With Easter almost behind us April seemed to arrive early. This was going to be the month to start running again but it seemed that everything was conspiring against my plans. Still, I did manage to get in a fair bit of walking at the start of the month around the last of the school swimming carnivals.
This month I did achieve a number of milestones even if running was not one of them.
Monday 1 April:
Trevor and I headed over to Cooleman Court in the early afternoon, in the car, and I walked back tracking up past the Chapman shops and onto Cooleman Ridge and then following the Stanhope Highway around the base of Mt Arawang. This is a very pleasant 6km walk with about half a km of reasonable climbing in the middle.
Later I took the opportunity to do a circuit of Mt Taylor. I took my camera so that I could record some of the views from the track as well as the kangaroos and the actual track itself. There were a number of co-operative roos who were not fazed by my attention. I'll do a Mt Taylor post once I have a chance to check out the photos. With an extension around the ovals this walk was a little over 10km.
After dinner I did my Marconi Crescent walk. From home to the end of Marconi Crescent and return is just a shade over 4km.
Total for the day: 20.45km
Tuesday 2 April:
First up today was another regional swimming carnival. This was the shortest of the 12 & under carnivals and I was pleased to get home, do the results and other post carnival stuff. Unfortunately, Meet Manager wanted to download an update so I took the opportunity to head down to the Village to grab some items for dinner.
Once I completed the carnival reports I headed out and did the Mt Taylor circuit.
Total for the day: 12.04km
Wednesday 3 April
Wednesday is my day for torture. I have a 9 o'clock session with my personal trainer Sue. Most weeks I walk to the gym and home. This week was no exception. It is always nice to get out and it is amazing just how many regulars I encounter on the path between home and the Tugg town centre. Generally I walk along the lake shore on the way home. I'm always a bit slower on the return following my session with Sue.All up it is a little over 12km.
In the afternoon Astrid came over to spend some time with us while Nic tackled some cleaning jobs at home. We walked down to the village so that Astrid could have a baby chino and Trevor and I had a coffee.
After I got everything ready for Thursday swimming I did my Marconi Crescent walk.
Total for the day: 18.25km
Thursday 4 April
I was not feeling all that brilliant this morning. Faced with another day at the pool was not my idea of fun when not 100%. Still, the carnival ran well and I was pleased to get home, albeit feeling rather poorly.
After completing the post carnival activities I set out to do a slow Marconi Crescent walk. Slow it was.
Total for the day: 4.1km
Friday 5 April
My throat felt like it had been sandblasted overnight and my nose was running. Still, my temperature was normal so there was no reason not to go for a walk.
For lunch Trevor and I went down to Brother's Oven, a bakery cafe at the Tuggeranong Town Centre. After lunch I walked back, slowly, along the lake shore.
Later in the afternoon I realised that I needed to get some scripts filled so I headed off to the Village and went for a walk while waiting.
Total for the day: 11.21km
Saturday 6 April
I didn't sleep all that well. I seem to be awake every hour with either a blocked nose or a rough throat. At least I was feeling much more human by the time I got up. Hopefully I am on the mend.
Trevor and I decided to go to Cooleman Court for lunch and I walked back. I think it was my slowest walk from Cooleman Court home to date. Still, I did it.
I had been spending a lot of time hunched over the keyboard so I decided to stretch my legs again in the late afternoon and did my Marconi Crescent walk. Once again, I was not beating any records. It was slow but good to be out.
Total for the day: 10.18km
Sunday 7 April
Having slept badly as I woke up every half hour or so with a running nose and cough I had a pretty miserable start to the day. During the morning I attempted to clear some of my backlog of swimming stuff but found it difficult to concentrate.
In the early afternoon I decided to go for a slowish walk and headed out into the glorious autumn sunshine and almost no breeze which was a problem for the people trying to sail on Lake Tugg.
In the end I walked down to the Tuggeranong Town Centre and enjoyed a coffee at Brother's Oven before returning home. Walking along the lake shore was particularly pleasant. While my nose started to run after I had been out for a while and I did end up with a couple of coughing episodes, no thanks to people who were happily putting smoke into the air for poor sods like me to encounter, it was great to be out and I enjoyed my very snail paced walk.
Total for the day: 12.04km
Weekly total: 88.25km
Monday 8 April
Still not feeling great I took it easy this morning. I still have a heap of swimming things to clear up so it was easy to fill in the morning.
Around lunch time we trundled down to Woden Plaza. The place was full of oldies, obviously let out after being confined over the weekend, or young women with young children.
I walked home from Woden through Chifley and the Mt Taylor Nature Reserve. It was a lovely warm day and I had not expected to see in kangaroos so was pleasantly surprised to come across a mob lazing in the shade of the trees in the area below the Old Kambah fire trail. There were some big roos in the group.
Trevor and I wandered down to the Village later in the afternoon and after dinner I did my Marconi Crescent walk.
No walk today was speedy however I was certainly faster than the previous few days and my muscles seemed less tired.
Total for the day: 11.57km
Tuesday 9 April
I finally had a good nights sleep and ended up sleeping in until after 11 o'clock. When I go up I started to cough again. Bother. I obviously had junk in my lungs as it kept coming up.
Astrid came over this afternoon so we had a slowish walk to the Village returning via the ovals and the playground across the road from us. I only logged a mere 1.93km today. Will need to do better tomorrow.
Total for the day: 1.93km
Wednesday 10 April
When I woke up this morning I was felling awful. For the first time in a very long time I cancelled my PT session.
At lunch time Trevor and I went down to Brother's Oven. Suitably revived I headed home on foot along the shore of Lake Tuggeranong. It was a glorious day, warm with just the hint of a breeze. Very pleasant.
Once home I tackled some of the school swimming related emails. After a number of frustrating hours I decided that a walk around Mt Taylor would do me the world of good and it did. There were a number of spots where kangaroos had gathered, some quite close to the track. They were not in the least bother by my passage.
There is a program that comes on at 6pm which has walks around/across Britain. This week has the Coast to Coast. I'm not sure whether I want to see it or not. The program was shot in September when it is usually relatively good weather and so far the presenter has had 3 wet days out of 4. It looks as if we will get some use out of our wet weather gear!
After dinner I did my Marconi Crescent walk.
Total for the day: 20.29km
Thursday 11 April
I did go to my session at the Family History Centre today but I was really feeling lousy and was pleased when 2 o'clock came and I could head home.
We were babysitting Astrid this afternoon while Nic and Antony had a late afternoon appointment.
Not having done any walking during the day I did my Marconi Crescent walking before turning in for teh night.
Total for the day: 4.05km
Friday 12 April
Friday is generally the morning that Astrid swims. We sometimes head to Brother's Oven for breakfast before going to the Young's Swim School pool where Astrid has her swimming lesson. She is starting to actually kick rather than being pulled around the pool. She obviously thoroughly enjoys her swimming regardless of how much effort she puts in to the half hour.
