My Turn.

Now it’s my turn. I have chosen to hike the Pyrenees Mountains with my dad this summer for my ‘rite of adventure’. I knew the day was coming - on my 11^th birthday, my dad give me a booklet of all my options for my 13^th summer.

This will be my dad’s second rite of adventure - one down, and two to go. As most of you know, last summer he and my brother hiked the PCT in California, and they raised the bar pretty high, I certainly have a lot to live up to.

I have to admit, I am pretty scared; I don’t know what it’s going to be like, what’s going to be out there; who knows? But don’t get me wrong, at the same time I can’t wait. My friends don’t seem to understand how big an opportunity this really is. They’ve been on beach holidays, where you relax, do what you like. But this, it’s going to be a challenge. Yeah, a couple of them have been to remote place like Alaska, but none on such an ambitious journey.

But why are we doing this hike next summer? Well, turning 13 isn’t just any other age; it is my first ‘teen’ year, the age of maturity, as we call it in our family. It is all about making your own decisions; you can’t rely on your parents for the rest of your life. It’s about becoming a young lady, taking responsibility for your own decisions and actions.

There were a few hikes on the list, a couple of options in which I would work in less economically developed countries (LEDC’S), teaching children how to speak English or building schools; things like that. Another option was to go and spend a month in a monastery, meditating, praying, yoga, and doing particular things at certain times, I’m still not quite sure how I could do that.

It wasn’t easy. I struggled between a few of our options, the monastery option not being my favourite, lets just say! For a while I leaned towards working in a LEDC, but I don’t think I would handle the heat well, as most LEDC’S are extremely warm, nothing like I’m used to. The decision was made. I chose the hike.

So we are hiking the Pyrenees, but I haven’t yet chosen which of the three routes I am going to hike, they all have their pros and cons, ups and downs shall we say, but that’s a different blog all together.

 I have read, seen and heard that the Pyrenees are one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world, with breath-taking views. This certainly had a big influence on my decision.

And I thought the view from the beach in the Caribbean was amazing.

When Ben did his hike, he was raising money for the charity ‘Princes Trust’, and I definitely admire him for it. However, I have been trying to decide whether I want to fundraise. In the end I decided to keep the hike a bit more personal, just between dad and I, my family, and this blog.

In my opinion, the hike is about learning to overcome the struggles we’re going to face. I haven’t even achieved the adventure yet, and I don’t want to share this with people, asking them for financial support, that I don't know.  Personally, I’m happy I can do this with family supporting me, but I’m not sure it’d be quite the same with people I don’t know as well.

I know that there is going to be a lot of planning and preparation to come, and I’m mostly looking forward to it. My head is filled with mixed emotions. Nervousness, anxiety, excitement, urge and thrills beyond measure. I don’t know whether the hike will be far easier than we thought, or whether we will come back more tired and exhausted than ever. Regardless, I know that it’s going to be a great summer.