It's All Over Now & Feeling Totally Pooped !!

Did not sleep a wink last night as hands were extremely painful and throbbing, this was a result of Thursday when we'd had to do two day's of travelling because of the condition of the ice on the lakes. I also felt the house was too warm and want to keep the heating turned off as unable to bear the heat, of course hubby's freezing! My muscles still producing a lot of heat of their own, my OH commented that if he held his hand above my arms or legshe could actually feel the heat coming out of my body. Have been feeling a bit low today because of the pain in my hands, lack of sleep because of it and my lips are so sore, in fact you cannot actually see them as they're a mass of blisters and a mess. It's frustrating they are like this because I'd been so careful constantly applying lip block all day long up and wearing my balaclava when the temperatures plummeted. But all it took was that short time in the blizzard when I couldn't get my gloves off and get my balaclava pulled up. My hubby wanted to take me out for a meal today and have a family get together but as feeling out of sorts thought best to put it off for a few days.

Decided to take it easy and take my time unpacking my kit bag. Everything smells "doggy" and I feel sad it is all over, I want my own pack of huskies!! It's the first time I get chance to think about what we have all just done. Whilst we were away all thoughts had been taken up with what we need to do such as looking after the dogs, putting up/taking down the tents, making meals etc. Then when we were on the move we needed to concentrate on driving the sleds, which could be quite tricky at times and certainly was hard work most of the time (I'm sure the minute people took it for granted and didn't pay attention because they thought they were on easy stretches that was when a lot of the stupid mistakes occurred). Most of us had no experience of "wild camping" let alone in waist deep snow so thinking about things now at home, I do feel extremely proud of what we all did. There was about 10 months of preparation for this trip taking up nearly all my free time; at first concentrating on fund raising and then hours and hours worth of walking to make sure I'd be fit enough. Every minute spent over the past year leading up to the trip was 100% worth it. Words simply cannot do justice to the whole experience and emotions you go through on an expedition like this. So put very simply in the words of American teenage movies it was "Awesome Dude"!

It was utter bliss last night getting into a lovely, comfy bed. Slept in fits and starts dreaming on and off all night. Kept waking up trying to get out of a deep hole but it wasn't snow at all only the white duvet !!!

Spent ages enjoying the hot water of the shower so come out of the shower looking like a lobster. Karen shows off all her bruises - she is black and blue, has some humongous ones at least 4 which are 8" long and 4" wide across her stomach and legs. I managed to get away with only having a big one across the back of my knee where a runaway sled ploughed into me and a small one across my hip bone.

We go down to the dining room and enjoyed a delicious continental breakfast. Everyone comments how strange it seems not going to see our dogs. We swapped stories with Alan, Peter, Jeremy and Laurie, they had stayed in the bar last night until the early hours and are all looking a little fragile. After breakfast we're able to go and take a quick walk around Tromso before we have to meet up again to be taken to the airport.

We stayed at the Clarion Collection Hotel (very nice) which was right on the waterfront

Walking around the habrour we came across a little square with the memorial statue of Roal Amundsen, famous Norwegian polar explorer

We really liked Tromso with its quaint little streets and mix of old and new buildings. I would love to go back some time with my hubby to explore the surrounding countryside, I know he would love it and it.

Tore drove us back to the airport in the centre minibus and just before we went inside he gave us all a little husky key ring as a memento!

The day ahead was flight from Tromso to Oslo, Oslo to London and 5 of us would then catch a flight from London to Manchester (the others would be driving, catching trains or a coach to their various destinations). There was a slight delay with the flight from Tromso but the rest of the day went fairly smoothly. We arrived at London extremely weary and once through customs and the baggage collection point we hurriedly said our goodbyes as some had to get away for their transfers. Andy, Brian, Jeremy, Lauri and myself had an hour and half wait before our connection, it was a relief when we finally touched down in Manchester and saw our members of our families waiting to give us big hugs!!!

Up early again this morning despite having not gone to bed until 12.30 am. Due to the distance of the sleds from our tent and the depth of the snow it takes ages going backwards and forwards with all of our gear. Another beautiful morning, thank goodness.

Karen and Sue putting the world to rights

Anne looking very stylish

Tove & Tore

Tove and Tore fixing a sled - a common occurrence over the trip, quite a few had bits of twine holding things together !!!

Although we have a very short distance to go to this morning feel quite nervous as usual about setting off and a little low that this would be the last time. We arrived at the Ice hotel about 9.30 am where the transport vehicles were waiting to collect the dogs. As each sled pulled up Tore shook everyone's hand, gave them a hug and said well done. It felt strange as we' d only just left camp and I felt as though we were just getting going. We did some final posing for pictures before reluctantly saying cheerio to our dogs and headed over to pay the Ice hotel a visit.

End of the road - Kiruna, Sweden

Tom, Andy at the back, Sue & Dave

A final pat for my furry friends

Front doors of the Icehotel

Getting our glasses filled

Brian and myself - you can't go to the Ice Hotel without having a drink in an ice glass!!

