YEP 7 CAMP KAMCHATKA – DAY 9 & 10
Blog written by Leeni and Zhixin
The past two days had us running all over the place attempting to overcome numerous challenges ; it was time for the famous Pangaea RAID, which traditionally takes place on the last two days of the Selection Camp.
The sixteen of us were divided into two teams, and each team was given a list of checkpoints to get to. The RAID started with each team frantically plotting out our routes on a map, and at the checkpoints, we had to complete activities such as raft building, flying fox and obstacle courses.
The beginning was relatively easy as we were all fresh and excited, but teamwork was required to keep us going as the going got tougher. One part of the RAID required us to get our bikes up a steep, rocky track which seemed to go on forever. We soon realised that the team was only as fast as the slowest ones, and that we had to depend on each other to reach our goal.
As the RAID entered the early hours of the next day and we started getting more tired with each step we took, everyone had to push one another to keep going. Finally, at 2.30am, the first group reached the campsite for the night, followed by the second group at 4am. Worn out by more than fourteen hours of almost non-stop hiking and biking, we collapsed in our tents the moment we got them set up.
After a short night, we started kayaking across a lake to get to the next checkpoint. We soon had to get on our sore feet again to continue on our way, where more challenges lay in store for us, and our sole motivation was that the end was near. With that, the first group finished ahead of time at 3.50pm, while the second group arrived back at the hotel at 4.30pm.
Despite being in competing groups, shouts of joy and pride could be heard all around when each group crossed the finishing line, proof that the RAID was not about who came in first, but about how we supported each other through trying times. The RAID allowed us to get to know one another better, but more importantly, made us push our limits to the extreme. Many atimes when we thought we could not continue anymore, encouragement from our team mates made us push ourselves just that little bit more, making us realise that we can actually do much more than we think we can.
Even though the RAID was definitely one of the most challenging things we each have ever done, we are glad to have completed it, and to have proven to ourselves that nothing is impossible when we believe in ourselves. The RAID was the best closure the camp could ever have, because it made everything we have learnt over the past 10 days come together. These 10 days have been some of the best times of our lives, with us learning a few very important lessons about life.