Tuesday 1st May
Day 79 - 19km
Legal Aliens
Hikone
seems to be the place to register as an Alien. There were lots of
people doing it, and with Lynne's address we were quickly processed
and told to come back in 3 weeks - a pain, but much better than
having to take a trip to Tokyo. Towards evening, after trying to
get as close as possible to Mountain No 12, we were hailed by a
man with no teeth. This fact was quickly exposed to us by the amazing
faces that he regularly pulled! Seeing our packs, he decided that
we must be heading to 'Green Park', and told us that we were going
the wrong way. The place sounded alright, so we followed his directions.
That
evening he found us, and told us that we were stupid idiots not
to have camped where he had told us - Tom had been unable to catch
that part of the directions. He was, even so, happy to have found
us, and poured us many glasses of Sake, got very drunk, and told
us again many times that we were idiots, pulled faces, gave us lots
of rice, and drove home. An interesting evening. Tom says that trying
to understand him was like trying to understand a drunk Glaswegian,
with no teeth!"
Ibuki-san (1377m - Mt No.12)
Wednesday 2nd May
Day
80 - 25km
Ben
- "I must admit that I awoke a little hazey after all the Sake,
but clear heads prevailed as we began climbing the second smallest
peak, Mt 12, Ibuki-san. Although only 1377 metres high we climbed
the steepest side, which lead us to the summit in time for the late
morning break. However the weather closed in and wind and rain chased
us quickly from the top via the otherside of the mountain. Heavy
rain continued for the rest of the day and swollen gutters aided
the birth of the ultimate wet weather walking game - 'Surf Stone'.
which involved stones and a gutter and a variation of Pooh Sticks.
We were all glad to find a gazeebo to sleep under out of the rain.
Thursday 3rd May
Day 81 - 37km
Rain
and a belly full of fruity tasters
I
think there are only two things worth mentioning about today. It
stopped raining ten minutes before we left our sheltered camp, and
I single-handedly rid the supermarket of its fruit tasters. Camped
by a lovely wide river and enjoyed Tom's
noodle skills."
Friday 4th May
Day 82 - 45km
Swimming sleeping bags
Tom
- "We decided to cover as much distance as we could today up
a road that headed deep into the Mountains. The highlight of the
day was watching Paul leap into a river that
we had stopped by for lunch, to retrieve his sleeping bag,
which had been blown in by a gust of wind.
Arashima (1523m - Mt No 13)
Saturday 5th May
Day 83 - 44km
The
morning was spent walking towards the trailhead to our 13th mountain,
Arashi Dake. Afer dumping our rucksacks and stripping down to our
shorts we set off up the trail. After crossing a few snow fields
we reached the top - which we shared with 10-15 fully clothed Japanese
climbers. After reaching the base of the mountains we headed off
to Ono city to buy food and to find a suitable campsite for Sunday.
Sunday 6th May
Day 84 - 0km
Campsite - Dumpsite
Considering
that this campsite was found in the dark, we didn't do too badly.
Yes, we were sleeping rough on a concrete path next to a landfill
dump, and yes, the birds of the air honed their skills as they dappled
us and our belongings. But this hasn't been a bad place to rest;
noone has bothered us, although the Police have buzzed around a
bit, and just 5 minutes walk lead us to a huge store that sold everyhing
from bendy gnomes to microwaves.
Once
there we promptly set up a command position in the toilets, and
washed our stinking bodies in preparation for the purchase of 2
crates of pot noodles - our food for Hakusan. The rest of our time
was passed with Tom's ingenious creation of the ultimate rope crampon
(we haven't picked up our gear for the Alps yet). Ben put some straps
on his dry-bag to form a makeshift rucksack ( his pack has a fault,
and has to be sent back - so the team is down to two proper rucksacks),
and Paul finally got up to date with writing his log. All that's
left to say is
that we worked on our butt tanning!!"
Paul
- "Week Summary: Monday and Tuesday were all about R & R, internet
access, and red tape. From Wednesday onwards, with thoughts of the
Alps in our minds, we worked hard and covered 151 km and climbed
mountains number 12 and 13."
Monday 7th May
Day 85 - 37km
Postage and preparations.
Tom
- "We woke to find 15 policemen staring at us from across the
river. We later found out that they were part of a search party,
as they came over to ask us if we had seen a lady with a limp.
