Ann Murphy receiving a wonderful donation by The Rotary Club of Luton Chiltern of £1,000   

Mount Olympus - DONE IT!!!          

Glad to say I survived the trip.  I thought the Three Volcano Challenge was hard but it was a walk in the park compared to this one.

The first night we stayed in a comfortable Hotel in Litochoro and had a relaxing evening.  The following day we walked up and down forest paths seeing a cave, monastery and waterfall.  After a lunch stop the paths were all up until we reached the overnight Refuge early in the evening.  The accommodation was quite good we slept in bunk beds and were given nice warm blankets.   I will not go into detail, however, about the toilets!

The next day we saw the sun rise and it was beautiful.  After our bread, cheese and jam breakfast we were shown a map detailing where we were walking that day.   Unfortunately the only way was up, there was no way of going back.   We started walking steeply up straight away and there was little flat or down bits after that.    The paths were quite rocky and it was amazing to see the mules trot down them with no hesitation.  (Mules were used to carry our main bags to each Refuge.)   When I was able to take my eyes off the path or we stopped for a breather, the scenery was amazing.  We could look up to the rocky slopes or down into the valleys, sometimes looking down at the clouds.   Eventually we reached the first peak at 2866m and had a photo taken with the MNDA Banner.    There was a further peak at Skolio 2911m and some intrepid trekkers did this extra bit, however, I have to admit that I had climbed enough and knew there was still a long way to go before getting to the next Refuge.  We then retraced our steps downwards for some time (this seemed harder than the up bits), before walking paths along the side of the slopes for some considerable distance before reaching our home for the night.

This Refuge is the highest one in Greece and occupies a magnificent position on a ridge with fantastic views all round.   It was very full that night as it was a Saturday so all the local walkers and serious climbers (complete with ropes) were there.  Us girls were given a room that slept 16 (8 bunk beds very close together), as there were 14 of us we were told there may be two other ladies joining us.   However, the two ladies turned out to be men from our group!   After the evening meal two of the locals had musical instruments and there was a lot of loud Greek singing.   We could not join in as we did not know the words but it was great fun.    At this Refuge the toilets were a little better but still left a lot to be desired, especially by the morning.

Our third day was nearly all downhill.    Gently down across the Plateau of Muses, upwards to climb along a ridge and then down and down very rocky paths until we reached the tree line.  We then had an enjoyable walk through Beech and Pine Woods although the path was still very rocky and steep.   The scenery as we climbed down was magical and I made sure I took time to stop and look.    On some paths it did not pay to look down and a few people were very uncomfortable doing this.  Luckily apart from one slightly twisted knee the walk was amazingly accident free.   We reached the end late afternoon and gladly climbed aboard our coach.    After about an hour’s journey we reached our hotel in Thessaloniki where we all enjoyed baths, showers and a normal toilet.  

We had a good evening meal in the hotel and then went off for a walk and a celebration drink.

It will be a relief to some people that, unless Simi at National Office comes up with something so fantastic I could not possibly resist in 2007, this will have been my last challenge.   As they get more difficult each year I think my poor old body has been tested enough in the name of MND.

A final count up will be done shortly but I hope that a sum in the region of £3,000 has been raised.   Thanks to everyone who has helped, especially Ann Wiles for arranging the Quiz, my son-in-law for his chest waxing, Jean and Tom McPheat the Coffee morning and the Rotary Club of Luton Chiltern for the great contribution of £1,000.

If anyone reading this would like to add to this money, we are continally collecting for vital research into Motor Neurone Disease. I would be very grateful of any donations.

A cheque payable to MNDA can be sent to our Treasurer, Mr R Anness at 25 Lansdowne Road, Luton, LU3 1EE.

                                                                                               Ann Murphy

Click here to see the pictures from Mount Olympus