I walked home after the swimming.
The day was gloriously warm so in the late afternoon I headed out to do a slow circuit of Mt Taylor. I took my camera with me again and got more shots to include in my Mt Taylor post when I finally get around to doing it.
Total for the day: 13.24km
Saturday 13 April
Another pleasantly warm day. After lunching at Brother's Oven I walked home along the western side of Lake Tuggeranong.
My only other walking for the day was a stroll to the Village with an extension part way along Marconi Crescent.
Total for the day: 8.16km
Sunday 14 April
How quickly the weeks are flying by. The second week of April is compete.
It was another lovely warm day. After lunching at Cooleman Court I walked home along the Stanhope Highway. In the middle of the day I don't expect to see kangaroos and I didn't. There were lots of people out and about taking advantage of the warm day.
I the late afternoon I decided to do a Lake Tugg circuit. Once again there were lots of people out as well as their four legged friends. Bike riders are a potential hazard. Most do not give any warning that they are about to pass you. There is no noise until they are alongside. One day I'm sure that I'll step to the right for some good reason and find myself wearing a bike!
Before calling it a night I did a slow Marconi Crescent walk to get the kinks out of my shoulders and back from slogging away at swimming stuff.
Total for the day: 24.15km
Total for the week: 83.39km
Monday 15 April
Taking advantage of another warm day I walked from Woden home through the Mt Taylor Nature Reserve.
In the late afternoon I did the Marconi Crescent walk coming back via the Village.
Total for the day: 10.59km
Tuesday 16 April
Today was cloudy but still reasonably warm. I took advantage of the warmth and walked from Tuggeranong home along the lake shore.
Astrid visited us in the afternoon and we walked down to the Village and home via the playground just off Barritt Street.
After dinner Trevor joined me on the Marconi Crescent walk.
Total for the day: 12.49km
Wednesday 17 April
Today was my session with my personal trainer. While I had woken up a couple of times during the night coughing I was feeling reasonable OK. My right arm was a little sore. This seemed to be consistent with the wog that had been plaguing Trevor and I for a while. Anyway, not to be put off I headed off to the gym a little earlier than I normally would have left home so that I did not have to hurry. Walking at a comfortable pace and concentrating on my breathing seems to minimise the coughing fits.
Sue, my PT, modified the plan she had set for the day, reducing the weights and substituting stretching exercises for a number of those she had intending getting me to do.
After my PT I headed home via the western shore of Lake Tugg.
I walked down to the Village to do some shopping around lunchtime.
At 4:30 I was meeting my fellow selector to go though the selections for the swimming ACT D Squad. The meeting place was to be the Tuggeranong Pool. A walk to and from the pool was a very pleasant respite from the other swimming activities I had been dealing with.
Total for the day: 25.19km
Thursday 18 April
Thursdays are always a bit of a challenge as I am generally tied up for much of the day with my session at the Family History Centre. Today was no exception. On top of everything else I was still feeling pretty lousy and I only did my Marconi Crescent walk.
Total for the day: 4.06km
Friday 19 April
At 4 o'clock I headed out to do a circuit of Mt Taylor. It is always wonderful walking around the mountain in the late afternoon and early evening. The views are lovely, the roos fun to spot and watch and the sunsets can be awesome.
Total for the day: 10.19km
Saturday 20 April
Trevor and I had lunch at Brother's Oven and then I set off for a longish walk. Initially I walked along the western side of Lake Tugg. On reaching the northern end of the lake I turned east towards Wanniassa covering some paths I had not used before.
At Wanniassa I stopped at the bakery and had a coffee. It was pleasant to just have a quiet sit for a few minutes.
Leaving the Wanniassa shops I headed up towards Sullwood Drive and crossed it near the reservoir situated beside Sullwood Drive, just before Athlon Drive. Crossing in the the Taylor Nature Reserve was a little tricky until I discovered that the fence between the reservoir and the reserve had been breached and there was a track beaten by quite a few passing feet.
Once in the reserve a narrow path meander along the bank of a drain which passed through spindly trees. The path eventually delivered my to the Manheim Street entrance to the park. Now I was on more familiar territory.
I set off one my one and a bit circuits of Mt Taylor doing it in a clockwise direction. I initially took the lower of the two tracks that traverse the southern side of the mountain and on the second pass of the southern side I took the higher route.
My exit point was my frequent entry point: the gate leading down onto Colquhoun Street. From here is was three and a bit ks home via the Village and the ovals.
All up this route was some 17.39km.
Having been nicely warmed up I ventured out just on 6 o'clock and did my Marconi Crescent walk with an extension.
Total for the day: 22.50km (This is the average distance we will walk on the 13 days of the C2C walk).
Sunday 21 April
Setting out from Woden just before 2 o'clock I headed through Chifley and into the Mt Taylor reserve. I did a complete clockwise circuit of the mountain picking the southern side on the first transit and continued on around the mountain until I reached the Colquhoun Street exit gate. A circuit of the mountain is around 5.5km give or take a little. All up I did about 9kms around the mountain. When I reached Marconi Crescent, instead of turning right and headed for home I turned left and walked to the end of the road before turning around and heading back towards the Village. Passing under Drakeford Drive I did a loop around the edge of the ovals before heading home. All up the walk was 16.11km. I was pleased that I had maintained a speed faster than 6km/h for this walk.
In the late afternoon I did the Marconi Crescent walk with a deviation through the Village, shopping, and then across the ovals on the way home.
Total for the day: 20.54km
Total for the week: 105.56km ... pretty good averaging just over 15km per day
Monday 22 April
Somehow I had not managed to get out until quite late in the day. A trip to Cooleman Court for a coffee and some groceries allowed my to start my walk from Weston. Walking up through Stirling and then across Waramanga I passed under the Tuggeranong Parkway and entered the Mt Taylor reserve just before the walking track crossed Waldock Street. This was new territory for me and it was good to follow the path passed the odd unconcerned kangaroos until the path joined the Western Powerlines FT. Here I discovered copious kangaroos grazing beside the track. I continued along the Western Powerlines FT powering up the steep ascents and coming down the descents at quite a quick pace. When the trail intersected the Sulwood FT I headed towards the higher route, the one that follows the power lines along the southern side of the mountain and completed an anticlockwise circuit of the mountain. On reaching the Western Powerlines FT I crossed it so that I could walk along my preferred Old Kambah FT which affords lovely views across the ranges, particularly at dusk.
Once back at the Colquhoun Street exit gate I left the park and headed home via the Village and a loop around the ovals. It was pretty dark by the time I got home. This was a 12.68km walk which I had doen at an average pace of 6.29kph.
Before retiring for the night I did my Marconi Crescent walk.
Total for the day: 20.35km
Tuesday 23 April
I had arranged to meet a couple of swimming people at Brother's Oven, the first at 12 o'clock and the second at 12:30pm so I headed off to Tuggeranong about 20 minutes to 11 so that I would not have to push it. I did have another objective. Astrid needs something like a painting smock to keep her clean when she is "mixing" and I was hoping to pick one up at the Hyperdome on the way through. I did eventually find one at Target although it is a little big on her at the moment but it does the job.