Once
In the next city we sent on all the equipment that we wouldn't be
needing for the Alps (harmonica, fishing tackle, Homer's 'Odyssey'
etc) to Thom, and Ben's rucksack to New Zealand for urgent repairs.
After
loading up with the 3 days worth of food that we would be needing
to climb Hakusan (Mt14), we set off up a steep mountain pass. Our
first view of Hakusan was awesome, as the peak was still covered
in snow. We camped by a river, where we saw our second Serow of
the trip.
Hakusan
(2702m - Mt No 14)
Tuesday 8th May
Day 86 - 21km
None
of us slept well, as we were all crammed into 1 tent. We had sent
the one man tent to Thom's the day before. At the start of the trail
we met some construction workers, one of whom had been a porter
on the mountain taking food up to the huts in the days before helicopters
were used. The trail was covered in deep snow and we soon lost it,
so we headed up a steep slope of snow and loose rocks to a hut at
2000km where we stopped for lunch.
We
decided to leave our kit in the hut and push for the summit with
one rucksack. It took us an hour and a half to reach the summit
from the hut, and just half an hour to get back as we glissaded
(slid) all the way down. Although we all felt good about bagging
our first 2000km peak of the trip, the weather had been poor all
day and we hardly got to see any of what is a very beautiful mountain,
which was a little disapointing."
Wednesday 9th May
Day 87 - 20km
All
the ingredients for some...Mountain madness!
Ben
- "What's this. Ben up first to cook breakfast?!
For
any normal breakfast one might suspect some form of shennanigans
or sudden unexplainable illness. but happy is the Scouser when Quaker
Porridge oats are his breakfast - just a shame about the lack of
Mars bars to melt into it.
After
melting snow for the day's water we began our descent of the mountain.
The Hakusan National Park is both large and secluded, and we needed
to traverse a decent portion of the mountain range to avoid more
road walking. After reaching the main plateau we had some very steep
glissading (sliding on your bum) into a col where moments later
a mountain rescue team were dropped off by helicopter - thankfully
they hadn't been called to save 3 foreigners - and they went about
their training exercises.
We
climbed and descended following the mountain ridge until about lunch
time when the weather closed in and we had to switch to the ridge
that we were to exit the mountain on. I am sure that Tom told me
that this sort of weather doesn't happen in Japan. Minging is the
only word to describe the very poor visibility and heavy rain. the
ridge we wanted eluded us for some time as we worked hard with our
map and compass, but once upon it we were on an easy, although slippery
trail to the foot of the mountain.
It
was a good time to think back on the beautiful ridges and cornices
that we'd seen, and how the whole mountain, although drenched with
cloud and rain, had proved to be one of the most exciting and enjoyable
experiences that the team had had in the wilds of Japan. We certainly
had all the ingredients for a class few days in the hills.
Thursday 10th May
Day 88 - 42km
Excuse me Sumi.
We
walked out from the mountain down a beautiful river valley. Tom
tried to explain that the reason he couldn't eat last night's dinner
wasn't due to the pigeon size of his belly, but to the ridiculously
huge quantity of noodles that we were planning to eat in the Alps.
Neither Paul nor myself struggled with the meal...we think that
it's all in Tom's head.
A
builder stopped and spoke with us in English. His name was Sumi.
He had been a martial arts teacher in England in the 60's. He offered
us a place to stay at his that night, and gve us his phone number.
Unfortunately by the time we came to camp, we couldn't get past
the engaged tone on his phone. A riverside camp had to suffice."
Friday 11th May
Day 89 - 42km
Manic Lunchbreak.
Paul
- "The morning was dominated by the climbing of a pass which
took us high into the hills. The pass presented us with beautiful
views of the town that we had just walked through, nestled in the
valley, with its castle perched above it. For luch we stopped in
what we though was a sleepy little town.
We
were promptly surrounded by 20-30 kindergarten children on some
excursion from the classroom. Ben felt exhausted after lunch, having
had to spend the whole time trying to keep the children away from
our stove - the teacher was much more chilled about the situation.
That evening we squeezed into the 2 and a half man tent, except
that this time we made one of the porch doors into a roof so that
one person could sleep partly out of the tent. More space equates
to more sleep.
Saturday 12th May
Day 90 - 22.5km
Lazy Afternoon.
Our
rest day was split between Saturday, Sunday, and Monday this week,
so as to fit in with the terrain and Sharna's schedule. Today was
a half day with serious walking finishing at a supermarket at 12.00pm.
