Wow, this blogging thing is a lot harder to keep going than you think it is.

Didn’t realise how long it is since I last posted!

So much going on at the moment that it has been easy to let the blog slip but I am determined to get it back on track.

So what’s been happening since the last post re my mums 80th birthday. Loads is the short answer, life has got somewhat hectic and plans have had to change and adapt accordingly.

I did manage to get away back up to the Peak District a couple of weeks ago on Little Lexie, spent 3 nights camping, so a full test run of all my camping gear.

Couldn’t have picked a better weekend for weather, really lovely, blue skies, warm during the days and not to cool at night.

I had forgotten just how much fun camping is, just pitching a tent, cooking all your own meals, no timetable to follow, bed when it’s dark and awake when the birds decide to get you up. Life is simple and simple is something I’m beginning to crave.

The weather brought out loads of hikers but there is so much room in the Peak District that you never feel crowded. The more I walk the more I realise that walking is becoming more essential to me. I love the feeling of one foot in front of the other, the crunch sound of gravel under your boots, no deadline to get anywhere and destinations that are as flexible as you are. I love that, I love just being, just thinking, just breathing in real fresh air, all the while walking at a pace that allows you to take everything in. And I have also discovered that the higher I climb the happier I become.

There is something awe inspiring about height gain, about leaving things behind and heading for the clouds. You get a real sense of perspective, an new understanding of distance and an appreciation of just how fantastic your body is and what it can achieve.

There have been many times on my walks where it has been easy to get overwhelmed by the distance to the end destination. Particular if you are high up and can see where you are headed and the hills between you and your goal.

But walking has taught me that you don’t need to focus on the end goal all the time. Fix your mind on where you want to go to and then……. take your first step, followed by the next and the next and so on. Before you know it, what seemed to be an impossible distance away is completed.

Life can be like that at times. We know where we want to end up but it can seem impossible sometimes to figure out how to get there. There can appear at first sight to be just too many obstacles to overcome.

Well, fix your desired outcome in your head and then take your first step towards it ( whatever that step may be for you) and then the next step and so on. Just as in hiking so in life, your end goal can sometimes seem impossible to reach but all journeys start with the simplest first step. We can plan all we want but if we never take that first step then we are never going to get anywhere. There will be obstacles along the way, but with resolve and unfaltering determination they can be overcome and before you know it, you arrive at your goal.

Whatever your goals in life, commit to taking the first step towards them today and begin the journey to turn your dreams into reality. Who knows maybe we will meet along the way.

Whatever your week brings may fun and happiness never be far away.

Love and hugs

Els xx