Thats what it's all about!

The Waverton #1's and Walk this Way are proud to say that we have hit our targets - with the funds arriving daily.Both teams are now striving to raise as much as possible to help fight poverty across the world.

We'd like to say a huge thanks to BRI, and ELGAS two of our main sponsors who have provided equipment as well as generous donations. Please see the side bar for more information on these two great companies.

We have alsos been supported by a number of our employers -both financially and through time out during the day to go and see the physio - again!. Thank you for your support.

We wouldn't be here without our friends, family and 'personal' supporters. You guys have been excellent. Thank you for your very generous donations and for spurring us on and being interested to hear about our latest injuries!

All quiet on the western front - but we're still going!

Well it's been kinda quiet here for a few weeks - but despite the silence the teams have been making some amazing progress. Read on to see what we have been up to....

Support Crew: We have a 'full compliment' crew who have agreed to step in and see us at our worst! - Our inaugural support team dinner and drinks was a mass of questions, maps, spreadsheets and had a fantastic feeling of organised chaos! From the food and resupply lists travelling 'round on email it looks as though we will be the best fed team on the track.

Thanks to all our crew! - and we promise once it's all over we'll find 'normal' topics of conversation again!

Kit: We're pretty much there as far as kit goes. A few final tweaks to inner soles for more support and backup kit for if the weather turns arctic and we'll be done! Skins, water bladders and walking poles are the common factors across nearly all team members. Knee tape and ice packs also play a lead role.

Walking: Yep, we've been doing a bit of that also! A couple of big ones including Ottford to Bundeena and another long stint on the trail have been backed up with a few 'short' walks to keep the muscles tuned. We are dropping our weekly KMs right down duringth last couple of weeks - attempting to hit top form for the real thing.

Once More unto the breach........

The thinking about it was done.... it was time for action.

Muscles were tensed, sinews were stiffened and whatsits were girded. It was time to tackle Brooklyn to Apple Tree Bay in one hit.

On the whole, we've been having a blast training for the walk, but it seems that everyone on the team has their 'least favourite bit' somewhere in these sections of the Trailwalker, the bit you build up mentally to mountainous proportions!, so we thought we'd share:

The never ending fire trail: y'know the one, you've started out, keen as mustard and glad to be off the tarmac. The first of the hills is out of the way and you're ready to get into the winding trails through the bush that make the start of the trailwalker what it is....... and that bloody fire trail outside Brooklyn goes on and on and on.... can we start please? can we? oh good - here's the turning onto the trail - oh no it isn't, bugger.

Crossing the Rubicon: yep, that little stream, that tiny unimposing blue line at the bottom of the valley after Cowan, the chuckling brook with its gentle rippling water.......... until, of course, it rains. Then you watch 50 billion gallons of water accelerate down the hillside as you are making your way down the valley and about half way down you start thinking 'my, that's quite a bit of water, wonder where that's all going?' - In your shoes son, that's where it's going, and up your trousers. We walked this bit after an intense but short rainfall - take walking poles to help you across, and if you can manage it, a kayak.

The Berowra Burn: yes folks, it's graded a '5' for a reason! Just when you thought you'd got your sanity back after the fire trail and the Rubicon. You've dropped down to the beautiful Berowra Waters, had a much-needed pee in the little white facilities building and a stretch on the railings just opposite, now the burn to Berowra starts -and we're going up, and back down, and back up and now we're starting to sweat, and now back down...... I don't actually remember much of this bit - which means it must have been horrible.

The Gully: But then you hit Section 3 and it's gorgeous* - the beautiful Lyre Bird Gully and its still silent pools of water with a meandering track, hey this is what it's all about!

*except when it's dark (which it will be unless you're running), or it's been raining (which it will have 'cos it'll be August) - then it's more like being in a washing machine.

Heartbreak Hill: The climb out of the gully is, in short, a complete bastard. No amount of hot sweet tea is going to make this look nice. The road is tarmac, which should help but doesn’t, and it goes up at an insane angle, forever.

Generally we felt OK after Section 1, buggered after section 2 and surprisingly alright through section 3, which just shows you how amazing at recovery the human body is. We were all encouraged by our condition after tackling these, the three hardest sections of the Trailwalker and I think on the day we'll have crossed a significant mental hurdle once all eight of us hit the carpark at Apple Tree Bay. With only another 57.5km to go.....

Thank You

The Waverton Ones and Walk this Way would like to take a minute to say 'Thanks' to all of our sponsors:

The Waverton Ones have raised in excess of $1,500 with your help

Walk this Way have raised in excess of $1,800 through your generous donations

We appreciate you all - Thank You

Night Hike - CP4 - CP6

What possible better way to spend a friday night that bush walking in the dark?

Armed with headlamps. glow sticks and thermal underwear all eight of the team headed out for our first walk with everyone present. This was more of an opportunity to test our kit (and our resolve) than put in serious Kms, so we followed the same route as our previous attempt on this section of the Trailwalker.

