The countdown begins!

I can't believe it, but there are only five days to go until the challenge begins. One last weekend to do my last minute preparation and make sure I have all my gear together, and just a few days to do my last minute publicity. But, WOW, I am getting excited about it now; excited and pretty apprehensive too!

People have been so generous in their giving and I am WAY over my fundraising target now - and still going strong. It is just so encouraging and makes me determined to do my very best on the challenge. I'll send out one last email this weekend asking for more sponsorship from friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances and that will be it - job done!

I also had a call from a lady this week who had seen the article in the Watford Observer. She is part of a group called 'Teddies for Tradegies' (see www.teddiesfortragedies.org.uk) and has offered us 100 teddies as gifts for the children in Kenya - how amazing is that? Of course I won't be able to get all those Ted's in my rucksack, but between now and Christmas we'll get them all out there so that the younger children can have a lovely Christmas gift.

So, lots of odd jobs to do this weekend... Get a haircut, draw up a checklist, check out all my gear, buy last minute items, dig out my map of Mount Kenya, find my passport!, pull all my documents together, email the challenge participants, get camera batteries charged etc. etc. etc... Oh, and I also have to cut the grass, walk the dog, clean the car and get ready for a special Vision Africa weekend with our Field Directors at church. No peace for the wicked!

I guess I'll do at least one last post before we head off to Heathrow, after that I will be trying to send back short updates via text or GPRS as often and for as long as I can. So... Watch this space!

Fame at last

Well, as mentioned in an earlier post our local paper, the Watford Observer, has gone ahead and published a short article on Chris and myself and our Mount Kenya trek. Actually I think it's a pretty good article, so my sincere thanks to Hayley and the team for telling our story. I was hoping it would be on their web site so I could point you to it, but I couldn't find it there. So, I hope they don't mind but I've scanned it so you can read it if you're not from around Watford (and if you are then go buy a copy!!)...

Next stop - Hollywood!

All around my hat

Quite a few people have made disparaging remarks about the beany hat that I can be seen wearing in my profile photo. If you take a look at my Justgiving Fundraising page (see the link on the right side panel) you'll see a couple of remarks there, and others have taken the trouble to call me! I never knew a hat could provoke such a response.

Well, on my recent holiday in the sun my precious hat went with me. It was very hot and sunny, so I did wear the hat a few times to avoid sun-stroke and keep the sun off my neck. I guess because we were in the tropics and the sun was overhead somehow the hat failed to do it's job and I ended up burning my neck. Doh!

Mount Kenya is bang on the equator, so the sun there also climbs overhead and is very strong. So, with great reluctance I decided to get a new hat with a wide brim to keep the sun off, since we'll be out in it all day long. Once again it was time to hit the local Outdoor specialists to find a hat.

After a brief bit of browsing I found the ideal hat, paid my money and went home happy. This is when it gets interesting (well, vaguely!) When I got home and took a look at the hat I discover that it's an all-singing, all-dancing top of the range hat - now I bet you never knew there was such a thing as a top of the range sun hat, but I can attest that there certainly is! My new hat is water resistant, breathable and has been treated with insect repellent. That's not all, it has a passport pocket, a strap so that it won't blow away and, built in cooling! It has a special headband with 'hydro cool crystals' that you can soak with water that apparently helps to keep you cool. Oh, and the hat has been tested to Bristish Standard 7914 and was awarded the highest possible sun protection rating of 30+. How neat is that!

So, my old beany hat has been relegated to the Championship while my new hat is flying high in the Premiership. Now all I need is for my football team (Watford of course) to follow suit!!

Taking it easy

Well, this time in exactly two weeks I shall be at Heathrow waiting for our flight to Nairobi. It's nice having a bank holiday weekend coming up to give me some relaxation and preparation time before we start the final countdown!

I have decided to stop training now and take things a bit easy for the last couple of weeks before we head off. I was pushing myself a bit too hard I think with trying to build my aerobic capacity. I was doing pretty well and am quite happy with my fitness, but it's starting to tell on me a bit and I've got various aches and pains now, so a couple of weeks rest should be beneficial.

I guess my main worry is my achilles tendons which have been sore for a long time. I've not had any difficulty in doing long walks in preparation, but I really don't know what it will be like with walking for six full days in a row. Hopefully a combination of using heel lifts and taking it steady should do the trick, but I've stocked up on Ibruprofen just in case.

Anyway, on the bright side, the Watford Observer contacted me again wanting a pictures of me with children in Kenya. I found a few, but I have to say none of them are great. Trouble is I am usually the one pointing the camera - and I don't like having my picture taken!

Getting real

Well, only 2.5 weeks to go until the big day. It's getting really close now and we are into the final preparation for the trek. I just received the e-tickets for our flights yesterday so it all seems very real now. I've also been to the docs this week to get some essential medicines to take on the trek and I'm gradually getting all the bits and pieces together that I'll need, so at least I feel a bit more prepared now.

I had a call at work today from the local paper - the Watford Observer. Chris has been in touch with them and they plan to run an article on us the week before we go. With that in mind Chris and I posed for a photo in the back garden - complete with rucksacks - to go into the paper. It's a bit cheesey, but I thought you might like a sneak preview! I guess we should have gone somewhere with a nice view of the countryside behind us. We even put our walking boots on for the picture, but that was obviously a waste of effort!

