Katie’s Sumatra Trek for Porchlight
On the 6th September 2024 I embarked on the most amazing adventure of my life! A four night trek in the Sumatran jungle. Not only had I never travelled this far in the world before, my previous trekking experience amounted to walking the dog across our local fields and would take no longer than an hour and a half! However, I had set myself the challenge so I was going to do it properly. I spent the year before training as hard as I could so I would be fit enough to enjoy the adventure ahead.
The experience exceeded my expectations right from the start and challenged me both mentally and physically. The trek itself was basically a walk from one river to the next, very straightforward. Or so I thought! In between each river was a 600 metre climb followed by the 600 metre descent. Thank goodness I’d stuck to my training plan. I had to dig deep each day and find some inner strength I didn’t know I had. This would have been tough enough on its own but carrying our rucksacks filled with our beds, sleeping bags, clothes and water for the day made it so much harder. I was grateful for the Sumatran guides, ropes and trees to hold on to. Not to mention the 30 degrees humidity. I had no idea one woman could sweat so much!
Of course the trek was just a small part of the wider experience. The sights, sounds and smells both day and night were magical. From the Thomas leaf monkeys calling to each other in the trees with their cheeky banter to the cicadas rhythmic high pitch whine, the sound of the river flowing after the torrential rains of the afternoon. It’s true that the jungle never sleeps.
All of the effort and tears was so worthwhile. The experience was for Porchlight, Kent and thanks to friends, family and business colleagues I raised over £6300 to help maintain the support of young, vulnerable and homeless young people. I was an amazing experience for me and great to feel that I may have made a difference in someone’s life too.
– Katie
