Closing remarks

OK, well the prize giving is tomorrow night, and we got pipped at the post in the Health, Education etc section. Still, we've raised $9001 (thanks to Eoin giving just enough to put us over the line). Another huge thank you to everyone who donated. Registration for next year's walk opens on October 2nd, and given that the Moovettes had their first training walk over the weekend, I think you can expect them to be early applicants. We'll be the ones driving the battlebus this time!

Introducing the Moovettes

Well, we're winding down now (current total raised, $8541), but the B Team are just getting started. They have reinvented themselves as the Moovettes and Bridget has even started looking at shoes for the long walk in 2008!

Belinda has apparently declined this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, probably because she is sane, but Bob and Bridgid from our wonderful sponsor Baretto have signed up. So have we, according to the blog (as support crew), although I don't remember signing anything...

By the way, we've still got another month or so until the totals are finalised - it would be great to get over the $10000 mark, so if anybody out there still hasn't donated (or perhaps you enjoyed the feeling so much you'd like to do it again), head on over here.

And for those that have asked ...

Yes, Monkey also returned for the Trailwalker in 2007.

Team photo

Well, there's no real news but I thought the photo was a good one. The feet are healing nicely thank you. The mental scars may take slightly longer... Marc has been feeling the comedown!
Total funds raised is now a little over $8300, thanks to the last of the tip-jar at Baretto and a hefty donation from the till. Can we make $10000?

The tale of the trail

Well, we knew that the weather was going to be 'interesting' last Friday, but we didn't realise just how interesting. Thursday night was one of the hottest March nights on record, so even at the 8:30am start we were in our shirt sleeves and the day was clearly going to be hot...



Here you can see us as part of the gaggle of starters.



And here was the view as we headed off down the Dandenong Creek valley, through an avenue of pylons...



We made good time across the first two stages - it wasn't too hot (although it was very windy with lots of raised dust), and we got to Lysterfield Lake (20km mark) shortly after midday. It was after this point that our (or at least, my) problems began...
The track out from this checkpoint was due north, straight into the sun and the hot wind, and the temperature got up over 36 degrees. I started to really struggle and was feeling alternately far too hot and then shivering, as well as nauseous and a complete lack of strength in the legs. When we got to Birds Land Reserve, I had a fairly lengthy lie down and Marc filled my hat with water, both of which helped my get back on my feet. It also helped to know that at the end of the stage I didn't have to go up the 1000 steps, and instead could get a car ride to Olinda and an icy pole!
This meant that I felt an enormous amount better after leaving Olinda and we soon came to this sign...



After dinner at Silvan (chicken risotto referred to by Marc as 'creamy gooey love'), during which we were interrupted by numerous messages telling us that it was raining very hard in Melbourne, we set off again expecting a cool change. This came pretty quickly and we got fairly wet - though it soon stopped and we cheered up at Cafe Bob in Mt Evelyn.



The next two stages were the long distance Warburton Trail, and we made good time (we even got Eoin to skip his way out of the Woori Yallock primary school where we'd retired last year). We'd hoped that we'd seen the last of the rain, but about 20 minutes out of the last checkpoint it really started coming down. We were extremely pleased to find bacon & egg sandwiches waiting for us, although as you can see, the trail was starting to affect us somewhat...




It was very hard to go back out into the rain for the final stage, and we all found it difficult to get stiff legs working again and reattain blister-numbness. The rain had made the Backstairs Track extremely muddy, and visibility in our headlights was not much further than three or four metres. At the start of the descent from Mt Little Joe the track became literally a swamp, and with the temperature hovering close to 10 degrees and all of us soaked through and tired, the finish line couldn't come quickly enough! The last part required a rope to get down a particularly slippery slope and then splashing through a creek, but we got there to loud sounds of 'Moo' from the B Team.



As I said before, this (and the last stage in particular) was the hardest thing I've done. Now if we could just get to $10000 I'd feel it was worth it...

Coming across the finishing line ... at 6:50am

(I know the quality isn't great, but feel the emotion)

The B Team...

