TheBanyanTree: So much for no snakes...

[Sachet]

I hope you continue to send your blog posts to the Tree! What I find 
happens is that oft times when we have a blog, those posts don't make it 
to the Tree because we don't want to seem to be spamming people that 
might already be reading our blogs or online journals.

When in fact some of us forget to check for blog or journal updates. But 
with Banyan Tree mail delivered to our mail boxes that easily prevents 
us from missing out.

So yes, please do keep posting about your training, etc.!

...Sachet



Red Pepper wrote:

> I hope you don't mind me posting here a version of what I've just 
> posted on my blog - but I can't think of too many different ways to 
> tell the same story!  It's an update about our training for the Oxfam 
> Trailwalker, in which we have to walk 100km as a team of four (ie. no 
> relay - we all have to walk 100km). The walk is coming up in early 
> April. Phil is my partner.
> ****
> On Sunday (5th Feb), Marcus, Phil and I did a 38km training walk, 
> almost 3 full stages of the trail, ending up at the top of Mt Donna 
> Buang - and we did it in 9 and 3/4 hours. This walk was a crucial test 
> for my new Asics shoes - and I'm glad to say they performed 
> beautifully. A few blisters, probably due to the gel inserts I used 
> riding around and rubbing the side of my heel. The weather was lovely 
> - cool in the morning, warming up when the clouds cleared around 
> 11:30am, eventually getting to about 27 degrees (celsius).
>
> We started in Wandin, off the Warburton Highway, where you can park if 
> you are going to ride the Warburton rail trail. This is an old railway 
> line that was ripped out many years ago, and has since been converted 
> to a great cycling/walking trail.  The actual start of the stage is 
> about 5km further back, at Mt Evelyn Reserve. AJ couldn't join us 
> because he hurt his back - by coughing. Sure! We think the missus 
> might have given him a belting for not doing the dishes.
>
> It was gorgeous in the morning. Our usual routine is to drive two cars 
> to the end of the section we're walking, leave one car there, then 
> drive to the start. (Marcus gets dropped off by the very kind Gaye, 
> his wife, who drives him there from Hampton - often a one hour trip 
> each way. A very big thank you to Gaye for supporting Marcus like 
> this.) This means some very early mornings - up at 5:00 or 5:30am. But 
> it's quite beautiful - on the way to Donna Buang, past Launching 
> Place, the mist was sitting in the valleys and paddocks while the 
> blush of the sun spread over the mountains. Driving up to the peak of 
> Mt Donna Buang we saw at least half a dozen lyrebirds. For the 
> non-natives, these are very lovely birds, resembling a pheasant I 
> suppose, who have an amazing gift for mimicry. It's not uncommon to 
> find yourself listening to the songs of 4 or 5 birds, then realise 
> they are all coming from the same spot - that's a lyrebird. I've heard 
> that the ones near civilisation can sometimes mimic circular saws and 
> other human sounds. The "lyre" in the name is not a misspelling - it 
> is due to the fact that the male's gorgeous tail resembles the fine 
> structure of a lyre.
>
> We saw quite a few other teams this time. I was very impressed by the 
> three girls in matching blue tops who jogged past us - but I 
> definitely won't be attempting that. There were also a couple of mixed 
> teams of very fit-looking people who were probably gymbos of some 
> description - quite intimidating. However we were the only ones on the 
> final stage of the trail (maybe they finished it hours ahead of us?), 
> though we did meet some other people coming back. Amazing how many 
> Germans you encounter while bushwalking...
>
> Marcus entertained us through the more tedious sections of the path 
> with the trivia quizzes he downloaded onto his PDA. For those of you 
> who don't know Marcus, he enjoys an intellectual challenge and it is 
> very amusing to listen to him and Phil sparring. Probably more 
> interesting than listening to Phil and I trying to win points off each 
> other. The two boys did gang up on me when we got into a debate about 
> the differences between male and female logic; I couldn't make them 
> understand the distinctions and how to communicate more effectively 
> with females, which just proves how deficient male logic is.
>
> The track was good until we got to the start of the Donna Buang 
> "stairmaster" section - mainly because we had walked on the flat, 
> groomed Warburton rail trail to that point. They've slashed the first 
> part of the Donna Buang walk, where you skirt the paddock, but there's 
> a few blackberries and you have to avoid getting snagged. The track 
> was still steep, no major earth movements since last time to relieve 
> us of that particular hell, and I think I'm going to have to train 
> more on stairs because it nearly kills me. The fact that we had just 
> walked about 30 km didn't help, I suppose.
>
> Also, I think I jinxed us in my last post by mentioning snakes - about 
> 200 metres up from the aqueduct, Phil nearly tripped over a large 
> Tiger Snake (poisonous and often aggressive), which wasn't too pleased 
> to see him. Phil reacted quickly, grabbing the snake by the neck while 
> it thrashed around, curling its body around his arm, its fangs 
> dripping poison. He gave it a quick kiss on the back of the head, then 
> pinned it to the ground, quickly grabbed its tail and lasso-ed it into 
> the bush. It was never seen again. Actually only the first part of 
> that is true - the snake fortunately turned tail and scooted back into 
> the bush, thank god, as Phil was only a couple of feet away and nearly 
> climbed over Marcus (who was right behind him) to get away. I was much 
> further back - pays to be slow sometimes.
>
> I thought the Donna Buang track had degraded over the last 500 metres 
> before the road, which runs across the face of the mountain, but Phil 
> disagrees. Maybe this was the first time I had the energy to look 
> around properly. I wonder how it will look after a thousand people 
> have been over it in a short period. However, the top of the track, 
> from the road up to the summit, is still very overgrown with tall 
> weeds and grass, which makes me nervous with snakes around, plus it's 
> annoying to get hit in the face all the time. Hopefully all the faster 
> walkers will trample that down for us - or the parks people will slash 
> it.
>
> We had the discussion about how to work as a team. I don't expect the 
> boys to walk every step with me, and feel that it might be more tiring 
> for them to try and slow down instead of walking a natural pace, but 
> they insisted it wasn't a problem for them and that the wellbeing of 
> the team is paramount. I have to say I am very lucky that I am walking 
> with 3 blokes who are very considerate and really enjoy the team 
> aspect of it. However the farting has to stop - so much for last 
> week's post! I won't name names but Phil, you know who you are.
>
> On Monday, we compared notes and everyone pulled up well - little 
> stiffness, no injuries, and I could walk without pain. Looking good 
> for 100km. Phil and I are off for a couple of weeks so I'll update you 
> again when we get back in early March. Thanks to people who have 
> donated since last post - Chee Kong and David. And thanks to the 
> people who have promised donations - I'll be in touch when I get back! :)
> Next challenge - an OVERNIGHT training walk...
>
>