The afternoon was spent sunbathing, swimming, bouldering, and letter
and log writing on the sun-kissed banks of a clear river. Nighttime
found us eating some of the mountain of food that we'd bought earlier
- weekends mean food treats - and dreaming of the new biscuits that
we had found for our breakfast - a big excitment for us!
Sunday 13th May
Day 91 - 35km
Must I swim again?
Our
biggest Sunday walk, covering the pass that would have made yesterday's
journey immenense had we not stopped when we did. Lunch time saw
us munching egg butties and gazing at the Southern Alps in the Far
distance. It was the third cloudless day in a row and hot. So it
only seemed right to stop by another river for a bit more bouldering
and swimming. You must realise that we don't enjoy swimming in mountain
rivers - we only do it to stop smelling!
We
fell asleep, after testing a different type of noodle for the Alps,
on the rocks, by the river, under a starry sky.
Week Summary: On Monday we prepared for our biggest Mountain yet.
Hakusan. Mountain Number 14. Standing 2702m high. On Tuesday we
peaked in the mist and rain. On Wednesday we descended taking in
another 5 peaks along the way. Again in mist and rain. From Thursday
onwards we enjoyed beautiful weather, wandering down wide valleys,
over a number of passes, and through an assortment of towns, on
our way to meet Sharna Tischler and our Alpine gear."
Monday 14/05/01
Day 92 - 16km
Hobnobbing with the Rotary Club
Today
truly started at 5:00pm when we met up with Shana Tishler, the English
Teacher who had kindly stored our alpine gear, and held our letters
from home from the last 2 months.Shana
invited us to join her for her English conversation class that evening
which, happily for us, was having a meal out.
The
morning's 16km into Nakatsugawa under a baking sun were quickly
forgotten under a mountain of food and drink and conversation that
merrily continued until about 11:00pm.
All
the members of the conversation class were Rotary Club members who
showed a lot of interest in the walk and wouldn't let us pay a penny
for the evening.
Yet
another experience of Japanese generosity - and that of Shana, the
English Teacher, who was letting us stay in her apartment that night.
Tuesday
15/05/01
Day 93 - 17km
Cooked Breakfast
Rotary
Club generosity did not end with the previous evening. Being unable
to afford the time to accept the offered full day of sightseeing,
(or the offered lift to the trail head), we happily accepted the
offer of a cooked breakfast in the coffee shop run by one of the
club members.
Consequently
we were picked up promptly at 8:30am and whisked off to enjoy thick
wedges of toast and bacon and eggs Japanese style. We were also
presented with a posh bottle of Sake, 10 cans of tuna, 2 English
Newspapers and offers of help whenever needed. From smelly vagabonds
to honored guests; the variety of worlds this walk causes us to
move in is astounding.
The
rest of the morning and much of the afternoon was filled with re-packing
our bags with alpine orientated gear, and sending yet another parcel
of unneeded clothes and equipment back to our long suffering and
much appreciated 'Man in Tokyo' Thom James.
By
mid afternoon we were once again ready to turn our backs on civilization
and head for the hills, aiming to get close to the trail head of
Mt Ena, mountain no.15.
Mt Ena (2171m - No.15)
Wednesday 16/05/01
Day 94 - 20km
We
woke to the sound of rain on the tent and set off up the trail that
followed the course of a river. As we climbed higher up the mountain
the weather improved although the path got worse. We spent a frustrating
two hours walking through thick forest on rotten snow that collapsed
beneath our feet after every other step.
We
reached the summit, at 12.30 and took a break for lunch at a hut
near the top where we read the letters from home which we had picked
up at Shana's (thanks guys!).
On
the way down the mountain we decided to take a 500m steep bushwhack
to avoid a large 4-5km loop. After 45 minutes of fighting with thick
bamboo and scrambling down loose rock we hit the road and soon found
a suitable riverside campsite for the night.
Thursday 17/05/01
Day 95 - 30km
66 bowls of instant noodles please!
We
had decided that we would try and buy all the food we would need
for the Southern Alps in Iida City. Today was also a day for more
generosity as we were given a box of chicken nuggets by one of the
girls who worked at a convenience store we stopped at, and a lady
we spoke to briefly spoke to about the walk came out of a supermarket
with a bag of food for us!
