I've come to the conclusion that one of the main reasons I spent most of the last ten years moving from place to place was to keep me on the edge of my comfort zone, and pushing that edge just a little bit further; regularly jumping out of it just to see what happened and gradually losing the ability to be freaked out by bugs, hard work, interesting plumbing arrangements or the need to bathe in one jugful of water while keeping half an eye on whatever creature had ambled in that morning...
Which means that what happens when I stay still and settle is that I decide to go and climb big and scary mountains that really should only be attempted by the fit and able, and not by, well, me.
And that's what happened. But all in the name of charity and not alone (I would be dead now if I had been) and it formed part of a very pleasant and much needed weekend in The Lakes getting back in touch with nature, and away from the city, wifi, running water and electricity.
The Mountain was Hellvellyn and yes, we did go along, up and down Striding Edge which was the terrifying bit that caused a serious wibble on my part. I really should investigate things a bit more before I agree to do them. But where would the fun in that be?
Luckily, my two companions were patient and very experienced mountaineers and they guided me down the seemingly impossible rock face. I stopped to hug a sizeable boulder at one point just to reassure me that it was there.
It was beautiful, really really beautiful. The sense of achievement was also pretty awesome*.
The walk back down was great until it started getting dark and we realised we'd gone the wrong way. We also saw a very clean carcass that was split perfectly in two. I've seen American Werewolf in London. I didn't lag behind the other two at all after that. We made it back to the deserted car park without being eaten.
We stayed in the most wonderful old house where the showering system was basically a glass, the water-butt and hoping the alpacas didn't mind. The candles and log fire were lovely after the day's adventures and the river running past was refreshing in the morning.
And we raised 215 pounds for a school project in Senegal. It isn't an enormous amount, but it helps and did actually make the pain and fear more worthwhile.
My next leap out of comfort is an intellectual and time management one known as the DELTA. No experienced mountaineers are going to help me with that one...
*If you'll forgive the hyperbole
Which means that what happens when I stay still and settle is that I decide to go and climb big and scary mountains that really should only be attempted by the fit and able, and not by, well, me.
And that's what happened. But all in the name of charity and not alone (I would be dead now if I had been) and it formed part of a very pleasant and much needed weekend in The Lakes getting back in touch with nature, and away from the city, wifi, running water and electricity.
The Mountain was Hellvellyn and yes, we did go along, up and down Striding Edge which was the terrifying bit that caused a serious wibble on my part. I really should investigate things a bit more before I agree to do them. But where would the fun in that be?
Luckily, my two companions were patient and very experienced mountaineers and they guided me down the seemingly impossible rock face. I stopped to hug a sizeable boulder at one point just to reassure me that it was there.
It was beautiful, really really beautiful. The sense of achievement was also pretty awesome*.
The walk back down was great until it started getting dark and we realised we'd gone the wrong way. We also saw a very clean carcass that was split perfectly in two. I've seen American Werewolf in London. I didn't lag behind the other two at all after that. We made it back to the deserted car park without being eaten.
We stayed in the most wonderful old house where the showering system was basically a glass, the water-butt and hoping the alpacas didn't mind. The candles and log fire were lovely after the day's adventures and the river running past was refreshing in the morning.
And we raised 215 pounds for a school project in Senegal. It isn't an enormous amount, but it helps and did actually make the pain and fear more worthwhile.
My next leap out of comfort is an intellectual and time management one known as the DELTA. No experienced mountaineers are going to help me with that one...
*If you'll forgive the hyperbole
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