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...