Once
in Iida we spent 4-5 hours buying and repacking food for the Southern
Alps (nuts, raisins, banana chips, chocolate, biscuits, porridge,
and 66 bowls of noodles!). We got a lot of interested looks from
passers by.
On
the way out of the city to find a campsite one of Tom's, a.k.a gear
wrecker, sandals broke (after a goodly 1000km+ of action!).
Friday 18/05/01
Day 96 - 41km
To the trail...
As
soon as we woke Ben was sneaking up to the beer vending machine
he had unplugged the night before to retrieve the video camera battery
that had been recharging, and also rang his Mum and Dad, who passed
on some promising news about possible support from Compeed (these
are the best blister plasters that money can buy...but we can't
afford them!) and further support from Sharp (see sponsors
page for links).
At
the top of a long, hot pass a wonderful lady called Kazuko Onishi
invited us in for coffee and sandwiches in her café, and encouraged
us greatly with her energy and enthusiasm for what we were doing.
We
continued our walk closer to the trail down an extremely dilapidated
road, stooping under fallen trees and tentatively crossing huge
landslides. We had planned to find a place next to the trailhead
to camp and take all day Saturday off, but slow progress soon led
to a camp in the dark and cooking over an open fire to save fuel.
Saturday 19/05/01
Day 97 - 9km
Easy day and expectations
A
leisurely breakfast again over a campfire was a fine start to a
short walk up an almost forgotten valley. The road had been swallowed
up in large portions by landslides, at one point we had to scramble
out of a tunnel that was almost entirely filled in.
We
settled down on a riverbed surrounded by steep sides and large boulders
and set about relaxing, washing and pondering what this long spell
in the mountains would hold for us.
The
main event of the day was when Tom came back from a river wash completely
naked, "By Jove the boy's naked!" exclaimed Paul, Tom immediately
accused Paul and Ben of stealing his shorts. But they had been good
boys and had little, if any, wish to prolong the shoddy exhibition.
A
search ensued and the shorts were found clinging to a piece of wood
in the river. With the Alps finally upon us we sought an early night.
Tekari (2591m - No. 16)
Sunday 20/05/01
Day 98 - 19km
So this is the Alps
Saturday
night was a night of great animal movement. Tom, who was sleeping
out that night under a ledge, was bitten by a mouse and had to chase
a raccoon or fox from his hanging food. Being up first to prepare
breakfast it was also Tom who first spotted the trail of porridge
oats heading down the river!
A
third of our porridge, plus Paul's biscuits for that morning and
his lunch for the day had been pulled under the tent fly sheet and
taken gleefully by some sneaky creature. Many curses later (and
much feeling of stupidity on Paul's part) and being energized by
slightly thin porridge, we made our first steps into the Alps proper.
The
trail headed straight up through the trees for about 1400 vertical
meters. Breaking onto the ridge that was to be home for the next
week or so, we dumped our packs and walked south, under sunny skies
and over end-of-season snow (wet and fairly rotten) to our first
alpine peak some 4km away.
Two
things were clear at the end of the day. There were more trees around
than expected, and trees plus snow meant bushwhacking and slow tiring
progress. Today was a good day though, beautiful views of big mountains
to come and a fine, dry campsite to finish.
Hijiri-dake (3013m - No. 17)
Monday 21/05/01
Day 99 - 16km
Today
we saw Fuji-san looking dramatic in the distance, climbed our first
3000m peak, spent a large amount of frustrating time forcing our
way through trees and snow and spent literally all day going up
and down. Four peaks and numerous nubbins were climbed in all.
We all briefly collapsed on the summit of Hijiri-dake after a long
climb up steep scree that seemed to go on and on. Another
sunny day with beautiful views that ended in us once again camping
on a saddle between two towering peaks.
Akaishi-dake (3120m - No. 18)
Tuesday 22/05/01
Day 100 - 14km
The
weather turned nasty and soon after we packed up camp it started
to hail. The wind was so strong on our way up Akaishi-dake that
Ben was blown over onto his back whilst he was filming the climb!
We
had hoped to climb two peaks on this day but the wind, the condition
of the snow and the thickness of the trees made this impossible.
Fortunately we found an open hut to sleep in at the end of the day
although the door needed to be dug out with our multipurpose cooking
pans.
Once
inside the hut we realized that the map had gone and had probably
been blown a couple of kilometers off the ridge. From now on we
would have to rely on some pretty sketchy maps in the two guidebooks
we had with us. (The camera packed in at
this point too - ed).