...were the most superb bunch of supporters you could ever hope to have. They actually made us walk the trail faster because it meant we got to sit down and be pampered for longer. Simply put, without them, we would never have finished.

Just briefly...

For those who missed it...
We finished Saturday morning at about 6:50am, in the pouring rain. And you know my comments about feeling hard done by when they closed the stage between CP3 and CP4? I was talking out of my fundamental orifice... that was the hardest thing I've ever done.

More detailed reports through the week, with some great photos!

Total Fire Ban

From the Trailwalker website...

Oxfam TRAILWALKER is on! However, due to the Total Fire Ban called for Friday 23rd March and under instruction from Parks Victoria, Victoria Police, CFA and SES, the section between CP3, Ferntree Gully and CP4, Olinda Reserve, is closed.

This is a high fire risk area and has been made off limits for the safety of all participants and volunteers.

Oxfam TRAILWALKER Melbourne 2007 is now an 88.5km event. All finishing times will allow for the omission of this section. The clock will stop upon your Check-in at CP3. It will restart upon Check-out at CP4.

Thank you for your understanding of this serious issue. Thank you to the emergency services and agencies for helping to find a solution that allows us to conduct this amazing event.

...which is a bit of a shit. I'm in two minds because it gets rid of the really hard stage, but it means that we won't really have 'done it' (both Marc and me have been reminded by our spouses that this does not mean we can do it properly next year).

The car shuttle between the two checkpoints is going to be fun...

Final preparations...

Well, we're just getting together the last lists of things we need, and Belinda is picking up the Battlebus this afternoon. So all systems are go, despite the forecast!
Big thanks to everyone who has sponsored us so far - to date we've raised $6400 and lie 16th on the leaderboard. It would be great to add some more to that total, so if you're inspired over the next few days as we trudge through the Yarra valley, that would be wonderful.

You'll be able to keep track of our progress here (I think - that's a temporary link judging by the address, so you might need to go via the Trailwalker frontpage), and please do call or text us tomorrow. Especially those of you in Europe or the US - night time will be particularly difficult, and a chat or an encouraging SMS will be really helpful.

Photos and an in-depth report will be available sometime after Sunday, if anyone wants the sweaty details...

Weather Forecast Update March 21st

Bugger..... Looks like we might get a spot of rain again. After 3 months of training in 30C+ temperatures. Bloody Melbourne weather.

Surely it couldn't rain again ?!

All eyes are fixed on the long range forecast. Friday will be warm to hot but there's the promise of rain in the air on Saturday. But will it come after we have finished and are tucked up in bed? Or will it pour down as we begin our last climb up Mt Little Joe? Surely not two years in a row? That would be too cruel in the middle of a drought.

The masterplan

Here's our strategy for Friday - click on the picture for better resolution. Now we're just waiting on the weather forecast, which is currently for 30 degrees with a change (hopefully not too many showers until after we finish).

Sunday in the park with...

Yesterday was a lovely day for a stroll - bright and sunny, but not too hot. The walk around the lake seemed very short after our previous treks...

And now, a word from our sponsor...

Eoin's kitbag

Eoin took these photos of his kit laid out before a training walk to show how much organisation he does for these sessions. It's ironic really, because he always forgets something. Usually it's just the sunscreen (notice it is also missing from the photos), but on Saturday it was his headlamp...

The Penultimate Trek (we hope)

Well, Saturday was the day of our last training session - and we got three of us out on the trail plus two members of the B Team. The aim was to walk from Checkpoint 2 (Lysterfield Lake) to Checkpoint 6 (Mt Evelyn), starting at midday. Owing to a difference of recollection concerning the car shuffle, we actually started at nearly 1pm, but we used the irritation to our advantage and polished off the 15.5km to Ferntree Gully in about 2hrs 20mins. Apart from feeling slightly sick after the climb in to Belgrave, we all managed very well. Below you can see Marc and me on what we all agreed was the worst section of the trail - walking alongside the Burwood Highway...