On the way down I took the short route along Athlon Drive. It is a mere 5.7km.
After my meetings, and the odd cup of coffee, I headed home. It was a very pleasant day. The temperature was in the low 20s and it was sunny. I walked back along Athlon Drive as Astrid was visiting us and expected to arrive around 2:30pm.
When Astrid comes for a visit we generally head off to the Village so that she can have a babychinno followed by time in the playground across the road from us. Her current favourite bit of play equipment is the slide.
After dinner I did my Marconi Crescent walk.
Total for the day: 17.48km
Wednesday 24 April
Wednesday is generally a good walking day as I walk down to the gym and back with my PT session in between. I made good time to the gym. I'm not sure whether it was the cool morning, it was only 6 when I set out, or whether I was finally on the mend. My return time is always a little slower - a reflection of the effort expended in the PT session.
After a latish lunch at Woden and some browsing at possible walking gear I headed home via Mt Taylor taking the longer clockwise route from my Chifley entry point to my Colquhoun Street exit. The temperature had climbed to 22 and it was bright and sunny. Very pleasant to be out and about.
I had a meeting tonight which was quite short and I managed to get home at a reasonable hour allowing me to get in my Marconi Crescent walk before hitting the sack.
Total for the day: 26.35km
Thursday 25 April
Even though it was Anzac Day and a public holiday Jim thought that we should still open the family history centre. It did allow me to check some of the Maling information where my records differed from my recently discovered Maling cousin.
Having done no walking for the day I set out just on 5:30 to stretch my legs and walked through the spine of Kambah as far as Athlon Drive and back home.
I did do a trip to the Village a little later in the evening.
Total for the day: 7.52km
Friday 26 April
Trevor and I did a circuit from home around Lake Tugg with a lunch stop.
After returning home I dealt with a number of issues relating to school swimming. Some of the school swimming was beginning to frustrate me so I figured that getting out and checking the Mt Taylor kangaroos would keep me from going insane. It was very pleasant.
After we ate dinner Trevor and I did the Marconi Cresent walk.
Once again, before turning in I figured that stretching my legs was a good idea and I did another Marconi Crescent walk.
Total for the day: 32.13km
Saturday 27 April
Having finally got my swimming club brochure updated so that it could
be handed out at the AIS Open Day I headed down to Office Works at the
Tuggeranong Town Centre to print of the 200 odd copies I needed. I took
the western lake shore route.
I joined Trevor at Brother's Oven for lunch and returned home along the western lake shore.
The day had been pleasantly warm and just before 5pm I headed out to do a Mt Taylor circuit which was a bit of a challenge as it getting quite dark by the time got back to the Colquhoun Street exit. just as well I'm very steady on my feet and manage quite well on rough terrain without needing to see where my feet are going. I should have taken a torch or a head light but I hadn't thought to do so. Still, the twilight provided some wonderful light effects and the many kangaroos kept the walk interesting.
I did the Marconi Crescent walk before turning in for the night.
Total for the day: 28.37km
Sunday 28 April
Today was the AIS Open Day and I headed out early as I had to pick up stuff from the storage room and I wanted to be there before the crowds arrived. The coffee van which was already doing a good trade when I arrived was a welcome sight.
We had been allocated a tent near the entrance to the pool. We had local radio station MIX 104.6 just feet away from us but they really didn't cause too much of a problem. Things were fairly quiet until about 10:30 and then the crowd started to build. The Ginninderra girls were great but it was a tiring day as it was standing up all day and I was pleased to pack up at 2pm and head for home.
I had taken a break and gone for a walk around the AIS to stretch myself after a lot of standing.
After I got home I did a walk down to Woden, sat down and enjoyed a cup of coffee and walked home.
Total for the day: 18.37km
Weekly Total: 150.57km and 21.51km average per day!
This was the end of a big walking week. I suspect it is the most walking I have done in a week in my life. My step count for the week was a whooping 213,176!
Monday 29 April
The month seems to have flown by.
With so much swimming stuff to deal with balancing walking and swimming and everything else has been a challenge.
Around 2 o'clock I figured that I needed a break and headed off to Chifley via Mt Taylor, enjoyed a quiet coffee and then returned home. The day had been warm with temperatures in the low 20s. It was great to get away from the PC. My shoulders have been complaining about too much keying and mousing of late.
I got a call from Trevor, who had gone out to the airport to pick up Anto, Nic and Astrid, asking me to organise food. While I waited for the food that I had ordered I walked around the Cooleman Court precinct.
When I finally got home I did my Marconi Crescent walk.
Total for the day: 18.76km
Tuesday 30 April
I was out of milk so did a morning walk to the Village. I was surprised by the number of oldies I encountered going to and from the Village as well as at the Village itself. I obviously don't visit the Village at the time of day as a general rule.
Trevor and I went over to Cooleman Court for lunch and I enjoyed the warm afternoon as I walked home along the Stanhope Highway.
Before dinner I did the Marconi Crescent walk.
Total for the day: 14.28km
Monthly summary for April
During April I walked 457.22 km which is an average of 15.24km per day
Calories burnt: 19,612
Elevation gain: 5,669m
The tracked walking obviously does not include incidental steps such as walking around the house, supermarket or shopping centre. I generally carry my pedometer so I get a fuller count of what I have been up to. In April my step count was: 714,433. Gosh, almost 3/4 of a million steps in the month. This was an average of almost 24k steps per day.
Friday, 3 May 2013
Monday, 1 April 2013
Walking with Trevor
After many failures I had finally given up smoking in May 2011.
I was overweight and had put on more weight on our trip to Canada and East Coast of the United States and during the Christmas and New Year Festivities.
I needed to do something to get fitter and to lose some weight.
A combination of walking and control of my calorie intake seemed to be an appropriate course of action. I have mainly continued to control my calorie intake.
February 2012 was the start of my walking.
I decided that I would would do some walking each day.
My first aim was to be walk around the local oval without stopping. This was about 2k.I than started to extend the distance I undertook each day. After a couple of weeks I started doing this twice a day, After about a month I extended this to a walk to the adventure playground and back, about 4k. I did this twice a day. I continued walking each day until I was walking around 10k a day, usually in 2 lots.
The next step forward was to include some inclines in my walks. I decided on 2 circuits. The Inkster circuit (5k From Home up Inster St, down Sulwood and up to Kambah Pool road and Home) and Urambi (6k From Home past the Adventure playground up past Urambi, along Smodgrass, left onto O'Halloran than turn at Woolshed and Home via walking paths). The first time I did each of these circuits I needed to stop going up the inclines. I am happy to say that by May I was not needing to stop. I also added another walk (Coolaman Court via the Stanhope Highway)
With the Flinders Ranges walk due at end of August I needed to start doing some serious climbing walks, Mt Taylor beckoned. In July I accomplished a double ascent of Mt Taylor, with stops along the way. In early August I did a triple ascent of Mt Taylor. I added a couple of additional walks on Mt Taylor. The first from Colquhoun around the base of the mountain to the top of the horse paddocks the second is the complete circuit of mountain.