We spent about an hour in the hotel. It was good to see although if I'm honest was not as good as I expected, perhaps that's because they are getting ready to close the season as its starting to melt. The Absolut bar was shut so we had our drinks in our ice glasses in the Reception area. After checking out quite a few rooms it was time to go back to the vehicles ready for our 6 hour drive back to Tromso.

We stopped on route at a huge Wallmart type supermarket to get goodies for eating on the journey. It was a first for me walking round a supermarket absolutely stinking of dogs, no make up, hair greasy as a spoon and cracking great blisters erupting everywhere on my lips. (One of the days where we had blizzards I'd pulled down my balaclava to shout instructions to my dogs but couldn't get it back up again because of my mittens. I'd been too scared to try taking them off as it would require using both hands and leaning on the sled which is ok in normal conditions but the weather had been far too crazy and required total concentration. I must have gone a good hour or two without any protection so I knew they'd got a good case of wind burn).

The journey passed quite quickly, a few chatted quietly and some caught up on their sleep. I sat with Anne and no doubt did more talking in that journey than all week. We arrived at the hotel much earlier than expected. Our rooms were gorgeous with huge comfy beds and pristine white sheets, piping hot shower - bliss. We had some time to ourselves, Karen went off for a sauna, I stayed in the room and sorted through all my stuff, repacking it so I wouldn't have to do it tomorrow. My hands felt very swollen and throbbed whilst my mouth was tingling like crazy with the cold sores. After showers we changed to our "normal" clothes although our muscles were so "pumped up" we thought we weren't going to get into them. We met up with the gang at the Flyt sports bar for a celebratory drink and meal. Tove and Tore handed out award certificates and a medal from "Global Adventures". Brian gave out little postcards of huskies with a different message on for each member of the group - mine was for the most supportive member. We all had to take it in turn to get up and recount both our most challenging and rewarding moments. The week had been pretty intense so being put on the spot it was hard for everyone quickly to separate events and make a decsion but one or two things seemed to stand out in everyone's mind as experiences they will never forget.

Unwinding in the Flyt Sports bar, Tromso

Tove & Brian handing out Medal & Certificate, Dave looking very seriously studying his.

We woke up really early again to another beautiful morning. No one really out and about. We first spotted Peter taking photos and went for a chat. Sue came out to go and find a toilet spot and was dismayed at first to see us milling about so went headed off in the opposite direction away from the camp to a section of small trees a bit further away! One by one someone would come out and have a few minutes chat before making a stat on the daily routine. Everyone seemed very content this morning and looking forward to the day ahead.

Peter taking a stroll !!

This morning we had quite a stretch of moguls to travel through. Karen, my tent buddy suddenly starting having problems, she was falling off left, right and centre. She took some cracking falls and for what seemed like no reason. Tove knew there must be something wrong and kept looking the sled over and watching Karen but couldn't quite fathom it out at first. Then she realised that a rope had been attached incorrectly and it was warping the sled resulting in it pulling to one side. Tove refastened the sled and thankfully for Karen this sorted the problem. We followed a track through a forest for about 10 km and then came to our first lake which was quite tough as there was hardly any snow coverage at all. The dogs were slipping all over the place. We hoped no one ran into trouble here as it would be very difficult to stop as the brakes would be of no use on solid ice. We stopped briefly for lunch about 3.30 pm.

Simon & Andy during a quick lunch break

The next lake there was no snow coverage, pure ice. It was extremely bumpy and at times holding onto the sled felt like holding onto a pneumatic drill. The ice cracked and shattered, bits flying behind us everywhere, the dogs looked round at me every so often as if to say what was that. Although I knew the ice was extremely thick and there was no risk of falling in, it was still nerve racking trying to stop the sled from overturning on the huge uneven ice ridges that we were speeding across. Eventually we were on a lake with snow on it, I sang songs to my dogs so I wouldn't fall asleep but that wasn't because it was so easy it was boring. Far from it, it had taken an immense amount of concentration to get through today so far. Thinking we musn't have much longer to go the weather took a dramatic turn for the worse. Visibility was very poor as we travelled through biting almost blizzard conditions. Throughout the day I'd waved my arms about in turns doing exercises, trying to alleviate tensing the muscles up but now it was very difficult making myself let go and only keep one hand on the sled while the weather was so poor. It was extremely cold and I felt very tired as for what seemed like hours all I had been focusing on was the back of the person in front so I wouldn't lose sight of them. At this point the only other thoughts in my head was getting hot soup and into my sleeping bag. It eventually stopped snowing and things became much easier. Wasn't it supposed to have been an easy day from the start today - I had a vague recollection of it being said during team brief, were they talking about the same place, couldn't have been.

We eventually stop on the lake to make our camp. By the time we have staked out the dogs, fed them, and put up the tents it is extremely dark. At team brief we are told we've done 80 km!! This means we have done two days driving in one day, no wonder we were tired! Tove & Tore explained they knew it would be really tough but after weighing everything up felt we needed to keep pushing on as due to the condition of the ice it would not be safe to set off from any point on that stretch first thing in a morning with fresh excitable dogs. The good news of all this was that we had virtually arrived at our destination as the Ice hotel in Kiruna was only 5 minutes away.

