Michelle's Chile Trek 2002

Well Chile seems a lifetime away now, but at long last here is the update about the trek, I had to wait until all the sponsorship money was collected and the deadline for that has just passed.so I am exceptionally pleased to inform you that together, we raised an astounding £3610.46!!! Well over the target of £2500.

The Torres del Paine Unfortunately I didn't get to see their resplendant glory in person, but I will always remember them & the park that takes their name.

The trek has raised at least £68,000, all of which will go directly to Mencap. This was before the final deadline for sponsorship. We will find out the grand total at the Chile Trek 2002 reunion in June. I'm sure you can understand why more charities are running these types of events to raise their funds.

The following is a brief description on how I got on with the actual challenge itself.

Well I did it!! 5 days of back-to-back trekking, 6 nights sleeping in tents, 40 hours in 6 planes, 15 hrs in 4 airports, 12 hrs on various coaches, 1.5 hrs on 3 boats, 10 plane meals, 8 in-flight safety videos, 1 enormous birthday cake shared between 43 fellow trekkers, 7 guides and 1 medic, 2 Mencap representatives and various camp crew - all made up ONE FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE!

The last day of the trek - a massive BBQ, followed by a huge suprise cake. What a fantastic way to spend my 30th

The Challenge: I completed every trek and was exceedingly fortunate to have neither blisters nor injuries. Hats off to those who did and still kept on trekking regardless!
Our guides took the decision to change our treks due to the conditions. We didn't go up to any great heights, as there was a lot of snow and cloud around and the weather could of deteriorated very rapidly. It had been raining in the park for 4 days prior to our arrival and we witnessed recent flood, landside and fire damage.
I was pleasantly surprised by the perfect trekking conditions; it was mainly dry and bright. It rained continuously on 1 day - naturally for the longest trek on day 4! Thankfully, my previous trekking experiences had more than tested me and I masochistically enjoyed the day.
I tended to find myself towards the rear of the 2 groups we'd split into for the treks; I enjoyed providing 'moral support' for those who were struggling and I wanted to savour the time I spent in the amazing environment. The lead guides set a cracking speed and the groups were spread over quite a distance as everyone found their own pace, but there was always a rear guide with 2 others amongst the small sub-groups as well. There was so much camaraderie between the whole group and I had a real blast everyday - 'great' singing, interesting conversations and a lot of laughter.

The Surroundings: Breath-taking - Patagonia is a rugged, wild and vast landscape. Colossal mountains - romantically cosseted by clouds. An immense glacier with stunning blue icebergs. Unreal-looking turquoise lakes and rivers. Quite simply an amazing place.

The Group: From a quiet group of strangers at Heathrow, we became a large extended family. The Chile Trek experience achieved this in 12 short days. I have made so many new friends and there is much excitement for June's reunion, when we'll find out exactly how much we've all raised, re-live the adventure, and swap photos.

The Verdict: An incredible event! Words (for once) fail me!

Would I do it again? Yes!

Would I recommend it to others? Most definitely!

What was so great? Knowing that you're doing something to help others, which gives you so much back too - the mental and physical challenge, visiting a remote part of the world, sharing it with kindred spirits.

Michelle Elliott