Flinders Ranges here I come. It was with some trepidation that headed towards the Flinders Ranges. Being the first organised long walk we had undertaken I did not know what speed we would be walking. Lorraine has covered this walk in detail. The best can be said was that I surprised myself with how well I survived.
In December I did, along with Lorraine and Michael, the Camelback Trail, Camels Hump and beyond. This was a real drag and whilst Lorraine and Michael walked ahead I brought up the rear. I was not fast but I did make it. This was probable as difficult a walk as we are likely to do anywhere.
Each day I was driving over to Duffy to walk the alpacas. I decided that instead of driving that it was probably a good idea to ride (7k each way, with numerous inclines). I borrowed Nic's bike and rode over a back each week day. After some time I decided that I should get my own bike instead of using Nic's. This I ordered and it arrived the day before we went on the alpine adventure.
The next planned trip was the Great Alpine Walk, around the Mt Hotham area in Victoria.This walk had for each day a standard walk followed by either an easy walk or a more difficult walk. I did the difficult walks each day even if I was much slower than the fast group, but I did have some slower than me.
At the end of January I suggested to Lorraine that that we do a walk and thought that perhaps
one in Tidbinbilla would do. However Lorraine had pretty much exhausted the
Tidbinbilla walks so she suggested that it was time to look at some of those
in the Namadgi National Park. The Orroral Heritage Trail was the one she selected. This was a reasonable easy stroll and during the walk we must have seen half the worlds population of kangaroos.
My normal walk each day is between 10-15k, with some longer walk days. In addition, each day I ride about 15k. My campaign has been somewhat interrupted with swimming in the last month, especially with school swimming meets.
I was overweight and had put on more weight on our trip to Canada and East Coast of the United States and during the Christmas and New Year Festivities.
I needed to do something to get fitter and to lose some weight.
A combination of walking and control of my calorie intake seemed to be an appropriate course of action. I have mainly continued to control my calorie intake.
February 2012 was the start of my walking.
I decided that I would would do some walking each day.
My first aim was to be walk around the local oval without stopping. This was about 2k.I than started to extend the distance I undertook each day. After a couple of weeks I started doing this twice a day, After about a month I extended this to a walk to the adventure playground and back, about 4k. I did this twice a day. I continued walking each day until I was walking around 10k a day, usually in 2 lots.
The next step forward was to include some inclines in my walks. I decided on 2 circuits. The Inkster circuit (5k From Home up Inster St, down Sulwood and up to Kambah Pool road and Home) and Urambi (6k From Home past the Adventure playground up past Urambi, along Smodgrass, left onto O'Halloran than turn at Woolshed and Home via walking paths). The first time I did each of these circuits I needed to stop going up the inclines. I am happy to say that by May I was not needing to stop. I also added another walk (Coolaman Court via the Stanhope Highway)
With the Flinders Ranges walk due at end of August I needed to start doing some serious climbing walks, Mt Taylor beckoned. In July I accomplished a double ascent of Mt Taylor, with stops along the way. In early August I did a triple ascent of Mt Taylor. I added a couple of additional walks on Mt Taylor. The first from Colquhoun around the base of the mountain to the top of the horse paddocks the second is the complete circuit of mountain.
Flinders Ranges here I come. It was with some trepidation that headed towards the Flinders Ranges. Being the first organised long walk we had undertaken I did not know what speed we would be walking. Lorraine has covered this walk in detail. The best can be said was that I surprised myself with how well I survived.
In December I did, along with Lorraine and Michael, the Camelback Trail, Camels Hump and beyond. This was a real drag and whilst Lorraine and Michael walked ahead I brought up the rear. I was not fast but I did make it. This was probable as difficult a walk as we are likely to do anywhere.
Each day I was driving over to Duffy to walk the alpacas. I decided that instead of driving that it was probably a good idea to ride (7k each way, with numerous inclines). I borrowed Nic's bike and rode over a back each week day. After some time I decided that I should get my own bike instead of using Nic's. This I ordered and it arrived the day before we went on the alpine adventure.
The next planned trip was the Great Alpine Walk, around the Mt Hotham area in Victoria.This walk had for each day a standard walk followed by either an easy walk or a more difficult walk. I did the difficult walks each day even if I was much slower than the fast group, but I did have some slower than me.
My normal walk each day is between 10-15k, with some longer walk days. In addition, each day I ride about 15k. My campaign has been somewhat interrupted with swimming in the last month, especially with school swimming meets.
March has come and gone
I'm not sure where the past month has vanished to. I guess the combination of my regular swimming activities and the school swimming have really consumed a great amount of the month. Still, I have managed to get walks in most days.
Having tackled the loop around the western end of Lake Burley Griffin early in the months (see earlier blog), Trevor and I tackled the eastern circuit of the lake. We started at Kingston and managed it in pretty good time. I felt that the western circuit was the more pleasant of the two circuits and will probably tackle it again.
I can never tire of circuits of Mt Taylor. There is always so much to see from the views over the Tuggeranong and Woden valleys to the ranges, kangaroos turning up in both expected and unexpected places as well as delightful sunset lighting. This circuit is a little over 9km from home to home via the Colquhoun Street access to the Taylor Nature Reserve. The track offers some challenging ups and downs, particularly if you are doing the circuit at a fast pace. Adding a loop around the ovals near home brings the distance up over 10km and I have been doing this extra bit of late.
I've also done some loops around Lake Tuggeranong. From home to home this walk is a little over 13km. It is fairly flat with only gentle rises. The biggest challenge is coping with all the other people and creatures using the circuit.
I have continued to do my 6km walks between home and Tuggeranong Town Centre, Cooleman Court and Woden Plaza. Each have some pleasant aspects and I still enjoy walking through the Taylor Nature Reserve on the walk between home and Woden as well as the amble along the Stanhope Highway which is part of the walk between home and Cooleman Court.
On Saturday Trevor and I walked from home to Antony's via Cooleman Court and then home via the same route. That clocked up around 18kms.
On Sunday I tackled a walk from the National Library home. The first part of the walk took me along the south western shore of Lake Burley Griffin before cutting off towards Weston Creek. There were interesting sections on the route with views across to the new Molonglo suburbs. I did enjoy a sit down and coffee when I got to Cooleman Court. To extend the walk I took a deviation from my normal route between Cooleman Court and home by walking around the outside of Allchin Circuit. All in walk this was a pleasant walk and totalled over 21km.
So, my stats for March ...
