13 Weeks and 5 Days To Go..

Date: Sunday, 20 May
Walkers: Ian, Ruth, Clink and Kerrie
Track: Checkpoint 3 to Checkpoint 4
Distance: 11km (12.5km)
Time: 2 hours 40 minutes (including a 1.5km detour!)

Okay.. so some time has passed since our last training walk but with abounding enthusiasm from Ian to walk this week and with Kerrie's fractured sternum nearly mended, it was time to to set out again on another training walk and hopefully, not get lost this time! Update regarding the whole 'getting lost thing'.. Ruth was very industrious and last week walked the Checkpoint 2-3 trail up and back for a total of 20km in 4 hours and got it right this time. She's wonderful isn't she? Seemed we missed an easy left turn.. wasn't because we were talking maybe? Hmmm...

In any case, today's walk was Checkpoint 3 to Checkpoint 4 - Acron Oval, St Ives to St Ives Showground, a total of 11 kilometres and graded a 3 out of 5 difficulty rating. On arriving at St Ives Showground, we were met with the surprising sight of a welcoming party. Well, not quite - seems the St Ives Fair was on and it was a $1 donation to park for Trailwalkers. Gold coin sorted, we headed down to Acron Oval and started our trek down the hillside. The team today consisted of Ian who's about to jet off overseas for a month, Iain (Clink) on his maiden voyage, Ruth fresh from her visit home in Germany, and Kerrie on her first walking excursion since the accident. Missing from this auspicious line-up was David who decided instead to run the Sydney Half Marathon (21.3km). Whatever! Just remember David - who wanted the sausages?? Read on and weep.. *LOL*

Ian, Clink and Ruth...

Kerrie, Clink and Ruth..

Off we went setting a good pace for the first 3.5 kilometres - pity we missed the turn off at the 2.5km mark and had to back track a little. Apparently it was the 'talking' thing again that stuffed us up! Never fear, after consulting an intrepid cyclist who interpreted our map for us, he sent us back down the hill into the valley, across a creek and up another, rather steep hill. This was the first real challenge for us - although the fire trails were good to walk on generally, Kerrie managed to do a reputable impression of Darth Vader on her way up that hill!

Once at the top, the trail was clear and the day was gorgeous. Cool, clear and fresh, the conditions were just right for a bush walk. Under the powerlines we went, past the power station, debated at the 20kmph sign only to realise there was a second 20kmph sign that actually indicated the 'vague trail' we were supposed to take. Yes, the words 'vague trail' are written on our directions!! At the end of the vague trail was another steep incline up into St Ives itself at Kitchener Road. Ian imparted some breathing tips to cope with the hills which will come in very handy during weekly training, then over Mona Vale Road we went and down towards the lovely Wildflower Gardens.

Pix of black cockatoo and friend in a tree

Into the valley we descended and Ruth demosntrated the shuffling technique for how to cover ground quickly in parts of the track that are easier and when our energy is high so we can make up for some of the speed lost when going up hills. All was going well and then we come up against a near vertical incline - ugh! Who signed us up to these hills? Hmmm.. the worst part is knowing that these are only baby hills compared with what lies ahead between Checkpoint 6 and the end! And that we'll be walking those hills in the dark! Anyway, so up we go again, one foot in front of the other, until we hit the cycleway where the trail eased out for a moment. It's interesting to note at this point that we've seen lots of Trailwalkers out and about today - some are decked out in all their sporting glory with skins, camelpaks, map books, you name it, while others are clutching hot coffee and cruising along with no backpack, water or map!

And so there we were, well past the 9km mark and hiking up behind the St Ives Showground when the thought crossed our mind that we might have been lost again given it was so quiet, but wouldn't you know it - we weren't! We heard the call over the loudspeakers for the next equestrian event then passed a couple of walkers who head steaming cups of coffee in their hands - yes, the end was near! Into the Showground we walked some 2 hours and 40 minutes after we started having covered around 12.5km given our detour near the start!

David - you wanted sausages, you GOT sausages. Except you weren't here! No more sausages until D-Day now..

