SHOULD YOU WALK WITH ME?

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VLOG preface

You can view the video at the bottom of the online article, or here. The following is an explanation of how this vlog came into existence. 

Have I changed?

My behaviour has disintegrated… probably due to lack of social (and parental) supervision.

For example; I swear at inconveniences. I eat food off the ground, I let Wombat eat the leftovers out of my bowl (it gets worse). If there isn’t hot water, I don’t bathe. I pee standing up (yep). I throw tantrums… The list goes on but for the sake of #mypoormother let’s move on to the tantrums… 

Standouts: 

  • Narrowly avoiding an anxiety attack resulting from the disorganisation of my tent during the literally explosive first few weeks of the expedition
  • Throwing my hiking poles at a cow that was mocking me after I slipped, fell and winding myself on black ice… and then became pinned to the skin-burning-road due to the weight of The Beast (my pack) during a -20°C snow storm.
    • Before I get more hate-mail; let’s be real. The cow wasn’t in any danger of being hit… plus I wasn’t going to throw my poles far enough to have to retrieve them from thigh deep snow.
  • Giving the finger to a cyclist (once he’d gone) in the northern section of the Atacama Desert as he merrily passed in the same midday heat that forced my decision to start walking at night, and
  • Refusing to reduce my kilometres while acclimating to the Peruvian mountains, because I thought I was fitter and stronger than I actually am… I blame watching Captain Marvel. 

But the most explosive, are the 3 second tantrums, like when I decide to make a coffee but I can’t find my spoon (every.single.morning), or when I lose a sock, or when there’s too much wind to set up my tent, or I spill a drink INSIDE my tent.. OHMYGODDDDDD!

While I’m sure fatigue and an overdue break play their part, I have found another correlation: explosiveness VS (noone to) blame… 

If you lose my sock, no big deal – I could probably do with lightning my pack. If I lose my sock… ( 💣)

All of this I carefully curate out of Instagram but when friends visit, I pull myself together and present a half decent human. Which works relatively well except in the case of one, who told me I was subnormal and needed help… (👎).

Real friends tell you where it’s at

So when my tell-it-how-it-is friend of more than 10 years came to walk with me, I put the question to her and let her see me at my worst. Since we’ve done a lot of adventuring, she has a good measure of my worst. 

I knew she’d be ok walking with me. We’ve competed in endurance events together, where the only thing pushing us forward (certainly not experience) was grit, determination and pride. 

So – we made a vlog about her time with me. It was meant to be for us, but we decided to give you an insight into my life, and why it can be a battle to take on more than what I’m managing, even something as minor as losing a spoon. 

You may have met Kat before

Kat is one of the toughest women I know. She’s the kind of chick who can jog over to a hospital appointment, after delivering a keynote address, via precautionary instructions from her doctor… only to throw the radiographers into panic, discovering she’s a casual 24hrs from death by collapsed lung. Yep, that happened. 

She’s also one person I can count on to always say YES when I ask her to come on a ridiculous adventure. She even entered into the worlds longest Kayak marathon (this year’s registrations just opened) in Victoria Australia, to help me prepare for an ocean crossing at the begin of this adventure.

A lot can go unspoken… and a lot is said. No time wasting, we tell each other how it is and I’m grateful for it. 

Kat arrived in one of the most tantrum prone areas, in the northern region of the Atacama Desert.

The vlog

Here we took on the battle together, and she came wanting not only to experience what I’m doing, but to understand the burdens, and the impact different people are having – the good and bad… and she spent a fair amount of time lecturing me about being open to help, or more to the point, being wary of opportunists adding to the load and diminishing the experience (a problem I never foresaw until I had a public profile) – because as Kat likes to say, it’s no stroll in the park… and not something she’d do for fun!

WATCH BELOW

The following, is a journal into what it was like. Footage is limited, because it was tough. Really really tough……

Also, if you want to be involved ⬇︎

But wait, there’s more!

Watch here to see us preparing for the world’s longest Kayak race! #Icantholdupthecamera

8 comments

  • Bob Chaffey

    Lucy your a very courageous and determined person for traveling so far mainly on your own. Fifty years ago I traveled overland by jeep with a friend from London to Australia which took over 18 months so I completely understand the wonderful experiences your having. But your making this trip a lot tougher than us as we drove all the way and we could sleep in the truck. So Lucy I congratulate you on what you have achieved so far – May the Gods be with you. Best Regards Bob.

  • Hi Wombat – just found your website and am now following avidly …. Ive got an owner that’s pathologically incapable if saying no to a challenge too – the weirder and more remote the place, the better 🙂 ….. but you guys take the (dog) biscuit !!! Will be barking you on for the next two years or so ….. my owner is an endurance nut too, and it usually involves me – he’s busy prepping for his next big thing ….. what you are going to do after this gentle stroll is done ? Walter (the Labrador)

  • Mike Hirsh

    Hi Lucy ….read the bit where ya let the Wombat eat left overs from your bowl …it’s ok, and not at bad as one might think….I let my cats Bonnie & Clyde do it all ther time. They have no diseases I’m aware of, and i’m still here…lol 🙂 Mike

  • Lucy, I just love watching your blogs, and this one was a hoot. So glad for you that you had some recharge time with your friend, Kat. You are inspiring. I truly hope you keep going until you reach your goal, but if one day you decide, ‘ENOUGH,’ you’ll still have earned my respect for going as far as you have, and living your dream. Cheers, Sean

  • Randy Smith

    You two are so charming. Oh, you could have served your friend Coca tea, I think it is legal and available there. I had it in Cusco after high altitude all hiking in the hills with pack on a photo shoot, I was beat and didn’t want to eat dinner. Friend insisted and ordered tea, wow, it was pleasant and after dinner we when walking around town seeing the sights. Peace and safety to you. Let us know if you see any Elongated skull red haired Paracas people or aliens.

  • Colin John Cameron

    Fantastic of Kat to join you Lucy , Im sure you loved her company . You are freekin amazing Lucy , inspirational , committed , funny , dedicated , strong , such a beautiful Woman . May you continue walking proud and magnificent , your achievements I am in awe of .
    Stay safe , our Family are with you. Lots of love and power to you. Colin Cameron.

  • Andrew Oliver

    This Xmas you better be on high ground Girl. Really liked Kat.
    Love Ando.

  • Peter Jess

    Best Friends! “Precious!”

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