Siberia - Day 2

It was a slow start. Even though we woke at 7 am we didn't leave until 10 am. I even had time for a quick shopping trip for some 'more' essentials!

Once the horsemen arrived at the camp it was 'Go, go, go'; before we knew it was time to start. The first 5 minutes were hard, straight uphill and then a bit more uphill. Then we really started trekking. I think we stopped after half an hour but my back was already so wet I opted with stripping several layers off!

​The view at the top was like something from a Swiss Milka Chocolate advert: green fields, grazing cows surrounded by snow-covered mountains. Absolutely breathtaking and obviously true to form I recorded close to every view from all angles.

The second half was easier, a nice easy walk, gentle valley, breezy forest, calming river and utter piece. We even encountered a car from Belgium which was a huge hit to Oceane and Paul who were also from Belgium.

Crossing our first "wobbly" bridge was fun, filling our containers with crystal clear stream water and having a mini meal was brilliant.

​What followed .. AHHHH .... was just daunting! Realising that you are not as fit as you think, hope, or like to be is a tough nut to swallow. A bloody steam engine wasn't puffing as much as I was. We were only at 1,215m high heading for 2,200m. I honestly thought I will pass out at one point, my heart rate was over the legal speed limit and my breathing shot to hell. Bending forward seemed to help but when I saw the team stopped for a small break I almost French kissed every single one of them.

After that, it only got harder and MUCH steeper. I remember thinking you bloody can and will do it, and stop shaking your knees like a Hungarian dancer. When we stopped again I simply folded and consumed a few thousand sports beans to keep me going. Oh, wonder of wonders, it really helped. I forgot about the weight on my back, which was the lightest at 15kg; the bugs greedily consuming my well-earned blood supply and any thoughts that usually crowded my mind.

​The most important thing in life became the 'next step' and possibly 'Are we there yet?'. I've managed to record and remember all the shoe and sock types/colours of people walking in front of me. Quite entertaining when you manage to get a conversation going and the only eye contact you have is with the back of someone's shoe.

The next stream we crossed was fantastic, and it also turned out to be our next mini-stop. I decided to dunk my feet in the stream, which almost fell off after 2 seconds from hypothermia, but it was fun watching my colour-changing nail polish change colour from light pink to bold red for a while.

After the next session, which was a bit uphill, and through the forest we had a long break at 1819m high. We had oiled fish, Russian cheese and dried bread. Ambrosia could not have tasted better.

The last trek, which took us a good part of 2 hours, was done without a break, which, we later found out we should have taken, but Evgeny, our guide, got a bit carried away and forgot to mention it. Hey-ho, my legs were singing Soprano for quite a while after that!

​Once we arrived at Base camp, 2,139m high, I removed my rucksack and hoped for oblivion but decided against it. My top was so soaked I could literally squeeze rivulets of sweat out of it. The impromptu wash that shortly followed in the mountain stream was something to remember. I honestly couldn't put my feet in it, washing my underarms and back was torture but washing my clothes was total agony. My hands were so cold that they physically hurt, at least my nail varnish worked its red charm :).

Tent setup and dinner prep went quickly as we were all exhausted and needed the extra energy. Our meal was potato soup with bacon and an unidentified canned meat, it was absolutely heavenly.

Cleaning up was very quick and most of the team retired quite early. As we were quite high few of us decided to wait and star-gaze next to the campfire. It was great fun, but including the moon, we saw 5 stars. Our backsides however were very happy and warm at the end of it.

All in all, a Fantastic day.