Distance: 370.42 (11.95km per day)
Duration: 65 hours 18 minutes 18 seconds
Calories: 15,039
Elevation gain: 4,721m
Elevation loss: 4,435m
My left heal has finally healed ... about time. Having blisters on blisters was no fun. I now need to ensure that I don't blister either of them again.
Forward planning is to consider adding some running in to my regime in April and in May I'll start doing some serious climbing again. By May the snakes should have disappeared and no longer present a problem on unformed tracks.
All in all I feel pretty confident that I can handle the Coast to Coast walk. Yes, I know that the average distance for the 13 walking days is 23.5 but we do have all day to do it. The average height gain is 450m per day with the biggest climb being 970m on one of the longest days ... one of the 32km days. Fortunately, that is near the end and the climb can't be any worse than tackling Grouse Grind was and I'm a lot fitter now, too.
Having tackled the loop around the western end of Lake Burley Griffin early in the months (see earlier blog), Trevor and I tackled the eastern circuit of the lake. We started at Kingston and managed it in pretty good time. I felt that the western circuit was the more pleasant of the two circuits and will probably tackle it again.
I can never tire of circuits of Mt Taylor. There is always so much to see from the views over the Tuggeranong and Woden valleys to the ranges, kangaroos turning up in both expected and unexpected places as well as delightful sunset lighting. This circuit is a little over 9km from home to home via the Colquhoun Street access to the Taylor Nature Reserve. The track offers some challenging ups and downs, particularly if you are doing the circuit at a fast pace. Adding a loop around the ovals near home brings the distance up over 10km and I have been doing this extra bit of late.
I've also done some loops around Lake Tuggeranong. From home to home this walk is a little over 13km. It is fairly flat with only gentle rises. The biggest challenge is coping with all the other people and creatures using the circuit.
I have continued to do my 6km walks between home and Tuggeranong Town Centre, Cooleman Court and Woden Plaza. Each have some pleasant aspects and I still enjoy walking through the Taylor Nature Reserve on the walk between home and Woden as well as the amble along the Stanhope Highway which is part of the walk between home and Cooleman Court.
On Saturday Trevor and I walked from home to Antony's via Cooleman Court and then home via the same route. That clocked up around 18kms.
On Sunday I tackled a walk from the National Library home. The first part of the walk took me along the south western shore of Lake Burley Griffin before cutting off towards Weston Creek. There were interesting sections on the route with views across to the new Molonglo suburbs. I did enjoy a sit down and coffee when I got to Cooleman Court. To extend the walk I took a deviation from my normal route between Cooleman Court and home by walking around the outside of Allchin Circuit. All in walk this was a pleasant walk and totalled over 21km.
So, my stats for March ...
Distance: 370.42 (11.95km per day)
Duration: 65 hours 18 minutes 18 seconds
Calories: 15,039
Elevation gain: 4,721m
Elevation loss: 4,435m
My left heal has finally healed ... about time. Having blisters on blisters was no fun. I now need to ensure that I don't blister either of them again.
Forward planning is to consider adding some running in to my regime in April and in May I'll start doing some serious climbing again. By May the snakes should have disappeared and no longer present a problem on unformed tracks.
All in all I feel pretty confident that I can handle the Coast to Coast walk. Yes, I know that the average distance for the 13 walking days is 23.5 but we do have all day to do it. The average height gain is 450m per day with the biggest climb being 970m on one of the longest days ... one of the 32km days. Fortunately, that is near the end and the climb can't be any worse than tackling Grouse Grind was and I'm a lot fitter now, too.
Monday, 11 March 2013
Circuit of western end of Lake Burley Griffin
When Trevor and I do the Coast to Coast walk late this year (see earlier posts on this blog for more details) thee are a couple of days with 20 mile (32 km) walking. I keep including days with longer walks to build up so that the days following the long walks are not going to be "ouch!" days.
Yesterday I decided to do the western Lake Burley Griffin circuit. I parked at the National Library and this added a kilometre to 16km circuit.
Over the past year or so lots of signage has gone up on some of the frequently used tracks and I was pleased to see that the western LBG circuit was well signed. I did have my map with me so would have been able to navigate my way around however I did appreciate the signs clearly setting out which path to take at each of the junctions.
Yesterday was a Sunday and it was warm and sunny and half the Canberra population seemed to be out on this particular circuit. If someone told me that there was a bike race running on the circuit I would almost have believed it. There were hundreds of people out and about, not only on bikes, on all sorts of mobility devices as well as on foot.
Leaving from the National Library I crossed under Commonwealth Avenue and then crossed the Lake via Commonwealth Avenue Bridge. The early cloud was still around so the lake looked a little ordinary. As I was doing an anticlockwise circuit I passed the bike hire place which seemed to be doing a roaring trade and explained some of the less than competent bike riders I encountered. Next came the pedal boat hire place where I stopped and grabbed a cappuccino before continuing on my way. At this point the path hugs Parkes Way until Lady Denman Drive comes in.
Across the lake views of various parts of the city could be seen. At one point Woden's Lovatt Tower could be seen peeping over trees. It was a perspective of the tower that I had not previously seen.
As I was crossing Black Mountain peninsula I took advantage of the toilet block as I was not sure when the next one would be. As I returned to the path I was greeted by an acquaintance who was riding the circuit and had paused to gain his breath after slogging up the rise to the high point on the path as it crosses the peninsula.
The ACT rowing championships were underway and the boats on lake and provided a change from the racing bikes on the path.
There was a good view over to the National Arboretum as the path swept around the lake shore and headed towards Scriviner Dam. In this section there were warning signs stating that the blackberries had been sprayed with a herbicide and not to eat the fruit. I hope the birds read the signs before they tucked in to the miserable fruit from this summers poor crop. There certainly was an abundance of bushes even if the fruit was miserable this year.
The clouds had cleared by the time I got to the dam wall and the day was heating up. I was thankful that I had a good supply of water with me. The camelback pack is great when you only want to carry water and not much else.
Runtastic kept me informed of each kilometre I covered. this was good as there was not a clear indication of how far remained from the signs on the circuit. They simply kept telling me that the circuit was 16 km.
Nearing Lotus Bay the path lead straight towards Parliament House and its flag pole. There was not a breathe of wind. The flag hung limp from the mast.
In the days when the boys did cross country running I used to think that Lotus Bay was quite a distance along the road from Flynn Drive and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I covered the distance in almost no time at all. Well, it may have taken 10 minutes but in the overall scheme of things it didn't take long.
Back at Commonwealth Avenue Bridge I went under the road and headed back to the National Library. I had intended to grab some lunch at te library bu on seeing the long queue waiting to be served at Bookplate I decided that I wouldn't wait and headed back to my car.
All up I walked 17.17km. It took me 2 hours 50minutes. My average pace was 9 minutes 56 seconds per km. The gain was 207m and the fall was 208m.
Later in the day Trevor and I walked down to the Tuggeranong Town Centre and back, effectively doing a lake circuit.
All up I covered more than 30kms for the day and, yes, I was a little tired at the end of the day.
