Rain, rain and more rain! My DofE expedition in the spring of 1987 in the Brecon Beacons was the wettest I have ever been. It rained solidly for 5 days. Each morning we tried to choose the least wet items of clothing to put on! One of my group got exposure and had to be rescued from the mountainside which involved a 13 mile detour to the nearest telephone box for some of the group while I pitched a tent, lit a fire and administered tea and emergency rations to my unwell team mate. I learnt that in life there are very few things we actually really need - food, shelter and warmth and when life gets stressful I try to remember that. The expedition remains to date the most physically challenging thing I have done and the sense of achievement was enormous. I realised that grit and determination does get you through and makes you resilient for the future. I still have wonderful memories of camaraderie, singing as we walked to keep us going, Kendal mint cake and the beauty of camping with the only sounds being streams and trees- in addition to blisters that took 6 weeks to heal and sleeping for over 24 hours solid once I got home!