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Arduous challenge for Silver IA students

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Year 11 students completed their Silver IA trek at the end of March this year - write up by Rhiya Shah 11JB:
A grey sky blanketed us as we disembarked from the bus, hauling our bags out onto the uneven ground. The first day had begun, and after a briefing from North Star the first group set off whilst the others sat on the rocky ground, surveying the local wildlife; a couple of old goats whose curious snouts searched our belongings.
Beginning the trek, we realized that compared to the Bronze this was a much more arduous challenge. The first stretch, although strewn with rocks of varying size, was easy, but as the day went on the sun started to peek from behind the clouds, beating down hard on us. By the last checkpoint all the groups were hot and tired, some a little cranky. Icing on the cake – ahead was a bare mountain with a path that snaked around for 4km. At this point our team-work was truly tested; people who lagged behind attempted to push themselves to the limit whilst others shouted words of encouragement which eventually carried everyone to the top, Camp Heaven. A strong gust of wind sought to unearth our tents; however, we had a skilled job of securing them down with pegs.
Waking up on the second day, we all whipped up quick breakfasts and set off once again. The day went on slowly and the heat increased with every step we took. By midday we had ventured into a rock wadi that stretched into eternity; it felt like we would never reach the end. One group took a detour up a mountain, making their walk even harder. Finally, every group reached camp and by this time fatigue was starting to spread. However, at dawn (the next day) spirits were high as everyone had a common goal in mind: to reach the yellow bus, our air-conditioned haven that promised luxury and comfort. Our walk led us out of the wadi, our bones were as hard as the rocks we tread upon. After that it was easy going up a few small slopes through a small village and finally our feet were cushioned by soft chiffon sand. Trudging across the sand, the shiny yellow exterior of the bus eventually came into sight and we all had a sudden burst of energy. AC, soft seats, grins were etched into every dust face as memories of our walk replayed in our heads.
More photos on the Photo Gallery page

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