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Cake-fuelled challenge or what!

 

Three of Yorkshire’s highest peaks, 25 miles, over slippery rocks with tiger costumes, dodgy knees and no mobile phone reception … what could possibly go wrong.Well, surprisingly little, which is huge testament to the human spirit  – and the thought that somewhere along the way we were doing our wet, sweaty, aching and cursing bit for one of the planet’s smallest stripiest big cats – the Sumatran tiger!It was a motley crew that set out at 6.30am from the Station Inn at Ribblehead in the drizzle to tackle the first of our personal Yorkshire Three Peaks – Wernside.

2 down 19 to go
Disappearing in to the mist up Wernside

The motley element was not within Yorkshire’s finest though it included two fell runners in our party. The ‘motley’ three are from lowland Britain whose steepest training incline had been the stairs.And to be specific, me, Debbie Nicholls, the humble PR person for Wildlife Vets International.  It all sounded so easy, such a lovely adventure, when it was first suggested. Reality hit on the first climb when a vet would have come in very handy, although euthanasia only seemed a preferable option towards the end of our eleven and a half hour marathon. I was painfully aware that somewhere in the jungles of Sumatra, anti-tiger poaching patrols tackle infinitely worse every day in their battle to conserve the remaining tigers in Kerinci Seblat National Park. That thought probably crossed the mind of our intrepid challenge leader and WVI Development Director, Olivia Walter, who will be joining those patrols for a fund-raising trek with fellow conservationists across Kerinci in October. All our hard won sponsorship pounds were going towards Olivia’s target of £5,000, to be split between funding patrols (through Fauna and Flora International) and one of WVI’s core mission; to tackle the spread of canine distemper into the tiger population and help launch Indonesia’s tiger disease surveillance programme – a world first. Our ‘tigers’ caused quite a stir en route – although probably not to the same extent as will a stripey encounter on Olivia’s jungle trek – even prompting the odd donation to the cause. This group donated £5 upon meeting Tigger (aka Rachel) on the top of Pen-y-Gent.

Fabulous people who donated £5 to Tigger on top of Pen-y-Gent

Unsurprisingly our cohesive party had fractured by the top of Wernside, with at least one of the lowlanders sliding down the mountain on slippery grass.  Just as well I hit no rocks! Spurring me on was the thought of our first ‘cake stop’ an essential element of any ladies’ walking foray. Enter Kat, our attentive tea and cake lady, complete with stop watch and a choice of cakes worthy of the Great British Bake Off.

Elena in charge of cake and tea in Hornton

On to Inglebrough, a reassuring encounter with a mountain rescue chap (and his dog) and a break in the clouds.

Debbie makes it to the bottom of Inglebrough
Katie Walter comes out of the mist still cheery at the top of the Inglebrough steps
Inglebrough conquored

Unfortunately that only served to show how far away sat the still beckoning Pen-y-Gent! Lunch in Horton in Ribblesdale (ok, another cake stop) so nearly saw the end of my personal journey. Sheer bloody-mindedness won, happily. Onwards and upwards. Yep, I watched their collective backsides disappearing up the path and regretted it almost immediately. Oh, but the joy of reaching the top – and to look back literally MILES to those other two peaks now conquered! The Station Inn was a rowdy place that night, although one person no doubt wondering how on earth she was going to shoulder a 60litre rucksack with all gear through a steamy Sumatran jungle.

We deserve a good meal despite the cake stops
one or two celebratory drinks might have been had

We’ll be right behind you Olivia. OK, we’ll be thinking of you. Next morning? Crippled and hardly able to get downstairs for a well deserved guest house breakfast, we heard about a proposal for 2016 for a 6 Peaks Challenge. Put my name down to drive the cake wagon! For more pictures please see Facebook

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Trekking for tigers

Olivia’s fundraising for tigers has got off to a great start with over £700 being raised already. Most of this comes from the Jumble for the Jungle and THANK YOU to all the fabulous people who helped – it was very hard work and we hope the constant supply of tea and cake went someway to say thank you. The Brownies did a sterling job at Tea for Tigers in Hebden Bridge, raising £500 for tigers. Caldervalley’s schools have done exceedingly well with Hebden Royd School raising £212 only to be beaten by Colden J&I School a few weeks later. They raised a staggering £519! Olivia led the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge, whose star had to be Harry Heathcote. He has raised £300 and at only 13, he had to spend the day with a bunch of middle aged women. Olivia and her cousin did the whole 25 miles looking absurd in tiger onesies…..
The Walter cousins looking rediculous

Sometimes with the tops rolled down, where upon we got ‘gggrrrr’ as people walked past us

'Grrrr' WVI's Olivia takes a break at the half way mark

  Find out Olivia’s latest trials and tribulations in Olivia’s Travels. John Lewis returns from Indonesia.

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