Stuart Mold and Debbie Simpson took part in our China trek, and Stuart writes about their incredible adventure.
In late September, Debbie Simpson and I returned from China having spent two weeks in the company of 31 other ‘explorers’ who were walking the Great Wall for a number of charities. The trip was organised by Skyline, who do a huge range of similar trips all over the world.
Why did we choose the MS Trust? I have a personal interest in that my wife Lucy has MS. My experience pales in comparison though with that of Debbie Simpson; Debbie was diagnosed recently with MS, and her commitment to the necessary training to complete this strenuous challenge is legendary and she has my complete admiration.
We made contact through the MS Trust and met in Chester before the walk. I immediately knew that her infectious enthusiasm would stand both of us in good stead. All joking to one side, it was fantastic to know someone, and be able to converse about training (up to 6 hours walking per day), the challenge, whether we would like the food, how the accommodation would be. . . all that kind of thing, before leaving the UK.
We all arrived at Heathrow on September 13th. Having met everyone and listened to some of the experiences, it was clear that everyone had their own story and reasons for doing the walk. Debbie and I celebrated the launch of our adventure with a glass of champagne!
The flight was long but fine. The first view from the coach was amazing. What I had not fully appreciated was the context, the scenery and the overall ‘feel’ of rural China. It’s difficult to articulate and give it justice.
Debbie and I returned to our lives, refreshed and energised for the next opportunity to seek further sponsorship for the MS Trust
Having deposited the bags in the old military barracks (accommodation was fine), everyone changed into walking gear and we set off. The first walk was designed to remove all cobwebs and it essentially was a 500m series of irregular and broken steps almost vertical - all cobwebs were removed! It was the perfect start, and having had a great meal I believe everyone slept well.
The Skyline team, led by Eleni and supported by Mel and Rob soon became our best friends. They always maintained huge levels of humour, whilst having the ability to keep 31 individuals under some form of control.
Rather than give you a day by day account, I will emphasise the highlights. Days were basically structured on a similar basis. Get up early, breakfast (Chinese version) and warm up. Warm up’s became quite competitive between the four teams.
We generally tried to incorporate major climbs in the first cooler part of the day. There was lots of great banter between the walkers and support crew - I cannot remember how many times I was crying with laughter. End of the day: great shower, couple of beers, dinner, and sleep!
The scenery on the walk was breath-taking; changing all of the time, but basically lots of going up and down with broken walking underfoot most of the time. Check out the pictures rather than words - they speak volumes.
One funny story, which Debbie will probably hate me repeating, is that she was scheduled to go on a ‘girls-only’ trip to Ibiza whilst we were in China, and I have to admit I did make this a focus of merriment as I can confirm you cannot get a gin and tonic outside of Beijing!
I seemed to get the role of making sure everyone’s boots, backpack and water supplies were organised before we set off. Relying on your kit whilst out in ‘china Badlands’ seemed to make sense to me. I spent many a happy hour tightening other people’s walking boots (no blisters)!
I had the great pleasure of helping others to conquer their challenges by supporting individuals on their walk; I must report that I felt honoured by being awarded a Chivalry Award at our splendid celebration dinner (Peking duck, what else?) on the final night in Beijing.
Here are some other things I took away from the trek.
- Love your boots. Follow the advice given, it is given for a good reason
- Training. Debbie and I certainly benefitted from completing high levels of training before getting to China (I lost 10KG)
- The team. Absolutely everyone I met on the walk was fantastic -there were a real mix of backgrounds, age and experience. I particularly liked the ‘Ninjas from Yorkshire’.
- Help those less able. Part of the absolute joy for me was to be able to help others. Apologies if this appears a little trite, however, in our busy lives how often do we have the time or opportunity to help others?
- Gin and tonic availability. This was a major concern for Debbie!
- Celebrate life. Spending time with a wonderful group of volunteers all focused on gaining sponsorship for their charities (over £100,000 was raised on this walk alone) is both humbling and cathartic. Debbie and I returned to our lives, refreshed and energised for the next opportunity to seek further sponsorship for the MS Trust and take on a further personal challenge. Watch this space!
