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Enthusiasm lit up the faces of the youngest team to take part in this year's Trailwalker fund-raising hike as they prepared to tackle the 100- kilometre MacLehose Trail.

 The route runs from Sai Kung to Tuen Mun through eight country parks in the New Territories. Teams must finish the trail within 48 hours. The annual event took place last weekend and has been organised by Oxfam Hong Kong since 1981.

 Four secondary students made up the youngest of the 900 teams which took part in the fund-raising walk.

   They were Ryan Chau Pui-kin, Stanley Mak Wai-lun, Mak Kit- ho and Ng Yiu-ming; all aged 18 and seventh formers at Tin Ka Ping Secondary School.

  The team pledged not to fail.

  Wai-lun said finishing the gruelling walk would not only be a tremendous physical and mental challenge for them, but also a mark of their passage into adulthood.

  'The challenge will build up our confidence and help us support the fight against poverty,' he said.

  Each team had to raise at least $6,000 to help disadvantaged people in Hong Kong, Asia and Africa.

   Wai-lun trained during week ends and his previous best was walking 50 kilometres without a rest.

  The team trained by walking different sections of the route by day and night in 20-hour stretches.

  'But to walk 100 kilometres non-stop is really a big challenge for us,' Wai-lun said.

  'It's about team spirit and endurance. For safety's sake, we decided if we could not help falling asleep, we would take a short nap.'    Teammate Pui-kin was in the school's running team but fell in love with hiking last year.

 The team were advised to take water, warm clothes, a stick, money, tissues, glucose tablets, pain killers, diarrhoea pills, a mobile phone, a first-aid kit and torches with spare bulbs and batteries.

  Four members of the University of Hong Kong Rambler's Club also formed a team. They were Terry Tsang Wai-ming, 22, Daniel Lam Chun-ting, 22, Chan Ming-yui, 19, and Leo Lo Man- hing, 23.

  Mr Tsang has been hiking since he joined Junior Police Call in Form Two.

  'Taking in fresh air is a good way to relax,' he said. 'People may think we are strange as we'd rather go hiking than staying in an air-conditioned room in the height of summer.'  Mr Lam said hiking was not as easy as people thought.

 'Walking at night is the hardest part. Your hands get very tired - holding a torch with your left hand and a hiking stick with your right. It is very dangerous going downhill and the paths are slippery.'    Mr Lam said singing was an effective way to keep the team's spirits up.

  'Sing whatever songs you know. It works!'   The Tin Ka Ping team took 35 hours 43 minutes to complete the walk and the HKU team finished in 35 hours 19 minutes.



Keen students take steps to help charity