In her early years Katrina Megget felt she had no sporting talent but recently taken on the challenge of climbing 40 volcanoes before the age of 40.

EARLY ON in life Katrina Megget held the belief she had no real talent for sport or outdoor pursuits despite attempts to enjoy and participate in numerous school sporting activities and teams. However, her deep-rooted passion for books and all she could learn about and observe in nature gave her an inkling that perhaps there was an adventurous side within her that would one day flourish.

Katrina always saw the romanticism associated with the idea of walking but it wasn’t until she hiked the Kepler Track which is on the South Island of her home nation of New Zealand that she realised her path to becoming a fully-fledged  hiker had begun.

It was when she had come to the realisation that hiking and adventure was her outlet to really being and feeling herself that she came up with her #40by40 quest – the challenge to climb 40 volcanoes by the age of 40. In this exclusive interview she explains more about that challenge as well as some of the highlights from her hobby of hiking to date.

Read on to find out about the personal battles she faces as she attempts her mammoth volcano mission as well as her general appreciation for nature and what it can offer in terms of reflection, self-belief and the opportunity to push one’s physical and mental boundaries to the limit. 

You can find out more about Katrina and also view her work as a health journalist at https://katrinamegget.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/KatrinaMegget.

What first sparked your passion for adventure and the outdoors and what were some of the early sports you were involved in?

To be honest I’m pretty new to the outdoor and adventure space. I grew up in New Zealand in the countryside on the outskirts of Auckland – so I got the best of both lives: nature and the outdoors, and the big city. It was an idyllic childhood really spent climbing trees, making huts in the long grass, cycling down empty country roads, wild-swimming at the local waterfall, going to the beach – but that’s as far as it went.

I was terrible at sport (although I did try – joined the 7th form girls cricket team only to be the worst player) and PE at school was pretty soul destroying (I mean who invented the beep test!). And with two academically driven parents (one a university lecturer) my focus was very much on books, and I never even considered anything more to do with adventure or the outdoors, apart from briefly considering and then rejecting the idea of a degree in geology and an environmental paper. Looking back now I think I was scared these were too outdoorsy.

But really, I think the passion has always been there; it’s just taken me a while to find it and grow it. Because of my childhood I’ve always loved nature, and often I will yearn for the solitude the wild gives when I get overwhelmed by city life.

The real passion, however, didn’t really spark until about four years ago when my boyfriend dragged me on the Kepler Track walk in New Zealand’s South Island – in just over two days we walked almost 60km while carrying near on 20kilos. I was unfit and by the end of it utterly broken. But when you’re at 1,250m at 7pm as the sun is setting, its beams glinting off snow-tipped peaks, and you’re alone at the top of a mountain feasting on the glory of nature, the pain and challenge is forgotten. At that moment something stirred within me. I was bowled head over heels in love with the great outdoors.

Katrina has a long way to go to complete her volcano but if fully-committed to the cause she says has given her a new love of life.

 When did you find your love for long-distance walking?

I’ve always loved walking and the idea of walking but, like my passion for adventure and the outdoors, it has been slow to cement itself into anything more than just walking to and from work. But the Kepler Track opened a whole new world to me, and by golly gosh it’s beautiful. If I don’t think about the bruises and blisters, the burning muscles and berserk beating of my heart, then I have a very wistful and romantic notion of long-distance walking, where you can stroll in nature without the pressures of the real world. Of course, it’s not always smelling of roses but there is a simplicity and mindfulness about long-distance walking, and there is something reassuring about the ‘monotony’ of putting one foot in front of the other and getting from A to B under your own steam.

Katrina has hiked in her home nation of New Zealand as well as other countries in Europe.

How does fighting self-doubt come hand in hand with why you walk and explore?

This is really the crux of it. Almost three years ago when the flame for adventure and the outdoors was really igniting, I decided I needed to give myself a challenge to push myself and step outside my comfort zone and so I came up with my #40by40 quest – the challenge of climbing 40 volcanoes by the age of 40. It started off well and number one with Mt Vesuvius in Italy was promptly ticked off – and then I hit a brick wall.

You see the list of volcanoes I had developed were all very ambitious and in exotic locations. My brain went into overdrive and I basically became paralysed with self-doubt – I thought I wasn’t fit enough or experienced enough. I didn’t have the kit and didn’t really know the first thing about climbing volcanoes. How could I possibly climb 40 volcanoes by the age of 40 when I wasn’t a proper adventurer? In my head I wasn’t even worthy of taking on the challenge, let alone actually achieving it. And I would beat myself up over and over again, believing I just wasn’t good enough.

It’s been really hard – the paralysis, considering failure, the exploration of my beliefs in myself. But it’s also been a learning experience. I thought my biggest challenge would be physically climbing the volcanoes, not the negative whisperings in my head. I was furious thinking that some pathetic thought that I wasn’t good enough was going to put the whole challenge in jeopardy. Now I’m trying to prove to myself and others that self-doubt doesn’t have to hold you back from achieving what you want. If anything, this has made me more determined to get out there. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t just clicked my fingers and I no longer doubt. Every day I come up against a barrage of very persuasive self-doubt. This isn’t an easy journey and I don’t have all the answers or solutions but giving in to self-doubt just isn’t an option. 

