AIM to Get Better© at Changing my Mind About My Body: Blog#3:Preparing for my Trek Across the Sahara

 

AIM to Get Better© at Changing my Mind About my Body

Blog #3: Preparing for my Trek Across the Sahara

With 6 weeks to go until my trek across the Sahara, raising money for the Alzheimer’s society, I persuaded my husband that it would be an excellent way of training if we booked a holiday in Gran Canaria, so I could practice going up and down the sand-dunes of Mas Palomas.

It did, in fact, turn out to be an excellent “dry run” – having spent over £800 on essential kit for the expedition, it was really helpful to test it out and find out what worked and what didn’t.

Out of the 6 days spent staying in the nearby resort of Playas de Ingles, I spent 4 days out  walking on the sand dunes.

   

What did I learn?

1.       In the 4 days spent on the sand dunes, I racked up 52km. Based on the number of pints of lager I drank in the evenings (and days off by the pool), I calculate my fuel consumption to be 10.8 miles to the gallon!! Not bad for a 1966 engine, but I’m guessing I would have achieved better performance by filling up on “unleaded”!! This won’t be an issue in the Sahara, given as the only hydration options available will be water and mint tea!!

 

2.       Nothing prepares you for walking in sand apart from walking in sand! Your legs, ankles, hips and upper body are all going in different directions at the same time! It is also impossible to predict what the next step will bring – just as you are lulled into a false sense of security and you are convinced you are stepping onto semi-solid bit, the sand beneath your feet disappears in an avalanche. If you are lucky and you have planted your walking poles in the right spot, your legs may gracefully drop two feet, so you are up to your knees in it. If you are not so lucky, both legs disappear in completely different directions and you end up on all fours, looking like a very ungraceful, drunk camel doing the splits!!

 

3.       When you stop for a break and take your rucksack off, ensure you hold on to mouthpiece of the tube connected to your water bladder, so it doesn’t drop into the sand!! Once this has happened, your only two choices are to drink crunchy water filled with sand, or use a wet wipe to clean the sand off, with the consequence of your water tasting like the smell of a baby’s bum for the rest of the day!

  

4.       When you make it to the top of a sand dune, breathless, overheating, and with everything aching, do NOT celebrate by collapsing into the sand. The consequence of mixing very sweaty legs with suncream and sand is that you get a baked on crumble all over your legs. Trying to wipe this off with wet wipes makes it even worse, as this leads to weird patterns on your legs (where you have managed to wipe some off but not all of it). If you them try to reapply suncream to the bits where you did manage to wipe the sand off, it helps the remaining bits of sand bake into an even harder layer of crumble, which results in a very unpleasant scratchy feeling when you try to wash it off in the shower! Given that we won’t have access to showers in the Sahara and will be relying on wet wipes for the duration of the trek, its possible that you will end up with crumbled legs for life!!

 

5.       Gaiters (used to stop the sand getting into your shoes through the lace holes or when you end up knee deep in sand) that attach to your shoes or boots using Velcro don’t work – within 5 steps the Velcro is full of sand! This is the same for the extra expensive “desert gaiters” that I got conned into buying!! Although they did stop sand coming in over the top of my boots, I am going to take a roll of gaffer tape with me to fix them onto my boots. The gaffer tape will also serve a second purpose in that I can tape my nostrils shut when necessary (refer to section 4 about no one having access to showers for the duration!!)

 

6.       Given that I was asked to write this blog for the Association of Dementia Studies (ADS) at Worcester University (where I am currently working towards a PhD), I’ve been trying to think of at least one sensible thing that I learnt on the sand dunes that could help me in my studies, so here goes! There were times when I felt a bit tired, overwhelmed, “lost” and not knowing which direction to go in. This almost always happened when I was at a low point, surrounded by sand dunes that seemed to tower above me. Although it seemed daunting, I learnt that, if I could clamber up to a higher point that enabled me to look across and see “the big picture”, I was always able to plan a route out. It’s so easy when studying at this level to get bogged down, overwhelmed and feel lost and “in it up to your neck” (not just your knees). In these moments it’s better to try and zoom out, remind yourself of the big picture, look at it from a different perspective, and you will be able to dig yourself back out of the hole you have dug yourself into. I am very reassured that I will not get lost in the Sahara because I will not be alone; not only will I be in a group of fellow trekkers, but we will also have very experienced guides with us who have walked this path many times before and are aware of all the pitfalls. I am so grateful for my fellow PhD buddies and my supervisors, who are so supportive in helping me untangle the intellectual knots I so often manage to wrap myself into!!

 

I will be trekking 100km across the Sahara from 21^st to 28^th Feb 2025. If you would like to support me by making a donation to the Alzheimer’s society, you can do so by using the following link:

https://dasaharatrekfeb25.enthuse.com/pf/mary-joy-albutt?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=email&utm_source=enthuse