27 August 2011
He did it!! 22 miles and 5000 feet of ascent in 11 hours and 10 minutes. The last four miles were very difficult and he had to have lots of encouragement, but he got there with 50 minutes to spare. His legs ached more than they ever have before, but he was very pleased with himself. Now he's looking forward to the next challenge!
22 July 2011
Yesterday we went up Ingleborough, the third and final peak for Wilf to climb. It was so lovely - meadowsweet everywhere making the whole valley smell heavenly, and loads of other wildflowers. Wilf found the steepest part quite tough, but managed to motivate himself to the top with the thought of a cheese sandwich. And once we got there - what a view. The sea was shining in the distance and you really are on top of the world.
We took a fairly circuitous route back, over the hills nearly as far as Ribblehead before we wound our way back over the limestone pavement back to where we'd left the car. Then we went to Settle for fish and chips. Wilf's favourite part of the day.
The Plan
I was organising a talk at the library with Alastair Humphries, adventurer and world traveller, and over a cup of tea at home I mentioned he'd done the Yorkshire Three Peaks when he was eight. "I'm eight. I could do that," said Wilf.
We thought he probably could.
The Three Peaks challenge is to climb Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in 12 hours. It's 23 miles and 5000ft of ascent. That's hard work, but we've done it and we think he can too!
We've set a date - 25 August, and he's started training. He bounded up Pen-y-Ghent and Whernside like a young goat. We'll be doing Ingleborough soon. Then he'll do two of the peaks in one day. and that's when we'll see what he'd made of, when the distance starts to increase. We'll also be taking him on long walks around Calderdale to build up his stamina.
He'd like to raise money for the RSPCA, so please sponsor him and send him your support. I'll keep you updated on his progress.
Thank you.
Anna