Tell us about some of the biggest adventures hiking has taken you on and what have been some of the highlights?

I’m still in the early days with my love affair with hiking but I’ve been blessed with seeing some of New Zealand’s best sights – I’ve walked three of the Great Walks and wandered into the depths of New Zealand’s wilderness in the Nelson Lakes region. I’ve climbed the highest mountain in Wales (several times) and the highest mountain in England – in appalling weather I might add. Apart from that moment when the sun was setting on the Kepler track, there are three other hiking highlights that come to mind. Walking in the Nelson Lakes region and just seeing mountains on mountains stretching out to the horizon in every direction. Reaching the summit of Wales’ highest mountain just as the sun was setting. And climbing Stromboli, my first active volcano – while we didn’t get to see any lava we heard the booming and it was still an experience. 

New Zealand still currently ranks at the top of Katrina’s favourite countries to hike in. 

Which countries have you enjoyed walking in the most and which are you most looking forward to visiting in the future?

Unashamedly New Zealand is tops – it’s just so diverse. Lush with vegetation, wild and barren in other places. It’s stunning. Now that I live in the UK though most of my walking is here and really, it’s just as good – perhaps just a little harder to get away from the crowds and the weather can be pretty temperamental. Meanwhile, the volcano trails in Italy are excellent.

I’m off to the Isle of Arran in Scotland in May for a week of mountain climbing and walking, which I’m really looking forward to, and I aim to spend about seven days walking Hadrian’s Wall later this year, essentially walking from the east coast to the west coast of northern England. More long term, I’m looking forward to doing some walking in the Canary Islands in the future and bagging some more volcanoes, while taking on some hiking trails (and the odd volcano or three) in Japan really appeals to me.    

Katrina also enjoys to rock climb and scramble and this comes in handy when she attempts the ascent of a new volcanoe.

Tell us about your challenge to climb 40 volcanoes by the age of 40 and how you are getting on with that? What have been some of the highlights?

This quest to climb 40 volcanoes by the age of 40 – over a five-and-a-half-year timeframe – really was a grand plan that I didn’t think through very well initially. And as I’ve already mentioned,the challenge itself has been dominated more by my self-doubt than by volcanoes. So far, I’ve only clocked nine volcanoes when really I should be double that. But I haven’t thrown in the towel yet. Highlights have been the climb up Italy’s Stromboli, experiencing altitude for the first time when climbing Mt Etna in Sicily and taking on the muddy slopes of Nevis Peak in the Caribbean.

My hiccups from self-doubt has meant I’ve had to be a little more flexible in my approach to the challenge – as my mother reminds me: there is more than one way to skin a cat. And set backs are bound to happen – last year when I went to New Zealand I should have climbed three volcanoes there, but the wild weather meant I could only complete one. It means I’m being a little more open minded about the challenge – I’ve now climbed two ancient volcanoes in England for example. Some people don’t agree with this (if it’s ancient it’s not deemed a “proper” volcano it seems – whatever proper means) but apart from the original list, which I always said was subject to change, I didn’t have any specific rules.

The saying my mother reminds me of is pertinent in another way. I’d originally broken the challenge down, calculating how many volcanoes I should attempt to climb each year. And I’ve really beaten myself up for not meeting that expectation. Then I realised the challenge can still be achieved – it might mean I have to climb more than 10 volcanoes in one year but that isn’t the same as failure.  

What other sports do you enjoy and what sports would you like to have a go at in the future?

I also rock climb and scramble – unfortunately it’s a bit of a drive from where I live to get to anywhere decent to do this though. I’m going to try kayaking later this year and I’d love to try SUP. And in terms of watching sports – you just can’t go past a New Zealand All Blacks rugby game!  

What can our readers expect from your website and blogs and how important to you is it to connect with likeminded people across the internet?

My website and blog (www.katrinamegget.wordpress.com) really follows my attempt to climb my 40 volcanoes but also touches on the mental side of the challenge and how I’m dealing with my self-doubt. When it comes to self-doubt it can be very lonely and scary, not to mention depressing, but I think it’s important to remember that everyone feels self-doubt at some point – it’s not just you. I’d like my blog to throw a light on this and get people considering self-doubt more. It concerns me that too many people may be hiding their passion and potential just because they don’t think they’re good enough. I would hope that through my blog and my adventures I could not only inspire but encourage people to take small steps outside their comfort zone to achieve what they may have originally thought was impossible – we have so much untapped potential just waiting to be unleashed.And connecting with likeminded people across the internet is crucial – hearing other people’s success stories, of how they battled their mental demons, that’s inspiring and motivational. There’s a support group right there. And that helps us inch closer to achieving our goals and dreams.