Warusawa-dake (3141 - No.19)
Wednesday 23/05/01
Day 101 - 18km
We
woke to find the hail and wind of the previous day had changed to
drizzle. We left our packs at the hut and set off for Warusawa-dake.
An hour of ridge walking and scrambling later we were on the peak.
The camera wouldn't work so we didn't manage to get a proof shot
(you'll have to take our word for it!). After getting back to the
hut we started a long decline down a huge snowfield and into the
trees. Once in the trees we got lost and spent 2 hours trying to
find the route to the next mountain. After finding the right ridge
we set off up a long steep climb up a 2800m peak where we found
a beautiful log cabin to spend the night in.
Shiomi-dake (3047m - No.20)
Thursday 24/05/01
Day 102 - 15 km
We
left the 'Hilton' style hut and were quietly hopeful that the slightly
improved weather would hold. Although the weather at times did afford
us some views of the mountains and the trail, mostly we continued
our trek through mist and rain. Late in the afternoon we ascended
the exciting scrambling ridge of Shiomi-dake. This was our twentieth
peak of the trek and as we arrived at the top the clouds parted
for us and a five-minute break in the weather helped to lift spirits
on this, Tom's favorite climb of the Southern alps.
The
rest of the day was damp and extremely misty. We began to head down
a ridge that was covered in thick forest, the amount of height loss
began to get a tad concerning and some map work and a break in the
weather revealed that the ridge we wanted ran parallel to us across
the valley. We trudged back up the ridge to our first camp on the
snow and all cozzied in together in the tent.
Aino-dake (3189m - No.21)
Kita-dake (3192m - No.22)
Friday 25/05/01
Day 103 - 16km
After
three days of pretty nasty weather, the appearance of blue skies
and views of the vast mountain ranges was encouragement enough to
pull on cold wet boots and head out along the impressive ridge we
could see before us, aiming for two peaks the second of which is
Japan's second highest.
We
made the top of Aino-dake for lunchtime and spread out our kit to
dry in the sun. The rest of the climbing for today took us to the
impressive 'north peak' or Kita-dake, from which we could see right
back along all the ridges we had traversed in the Southern Alps.
The
next peak we had to climb was on a separate ridge and so we had
to again loose all our height. We climb down to 2000 meters where
we spend the night in a hut that we find open.
Hoonzan (2764m, 2840m, 2780m - No.23)
Saturday 26/05/01
Day 104 - 20km
It
is amazing how much better you can feel after a sleep - not that
you are bursting with energy, but you can easily do something that
would have been a trial of pain the evening before.
We
descended quickly to the valley, an action that would have hurt
badly the night before. The 'village' at the head of the ridge turned
out to be two buildings, both shut and offering no plug sockets.
We knew there wouldn't be much there but had hoped to charge up
the camera battery.
Opting
not to attempt the ridge between the next two mountains we dumped
our packs at the bottom of the trail and took only one bag with
minimal gear up into the hills. It is so nice to move without packs.
The pace was not rushed, we were all feeling physically stretched
at this point - the main ridge had been tough. Thankfully there
was little snow in the trees then none on the tops. Instead we entered
a land of rough granite boulders and blocks and sand!
It
was unclear from our guidebook which peak was the hyakumeizan and
unfortunately (or fortunately) we asked a couple of the numerous
people we saw during the day, if they knew. It turned out that Hoonzan
means 3 peaks. What had looked like a fairly easy day quickly turned
into a day filled with an obscene amount of ascent and descent.One
of the peaks was a granite obelisk that provided some entertaining
climbing.
We
all realized just how tired we were at the end of today, eating
and setting up camp was a real trial. Ben's blisters were still
growing and Tom's ankle took major offense to his boots, making
all movement painful. At least it had been sunny today.
Kaikomaga-take (2967m - No.24)
Sunday
27/05/01
Day 105 - 16km
Food
was low, bodies were exhausted, we'd spent an uncomfortable, sweaty
night crushed in the tent and it was raining, as it had been much
of the night.
The
morning was spent walking the 10km along the road up to the pass
between the final two mountains. It was a very quiet walk, each
of us was internally battling with the question of whether we should
walk out of the Alps today or struggle through the final two.