Then came the 1000 steps, for the first time since last year's Trailwalker. Well, I'd certainly forgotten how long they went on for. It was something of a struggle for all of us (even Eoin said he was rather dizzy as he reached the top), and after that Marc seemed to go into a bit of a decline... For the rest of the walk he was apologising for holding us back and saying, "I'm really not enjoying this". This may have had something to do with the development of some blisters.

Here you can see us as we arrived in Sassafras - the Sassafras Creek track has been whipper-snippered out of recognition and yet I still managed to trip over every loose twig and bit of bark...



After a pleasant hour for dinner in Olinda (avoiding the wasps), we made for Mt Evelyn at good speed - I know the route like the back of my hand now, obviously - making it down at about 9:15pm.

All in all, not too shabby. Now for the full event!

Words of wisdom on the trail...

Final training session details

The plan is to meet at Jells Park teahouse on March 18th (a Sunday) at midday. Below is a map of Jells Park to guide you...



The best entry is from Waverley Road - follow the road to the top of the hill and park on the right-hand side. You should be able to see the teahouse as you drive in, but it is well signed. In any case, I think we will all have our mobiles on us.

Look forward to seeing you there! Of course, we've got Saturday's 40km outing first...

$5000 up!

The more alert amongst you will recall back here when I made a promise to put a couple of photos up when we had raised $5000. Well, as of last weekend we are over the line... So, as promised...



Can you believe that the bizarre Elmo character won best costume? Robbed...
And here's me attempting to be alluring.



Notice that I even shaved my legs specially...

It's hard to take a photo while walking fast in the dark

Deja vu

Saturdya night saw two of us back on the trail from Olinda to Woori Yallock - this time Marc and me. We started later owing to Marc's inability to distinguish the Maroondah highway from the Warburton highway and getting a fair way to Healesville before working out the mistake. This may or may not have had something to do with the fact that Carlton were not getting thrashed for once...

Anyway, once we started we set ourselves the goal of beating the time that Eoin and I posted last week. This was made easier by the fact that there was not much need for map-reading, but as it was dark when we started the section from Silvan Dam, we certainly found the first kilometre pretty interesting! The path is very narrow and crowded by shrubs and bushes. It also twists and turns a lot, and we had the distinct impression that if we stepped off the path by mistake it would be a while before we found it again.

We got into Mt Evelyn to find a buck's night in full swing - I don't know what they made of two sweaty blokes having a rest outside wearing headlamps and rucksacks, but it is possible that they didn't notice owing to the presence of the topless barmaid (is there anything less sexy?).

Anyway, suffice it to say that we made it to Woori Yallock in 4 hrs 55 mins, chopping a full quarter hour off the record - a personal best which is unlikely to be broken anytime soon, certainly not during the event...

We were so busy walking that there was no time for photos... apart from one blurry one of Marc at speed in the dark, which I'll post if it looks any good.

Saturday will be our last proper training walk - and only 18 days to go now...

Trailwalker website update

Oxfam have recently updated their Trailwalker website, and I think it's a great improvement. Head on over there and check it out!

And they walked by the light of the moon...

Well, two of us did, anyway.

Owing to unforeseen circumstances, we were short-handed last night on our walk from Olinda to Woori Yallock, a 30km stretch of the trail that we demolished in a touch over 5 hours. It was quite a hard walk, in that we really pushed the pace, but the actual trail itself was fairly easy-going. The revised route between Olinda and Mt Evelyn (taking in Silvan dam) has removed some of the more precipitous downhill sections, and also excised the 'mystery hill' that wasn't on the cross-sectional plot last year. The only slightly unpleasant section is just after Silvan dam, when one sees a sign saying 'Mt Evelyn - 4.6km'. After walking for about 15 minutes, we came across a new sign saying 'Mt Evelyn - 4.8km'.



The Warburton trail was closer to the road than I remembered, and there seemed to be many more houses close to the path (they can't all have been built in that time, surely?). However, it's still pretty long and boring. We were pretty pleased when we got to the Killara platforms at about 11:15pm, with only about 4km left to go...



