Wild Weekend

Life in my forties seems crammed with new experiences — which is somehow, and wonderfully, not how I expected my ‘middle years’ (groan!) to play out. I’m just back from my first ever wild camping trip. So many new experiences here:

hiking further in 2 days than I ever have before (and being told off for walking too fast for the rest of the group!)
carrying a 55 litre pack that contained everything I would need
putting up a tent and wild camping overnight
eating a dehydrated meal for dinner (and being surprised by how good it was!)
being trained in navigation by (and practising mindfulness with) an ex royal marine
digging a latrine hole (and having to watch a 15 minute video training before the trip about wild pooping!)
practising urdhva dhanurasana on the second morning as a counter-pose to carrying a heavy pack all day (my hip flexors have never felt so grateful!) 🙂

I’m sure there were whole bunch more of little things that felt new to me at the time, but that’s the headlines.

I will admit I lost sleep the night before worrying about this mini adventure which felt like quite a grand expedition to me. I couldn’t imagine how heavy my pack was going to be — as I borrowed the backpack and the tent I couldn’t do a weigh-in beforehand and assess how hard it might be to carry for two days of hiking. In the end it was pretty OK and I didn’t need my emergency plan of asking my husband to come collect me and take me home!!!

As people often tell me — and I am slowing coming to believe for myself — I am stronger now than I think I am.

So there’s another new thing: more confidence in my physical ability 🙂