So the journey began! We signed up, we spent months fundraising and trying to get physically and mentally ready for this challenge. We cooked African food for a pub full of hungry punters in Devon, we bag packed, I ate a pot full of curry sauce for money, did burrito runs, we took part in the 3 peaks challenge in the UK… we worked our arses off to be honest.

The first time I ever truly blogged was to document the training, fundraising and adventure of climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in October 2010. I genuinely still can’t believe that was 9 years ago. It was the adventure of a lifetime – one of the hardest, most gruelling things I have ever done physically, mentally and emotionally – made harder by the fact I… fell down the damn mountain.

In what has become somewhat folklore in my life, I managed to have a pretty monumental footslip early on in the 7-day round trip to the summit of Kilimanjaro. When we got back, I really enjoyed writing up the adventures we had. It was great to write about the daily laughs, cries, fears and accomplishments we had whilst it was still fresh in my mind.

So I’m going to consolidate some of these post-climb posts into this blog over the coming days. I’ll be pretty much copying straight, although I reserve the editorial right to make minor tweaks if my phrasing or grammar from 2010 really annoys me!

Before I do, I’ll give a bit of background. It was early 2010 and I felt a frantic urge deep inside me to do something. It’s an urge I’ve had frequently before and since – it comes when I’m a little too comfortable in my life. In fact my boss and mentor (who has known and worked with me since 2007) often comments on and laughs at how I’m at my best and my happiest when I’m slightly out of my comfort zone – when I’m pushing myself just beyond that limit. I had been working at a job I enjoyed (consulting at the BBC World Service) for about 18 months – I felt confident and comfortable enough finally that every day wasn’t knee-shakingly terrifying for this early-20s-pretending-to-be-more-experienced woman anymore.

I was also raised in a military family – my dad was in the Royal Air Force and around this time my local hometown had formed a heartfelt and inspiring tradition. At this point, military personnel who had been killed overseas (mainly in Afghanistan) were repatriated to RAF Lyneham and transported to the military hospital at nearby RAF Brize Norton. They passed through Wootton Bassett and locals began a tradition of lining the road to pay their respects to the fallen. Over time, this amplified and the town’s High Street would be lined with people, the convoy would stop and a minutes silence held. I was witness to this show of respect on many the occasion and it was one of the most heartbreaking, respectful, emotional things I have ever been a part of. In 2011, Wootton Bassett was bestowed ‘Royal’ status (the first since 1909 and one of only 3 in the country) as a thank you to the residents for their humble show of respect. You can read more about Royal Wootton Bassett and its history here.

Living through this and growing up in a military family with a strong RAF background, I was feeling more and more compelled to do something to raise money for injured veterans. I wanted to help men and women who had put everything on the line to help us, and many in need around the world. I wanted to raise some money for Help for Heroes, a UK charity that I had been supporting and following for a while.

So, the two combined and I decided I wanted to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. In typical CatDog fashion, I put this out in the ether and miraculously two close friends said they wanted to do it with me. So the journey began! We signed up, we spent months fundraising and trying to get physically and mentally ready for this challenge. We cooked African food for a pub full of hungry punters in Devon, we bag packed, I ate a pot full of curry sauce for money, did burrito runs, we took part in the 3 peaks challenge in the UK… we worked our arses off to be honest. And then the day came. We headed off to Tanzania to begin the challenge of a lifetime.

I hope you enjoy the series. Although it was a bumpy and somewhat not-quite-successful ride (spoiler alert), I do think this challenge was the start of me realising I can do what I put my mind to. And it was the start of my love affair with Africa – a relationship I’ve invested in since then and one I still pine for and dream of almost daily.

Catdog xx