Yesterday I decided to do the western Lake Burley Griffin circuit. I parked at the National Library and this added a kilometre to 16km circuit.
Over the past year or so lots of signage has gone up on some of the frequently used tracks and I was pleased to see that the western LBG circuit was well signed. I did have my map with me so would have been able to navigate my way around however I did appreciate the signs clearly setting out which path to take at each of the junctions.
Yesterday was a Sunday and it was warm and sunny and half the Canberra population seemed to be out on this particular circuit. If someone told me that there was a bike race running on the circuit I would almost have believed it. There were hundreds of people out and about, not only on bikes, on all sorts of mobility devices as well as on foot.
Leaving from the National Library I crossed under Commonwealth Avenue and then crossed the Lake via Commonwealth Avenue Bridge. The early cloud was still around so the lake looked a little ordinary. As I was doing an anticlockwise circuit I passed the bike hire place which seemed to be doing a roaring trade and explained some of the less than competent bike riders I encountered. Next came the pedal boat hire place where I stopped and grabbed a cappuccino before continuing on my way. At this point the path hugs Parkes Way until Lady Denman Drive comes in.
Across the lake views of various parts of the city could be seen. At one point Woden's Lovatt Tower could be seen peeping over trees. It was a perspective of the tower that I had not previously seen.
As I was crossing Black Mountain peninsula I took advantage of the toilet block as I was not sure when the next one would be. As I returned to the path I was greeted by an acquaintance who was riding the circuit and had paused to gain his breath after slogging up the rise to the high point on the path as it crosses the peninsula.
The ACT rowing championships were underway and the boats on lake and provided a change from the racing bikes on the path.
There was a good view over to the National Arboretum as the path swept around the lake shore and headed towards Scriviner Dam. In this section there were warning signs stating that the blackberries had been sprayed with a herbicide and not to eat the fruit. I hope the birds read the signs before they tucked in to the miserable fruit from this summers poor crop. There certainly was an abundance of bushes even if the fruit was miserable this year.
The clouds had cleared by the time I got to the dam wall and the day was heating up. I was thankful that I had a good supply of water with me. The camelback pack is great when you only want to carry water and not much else.
Runtastic kept me informed of each kilometre I covered. this was good as there was not a clear indication of how far remained from the signs on the circuit. They simply kept telling me that the circuit was 16 km.
Nearing Lotus Bay the path lead straight towards Parliament House and its flag pole. There was not a breathe of wind. The flag hung limp from the mast.
In the days when the boys did cross country running I used to think that Lotus Bay was quite a distance along the road from Flynn Drive and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I covered the distance in almost no time at all. Well, it may have taken 10 minutes but in the overall scheme of things it didn't take long.
Back at Commonwealth Avenue Bridge I went under the road and headed back to the National Library. I had intended to grab some lunch at te library bu on seeing the long queue waiting to be served at Bookplate I decided that I wouldn't wait and headed back to my car.
All up I walked 17.17km. It took me 2 hours 50minutes. My average pace was 9 minutes 56 seconds per km. The gain was 207m and the fall was 208m.
Later in the day Trevor and I walked down to the Tuggeranong Town Centre and back, effectively doing a lake circuit.
All up I covered more than 30kms for the day and, yes, I was a little tired at the end of the day.
Monday, 4 March 2013
February - walking in the rain
February has been an interesting month.
The first part of the month continued to be hot. From time to time I did check on the fires which had been burning in the Victorian Alpine country. They had continued to burn for much of the month posing a threat to places we had visited during January: Dinner Plains and Hotham.
Trevor and I did not do any big walks during the month however we still managed to clock up quite a few kilometers.
Here are my statistics:
Kms: 324.96
Time: 57 hours 8 minutes and who cares about the seconds
Calories: 13,161
Elevation gain: 4545m (with an equivalent loss)
The blister on my left heel, which I managed to get back in December, came up again. On top of it was a blister on the blister. These are finally beginning to settle and, hopefully, will be cleared up shortly. The blister patches have been great even if a bit expensive. They certainly take the pain out of having a blister.
Towards the end of the month the weather hanged from the dry and warm conditions that had marked most of the summer to wet and stormy. A number of times I came home with very soggy feet. At least I know that my rain jacket will keep me dry.
Much of the organisation for the Coast to Coast and surrounding activities has been done. The flights have booked and paid. Both of the "tours" have been booked and the deposits paid. All the accommodation has been booked and either a deposit paid or paid in full. There is very little else to do except keep up the walking and ensure that we add even more elevation gains and losses into our training regime in the months ahead.
The first part of the month continued to be hot. From time to time I did check on the fires which had been burning in the Victorian Alpine country. They had continued to burn for much of the month posing a threat to places we had visited during January: Dinner Plains and Hotham.
Trevor and I did not do any big walks during the month however we still managed to clock up quite a few kilometers.
Here are my statistics:
Kms: 324.96
Time: 57 hours 8 minutes and who cares about the seconds
Calories: 13,161
Elevation gain: 4545m (with an equivalent loss)
The blister on my left heel, which I managed to get back in December, came up again. On top of it was a blister on the blister. These are finally beginning to settle and, hopefully, will be cleared up shortly. The blister patches have been great even if a bit expensive. They certainly take the pain out of having a blister.
Towards the end of the month the weather hanged from the dry and warm conditions that had marked most of the summer to wet and stormy. A number of times I came home with very soggy feet. At least I know that my rain jacket will keep me dry.
Much of the organisation for the Coast to Coast and surrounding activities has been done. The flights have booked and paid. Both of the "tours" have been booked and the deposits paid. All the accommodation has been booked and either a deposit paid or paid in full. There is very little else to do except keep up the walking and ensure that we add even more elevation gains and losses into our training regime in the months ahead.
Monday, 11 February 2013
New territory and January statistics
The past week has been a bit up and down. A week or so ago Trevor had been feeling a bit off. It was my turn this week. Everything seemed a bit more of an effort than normal. I still managed to get in some reasonable distance but it was not necessarily at a lively pace. On Thursday night I couldn't keep up with Trevor and trailed behind for most of the walk.
On Thursday afternoon I had a meeting scheduled at Tilley's at 3:45pm so took the opportunity to do a walk between the end of my family history session and the meeting. Leaving from the family history centre, which is located diagonally opposite the Lyneham shops, I headed up towards O'Connor Ridge. While I didn't go on to the ridge I did parallel it and walked along the top side of Lyneham and O'Connor before heading along a path which followed Macarthur Avenue and eventually took me back to Lyneham. Apart from the heat, it was another hot day, it was a pleasant walk.
Walking through the older suburbs gives plenty of time to look at the urban renewal which is all the rage. There has been quite a bit of knockdown rebuild activity although a substantial number of the original houses still remain albeit tarted up here and there.