A pretty spot for camping out

Drilling for water

After team brief everyone dispersed to unpack their sleds, sort out their gear and make a meal. It is gone midnight when we collapse on our sleeping bags to eat our tea - the longed for hot soup; we are so tired we don't feel like eating but know we should because we haven't really had much all day.

It had been mentioned we didn't have to get up until about 7 am today but Karen and myself seemed to naturally stir about 4.30/5 am. The sunlight came flooding through the cabin and feeling very refreshed after our cosy comforts we happily donned our suits and boots to potter outside, taking photos, and simply enjoying the stillness of it all and feeling great satisfaction in just being there.

Because we were up so early it meant we could have a leisurely breakfast, not that we needed to take a while to eat breakfast, in comparison to the others we probably ate too little. We would simply have our little pot of porridge oats with a big dollop of jam in and a drink, as we really couldn't face eating most mornings and made ourselves have something. But this morning it was nice to be able to linger at the table and just chat. After breakfast it was time to get all our things together and straighten up the cabin to leave it as spick and span as we went into it. We found a guest book in a drawer, it was filled with entries in every language - Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian you name it, but not English! Karen wrote a long entry and we both added our names and addresses, no doubt some bemused fisherman will think crazy English people. Sue and her husband Dave were chatting to, I think the manager/caretaker of the place, and said they couldn't thank anyone enough for letting us stay, telling him we were spending our nights in our tents, he looked at her incredulously, making the crazy sign and laughed shaking his head.

After vacating the cabin, it was time to say a "mental fond farewell" to our little oasis. We met up with a couple of the guys and we all walked down to where we had left the dogs staked out for the next part of our morning routine of feeding the dogs, and shovelling up lots and lots of doggie poop!!

Because by now we'd had hours of driving the dogs and we had this huge expanse of flat, open land, setting off and leaving the camp should have been a breeze. Previously I'd been really apprehensive at this point and this was quite a stressful part of the day but today I thought great everyone will be ok and for once we'll have a stress free start to the morning. When it was time to go Tore and Tove walked the lines and the dogs went into a frenzy, clamouring to be on the run. With the dogs all suitably fired up Tore set off at the lead. We had been moving for literally about 2 minutes when there was the signal to stop. On glancing behind it was hard to see what was going on but it looked like chaos with what appeared some runaway sleds. This was not a good at all. Problem sorted we got going again, only to recur what seemed like ten minutes later. In fits and starts we eventually got underway.

In spite of the early mishaps, we ended up having a great day, the weather was beautiful and we were able to take in the surrounding scenery. We stopped for lunch today which was very pleasant. The guys decided to be all macho and pose bare chested for a group photo, needless to say the girls declined the offer to do likewise.

My tent buddy, Karen enjoying the lunch stop

Dog Tired - Taking a quick lunchtime nap !!!

The guys striking a pose !!

Tore produced his map to show us where we had travelled. While we gathered round we heard a low rumbling sound and a crack and the snow collapsed in with our weight, it was just a foot down but it made us all jump. We repositioned ourselves, choosing what looked like sturdier ground but as we started poring over the map the snow started creaking again and at this point Tove decided it would be good fun to jump on it for the vibrations to collapse the snow in again. It was so funny we couldn't help but laugh especially as one or two of the guys shrieked like girls.

Eventually everyone settled down enough for Tore to get to serious business of telling us about a tricky manoeuvre we would come to later where the track turned 90° through a narrow gap in a fence. To get through we would have to leave off braking as we approached the turn so that the speed of the dogs could carry the following sled around and not through the fence post.

Our travels would take us across some fairly steep downhill sections, icefields followed by a rollercoaster ride over snow moguls. After an extremely exhilarating day we arrived a our camp for the night, a really lovely spot with lots of little trees dotted about. Despite the abundance of trees we couldn't get a suitable one to tie our stake out to without getting to near anyone else's dogs so there was nothing for it but to dig a big hole again to secure one end of the line. The ground was particularly hard and it took ages to get deep enough, the others had their tents up before we even managed to get all our dogs out of their harnesses. After the dogs were fed, we had our team briefing and we were told we had managed 55 km today. Tore tells us that tomorrow we have long stretches on the ice fields and that it is so easy we will be falling asleep with boredom on the sled.

Everyone goes back to their tents to prepare their tea feeling quite happy. Around 9.30/10 pm we sit down to have our evening meal. As it felt really warm, Karen and myself decided to eat sitting on the floor outside the tent instead of in our sleeping bags. We must have become acclimatised as Sue noted that it was minus 10 at this point. We chuckled at Tove's earlier remark this afternoon - it's just like being in Spain !!

Cue the Blizzards !

Sunrise brought a much calmer, brighter and very mild morning promising a good day. Looking at the position of our sleds balanced precariously on slopes with deep, soft snow all round hinted at the fun and games to be had trying to get the dogs to the sleds and then again when setting off from camp.

Brian having been to collect water - it takes a while getting anywhere when the snow's this deep.

