I am going on my final Duke of Edinburgh Silver expedition this week which reminded me to create a blog post about the practice (sorry my head is all over the place atm!). Our practice consisted of 3 days and 3 nights (we had to get there a night earlier as the place we were hiking is a couple of hours away). We travelled by coach near to Brighton and started off at a campsite in Small Dole, then hiked all around the area; I can't quite remember where we went but took a very squiggly route so we were out for a minimum of 7 hours each day. Although it was really really hard work, especially as I'm very unfit, I did really enjoy it - it's always good to challenge yourself and do something out of your comfort zone. As a very materialistic person who is actually quite scared of doing something outside my comfort zone I really like doing DOFE. I got horrendous blisters as usual and our bags were ridiculously heavy- what with the tent, cooking equipment, food for 3 days etc but it was a great experience and I'm looking forward to the qualifying expedition! It was super sunny and hot which although it did make it a little harder was a lot better than rain, trying to put away a wet tent and then put it up again the next day is miserable so I'm praying for sun in the New Forest!
Here are some snaps taken on the trip, obviously I don't look great- no shower or change of clothes for 3 days whilst hiking plus no makeup doesn't equal to model like looks but I thought I would share them anyway :)
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| Having a well earnt rest! |
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| Having a little sweaty hug with my best bud |
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| We didn't get too lost, mainly because I wasn't trusted the whole time with the map! |
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| Us in action! |
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| Getting our pose on... in a field |
This is one of my favourite photos from the trip, we were totally unaware this was being taken and whilst I was extremely sleep deprived, had zillions of painful blisters and was generally exhausted I was happy in that moment having a rest and joking with my friend. You wouldn't think it but I did have many hilarious moments during the trip, having a team consisting of your best friends definitely helps as well as being so tired you choose to laugh rather than cry!
I hope you enjoyed this post and I'll be sure to make another post about our qualifying expedition!
Love, Laura x