I have been using Runtastic, an app on my phone, to track my walks. Here are the stats from January:
Distance: 313km
Duration: 68 hours 46 minutes
Calories: 17,222
Elevation gain: 5457m
I did other walking over and above what was logged.
On Thursday afternoon I had a meeting scheduled at Tilley's at 3:45pm so took the opportunity to do a walk between the end of my family history session and the meeting. Leaving from the family history centre, which is located diagonally opposite the Lyneham shops, I headed up towards O'Connor Ridge. While I didn't go on to the ridge I did parallel it and walked along the top side of Lyneham and O'Connor before heading along a path which followed Macarthur Avenue and eventually took me back to Lyneham. Apart from the heat, it was another hot day, it was a pleasant walk.
Walking through the older suburbs gives plenty of time to look at the urban renewal which is all the rage. There has been quite a bit of knockdown rebuild activity although a substantial number of the original houses still remain albeit tarted up here and there.
I have been using Runtastic, an app on my phone, to track my walks. Here are the stats from January:
Distance: 313km
Duration: 68 hours 46 minutes
Calories: 17,222
Elevation gain: 5457m
I did other walking over and above what was logged.
Friday, 1 February 2013
Great Alpine Walk: overall comments
Following the walk we were saddened to hear of the fires that burnt through the area in which we had just walked. The storm that had dogged our final full day of walking on day 6 appear to have ignited the fire. A dry storm is a significant hazard when the vegetation has dried off and dry fuel has built up on the ground. The landscape through much of the areas we walked will have been transformed, yet again, by fire.
This post is intended to provide overall impressions of the trip as well as the organisation surrounding it.
We had booked this trip with Auswalks, a company operating out of Victoria and headed by Phil and Monica Coleman. The booking had been done online and payments were straightforward. In most cases the information provided about the trip was sufficient for our needs. I did have a couple of questions and these were promptly answered.
When we received our package of documents, maps, map case and book it was only one set. Whether you are a couple or two singles sharing may be OK however there was no discount for getting only one set. I'm pleased that Trevor and I didn't have to share a lunch bag!
The trip information was comprehensive. The only issue was that the pickup time was shown on both the first and second pages and was different. By the time I realised that there were two times given it was too late to check so we fronted up at the earlier time and, of course, it was actually the later time that was used.
I did have a couple of questions and these were answered promptly.
Having a list of the participants in the doco was great as it made it easier to identify each other as we gathered and mingled.
Our guides, Phil and Marie, duly turned up in Bourke Street and the milling crowd trooped over the road and we presented ourselves and our bags to them. They were both very welcoming, greeting previous clients warmly.
There were regular stops when travelling allowing toilet trips and acqisition of refreshments. It was also OK to eat and drink on the bus. Adequate time was allowed for us to do whatever was necessary during the stops without making them unnecessarily long.
Phil and Marie provided background information as we passed through areas which helped to fill in the time. Sitting on a bus can be boring if you are just beetling along a multi-lane highway so it was good to turn off the highway onto the country roads which took us through to Falls Creek.
The trip notes gave information about the accommodation we would be using. It contained information about the hosts, too, which was a nice touch.
The accommodation and both Falls Creek and Dinner Plain was very comfortable and the facilities more than adequate. The spa was a very welcome offering at our Falls Creek lodge and Trevor and I took advantage of it on day 2.
Lisa, the host at Diana Alpine Lodge in Falls Creek, was very accomadating and the food she served us for the two dinners and each breakfast along with the lunch rolls was excellent. Trevor didn't appreciate the corriander in one of the dishes but that happens.
The dinner we were served at Rundell's, our Dinner Plain accommodation, was outstanding as were the breakfasts. I think that we were all beginning to wonder if we would return home after a weeks walking a little heavier than we started!
There had been a change in where we stayed in Harrietville. This was beyond the control of Auswalks as they had apparently booked the accommodation 12 months in advance only to to flicked at the last minute. The rooms at the Snowline Hotel sufficed as we were tired and a comfortable bed was all that really mattered. I'm not sure when the room we had had been last cleaned. It had been occupied by a mouse between being cleaned and when we arrived. I dealt with that and hoped that the little rotter did not visit again during our stay. There was only one chair in the room which was a bit odd. There was seating outside the rooms under the verandah which was a problem as it meant that people sat outside talking loudly when the rest of us were trying to sleep.
The food at the Snowline Hotel was excellent. Both the dinner and breakfast were very well done.
The walking
My comments are coloured by my Flinders Ranges walk experience so readers need to take this into account.
Flexibilty is fine and generally necessary to take into account weather and other on ground conditions as well as the individuals in the group however it would generally be expected that the listed offerings for the day would be catered for. This was not the case on day 3 when a whole section of the plaaned days walk simply didn't happen as a track was missed and by the time it was determined that it had been missed we were ks away from where we should have been to take that track. The frustrating thing was that I had thought that we should have taken the track that proved to be the correct one but the guides notes were insufficiently clear which lead to the error.
Both guides had notes that they followed. It was apparent that some things had changed since the notes were prepared and this was the cause of some problems on at least two occassions (days 3 and 5).
Trevor felt that quite a bit of the walking was through similar country. To an extent that was true however it was an alpine walking holidays so it was not unreasonable that we walked through alpine areas on most days with a degree of similarity from one area to another. There was definitely enough change in the geology and flora to make each walk interesting.
Given that the holiday had been chosen as a preparation for the Coast to Coast walk which we will be doing later this year I believe that it met its objective. I didn't realise how physically tired I was until I just about went to sleep while eating dinner on the last night.
All up I had walked at least 108km with quite a bit of climbing and descents. Most of this, 100+kms, was done across the middle five days which means that those days averaged a good 20kms a day.
Of the climbs and descents ... I'm not sure which is worse - going up or coming down. Both have their challenges.
Only time will tell whether the Great Alpine Walk was a good preparation for the Coast to Coast walk
Nice touch
Our guides had taken quite a few photos during the week and we were presented with a CD containing over 100 images at breakfast on the final morning. Not only did we get a copy of the photos we were also given a slide show.
Here are photos of our party (as supplied by Auswalks):
... our guides
... and the walkers ... except for Trish who managed to miss the photo sessions ...
Would I consider taking another walk with Auswalks? Yes.
My Runtastic phone app got a good workout during the week. I worked out on day 2 that I needed to set the phone to flight mode to conserve battery power on long day walks. I found the prompt at the completion of each k useful. A couple of other people in the party were impressed enough to get Runtastic, too. Over the course of the week it was not unusual to have people ask how far we had gone.
I wasn't the only one with a gizmo. Joan had an altitude metre, well he is a mountain climber after all, which was useful on day 6 when we were descending from Mt Feathertop down to Harrietville.
I think that Trevor thought that much of the country we walked through was the same. To an extent he was right however there was always something different to see and there was variations between each of the trails we walked.
I also suspect that I was more prepared for sameness having done quite a few walks in Tidbinbilla. This will always be a glass half full/empty situation. Yes, there were similarities but there were also differences and it is the differences that always have the ability to surprise.