I think everyone felt very apprehensive about today's start and it would take a miracle to be able to get going without any hitches whatsoever. Sure enough people started having problems very early on. We made very slow progress, far to slow and for what seemed like no reason at all. Tove and Tore were not happy with the group's performance and made it quite clear people were going to have to work a lot harder and totally concentrate 100% of the time. Chastisement seemed to have done the trick and there seemed to be less problems later in the day. Once up on the plateau the scenery was superb - we were surrounded by "Toblerone" peaks of nearby mountains, everything seemed very peaceful and the morning's tension melted away. This was to be one of the highlights of the trip; one of those "special moments" beyond words.

These pics taken by Brian our Exped Leader

Before we knew it the weather changed again. Rapidly the wind came sweeping across the plateau stirring up the snow with a vengence. Visibility was limited to the point were the feint outline of the person in front could just be made out. You couldn't tell the difference between land and sky at this point. We tried to keep as close as possible so we wouldn't become separated. This was one of the "hairy" moments - I didn't want to blink in case I lost sight of the person in front of me. This seemed to last for hours. It was extremely cold; we were told later that it was -25°today.

Due to the weather Tove and Tore decided it was best to keep on the move. Going all day without a stop meant snacking on what we'd stuffed in our pockets at breakfast time; in my case nuts and raisins and mini Jaffa cakes as I'd forgotten to put my sandwiches in my pocket today and they'd been sitting in the flap on top of the sled - needless to say at today's cold temperatures they were rock solid. Despite or perhaps because of the bad weather, I think everyone was concentrating 200% and there were no mishaps and we managed to get to our base for setting up camp quite early.

Looking around we've stopped at what looks like middle of nowhere, a flat plain as far as the eye can see with a little hill like bump to one side. Amongst our "kit" we had been issued with 2 planks of wood and now it was time to use them! We had to dig a hole about 3 ft deep, tie our stakeout chains to them before dropping them in the hole, refill, stomp like mad to compact it all and hopefully when it was all frozen over it would be nice and secure and all the dogs would still be there in the morning!!!

Karen busy digging the hole for our stakeout line

This is me checking out Karen's handiwork - think its deep enough but dare I tell her the planks are a bit longer than the size of the hole !!

Feeding the dogs went like clockwork this evening and seemed to be over in no time at all. We were told to line up our sleds side by side and gather all our kit together and put it in a big heap, this seemed very strange and we weren't sure why. Next minute a huge skidoo arrived pulling a trailer took away all our stuff and 5 minutes later came back and we all piled onto it and had a quick ride - still didn't know what was going on but it was great fun. In minutes we were the other side of the "hill" and at a little cluster of cabins by a frozen lake.

Quick chat before distributing the dog food

Preparing the dog's food

Totally unexpectedly we are told we are be allowed to use the cabins for the night although Tove and Tore and Brian would be staying in their tents. This had not been part of our itinerary and we all are totally stunned, amazed, grateful beyond words as it had been a bit of a nightmare 2 days for some.

When Karen and I went inside our little cabin we could have done cartwheels. We had bunk beds, a kitchen area with stove to cook our meal, a little table and bench where we could eat our meal and most importantly HEATING to dry out our clothes - we couldn't have been happier even if we were staying at the Ritz!!!

The Ritz !!!

I love this picture taken by one of the guys it really sums up the beautiful evening (a total contrast to last night)

The Team !!

Back Row:- Andy, Ann, Peter, Alan, Dave, Therese, Jeremy

Seated:- Lauri, Me, Karen, Sue, Simon, Tom

Brian doing the obligatory "team leader" pose on the floor

I'd been awake on and off during the night and it was incredibly light from about 3 am, the night time darkness didn't seemed to have lasted long before it was time to get up. Mind you I think it's from next month when they have the midnight sun up here. After last night's "loo" performance we decided to get up about 5 am and get it out of the way before anyone started stirring. As I reached to get our boots noticed the laces frozen and they were full of snow - we'd forgotten about "snowing" inside the tent due to condensation. Our inner boots were soaking and I was really worried about this as we'd have to spend the whole day in these until we finished about 9.30 pm. We didn't want to put our socks straight into soaking wet boots so Karen found some spare plastic bags which we tied onto our feet so we could nip outside for 5 minutes. Once outside the tent, our dogs must have thought great - time to get up and started to howl, lots of frantic Shusshing noises and patting followed to try and get them to settle so we could at least go in peace without waking the whole of the camp up. Mission accomplished it was time to get breakfast on the go (we had little pots of oats with apple and cinnamon, that we just added boiling water to) and then try and dry off our liners as much as possible over the stove.

Collecting water for cooking porridge & drinks

After breakfast we pottered around outside the tent, still not much movement around the camp. We chat to Jeremy briefly and then to Sue before making a start on what is to become our morning routine, packing away our stuff, putting down the tent, loading the sleds, harnessing the dogs, taking them off the stake out line and hitching them to the sleds. This doesn't sound much but it always seems to take at least 2 hours. It's a lovely morning; very sunny and we feel extremely warm doing our jobs, we are expecting it to be a beautiful day again.

Time to hitch up - walking my dog to the sled

Time is inconsequential, we go when everything has been done and we are ready, we will stop only if the weather permits and we arrive at our next camp area when the weather and the day's events permit. Tore and Tove have about three possible camp locations in mind at any time; a long distance one if everything goes ok, a mid distance one if the weather looks a bit doubtful and a shorter distance one if the weather doesn't look good at all. Today the weather looks as though its going to be really good and the plan is to maybe travel to the long distance camp.

