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Hike for Hope 2009

Our intrepid hikers returned from Sinai at the end of March, raising thousands of pounds for the charity, it was also a fantastic experience for those who took part.

Caroline Devaney, who is the chair of the London Events Committee is a dedicated Hike for Hoper and has taken part in all 3 Hikes, here she shares her experience of the recent trek.

"It was hot, hard, and high but also breathtakingly beautiful.

We had a fantastic group of people taking part including a number of obstetricians and gynaecologists and urologists, and their patients, as well as some mother and daughter teams from 100 Women in Hedge Funds.

The most memorable moment of the trek for me was the climb to Mount Sinai. Setting off from our hotel at 2.00 in the morning we began the ascent at 2.30am. In the complete, dark emptiness that only a wilderness can bring we climbed all night with just our head torches to guide the way. From below we must have appeared, in the darkness, like a necklace of lights encircling the mountain. The reality was slightly more challenging, such as - finding passing places to allow the camel traffic to go by on the narrow pathway that was our road upwards. At the end of the climb we had a final ascent of 200 stone 'steps' to reach the summit. Watching dawn break across the endless mountain ranges gave us all moments to reflect on the sense of achievement of our recent climb and also our reasons for undertaking the trek. Our descent was down the route called the Monks Penance and 3000 'steps' of shale certainly gave us a true understanding of how it got its name, but breakfast at St Catherine's Monastery soon restored our good spirits.

The final high point for me was, several days later, as we turned our backs on this starkly beautiful place and passed through the Colure Canyon through which we could see in the distance the Red Sea with the mountains of Saudi Arabia beyond - although by this time I was happy to reach just the sea shore and leave any more mountains for another day! But the true highlight of both this and the other treks is the camaraderie and team-spirit - a feeling of everyone working together, looking after eacgh other and encouraging each other and definitely one of the reasons I keep coming back for more.

I am glad to say that there will be another Hike for Hope - even though fundraising is getting tougher, more and more people seem to be keen to take up the challenge and interest has been good in the Girls Get Tough women only Himalaya's trek. In 2010 the Hike for Hope will be in Kerala (India).

Click here for more information on taking part in overseas treks

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