It was my first time to organise such an event, and for this number of people (there were 17 participants). And from the experience, I have learnt that managing people is not easy, and flexibility in a plan is key. There will always be at least some people who can't keep to schedules, or who can't follow instructions. Also, hikes can only go as fast as the slowest person, which is a crucial point to consider if keeping to time is an important factor of a hike, so for next time I have to remember to be less ambitious or set some sort of participant criteria. This was definitely a learning process!
I had loads of fun though, and the weather was fantastic. If I had arranged it during the following weekend, it would have been a total disappointment with the rainy season coming early this year.
2 comments:
Camping? Who you kidding? 65 years ago whilst doing my National Service in Germany I joined the Rover Scout Crew and was lucky enough to get a free ticket to the 4th World Rover Moot in Norway. After travelling across Germany then up through Denmark followed by an over night boat from Copenhagen to Oslo and a train half way up Norway, we finally arrived at Skjak just before midnight. Being absolutely exhausted we dropped our sleeping bags(Waterproofed) on the grass, crawled in and slept for 10 hours, only to wake up in glorious sunshine, but in a gigantic puddle. There had been a torrential downpour during the night but we were too tired to notice. We hung our sleeping bags on the bushes and they were bone dry before bed time, thank goodness.
The rest of the stay was fantastic, including a 60 hour hike up into the mountains where we slept in the same sleeping bags on top of the snow - no Tents - and saw a very large herd of reindeer galloping over the snow. I will never forget climbing up through the clouds and emerging into brilliant sunshine.
Like you in Japan I also tasted different foods, the most memorable being PEMMICAN, a concoction of Oats and fish which they used to make in the Summer and store for the Winter when they were unable to escape from their Chalets due to Snow Drifts higher than their accommodation. Good Luck on your next expedition, life is just a gigantic learning curve of mistakes made which seem so daft when you realize where you went wrong.
That sounds like quite the adventure Ron! Wish I could have been there with you! Finding people at this day and age to do that sort of thing isn't easy. It's hard enough to find people who would do a two-day hike or go hiking on a rainy day!
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