As you can see, it was pretty dark, and my diddy cameraphone struggled to make Eoin out. Still, we got to Woori Yallock on the stroke of midnight, slightly sore but with increased confidence for the event. Maybe next weekend we'll repeat the dose with the other two MOOs.

Campervan update

Looks like we might be in luck...
We'd thought that hiring a campervan might be a good idea - somewhere for the B team to play cards while they're waiting, and somewhere for us to lie down to get a massage at checkpoints (to say nothing of somewhere to sit in the event of rain). Unfortunately, all the companies seem to want minimum 5 days hire - which adds up to a fair bit of money.

However, Belinda has managed to swing a great little vehicle for us from a generous donor of her acquaintance! Woo hoo! We can get a nice hot dinner now (I don't think we'll be using the solar handheld shower....).

View to the finish line (and how not to take a photo...)

B team update

You may remember from an earlier post that our support team all had to have names beginning with B, and that this proved problematic for Katherine (clumsily renamed Batherine). Well, in a stroke of genius, she remembered that Kate is actually short for Bob, so Bob she is.

I hope we weren't meant to turn left there...

Those wonderful Baretto Staff!

The fabulous staff at Baretto Espresso Bar are continuing to come up with new ways of supporting the MOO Walkers 2007 campaign. They have very generously given over the proceeds of their tip jar for two months to the Moo Walkers. And last week the staff organised a casual day wearing jeans to work and each donated $5 to Oxfam. They are also responsible for our caffine addictions but that's another story ...

Feeling the heat

Yesterday was a training day - for two of us, anyway. We parked at the finish line in Wesburn Park, walked back along the highway into Yarra Junction, and then followed the trail route back to the car. All up, a distance of 18-20kms, with a bit of climbing along the way. Not too arduous, you might say. So why did it feel so hard?
Well, the first problem is that it got hotter than forecast - we were expecting a top of 28 degrees, and it certainly got to 31 if not a bit higher. The heat radiating off the track on the final climb was quite something. However, the major problem for me is that I was hotter than I needed to be - when I got home, I found I had a temperature of nearly 39 degrees and now have some antibiotics!
Hopefully, then, the fact that I really struggled with the final climb is due mainly to the latter. Otherwise the last ten km of the walk are going to be dreadful. Even so, we managed the distance in a touch over three and a half hours, which is probably a little quicker than we'll manage on the day itself. We know it won't be so hot, because we expect to be doing this part at dawn!

An update and a promise

Well, in the few weeks since we sent out our first emails asking for donations, we've managed to accrue $2690, plus whatever is in the tips jar at Baretto. This is a great effort, so huge thanks to all who have given money. However, I know we can raise more! So, here is an idea...
On Saturday I went to a fancy dress party (the theme was Broadway Musicals), dressed as Miss Saigon. Obviously I looked stunning, but I'm not putting the photos up until we're over the $5000 mark. So if you haven't donated yet (and even if you have), head over to the link on the right!

PS: If you're squeamish and don't want to see the photos, a large enough donation could be enough to prevent it...

Training Walk January 29th

Give me a home among the gum trees ...

Our latest training walk had us wandering around the Churchill National Park on the eastern fringe of Melbourne. It's a very picturesque ramble with great views down to the Bay and off to the hills. Apparently we should have been able to identify 20 different species of eucalypt and 12 types of native orchids on the walk. I'm afraid not. However, the locals were bemused by our efforts and came out to see us stride by (see Murat with local above). It was a relatively short walk (about 16kms in 3hours) but there's a couple of steep inclines that kept us honest (see Checkpoint 1 to Checkpoint 2).



We all pulled up OK and there's a real danger of us starting to get complacent. Our next training walk planed for February 12th (an auspicious day) and we plan to tackle probably the most demanding part of the Trail: the climb up to Olinda .

Meet the B Team!

We've signed up our support crew now, so I'm posting this so that they can't back out...