The headlamps went well, but a fair few off us experienced the drop in performance that you sometimes get with LEDs after an hour or so - a few sets of spare batteries will be needed to get us through on the actual day. We took additional torches but didn't use them, we'll continue to carry them though as most of our headlights, while great at close range, don't cast much of a beam and aren't so good for checking out the far side of streams looking for a soft dry landign point!

It was colder than expected - we noticed that warming up to the point of the usual stop to take off the top layer took longer, and cooling down when walking on the flat seemed almost instant. I'll be taking acouple more layers next time. Some of the team traded shorty skins for the full length version for extra warmth which worked well.

I was also lighter than expected - even under the forest canopy there seemed to be enough moonlight to make out the potholes and puddles - although you need a bit more than the ambient to check the depth... None of us managed to stay out of the water completly - wet feet all round be the end of the section, so we'll be packing a few pairs of dry socks and a small towel in our personnal gear. 

'Washed Out' or 'All in for double fours'

Intense training was planned for the weekend of 22nd May - The girls are heading out to retackle CP1  - CP3 and the boys are off to play poker and drink beer in Kangaroo Valley!

First - the girls update: 

It rained, a lot, all week - but it didn't rain on the weekend so our intrepid team headed out to take on the track. 

It was wet, ridiculsously wet. The sort of wet that seeps into every seam and floods your shoes without even thinking about it. 

Damp but undaunted the girls completed CP1-CP2 despite the conditions, however, on looking to start CP2 - CP3 they came across a group of walkers who had to turn back at the bottom of the valley. 

Mindful that training walks don't have to be that nasty, and not having packed scuba gear the ladies called it quits and headed for a wine bar.

Second - the boys update:

It rained, a lot, all week - the traffic was crap, but on the upside the beer was cold and 'The Brothers of Matt' were playing the Friendly Inn and they were very good.

It wasn't just the walking team knocking the froth off a few cold ones, we were joined by one half of one of our major sponsorship partnerships - The Reids. James and Lesley have donated very generously to our fundraising (thanks guys!) and are also expecting a bub at allmost the same time we'll be walking the event - (congratulations!), either that, or its a very complex and expensive ruse to get out of walking 100km........

After 17 beers, half a bottle of Shiraz and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps James dazzled us all with his mathematical ability and godlike poker talents - 'betting the lot' on 'double fours' and a nine of diamonds(?) and losing magnificently. In a desperate scramble to recoup his stake James lost the only thing he had left - the naming rights to the newborn. 

We are expecting little 'Maxx Danger' Reid in late August.

 

The Final Sections - Part II (and somewhere for lunch!)

CP8 – Finish!  3hrs 

OK, here we go, the most anticipated section - The last one!

The first bit is easy (both to find and to walk!) a hop skip and a jump across Ararat Reserve and you're on to the track that runs parallel to the Wakehurst Parkway. Boring and a bit noisy, but blessedly flat and even this 2.5km yomp has a significant redeeming feature - the sausage sizzle at Seaforth Oval. 

We all perched on the hill overlooking the footy game (with an excellent view of the city in the 

background) and settled in to replenish some serious calories, 2 cups of tea, a sausage and bacon sandwich and a muffin later and all was once again right with the world. With the team well fed and ready to roll we departed the oval and headed for Spit Bridge - our next mental milestone.

From the top of the hill at Seaforth we could see the bridge as it opened and watch the sea of traffic build up on the north side, it looked like the best way to get across the road was while everything was stopped so we picked up the pace and headed for 'Galipoli Stairs'. 

The stairs are the quickest way from the top of the hill down to bridge level, keep your eyes open or it could be a very quick descent, the stair treads are narrow and the whole thing is impressively steep. There is also a hous

e next to the  stairs that has been painted a shade of blue that defies belief, not unpleasant, just... very blue, and quite distracting for the unwary walker!

The traffic was still stopped when we got to the road so we threaded our way across the lanes and onto the bridge, our timing was spot on - the bridge finished closing just as we got half way across so we were able to walk on without breaking stride!

The steps down to Chinamans beach are just past the Rosherville lighthouse, this light, along with Grotto Point lighthouse forms a leading light system that helps ships navigating into the harbour from the ocean. The team was still moving well, but a few people mentioned that they were starting to feel their knees a bit - I imagine we'll all be feeling them after the full 95kms that will get us to this point on the event - or maybe they will be comfortably numb!

Once you've rounded Wyargine point and crossed Edwards beach your onto Balmoral - and the finish is so close you can almost taste it! - Skirt the back of the beach, circle round the oval and you hit the last challenge that Trailwalker throws at you - Balmoral stairs. 

To say that these are going to be uncomfortable after 98km is an understatement, they were pretty uncomfortable after 29km. About 200m long (I'm guessing) and allowing you to climb the final 72 vertical metres (I'm not guessing - I felt every metre) to the top. The stairs are constructed from wood and a specially designed metal grating system that eats walking poles, the top end of the staircase has a boot scrapping grid on it to clean off any nasties before you go into Georges Heights reserve, we'll probably be crawling at this point so we'll try not to fall though the gaps.

Fantastic views of the harbour and the heads greet you for the last km, then you hit the tarmac and head up the incline to a successful finish at Georges Heights Oval - well done all, last section completed - now all we have to do is put it all together!