Hawdon Hut

As the big day approached, most of my time was spent frantically checking over the gear list making sure I had everything, then packing and re packing my gear. Finally, Thursday rolled around and I was rearing to go.

 When I arrived at school, about 2 minutes was spent divvying up our rations to each other, then everyone stood around in little groups whispering and giggling among ourselves until the teachers announced it was time to hop into the mini vans.

Now I must say the drive up towards Hawdon Hut was one of the most eventful ones I'd ever had. Everyone was filled with a nervous energy, and after a few minutes we were singing our heads off and cracking up over each others jokes, although the whole thing sounded more like an imitation of a bunch of rowdy chickens, and I felt sorry for William pike, as well as the teachers and parents.

After about an hour we arrived at the Hawden Hut shelter. we all piled out of the mini vans and after we got given our packs our principal talked to us for a few minutes, then we set off.

It was a hot day, and everyone was enjoying the walk until about half way through when everyone ran out of water, and we couldn't find a stream. That was annoying at first, but when we did stumble across one, everyone jumped in and we all swam for a bit until it got a bit cold.

The highlight for me though would have to be arriving at the hut, and the feeling you got when you took your pack off for the first time was amazing.

 We all got about half an hour just to settle in, then everyone went down to the stream and had a chilly dip. For tea we had freeze dry potatoes, chicken and lamb, which was surprisingly tasty, and then we popped out for a bit of bolder hopping.

After that everyone was given a milo and we all sat around a candle and listened to William share the inspirational story of how he lost his leg with us, then it was time for bed. In the morning we said one last goodbye to the hut, then we began the long walk back. When we arrived back at the shelter, everyone had lunch, then we hopped back into the mini vans and drove to cave stream, which was the highlight of the day for me.

I loved every moment of our exciting adventure, and I cant wait for the next William pike challenge