Last year we had three women whose names began with B - Belinda, Bronwyn and Bridget - so the B Team was an obvious moniker. They were absolutely superb. Bridget is a born organiser who was not afraid of our feet (as you can see in the above picture), while Belinda is a qualified masseuse (pictured below inflicting agony on Gaius). Bronwyn had a first-aid background, so you can see that we had most bases covered.



Well, Bridget was adamant from almost the moment we retired last year that she was going to get us to the finish this year no matter what. And Belinda is a sadist keen to cause pain again. Unfortunately Bronwyn is not rejoining us, but in her stead we've got Katherine as an able replacement. Unfortunately, her name doesn't start with B, so she'll be referred to as Batherine for the remainder of the Trailwalking experience. We had considered calling her 'Bruce' (to keep things simple), but she's not at the University of Woolloomooloo.

We're thinking of getting the B Team to drive a camper van of some sort - anybody have any experience of doing this in Trailwalker? Is it a good idea?

Time for a rest?

Following the Yarra Trail

The full team walked together on the 8th January for the first time since last Trailwalker - following the Yarra River Trail from Westerfolds Park to the CBD, a distance of about 35km (I should point out that actually I left at Punt Road and caught the train home...).

We've decided that we trained on the actual route so much last time that it would be good to do something different, and the Warburton Rail Trail is boring enough without doing it over and over. We also discovered two things last year; one, that walking a long way on the flat is not easy - because your stride doesn't change much, you can get very sore. The second thing was that you really need to walk long distances in training - the parts of your body that ache after 10 or 15km are not the same as those that start to hurt after 30 (or 60). So the Yarra Trail was good because it was long and (we thought) flat.

We started in fairly cool conditions around 10am, and finished around 4pm, which included a decent lunch at the Fairfield boathouse, so we did well for pace (we're aiming for an 'on-the-day' speed of between 5 and 6 km/h) - but we were all a bit stiff for a couple of days, especially on the hips and lower back. The sun came out pretty strongly after lunch, as well, so there was a little bit of sunburn too.

I was testing out a theory that it's better to wear trainers when walking on tarmac - this theory remains unproven. I did the whole walk last time in boots, and only had a small blister (and given the weather last time, boots were a good choice). On this outing, I got a blister in a totally new spot and really felt the lack of ankle support, although I think having slightly lighter footwear did help a bit.

One of the great things about Trailwalker is that I've discovered places that I never knew existed - last year it was Churchill NP and Lysterfield Lake, whereas this year I've found that there is a footpath right next to the Eastern Freeway (not quite in the same league, I know), and that the Yarra between Dights Falls and Gardiner's Creek is very attractive.

Sponsorship Deal Announced - Baretto Espresso Bar

The MOO Walkers are very pleased to announce a new sponsorship deal with Baretto Espresso Bar. Our first commercial sponsorship!

Apart from serving the best coffee in Melbourne the Baretto staff are very generous and most agreeable. The Baretto Espresso Bar is located in the Alan Gilbert Building on the corner of Barry & Grattan Streets, Carlton (nice map here). We strongly encourage all friends, family and supporters of the MOO Walkers to pop in and say hello to Brigid, Sab, Dez and the staff at Baretto Espresso Bar. Try out the fabulous coffee and perhaps a yummy Italian treat. None for us of course as we're in training.

If you know of any other business that might be able to sponsor the MOO Walkers in 2007 please let us know in the comments.

In case you're wondering...

Here's where we get our pseudonyms. I was pleasantly surprised by my result...


Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

First hit-out

So our first training walk was on December 18th (it's taken me a while to get the pictures up), climbing Mt Sugarloaf and walking the Razorback in the Cathedral Range. It's a stiff walk (some would say climb), but great fun - squeezing through Well's Cave is a highlight...


That's us struggling up the track to Sugarload saddle in 30 degree heat - I think Marc had a crafty chuck soon after this (paying for a Christmas party the night before).


And that's us at the exit of Well's Cave - you can see it gets quite narrow...


And that's the view from the top. It was pretty smoky - there have been lots of fires in the Victorian high country this summer - but shortly after this the wind changed and it cleared up a lot.

Remember, support Oxfam and the Moo Walkers - we're team 134!