We had a great week which allowed us to check out our equipment, clothes and current level of preparedness for a strenuous period of walking. It gave us pause to think about what sort of luggage we should take to England when we do the Coast to Coast walk and how much clothing is needed.
The water bladders were definitely a good investment. Being able to drink without having to stop and de-pack or having to carry a bottle in your hand all the time was hugely beneficial.
I'm sure that there are other things that I meant to say which have slipped my mind.
I will do a flora post when I get a chance. We have quite an array of photos which will need to be sorted through before I attempt to put them in a post.
This post is intended to provide overall impressions of the trip as well as the organisation surrounding it.
We had booked this trip with Auswalks, a company operating out of Victoria and headed by Phil and Monica Coleman. The booking had been done online and payments were straightforward. In most cases the information provided about the trip was sufficient for our needs. I did have a couple of questions and these were promptly answered.
When we received our package of documents, maps, map case and book it was only one set. Whether you are a couple or two singles sharing may be OK however there was no discount for getting only one set. I'm pleased that Trevor and I didn't have to share a lunch bag!
The trip information was comprehensive. The only issue was that the pickup time was shown on both the first and second pages and was different. By the time I realised that there were two times given it was too late to check so we fronted up at the earlier time and, of course, it was actually the later time that was used.
I did have a couple of questions and these were answered promptly.
Having a list of the participants in the doco was great as it made it easier to identify each other as we gathered and mingled.
Our guides, Phil and Marie, duly turned up in Bourke Street and the milling crowd trooped over the road and we presented ourselves and our bags to them. They were both very welcoming, greeting previous clients warmly.
There were regular stops when travelling allowing toilet trips and acqisition of refreshments. It was also OK to eat and drink on the bus. Adequate time was allowed for us to do whatever was necessary during the stops without making them unnecessarily long.
Phil and Marie provided background information as we passed through areas which helped to fill in the time. Sitting on a bus can be boring if you are just beetling along a multi-lane highway so it was good to turn off the highway onto the country roads which took us through to Falls Creek.
The trip notes gave information about the accommodation we would be using. It contained information about the hosts, too, which was a nice touch.
The accommodation and both Falls Creek and Dinner Plain was very comfortable and the facilities more than adequate. The spa was a very welcome offering at our Falls Creek lodge and Trevor and I took advantage of it on day 2.
Lisa, the host at Diana Alpine Lodge in Falls Creek, was very accomadating and the food she served us for the two dinners and each breakfast along with the lunch rolls was excellent. Trevor didn't appreciate the corriander in one of the dishes but that happens.
The dinner we were served at Rundell's, our Dinner Plain accommodation, was outstanding as were the breakfasts. I think that we were all beginning to wonder if we would return home after a weeks walking a little heavier than we started!
There had been a change in where we stayed in Harrietville. This was beyond the control of Auswalks as they had apparently booked the accommodation 12 months in advance only to to flicked at the last minute. The rooms at the Snowline Hotel sufficed as we were tired and a comfortable bed was all that really mattered. I'm not sure when the room we had had been last cleaned. It had been occupied by a mouse between being cleaned and when we arrived. I dealt with that and hoped that the little rotter did not visit again during our stay. There was only one chair in the room which was a bit odd. There was seating outside the rooms under the verandah which was a problem as it meant that people sat outside talking loudly when the rest of us were trying to sleep.
The food at the Snowline Hotel was excellent. Both the dinner and breakfast were very well done.
The walking
My comments are coloured by my Flinders Ranges walk experience so readers need to take this into account.
Flexibilty is fine and generally necessary to take into account weather and other on ground conditions as well as the individuals in the group however it would generally be expected that the listed offerings for the day would be catered for. This was not the case on day 3 when a whole section of the plaaned days walk simply didn't happen as a track was missed and by the time it was determined that it had been missed we were ks away from where we should have been to take that track. The frustrating thing was that I had thought that we should have taken the track that proved to be the correct one but the guides notes were insufficiently clear which lead to the error.
Both guides had notes that they followed. It was apparent that some things had changed since the notes were prepared and this was the cause of some problems on at least two occassions (days 3 and 5).
Trevor felt that quite a bit of the walking was through similar country. To an extent that was true however it was an alpine walking holidays so it was not unreasonable that we walked through alpine areas on most days with a degree of similarity from one area to another. There was definitely enough change in the geology and flora to make each walk interesting.
Given that the holiday had been chosen as a preparation for the Coast to Coast walk which we will be doing later this year I believe that it met its objective. I didn't realise how physically tired I was until I just about went to sleep while eating dinner on the last night.
All up I had walked at least 108km with quite a bit of climbing and descents. Most of this, 100+kms, was done across the middle five days which means that those days averaged a good 20kms a day.
Of the climbs and descents ... I'm not sure which is worse - going up or coming down. Both have their challenges.
Only time will tell whether the Great Alpine Walk was a good preparation for the Coast to Coast walk
Nice touch
Our guides had taken quite a few photos during the week and we were presented with a CD containing over 100 images at breakfast on the final morning. Not only did we get a copy of the photos we were also given a slide show.
Here are photos of our party (as supplied by Auswalks):
 |
| Phil |
 |
| Marie |
 |
| Ian |
 |
| Trevor |
 |
| Maria |
 |
| Joan |
 |
| John |
 |
| Lorraine |
 |
| Alec |
 |
| Peter |
 |
| Sam |
 |
| Anne |
 |
| Marie |
 |
| Alison |
Would I consider taking another walk with Auswalks? Yes.
My Runtastic phone app got a good workout during the week. I worked out on day 2 that I needed to set the phone to flight mode to conserve battery power on long day walks. I found the prompt at the completion of each k useful. A couple of other people in the party were impressed enough to get Runtastic, too. Over the course of the week it was not unusual to have people ask how far we had gone.
I wasn't the only one with a gizmo. Joan had an altitude metre, well he is a mountain climber after all, which was useful on day 6 when we were descending from Mt Feathertop down to Harrietville.
I think that Trevor thought that much of the country we walked through was the same. To an extent he was right however there was always something different to see and there was variations between each of the trails we walked.
I also suspect that I was more prepared for sameness having done quite a few walks in Tidbinbilla. This will always be a glass half full/empty situation. Yes, there were similarities but there were also differences and it is the differences that always have the ability to surprise.
We had a great week which allowed us to check out our equipment, clothes and current level of preparedness for a strenuous period of walking. It gave us pause to think about what sort of luggage we should take to England when we do the Coast to Coast walk and how much clothing is needed.
The water bladders were definitely a good investment. Being able to drink without having to stop and de-pack or having to carry a bottle in your hand all the time was hugely beneficial.
I'm sure that there are other things that I meant to say which have slipped my mind.
I will do a flora post when I get a chance. We have quite an array of photos which will need to be sorted through before I attempt to put them in a post.
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