Mark Wood's Expedition Journal
An established polar explorer and adventurer who operates within the extremes of our planet.
During the course of this trek I will try and write daily updates – however if I can’t get a reception due to weather, electrical failure or poor equipment then I’m sorry in advance . I will keep the blogs so you might see nothing for a few days and then a stream of updates.
Day 3 Chame (2710m)
As we set off on the trail for only our 2nd full days walking my legs felt really stiff- I had slept well the night before but as per my previous post it’s going to take a few days to get my mountain legs working again.
We pretty much climbed all morning following steep trails through green forests – the route seemed endless. On the side of our tracks we found fresh strawberries which were tempting however I was reluctant to eat them as I still have my sensitive European stomach.
Where ever I travel to around the world I’m not keen on buying souvenirs from shops to remind me of a trip. There isn’t many shops at the North Pole but at the South Pole I have to admit I did buy a T shirt from the post office at the Amundsen / Scott base.
Day 2 and the sun is shining again – luckily I have bought my umbrella- people always laugh at me for packing this but it’s great if the sun is on you and you don’t need water proofs in the rain – not so good in the Arctic or on top of a windy mountain not matter where you are in the world.
I sweat constantly for the first 4 hours of the trek – I also feel unconditioned at the moment. My legs are tired and…well the list is long! The problem is everything you do is always tough at the beginning- all the students and scouts I speak to I tell them to persevere- stay in there and after a short while things get better – you make new friends or you understand more about your scout group or in my case you get fitter as the days go in.
I met a lady with a small chick in her shop – we sat and drank tea for awhile and played with the little fella.
Early this morning we set off from Kathmandu through the dusty busy streets and onto the slow but open road. Slow because it all depends on how many cows decided to walk straight across your path or a gang of goats head straight at you.
I checked in at Heathrow yesterday and watched as my kit drifted away into the luggage hold – I had no choice but to lay my faith in the ai line that it would arrive in a place called Kathmandu after somebody switched it onto the plane in Delhi.
After I have 8 hours I walked through the newly built airport in India and boarded for Nepal.
Tomorrow I head to Nepal to begin the training and filming for the expedition in 2019. / www.expedition8848.com – over the next few weeks I will be working with my Nepalese team trekking in remote areas to improve on my fitness and to test equipment.
The lead cameraman on next years trek will join me a week in to the training to shoot some short films for Lonely Planet Kids and SKYPE in the Classroom. These films will be apart of the 10 lesson plans the key teachers will receive for signing their schools up to the expedition.
Not forgetting the International Scouting movement who are also involved with the journey (hello to my local group of Pillerton) – the Scouts have a special day coming up in a few weeks time and I will be doing a film for them too.
A few months ago I gave my first presentation for the DOFE at Coventry Cathedral in my home town. I was then asked back to present at St James Palace in London and today I received my invitation to talk and present awards at Buckingham Palace.
Of course this is an honour but really the pride is being able to say congratulations to students who have gone above and beyond to achieve remarkable things – making friends and learning life skills along the way. It’s truly is their day – well done to all of the staff who work for this wonderful charity for inspiring students all over the country.
The only issue for me is I have to find a suit and put a TIE on! If a student can achieve great things outside of their school work and put all of the time and effort into winning their award then I can wear a tie!
