So, this is it! 48 hours from now we will have (hopefully without mishap) summitted our first peak, Snaefell, and be safely on the ferry back to Heysham. Right now though, with the journey up to Liverpool and on to the Isle of Man looming ahead tomorrow it feels a bit like the calm before the storm, the brink of the abyss! It all seems very daunting and having been thinking about it for some time now it is hard to believe that the experience begins tomorrow.
I finished my packing today, (I'd like to say I have been preparing provisions, clothes etc. for days in advance but that would be a lie) which feels like a weight of the shoulders (or a weight on the shoulders for the rucksack - please excuse my pun!). There has been a nervous wait these past few days to ensure my compulsory Emergency Survival Bag (effectively a big orange bin bag) would arrive in time! Now everything has arrived though (including my proud purchase of a comfy travel pillow for the arduous miles in the mini bus in between the walking) and been safely stored for the journey.
Tomorrow will be an eventful day, meeting up with the team for the first time and sailing for the new shores of the Isle of Man. We start the challenge with Snaefell, the smallest of the 6 peaks we will be facing. It will however be a shock to the system for us all I would imagine, but a good indication of what is to come. They say once the first is out the way, the rest will follow, so hopefully this proves true for us with the three 1000+ metre giants still to come!
