Hi Everyone

 

Thankyou so much for logging onto my just giving website.

Like me your family may have been affected by Cancer.

Several of my family members have suffered from the disease, some have beaten it and some sadly have not.

I am raising money for what I think is a most worthy Charity. Statistically 1 in 3 of us may get Cancer in our lifetime so the work that Cancer Research does is invaluable and gives real hope to sufferers of being cured.

As little as £2 can be donated here by credit or debit card and the amount you give may be eligible for gift aid if you fill in the relevant screen. You can be rest assured that all money donated on this site will go directly to the charity as the monies for the trip are coming out of my own pocket.

So let me tell you what my friend Katherine Howe and I are doing in Iceland and how I have raised the money so far.

 

Over a year ago Katherine completed her 3rd Trek for Charity and in a moment of madness I said I'd join her next time. So we signed up together for the Ice Cap Trek for August 2009, graded by Discover Adventure as a tough and challenging trek through wild and remote country! As you will see below we will need to be fit and motivated to do six days trekking and 6 nights camping. We both wanted to raise as much as possible for our chosen charities and have done stuff like car boot sales, standing in Victoria Centre for a whole day with collecting tins. Me and my dad did carol singing round Burton Joyce village and I've asked friends and family for support either online or in the collecting tins. 

This spring we discovered that we weren't very fit and we began our training, mainly walking round the streets of Nottingham in full walking gear on week nights and then longer walks on a weekend, we've sometimes gone further afield to places like Chatsworth in Derbyshire.

Now we are really scared because there is less than four weeks to go before we commence it!

If you know Katherine and would like to donate she also has a justgiving page www.justgiving.co.uk/nuh . She is collecting for Nottingham University Hospitals.

 

Day 1 - We depart Heathrow on the 15th of August for Rekyjavik and stay overnight in basic accomodation, probably taking the last shower we'll have for 6 more days!

 

Day 2 - The following day we're broken in gently with just 3 or 4 hrs walking on a journey to Mount Hekla, to see the lava- flows from where the volcano erupted in February 2000. Then a bus journey to our camp at Landmannahellir.

 

Day 3 - Today is a 6 hour trek about 13 kilometres. With views of Table Mountain of Lodmundur, we pass the magnificent lakes and lava-fields of Domadalshraun and follow the beautiful route of multi coloured mountains to Landmannalaugar. We trek over grassy meadows, pass between rocky peaks and drop into gorges with the end of the day a spectacular view over the lava flow from 1480 where will see the effect of climatic erosion has had on the rock and it's plant life. To end the day we will relax our aching bodies in the natural hot springs.   

 

Day 4 - The toughest day of the trip, approximately 9 hours and 21 kilometres. We enter a remote and hostile part of the route possibly even encountering snow fields left from the long Icelandic winter. From Landmannalaugar we move onto Hrafntinnusker plateau at 800m. We will walk up the rock structures of Brennisteinsalda lava flow where we will come across natural geo-thermal activity in the form of steaming vents and hot springs. The air will smell strongly of sulphur and the rock is richly coloured with mineral deposits. We reach the mountain of Sodull then decend South over rolling ridges into the Alftavatn Valley where the views are meant to be fantastic. We will make our camp at the end of this very long day at Alftavatn Lake.

 

Day 5 - About 6 hours and 14 kilometres. We trek across a predominantly flat area in the region of the mightly Myrdalsjokull Glacier towards Hattafell. We will wade through an icy stream that skirts the camp and after a few small climbs we'll descend into meandering gullies onto a dusty volcanic plain.  Then off to the small peaks of Utigonguhofdar finishing the day seeing beautifully coloured volcanos before dropping into our campsite at Botnar. In the evening an additional walk to the west and to the edge of Markarfljotsgljufur Canyon over 100m deep where we will see a stunning niche for plants and wildlife.

 

Day 6 - Today we will cover another 14 kilometres but take around 8 hours to do it. We set off for Porsmork dropping into valleys and then climbing back out of them (hence the longer time scale I presume), Apparently the path is steep and slippery as we make our way into the Porsmork Glacial Valley with stunning views via 3 glaciers. Then we have to cross the icy Pronga river and over to Thors Wood before we go into the grassy slopes of camp at Langidalur.

 

Day 7 - This is our last day trekking, 5 hours and 10 kilometres. We hike our way out of Porsmork Valley along the Krossa River. Apparently the scenery is spectacular and we will see a hidden valley. We finish with a trek to the glacial moraine below the Eyhafhakkahijykk glacier and cross the glacial meltwater river where we have our final group photograph before heading back to Reykjavik by bus for our evening celebration meal.

 

Day 8 - We have a free day in Reykjavic, so maybe a bit of whale watching or visiting the day spa at the Blue Lagoon.

 

Day 9 - Morning free for last minute shopping and transfer to the airport for the flight home in the afternoon.

 

Day 10 - Home on the bus from Heathrow.

 

I hope that I will gain your support for this wonderful charity (and maybe get a bit of sympathy now you know what I'm going to have to do to achieve and survive the trek!)

 

Up to now I have raised in total £2188.00 and would love to acheive my personal target of £2500.00.

Thanks go to Halifax matched funding scheme and my lovely friends and family who have made cash donations. Here are the people who have already helped :

My wonderful mum and dad £100, Amanda, Mark, Rachel and Sophie £25, Anne and Jimmy £5, Kevin Clare Rachel and Laura £5, Grandma and Grandad £10, Uncle Peter £10, Dawn Gilbert £10, Joy Smith £10, Fay Hembury £5, Susan £10, Stuart Duffill £10, Hilary Cuthburt £5, David £10, Aunty Jean £50, Claire Mason £10, Michelle Mark and Isla £10, Lisa Wilkinson £5, Cassie Bartlett £10, Jackie Waight £20, my lovely neighbours Phil and Elaine who do so much good work themselves in Tanzania £40 and thanks to Louise at 'Deli-licious' where her customers' loose change has raised £4 in the collecting tin so far and also Sonia at 'Capers' on Mapperly top who from 20th July has let me keep a collecting tin in her coffee shop too.  xxx

 

Many thanks for visiting my just giving page. Every donation is really appreciated. Together we can beat Cancer.

 

Tracey xx

 

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