Laurie, Anne & Therese

Alan and Peter (My dogs sitting nice and quiet for a while)

Whilst putting our tents down a chap came by on his skidoo; he was huge, and looked like something out of a Mad Max film with his long coat flying and very irate expression on his face. We later learned that he was part of a group of Sami reindeer herders who were moving a huge herd of reindeer to different feeding grounds. The reindeer were just the other side of the hill and racing down and due to be crashing through this little wooded area in as little as 15 minutes. Apparently a member of his team had been down and spoke to Tove and Tore earlier but he had said as long as we moved all the sleds to one side and kept hold of the dogs it would be ok, but this chap, most likely the "main man" was going bolistic saying (more or less) that was not possible and we all had to get out of there immediately unless we wanted to be crushed in a stampede.

Get the hell out of dodge - Mad Max with Tove and Tore

Lined up and ready to leave

Fortunately most people had done the bulk of their packing up at this point but it meant things were hurriedly getting thrown into sledges and the line up for setting off was a bit haphazard. It was rather a rush job getting the group out of the camp and what originally promised good terrain for a smooth morning start somehow ended up being the opposite with pandemonium ensuing. I was right at the front so it was difficult to know what exactly went on but looking back it seemed to involve two runaway sleds and a loose dog. This was the only thing I hated about the trip, seeing runaway sleds plowing into others with dogs getting all tangled or a loose dog on the run, your heart just sinks.

Today there were lots of mishaps amongst the group, sleds seemed to be overturning every 10 minutes - I'm not sure why, it was difficult to tell, this was supposed to be an relatively straight forward stretch. After the easy stretch there was quite a bit where we had to help by running uphill to help the dogs out, this was particularly difficult where the snow was extremely soft and deep. We got nowhere fast and embarrasingly did about 1 km in 1 hour!! Fortunately I only came a cropper once and this was due to a runaway sled ploughing into the back of me when I was going downhill. It turned out to be a beautiful, warm day and yet again the scenery was superb set against a lovely blue sky. We stopped for lunch break for 1/2 hour at the border point where Norway, Finland and Sweden meet. We saw some cross country skiers and took their photo and they took photos of us.

Border Point - Finland, Norway, Sweden

Quick 1/2 hour lunch stop at the border point

What a difference a few hours makes - the weather takes a sudden turn for the worst. There are some hair raising parts to this afternoon as we had icy blasts across the mountain tops and lots of steep downhill sections (sleds constantly overturning and resulting pandemonium). Due to our poor speed and the rapid change in weather Tore and Tove decide we can't make any of the usual camps and Tore felt the best option was to try a new route that they hadn't done before. In total disarray we finally stop. We are spread out all over the place. The wind has picked up and is howling more than the dogs. Dave & Sue's thermometer records minus 15 degrees.

There seems no good place to set up the tent. Although Karen and myself didn't have much choice where to put our tent, simply where out sleds ground to a halt, it turned out to be an ok spot after all. It was a bit of a pain setting up - the snow was extremely soft at this point and everytime you moved you sunk a good two to three feet. This meant a lot and I mean a lot of hard work stomping the ground trying to compact the snow before we could even think of setting our tent down. It took a good hour to do this and by the time we'd finished compacting the ground it started snowing quite heavily and the wind had really whipped up which didn't help when trying to peg the tent down with our "twigs". On more than one occasion we thought it was transforming into a kite!! Routine went a bit out of the window this evening, the dogs were given dry food by a few volunteers and they struggling to get to some of the dogs which were staked out high up on steep slopes due to the impossible deep snow. Dave got stuck in the snow and Tove spent 15 minutes trying to dig him out.

Team briefing lasted all of 5 minutes as by now it was getting near blizzard conditions. Mood extremely low, most people feeling pretty unhappy with the afternoon's turn of events, very quiet with tired and frustrated faces all round.

After an eternity went by setting up camp and all chores out of the way, we were ready to clamber into our sleeping bags and eat our evening meal - tonight another fish type stew, creamier than last nights but equally tasty. Wind is howling, tent is shaking vigorously, bit worried tent might blow away but as we'd managed to rig it up to the sleds thought it should be pretty secure. Feel human now snuggled up in our bags and having eaten a good meal. We have socks and boot inners strung all over the tent, looks like a Chinese laundry. We have plenty of fuel so keep our stove going so that we can dry all our things. We look across at all the other tents and they are in darkness, we think we are the only ones still up. After the little lesson last night of snowing inside the tent, I put my inner boots, laces in the bottom of my sleeping bag along with my camera, batteries, chocolate for tomorrow's snacks, wet wipes and umpteen other little things I don't want rock solid by morning. Around 11 pm we finally settle down to sleep.

Time to get mushing!

Another 4 am wake up call, this time it was the sound of 200 huskies howling !!! Now that is some experience, just to have heard that was worth the flight over - what an amazing sound, it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Of course this was a sound we were going to become very familiar with as 95 huskies were going on the expedition with us and of course when one starts they all have to join in!!