The interview with the paper was very laid back. More of a chat really. So I've no idea what the final article will look like. Still, at least I was able to give a bit more background on Vision Africa, although I'm not sure that too much will get into the article. I somehow think there will be all sorts of errors, but I'm told that any publicity is good publicity. If it appears on line I'll post a link so y'all can take a look.

This little light of mine

So I went shopping on Saturday for the gear that I'll need for the trek. Once again I went to the local outdoor specialist armed with my kit list so that I could get just about everything in one go. That's when I discovered that even a simple thing like a torch can be a complicated purchasing decision!

According to the list a head torch is the best bet, because it leaves both your hands free and is easier for walking after dark and for reading once tucked up inside your sleeping bag. OK, well that should be simple - go to the shop assistant and say 'I'll have a head torch please'. How wrong can I be...

Do you want an LED torch, or a regular bulb? How long does it need to last? How many lumens? Do you want a thick headband, or a thin headband? Do you need variable intensity? What about strobe light? Oh and you can have just white, or white and red LED's! Then , of course, you can have the batteries in the torch, or you can have a separate battery pack. Hmm.

Aparently the best ones have about 5 LED's can can throw a beam 50 metres, have four different intensity levels and can strobe white or red in an emergency. Well, I just wanted to be able to read in the tent and go the loo in the night! So, I finally settled on the poor mans option of a simple 2 LED head torch with an on/off switch! I hope everything else isn't as complicated as this to buy!

Now, where are the walking socks...?

Very Humble

What can I say? I really just wanted to quickly record my thanks to everyone who has given to sponsor me on the challenge. Your support has been nothing short of magnificent!

When I first decided to run this challenge I thought that £2000 would be a reasonable target to aim for. However, the folks at trailblazers said I should aim higher as their experience was that most people, on average, raised nearer three thousand. So, having set my sights on £3k I was delighted when we quickly broke through that mark. Since then I have modified my target to £4k then £4.5k and now the fantasic amount of £5000! I know there are still quite a few folks who have told me they are going to sponsor me, so I am really confident of breaking that target too!

What does all this mean? Well, to put it into context £5000 is about the right amount to build two school classrooms. Not too shabby! Of course, I'm not giving up at this amount so please, if you've not sponsored me yet please just take a few minutes to go onto the Justgiving site and give a few pounds. Thank you!

Update: Latest target broken already! I'm not planning to update it again, but let's keep going and see how well we can do :o)

Starting to panic

Jambo and Karibu!

Well, as I type there are almost exactly four weeks to go before the challenge begins. In fact we will be in the air en-route to Nairobi! The trouble is I still have loads to do to get ready and I'm running out of time rapidly.

The good news is that I've had my booster jabs, got my maleria prescription and obtained my Kenya visa, so we're getting there slowly. I think this weekend will be another trip to the local outdoor specialists to try to stock up on more kit. I was looking at the kit list last night and there's a whole load of stuff still to get hold of - my poor old bank account!

Never mind, I'm sure it will be worth it in the end. I just reviewed the final itinerary with our partners, Trailblazers, and it's looking good. The folks that come on the trek are going to see both sides of Kenya... The breathtaking beauty, and the desperate poverty. They will also meet some fantastic people. I have found everyone I have met in Kenya to be so hospitable, willing to share whatever they have with you - and often that is not a lot.

In an odd twist of fate my next door neighbour comes from Kenya and she has been getting me to say odd words in Kiswahili. Trouble is I have a memory like a sieve and I forget it as quickly as I learn! Still my new word for this week is 'maji', which means water.

Anyway, that's it for now. Thanks for dropping by! - or I guess I should say asanti sana.

Only 5 weeks to go

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? After almost 18 months of planning, the trek is only five weeks away now. I confess I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing, but it's getting very real now! Time to step up a gear with my preparation.

All the big stuff is taken care of, but it's amazing just how many small things there are that need to be done. By way of example I just called Kirsty in Kenya to go over the arrangements for getting to the projects when we do our visits as part of the trek. We are fortunate to have Kirsty based out in Kenya just now as otherwise I'd have to be sorting all that from the UK. I'm just glad I have an IP phone (BT Broadband Talk of course) to make cheap phone calls! And yesterday I had to let Trailblazers have all the details of the projects - where they are, how to find them, what time we'll be there etc. I wish I knew!

Then there's all my personal gear - I've still got loads to get! Still, the good news is the super-dooper sleeping bag has arrived. Carole thinks I'm mad as I was 'testing' in in the back room the other day. I must say it is very comfy - but it had better be at that price! Next I need to test my 'Thermarest' sleeping mat. I think that will be this evenings project.

The fundraising is still going really well. I'm over £4300 now, so I'm going to change the target on Justgiving to £4500 as I've decided it doesn't encourage folks to give so well if it looks like you're over your target and I'd really like to hit £5000 if possible. A friend of mine, Chris, is also doing the challenge and together we are going to have an article in our local paper - the 'Watford Observer' so that may prompt a bit more to come in. I may invite Chris to guest post on this blog to give a bit of variety. You find Chris at www.lynwode.co.uk/.

Well, that's it for now. Time to give my Thermarest its Operational Readiness Test.