to be!!! The focus required to keep yourself standing meant that you had no time to acknowledge the cuts and grazes and aches and pains that are part and parcel of this type of challenge. In fact, it was difficult even to enjoy the view most of the time.

It is easy to forget how much work must have gone into building the Wall and sometimes you just needed to take a moment and stand back in awe of the people who built this amazing edifice.

The Chinese have a saying 'It's easy to get up and difficult to get down' - this is rammed home when you trek The Wall; everybody has commented that going down is more difficult than the climb as it requires much more concentration and stronger control of your muscles to make a safe descent (2 hours and 15 towers)...although today and Monday we had an alternative option for the ‘final’, final descent. On Monday most of the intrepid Trekkers took a 'toboggan' down the last 200 metres and today we covered the final 300 metres on a 'zip-line’.

It's also been really interesting to see how the energy of the group has evolved over the last few days - everybody is much fitter; with much quicker recovery times than even on Monday and this has meant that there is a lively banter amongst us - even when climbing the steepest gradients.

And now for some context: It would be easy to misread the blogs or misinterpret the photos and think that this has been a 'jolly' - in reality every person who has come on the Trek has faced and conquered a personal challenge or two. For some, it has been staying in minimal accommodation and waiting an hour for the solar panels to warm the water or dealing with the inadequacies of basic sanitation; with vertigo, blisters and aching muscles to name a few more....this we can deal with and with good grace because it's only for 5 days - whereas the kids we are Trekking for have a lifetime of challenges ahead of them which takes both physical and mental determination from them and their family and everybody that supports them.

That is what makes this real and provides the anchor each and every day.

Pare, Karen, Steph, Shweta, Mike, Jeremy, Anurag, Ken, Raj and Adam