After the dogs had finished their morning howl and quietened down we managed to nod off again for another hour before it was time to get up. No shower facilities so it was time to practice the wet wipe wash but at least there were decent loos for this morning. Breakfast was held in the shop/kit room; selection of cereals, ham, cheese, bacon, eggs etc all lovely and fresh. The leftover bacon & sausages we made into sandwiches to take for our lunch. After breakfast we made our way over to the kennels where our furry friends were collected and we were shown how to "walk" them to the vehicles ready for travel. Holding onto the collar and making the dogs hop along on their hind legs (the only way you would have total control) looked very simple when the pros did it but it required all our concentration to keep these excitable and extremely boisterous dogs on their hind legs as we walked gingerly across the ice trying not to fall flat on our derrieres!

The trick is to make the dogs hop along on their hind legs and not let them get their front paws on the ground - these may look like tiny dogs but they are extremely strong

One of the trailers for the sleds & dogs

An hour or so later the dog teams were loaded onto the transport vehicles and all the kit onto the vans then we finally hit the road. We were a rather subdued group, some quietly chatted, some slept and others just gazed at the lovely scenery flashing by; frozen lakes, towering hills and "Toblerone" looking peaks with turquoise ice flows glittering in the sunshine. After travelling for 2 hours or so we arrived at the start of our route at the foot of the mountains. There had been quite a bit of rain recently and the ground was quite slushy. The first job was to unload all our gear, and distribute shared items such as dog food, fuel, tents etc.

Getting all our stuff together ready for loading onto the sleds

With my "tent buddy" Karen - that tiny orange bundle on the floor is our new home for the trip !!

In my sled went the two large boxes of food supplies for both Karen and myself, my bolster kit bag, fuel, cooking pans and stove, the tent and the stakeout chains. The sacks containing the dogs' food were distributed across the group, Karen had a sack which weighed an absolute ton.

Once all the kit was checked yet again, the sleds were positioned into two long lines ready for "take off". The dogs, refreshed from their nap and all clamouring to get going, were brought out, harnessed and hitched up to the sleds.

At the front - Frutti, Sekki, middle - Likdag, at the back - Saft and Te

My dog team consisted of 2 females and 3 males; Frutti & Sekki my boisterous and inquisitive female lead dogs, Likdag my middle dog and Saft and Te my gentle giants at the rear. All the dogs belonged to Tove, joint owner of the Villmarkscenter and guide (along with her partner Tove ) for the trip. Frutti & Sekki are two of the dogs that Tove took with her when she raced in the Iditarod last year.

Getting bored with all the waiting Frutti & Sekki roll around in the snow playing

Saft and Te

After a last final check of all the harnesses and dog lines, Tore took position on his sled and the first line set off - the dogs went bananas, the noise was absolutely deafening, you could almost feel the energy in the air. The switch from frantic barking to silence seemed instantaneous. Now the dogs were settled all that could be heard was the gentle sound of the dog's panting and paws on snow as we glided along.

For a short while things seemed to be going ok, we were following a narrow path winding its way up hill through pine trees with a steep bank to our left with the river running below, very pretty. But we'd no sooner got going when we started running into problems. It had been raining a few days previously and the snow was extremely soft, which meant the moment you stepped off the sled to try and help push it up hill in some parts you were sinking thigh deep, once off the sled all you could do in this instance was hold on and hope it didn't over turn. The breaks (which we didn't know how to use properly yet) were not taking a good grip which meant sleds were not being stopped in time resulting some getting too close and either knocking the sled in front down the side of the hill and go crashing into a tree or the dogs getting too close and ended up getting in a tangled pickle. I'm pleased to say I only came off once today and that was because I'd stepped off the sled to "help my flagging dogs" by pushing the sled uphill; I ended up stepping into a covered pot hole and once I was stuck in this thigh deep hole my dogs suddenly had an energy boost hundred fold and pulled me for what seemed like forever up the hill before coming to a standstill. Of course the moment you try to climb out of the snowhole and get your foot on a runner they're off like a shot again for another 100 yards or so. Throughout the day all of these things seemed to happen over and over again and each time it took a while before we got going. When we were stopped for long periods of time we put down our snow anchor a big claw grappling type hook, the rest of the time we kept our feet on a metal bar which was the break. However when my dogs decided they were bored of standing around more than 2 minutes they were able to drag me along as if I didn't have a break on my sled at all. Tore checked my sled and decided I was too light and my sled was too light for my strong team. She felt I needed more weight in the sled but for the time being a slight change in my team would help so she took one of my male dogs Likdag (who looked more like a St Bernard than a husky) and replaced him with Gypsy, a beautiful white female.

Frutti & Sekki

Weather wise it ended up being a really beautiful day, the going uphill meant our bodies were working quite hard and we felt very warm and thirsty most of the time. It was good to finally stop at our camp which we arrived at around 8 pm. There were quite a few scattered trees for shelter and which we could "stake" our dogs to and there was a little stream nearby where we could get fresh water. Our first job was to tie the stake out chains to the trees, take the harnesses off the dogs and attach them to the stake out. Tents were put up while the water for the dog's food was put on to boil. Then the dogs (95 altogether) were fed.

