Lessons learnt

The most important lesson that I learnt is that in order to succeed, the key element will be 

the management of energy. 

We will have to: 

- conserve our energy, by eating, drinking and sleeping.

- conserve our heating energy by not wasting fuel when working with the stove

and use the stove heat to dry clothes at night 

- use our body heat to dry gloves, socks and small items in our sleeping bag at night

- conserve water by making sure that we don't spill it while filling thermoses

It is also very important to 

- focus on the positive: getting angry or depressed is not going to change the weather or remaining distance!! On the contrary it will only make the remaining of the trip harder by depressing me. Nature is very powerful and we can't fight it. We have to learn to live with it.

- be disciplined and methodic: Organisation is paramount, and tasks should become automatic, therefore easier to perform

-  find a walking pace: and try to maintain it if the terrain does not change. Should the terrain change, adapt the speed in consequence

- remembering that this is a team effort: work with the partners, forget egos, and trust your instincts to judge the other members of the team's moods, aches, and give them moral support. 

- if any tension, diffuse it with jokes

- be confident 

Observe, think, share, be practical, show initiative and learn

I love it. A trip like this is totally character building. It also gives me tremendous confidence as I can see that if I put my mind to it, I can do almost anything.
It is also amazingly rewarding as I know that each penny or pound that I raise will make a big difference to a child's life.