The Great Outdoors - UK (2021-08)

CONFIDENCE BOOST

Aer several enjoyable dayhikes, I decided

to move upto the next level – a weekend

away. is normallyseemed to involve a

visit to one of the national parks with days

out up mountains. ese trips were vital in

developing my knowledgeof hiking gear,

boosting my interest in navigationand

giving me time to documentvisits with

my camera.

Meetup groups usually opt for hostel

accommodation as it’sinexpensive and

locatednear the trails. However, I learned

two valuable hostellinglessons on that

first weekend away in the Peak District.

Firstly, bring earplugs. If you’resharing

a dormitorywith seven other guys, you

could be in for a snore-fest. And, secondly,

bring a sense of humour. Spending time

with a group can have its occasional downs,

and it’sbest to laugh them off.

e final Meetup progression was the

hiking tripabroad. Once again, I began

with easy to moderatetrails. A week’s

coastal thru-hike in Montenegro and

a summer mountain trek inSlovenia

were great introductions. My growing

confidence as a hiker brought confidence

in other areas too. In Slovenia I tried my

hand at white water raing andcanyoning

for the first time. By this pointI wanted to

take on any challenge available – sowhen

I saw the opportunity onMeetup to travel

to Greenland and hikethe Arctic Circle

Trail (ACT), I took it!

e ACT is 103 miles long. It starts from

Greenland’sonly international airport

and runs tothe fishing village of Sisimiut

on the country’swest coast, passing 100

lakes along the way. e hike took9 days

to complete and the mostsignificant

challenge was the size of my rucksack.

ere were no outlets for resupplying so

I carried everything imaginable. Nearly

half of my20kg pack consisted of food.

ankfully, I could eatmy way through the

weight and make thehike easier over time.

Greenland became a personal milestone.

Hiking a serious long-distance trail came

with a huge sense ofachievement, but this

was only made possible by the fantastic

members of the London1000 Feet Meetup

group. eir experience, leadership and

enthusiasm inspired me to look at treks

further afield and keep challenging myself.

When the Kyrgyzstan trip appeared, it

seemed like the ultimate adventure. My

nervousness returned. is was high-

altitude trekkingat 4000 metres, coupled

with horse riding. Both activities were alien

Ph

oto

:^ D

av

id^ W

ed

de

n

54 The Great OutdoorsAugust 2021