Rob’s wife Christine: whilst the boys are walking through the Gobi, I look through some of the blog posts which Rob had sent me earlier, and found this. I have to try and keep positive and remember one of Rob’s favourite quotes: Present fears are worse than horrible imaginings (Macbeth)… (So I need to stop imagining…)
[Rob] It is now just six days until we fly to Ulan Bator. Once there, it will take us five days to make some final preparations on the ground, before we start walking 5,000 km to get home again. I am feeling very excited, but also daunted, and, I must also admit, exhausted from all the planning.
I think the main things I am daunted about (which might go wrong) are:
- Our bodies can’t take it. We will be carrying heavy packs through thousands of kilometers of rough terrain in winter. Will our backs, our knees, our feet, be up to it?
- The weather goes against us. We are well prepared for cold and snow, but in winter, things can sometimes be even worse than you expect.
- Bureaucracy. Always a challenge when travelling in distant lands. I hope we don’t get caught up in any complicated local politics anywhere.
- The Yellow River – will it be frozen? Can we paddle down it? If so, how far?
These are the big problems that could potentially undo us. We will need to dig deep, I am sure, to keep going, but we are determined, and I hope by the grace of God we will make it.
Find out more at Walking Home From Mongolia.