Prior to embarking on my Bronze DofE a few years back, I had never been camping before nor had I trekked for as many hours as I did. Now preparing to do my Gold DofE, I can honestly say that participating in this has been one of the best experiences of my life. It combines all the things that I have never previously done before (camping, trekking, cooking from a portable stove) and put it all into one weekend. Despite my initial fears of going on such a trip, doing things I had never done before, I soon became comfortable, chatting with my friends as we lost our way in the woods and then found our way again, using a compass to navigate the steep hills, rocky paths and muddy roads, not to mention the numerous wonderful sceneries that we came across on our journey. And while I may not have been able to do my Silver DofE expedition, I can't wait to do my Gold and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.