We had a quick 10 minute team brief by Brian and then Tore gave a brief on what to expect of the following day's terrain and how we should prepare in the morning. We're told we only did 22 km today - not very good at all, far too many stops and starts. Following this we all went back to our tents to unload our stuff and put on our own stoves to make our evening meal. All of this took a surprisingly long time, I think it was about 10 pm when we clambered into our sleeping bags and started to eat our evening meal which consisted of boil in the bag Baccalo (a reddish looking fish stew). The meal was delicious - restaurant quality. All the meals we had been supplied with were home made and then vacuum packed, not what we had been expecting at all!! After our meal, we set up our stove and breakfast things in readiness for the morning. After a quick discussion we confirmed that neither of us had done so much as a quick wee since early morning. We were really cosy tucked up in our sleeping bags and really didn't want the hassle of getting suited and booted to go outside but as we knew there would be no way we could make it through the night without going we really had to get this over with. We strained our eyes and ears to make sure the "coast was clear" and none of the guys were lurking about with cameras. Taking our "Shee Wees" with us, specially bought for the trip so we could go like the guys we each chose our spot somewhere relatively discreet but within easy sight of each other just in case either fell into a hole. But nothing happened!! We tried and tried and waited and waited but nothing, as soon as the chilly air had hit our nether regions we just couldn't go. Despite having practised at home before we came, being out in the snow with all our bulky gear was not quite the same. We just walked around a bit, fell all over the place laughing and decided to forget about our gadgets and give it another go. Eureka, finally we managed it and happily trudged back to our tent to clamber into our sleeping bags to try and get some sleep for our long day tomorrow.

Our "home" during the trip - our tea cooking in the kitchen area and our sleds positioned as wind breakers and screen in case we need to go to the "loo" during the night

Gypsy curled up for the night

After tea last night I met up with some of the others going on the expedition, needless to say the plan of an early night went right out of the window when we retired to the bar to have a chat and get to know each other. As the evening wore on the time of our departure from the hotel kept getting changed - the original plan was to be at the check in desk at the Terminal no later than 4.15 am which would have meant getting up about 3 am but every so often an extra 15 mins kept getting added so we ended up getting a 1/2 hour lie in and not leaving the hotel until 4.15. The guys had stayed in the bar till quite early on this morning (no surprises there) and came down looking extremely blurry eyed and red faced. At the airport we met up with the other 6 and found out at the check in desk that they were short staffed so the desk wouldn't be opening up until gone 5 am, typical !! When we were finally rid of of our bags and boarding tickets in hand things went quite smoothly and our flights to Oslo and then on to Tromso "flew by" (pardon the pun).

Descent to Tromso, Norway.

As the plane descends we get our first glimpse of Tromso; pretty little houses nestled in the hillside, very picturesque. At the airport we are met by Tore, owner of the Villmarkscentre and also our guide for the oncoming week. On arrival at the centre we are taken to where we were to spend the night as a group.- a Lavvo which is a large Sami tent with an open fire. The warmth inside the Lavvo was amazing very cosy.

The Lavvo

First we sorted through our kit into what would be going on the trip and what would stay behind at the centre. Following this we were taken to get kitted out in thermal suits & boots; although everyone had brought their own thermal snow pants and jackets it was thought prudent to take the centre's thermal suit as well to have as a back up just in case our own got wet.

All Kitted Out

Following our kitting out session Tore gave us lessons on putting up our tents, using the stoves and of course how to go about harnessing the dogs, of course making everything look so easy, hah hah !!! Lots of rules to remember - most important, numero uno - Don't Let Go !!!! We were shown our food rations for the trip and everyone was pleasantly surprised - our evening meals would consist of home made dishes put into boilable bags(mostly fish including Salmon and reindeer stew which we would be sampling this evening). Once lessons were over we pottered around petting the dogs and taking lots of pictures of them in their kennels until it was time to go back to the Lavvo for our evening meal. We were certainly ready for something to eat by this time as large trays of 2" thick, vegetable omelette and tureens of piping hot reindeer soup with chunks of bread were brought in, all extremely tasty.

Very Cosy Inside the Lavvo

One of over 200 dogs !!!

Although the dogs are working dogs they are incredibly friendly and attention seeking

Our sleds all labelled up with our names and dog teams ready for tomorrow

After our meal everyone just made small talk for a while, I think everyone was just so preoccupied with what lay ahead and throughout the evening most of the group checked their kit once, twice and yet again to be certain they weren't taking too much or too little, constantly referring to each other what they had decided to leave or take!! We get a final briefing from Brian our expedition leader mostly top tips for keeping warm and healthy. Of particular note we are told to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration – wee should be like champagne, not lager, not bitter and definitely not Guinness!!! You can imagine what the conversation was like after that!

A fair few yawns from around the tent signalled it was time to finally put down the reindeer skins on the floor and our sleeping bags on the ground and finally try to get some sleep.

It's Time To Go - No Backing Out Now !

Well, this is it. Finally the time has come to set off on my travels!!! What a day to start the first leg of my journey - Friday 13th !!

