Tackling the new trek with gusto

By Josh Wilkes

It’s almost an impossible task to sum up a 19 day adventure trek spanning volcanoes, mountains and essentially the full width of Costa Rica in just a few short words.

Being picked initially for Alpha 2, the team who would tackle the new trek first, was incredibly exciting. As day one approached, excitement turned into nerves and before we all knew it we’d packed kit organized food drops and were on the way to our drop point several km away from Volcan Turrialba. Excitement then rapidly turned into frustration when four kilometers into day one, a river crossing proved too dangerous, halting forward progress. After exploring other potential options, we set up camp and the next day we were forced to turn back and start the trek from a different point.

This turned out into a tremendous amount of fun. Days two to five felt more like an adventure, like we were in control and deciding the path we would take back to the original trail. After several massive climbs, plenty of rain and insect bites we sat as a group and decided to rejoin the original trail on day five,  by trekking along a disused railway. From that point on the group were closer and fitter than ever. Everyone was gelling well and a real team ethic had developed. This carried us through the entire trek, admittedly with minor blips but nothing news worthy. There was an insane amount of ascent and descent, but no one ever moaned, no one argued but instead got on with the job at hand.

The success of the team as a unit made finishing the trek with everyone incredibly satisfying. Crossing the line together, and sprinting into the pacific ocean was a moment that will live with us all forever. Is is a sense of pride and achievement that is unrivalled in our lives so far.