transformation complete

it was on the ride on the way back that C pointed out that i was a city girl  no longer. and that's when it hit me that wilderness has well and truly changed my life. was, get this, actually pretty darn happy to be covered in mud for the better part of the weekend. somehow got a tan through the 20m visibility fog and am in denial about those few extra freckles. by far the best weekend away ever and i'm so so glad to have been part of the mammoth exercise that was wild trials 2012. wow. the committee pulled off the inaugural national competition with aplomb and i remain in shock and awe at how seamless the weekend was. 

i learnt so much. like how to pitch a tent in pitch dark with only my headtorch for illumination. heyhey, i'm the proud owner of a headtorch. don't mess with me! and once that first tent was up, i even went on to pitch three more! sleeping in a tent was, um, novel, to say the least. am still far from a tent convert, having frozen my feet off on the first night. didn't know my tent could breathe so i left the door flappy thingum open for ventilation. um, not my brightest moment. plus i had such trouble sleeping, and when i finally did i dreamt it was morning and time to get up. but when i did wake from that dream it was still dark (and even colder!) so uhh not happy. felt a bit like groundhog day, and more than a little bit cheated.

tent woes aside, had such fun manning stations, playing casualty and assessing the teams. the wilderness banter is unmatched and thrilled to have gotten to know so many wonderful people. plus there must've been a secret memo that went out to say i was a wilderness noob and to be patient because oh boy everyone was supremely kind and went out of their way to explain things (medical and wild!) to me. aww :)

and at one point on the ride home, titanium started to play and R and i spontaneously started belting into our water bottles. we boogied long after the song had ended, and laughed at C because he couldn't take his hands off the wheel. the sun was shining on us, the weekend had been a roaring success and it was a good place to be.