I left home early this morning to spend the night here in London. Despite not having done anything apart from travelling here I feel pretty tired as I didn't sleep a wink last night. Hopefully I'll get a decent sleep tonight, its off to bed early about 8.30 pm as I have to leave the hotel at about 3.30 am. Had a quiet afternoon, pottered about the hotel, just had my evening meal (although I'm pretty sure all the goodness was grilled out of the chicken and boiled out of the vegetables - I'd have been better off eating cake for all the nutrition left in it!!) Never mind, it will stop me feeling hungry later and I won't feel as though I'm missing anything while I'm away whilst I'm dining on boil in the bag stew !!

It's strange I still don't feel as though I'm going, may be that's a good sign or maybe the nerves will sneak up later!!!

All Packed Up & Waiting To Go !!

I had the day off work today to stay at home and wait for the courier to come with my sleeping bag & thermal mat from Trek Hire. I took the opportunity to sort through all my kit, making sure I had everything and weeding out a few things that I'd got "just in case" but looked like I wasn't going to have room for anyway. It doesn't look much for 8 days away and the only things not in the photo are my sleeping bag and my outer jacket. What you can see is mostly socks and gloves !! I've got 2 sets of thermal underlayers (ie long johns), 2 fleeces tops, my black snow pants, furry hat with ear flaps and balaclava. On the back row is thermos flask, thermo mug, water bottle, & thermal mat for sleeping on. On the front row next to the mini first aid kit are lots and lots of batteries for torches & my camera.

Late on this afternoon I nipped out to the supermarket to get my snacks for the trip and also make sure my DH has plenty of supplies in while I'm away otherwise he'd be phoning the take- away every night of the week.

At our pre-expedition training weekend we were told to get lots & lots of high energy snacks to keep us going, as we'll be burning up huge amounts of calories each day. Nuts & chocolate being high priority on the list. Of course, I don't need telling twice! How great it was to throw family size packets of chocolate raisins & aero bubbles in the trolley without even feeling the slightest twinge of guilt.

Again this doesn't look much in the photo- but in fact it's a carrier bag full !!

So that's it now I'm all packed. I have one more day in work tomorrow then I fly from Manchester to London on Friday for an overnight stay before leaving for Norway on Saturday. I'm getting decidely nervous now but probably tomorrow at work will be a hectic day so that will help take my mind off things and keep the jitters at bay.

I just have to show off this card which has been made by my mum

Thanks Mum, I love it !!

Walk to Coombes Rocks & Robin Hood Picking Rods

Hope Everyone Enjoyed Their Easter Break !!!

This Bank Holiday weekend firstly I needed a shopping day to get all the last "bits and pieces" for taking on my Charity Challenge trip on Friday (exciting things like an extra pair of thermal Long Johns!!) then the last day's walk before I actually go away.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous, very unexpected as I'd not been following the weather forecast. I'd decided to take a walk up to Coombes Rocks, going through Charlesworth up Slack Edge and on to Far Coombes and then Robin Hood's Picking Rods. The walk wasn't exactly taxing which was just as well as I'd whacked my knee on a cupboard at work and there's probably a bit of deep bruising which has been giving me a bit of trouble. So at least it gave me a reasonable walk to keep the exercise up without over straining.

Coombes Rocks - A popular spot for flying model aeroplanes

Robin Hood Picking Rods

Extract on the rods taken from TrekkingBritain.com ...........

Robin Hood's Picking Rods have fascinated archaeologists and historians for centuries and the man made rocks are so old that no one has ever found the truth behind there existence. There are many theories on Robin Hood's Picking Rods but its modern name actually comes from the a local legend that claims that Robin Hood himself shot an arrow at the Picking Rods to win freedom for a fair maid. The mark left by the arrow is said to still be visible on the stones today. This is of course hard to believe. The theory favoured by archaeologists is that the columns were carved in the 9th century AD, by Anglo-Saxons. They believe that the two columns were originally one tall column and that after being broken in two were mounted in a new base to remain due to there importance. Cheshire and Derbyshire contains a few Saxon crosses that are basically huge stone columns made to almost the exact same size as the Picking Rods, this is why archeologists believe this to be the true theory and if you see pictures of those found else where its hard to dismiss. The stones could later have been used as a way marker for an ancient pass or as a boundary marker for the huge forests that once covered most of this region.

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Hope You Enjoyed Your Bank Holiday . Best Wishes, Deborah

Crowden-Laddow Rocks-Dun Hill-Black Hill

After having abandoned the walk to Black Hill a fortnight ago I decided to give it a go again as the weather looked quite promising. The snow previously threatened came to nothing and sunshine was on the horizon again. I'd no sooner left home and set out along the Longdendale trail when I "bumped" into my sister, Beverley. I don't know who was more surpised. I talked her into letting me take her picture although she gave me a hard time about it because she said she was in her "scruffs", but no one in their right mind would go out all "made up and fully coiffered"!!

Fancy Meeting You Here!!! My sister, Beverley on the Longdendale Trail

Looking Back to Crowden, Crowden Brook Below

Trig Point at Soldier's Lump, Black Hill (1909 metres)