A shot I took of a smartly dressed young woman waiting for a bus at the swelteringly hot bus station in the middle of Kuchaman City in Rajasthan.
During our stay we resided at the once opulent but now rather dilapidated Kuchaman Fort perched atop a 1000-foot-high (300 m) cliff overlooking the sandy desert beyond and the town below.
Trips down to the town were a highlight and were only achieved by walking, or taking a beat-up jeep, down a winding old cobbled former elephant path.
The Route: The Yorkshire Three Peaks
Distance: 40km (25 miles) | Time: 9.43 Hours | Height gain: 1,586m/5,202ft
Start: SD 80895 72425 | Map: OL2 | Date: 23/07/2011
The Three Peaks of Yorkshire is a 25 mile circular challenge hike against the clock (12 hours being the limit). The route normally starts and finishes at Horton-in-Ribblesdale at the Pen-y-ghent Cafe, the hike visits the three highest peaks in Yorkshire – Pen-y-ghent (691m), Whernside (728m), and Ingleborough (723m) – in that order, making a total ascent of 1586m (5202ft). Everyone without exception attempting The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge Walk should be fully prepared and equipped for this demanding outdoor challenge.
I awoke at 4.20 am in my tiny tent wrapped up snugly in my sleeping bag, the effort to get out and into the cold was incalculable. The moon was illuminating the still, cold, dark and starry sky as I stiffly walked up to the farmhouse in an attempt to use the outside toilet for the first time of the day. Continue reading “The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge 2011”
JAMES HANDLON 