We've been Active Citizens!

We did it!

Team Lamjung climbed Mount Snowdon and had a GREAT amount of fun doing it =)

Ryan and I hiked the Snowdon Ranger path in January, but this time I took the team up the Llanberis path. It pretty much follows the mountain railway track up to the summit which I think makes a lot of people look on enviously at the train as they shuffle up the steep incline. Having said that, it feels great getting to the top knowing you've just climbed the third highest mountain in the UK. Plus this hike was more significant for us as we knew this is what the people in Nepal have to do a lot of the time.

I thought it would be a nice idea to carry red balloons (the colour of DEC and Nepal) to garner some attention and get people talking to us. A good idea in theory but the gales liked to take the balloons into the team's faces somewhat...
And let me just clarify to the countless amounts of people that asked us... I WISH the balloons helped take us up the mountain, but really we were just carrying extra air. They still looked good though as you can see in the pictures.

We also managed to hand out our awareness leaflets at the summit to spread our message and give people an idea of what people of developing countries may have to go through. It's worth bearing in mind that people climb Snowdon for fun or a sense of achievement. The people in Nepal climb up and down because they have to. I would say that the team spoke to approximately 70 people on the day which is great towards healthcare awareness in Nepal. I even managed to get a couple of tweets with our hashtag #hikeforhealthcare!

The team have also had great success in raising over £400 to go to the DEC Nepal appeal.
There's still time to donate if you haven't which you can do either online:

www.justgiving.com/hikeforhealthcare

Or via text:

LAMJ75 £(plus the amount you would like to donate) to 70070

You may think that £400 isn't a great deal considering there were a lot of people climbing Snowdon on Saturday, however the whole point of the climb was to raise awareness to those that may not have been already aware. The people I spoke to were genuinely surprised by the healthcare facts I presented to them about Nepal, which hopefully means it will stay in their minds for longer. I always find that when I'm told something surprising, I remember it for much longer... but that's just me.

Just thought I'd also point out that the final group photo was courtesy of Reiss Parmar. Thanks Reiss!!!

Thanks for everyone's support and I'll keep you updated with further VSO/Nepal updates =)

Alice x

Hungry Hiker

My apologies as I thought I had already posted this before!

A hungry hiker makes for a horrendous hike.
I've had a look at the weather forecast for Saturday, and as it's supposed to be sunny, why not take advantage of a glorious day and go for a walk or hike.
For my experiences of hiking, I've always found it more of a struggle when I haven't had complimentary snacks to keep me going. I thought I'd share with you what I took with me to Snowdon a few weeks ago.

* I started the day off with scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast. I normally wouldn't recommend anything other than porridge but WOW those eggs were good. And in fact, they were relatively filling and kept me going until my first snack around 13:00 (which is pretty good going considering I had breakfast at 08:15).

* When we got to the halfway point, I tucked in to a couple of plain oatcakes and a banana. Oats are a great source of energy and they keep you fuller for longer. Why do you think the Scottish soldiers could march for longer? Bananas, like oats, release their energy slowly. Plus their rich in potassium which helps keep the cramping pangs at bay.

* Once I was 3/4 of the way up Snowdon, I found that a couple of squares of dark chocolate were a welcomed boost of energy, especially as the path started to get steeper.
* Reaching the top meant it was time for some dried apricots. A solid favourite from my previous time of climbing Snowdon. Dried fruits are packed with carbohydrates which help for an energy boost.
*Most importantly, I drank water the entire way. I drank a 500ml bottle before breakfast, a 500ml bottle before the hike and a 1.5l during. I then made sure I drank water afterwards. I'm certainly not feeling as sore as I have been after previous hikes, and I think the water helped.

* Other foods I would highly recommend...

1. Mixed nuts - so many health benefits to nuts, but like everything else they give you a boost and fill that tummy!
2. Soreen banana malt loaf - these are great! Plus you can get them in a handy lunchbox size too. I had specifically written banana because it's my favourite but the original malt loaf is scrumptious too. I'm yet to try the orange one but I'm sure they've hit the nail with that one too.
3. Eat natural bars - my favourite has to be the almond and apricot yoghurt coated bar. Delicious...

*Foods to avoid...

1. English Breakfast - as tempting as this may be with an impending hike ahead of you, it really doesn't fill you up in the right way. Imagine it like this... are you ever really hungry, and then you have fast food and it satisfies you there and then, but an hour or so later you feel hungry again? That's because the fast food
2. Fizzy Drinks - just don't drink these. They make you bloated with unnecessary gas and it will make the climb so much harder than it needs to be.
3. Foods high in fat or protein - these will take much longer to digest and could upset your stomach in the heat.

Hope this information helps you out on your next hike and remember to keep hydrated and eat a little bit often.

Happy hiking everyone!

Alice x