Two
hours of walking didn't sort out the question and the rain just
made us all cold. Life rapidly improved however when we discovered
that the hut at the pass was open, and we had spent 10mins in front
of the fire and also got permission to have a meal there that night
without having to stay.
Food
was sorted and it was going to be much simpler to climb the two
mountains and walk out than trying to get back into the mountains
later. We were able to dump all but one pack again today, a real
joy.
Tom
made the first winter ascent of Kaikomaga-take in sandals - his
ankle was just too swollen to fit inside his boot. Fortunately there
was not too much snow and recent footprints through it saw us quickly
on the stony ridge. Once again we entered a weird landscape of stone
and sand towards the summit, only today we couldn't see much, as
the clouds sat stubbornly over the summit - it wasn't raining though.
Much
of the descent was taken up with thoughts of the cooked meal awaiting
us. The evening was yet another example of Japanese generosity.
The food was lovely, the hut was warm, the host and hostess were
incredibly kind and the day ended a lot more positively than it
had started.
Senjo-dake (3033m - No.25)
Monday 28/05/01
Day 106 - 16km
The
path we took up Senjo-dake went up the north ridge of the mountain,
so about 80% of the path was covered in snow. There had also been
a fall of about 2cm of snow overnight, so the mountain had a very
wintry feel to it. Once again Tom was in sandals.
The
views from the ridge were spectacular as we looked towards Kita-dake
and the main ridge of the Southern Alps stretching southwards. We
stopped at the summit for lunch and a spot of sun bathing.
Back
at the hut the lady who ran the hut was shocked at the state of
our feet, and kindly cleaned and bandaged them for us. She had been
amazingly kind to us and saying bye wasn't easy as we set of down
the valley out of the Southern Alps.
Tuesday 29/05/01
Day 107 - 27km
Back in civilization
After
packing up our riverbank campsite we ate the remainder of our food
and headed towards a village 12km away. Getting to a shop was a
fantastic experience as we could buy food other than peanuts, biscuits
and noodles!
We
feasted in a bus shelter and then walked another 10km to a town
where we proceeded to repeat the feasting.
After
a pretty chilled days walking in the baking sun we found a campsite
by a river in Ina city where we bought more food and checked the
train times to Hikone city.
Wednesday 30/05/01
Day 108 - 12km
Whoa. we're going to Hikone
Weary
and looking forward to good food and a break from the climbing,
we scoffed an impressive array of biscuits, breadstuffs and hot
chocolate to fuel our 12km walk to a little train stop near to the
foot of the Chuo or Middle Alps.
By
10am we were sat on a bench awaiting the commencement of a 7-hour
train journey back to Hikone to collect our alien registration and
to take a break. We were well prepared with bags of crisps, nuts,
fruit and 3.5 liters of the cheapest sake available, and beginning
to feel quite relaxed and comfortable.
The
journey became interesting at about the time Tom left the team wallet
and train tickets on the train at our first change.
Picture
for a moment a bearded man with ripped shorts and allover-engrained
dirt, waving his arms above his head whilst running after the train.
So
we went on a brief safari to collect the wallet and thus added another
2 hours to the journey. Tim our host met us at 7:30pm and led us
back to his place where Cat had prepared a mountain of curry for
us - it is so good to be back with friends in civilization.
Thursday 31/05/01
Day 109 - 500 meters!
Legal aliens. It's that easy
It
hadn't been a dream, we woke up on Tim's tatami, and as he went
to work we pressed play on the video player and became engrossed
in Willow. We had only to stride 500 meters to the town office to
pick up our alien registration, 'what would be the difficulty this
time' I wondered to myself.
After
some finger pointing and stareing by the clerk (probably provoked
more by the huge size of my curly wig than anything else!) we were
handed our lovely pink cards. No questions. No charges. Just a little
pink card each.
Registration
had proved to be far more difficult than we ever thought it would
be but now it is finished, at least until October anyway!
A
spot of email sapped the rest of the day away and the evening was
spent preparing and eating Oconomiyaki, which is a kind of glorified
omelet. Again Cat's cooking was highly responsible for a fine feeling
of satisfaction and a point blank refusal by everyone to do anything
more than simply digest food and enjoy good company.
The
hospitality and support of people like Tim, Lynne and Cat whom we
have met on this trek has undoubtedly helped us to feel that we
can achieve the goals we have set here. Thanks again to all the
people who have taken us in and shown us love and kindness, you
are in our thoughts and prayers.
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