Having spent several days looking at the peak from our cockpit, we thought it would be great to try and hike to the summit.  And so arrangements were made.  We caught the early morning workers’ bus to Rawlins Village, where we were due to meet our local guide, Gayleigh, outside the Poor Man’s Bar.  Locally born Gayleigh turned out to be half ‘sherpa’, half mountain goat and we promptly set off for a 2 hour hike, climb, scramble up the near vertical trail under his expert guidance.

The closer to the summit, the muddier the terrain and the network of ropes proved to be invaluable.  As is quite often the case, the mountain top was shrouded in cloud, but the lack of a view didn’t detract from the exhilaration and sense of achievement we felt on reaching the top. Then our thoughts turned to how to get down…  The descent was slightly faster and we arrived back in the village at around midday and very muddy indeed.  A timely bus took us back to Charlestown where it was obvious to all the locals just where we’d spent our morning.