An industrious man with his coffee machine at the finish line.

All up, good walking today and a solid start to the training to come in the weeks ahead as Ian departs to go overseas for a month, David heads off to Western Australia for three weeks and Kerrie gets back to match fitness. Not sure where we're off to next week for our walk.. but we'll keep you posted. Come back again soon.. oh, and have you donated yet??? Do it now and donate here!

20 Weeks and 5 Days To Go..

Date: Sunday, 25 March
Walkers: David, Ian, Ruth and Kerrie
Track: The plan was to go from Davidson Park, Roseville to St Ives
Distance: Approximately 14-15km


Well, it's now 21 weeks out from the Oxfam Trailwalker and the Bush Bashers are looking in great shape - we're organised, we're fit, and we're fired up to tackle those 100km of bush in our goal of 24 hours.

Our first training walk took place on Sunday, 25 March starting in Davidson Park, Roseville (Checkpoint 2) with the intention of finishing at St Ives (- approximately a 16km walk. Given that at this point, we haven't received confirmation of the trail but knowing approximately that the section we were looking at was part of last year's trail in reverse, we decided to be industrious. This meant we were using a map from last year's Trailwalker and attempting to follow it backwards. Armed with such a clear picture of where we're doing, we set off along the trail in weather that although it was overcast and a bit drizzly, was generally good walking weather.

And so we set off - David, Ian, Ruth and Kerrie - striding through the bush, all the while marvelling at how such gorgeous bushland could exist side by side with the suburbia that is Sydney. All was proceeding well when a shriek from one of our team members pierces the morning calm - yes, this shriek heralded the discovery of Ruth's inate fear of spiders! Not to worry, we can handle this - Kerrie was duly appointed as front of the pack for the narrow trail sections and managed to walk into all the spiderwebs from there on. Heaven help us if a snake comes along though - given Kerrie's absolute fear of the wriggly critters seems Ian will be up front and centre before he knows it!

All was going well - we followed the creek and ventured up to the beautiful Cascades. David showed off the advantages of waterproof boots and sloshed with great relish through every puddle and creek he came across. Typically, the girls sought higher ground and managed to tippy-toe across and only land a tiny splash of water in the process.

At this point everything seemed to be going well. We'd passed one walking duo going in the opposite direction but other than that, human sightings were lean. Somewhere around the 10km mark, we started to wonder if we'd followed our map backwards correctly. Seems that we didn't quite see what we thought we would see... so mustered up the courage to stop a few bike riders and check that we were on track. Funny thing was, they all seemed to be lost themselves and have no idea where they were either!

Thinking we were perhaps lost but not too far off the track, onwards we marched up a hill that seemed never-ending. That's when we spied the 'steel gate' mentioned in the directions and our hope returned. Hallelujah! Not far to go now... and the next thing we know, we're waving hello to the local Belrose SES service and walking into suburbans streets like the map said.

OOOPS!!! On accosting some elderly couple who had just returned from their grocery shopping, we learned that instead of being in St Ives, we were in fact, in BELROSE! Yes, the complete opposite direction. Uh-oh. So up the hill we go and then the rain came down. We took shelter at the nearby Belrose Shops while we waited for The Emissary to come rescue us from our disaster. The real positive we took from the whole experience was that we managed an almighty hill and seemed to have covered around 15km all up. Not bad for a first shot at it on a Sunday morning in March!

Now, normally, this would be where the story ends. In this case however, there is a postscript to the event. Upon dropping Ruth home then heading off to see her husband play in his cricket semi-final, Kerrie was involved in a head-on car collision and ended up in hospital for 4 days with a fractured sternum. Ooops! 7 weeks 'rest' thus ensued... tune in next time to hear where we walked this time, did we get lost, and how are things are going with no training!

Ruth, Kerrie and David..

Ruth, David and Ian..

Ruth, Ian and David..

Where Kerrie Ended Up...

We're Going To Do...

... the Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney 2007!

Take a dose of personal aspiration mixed with a measure of inspiration from past Trailwalkers, add a sprinkling of competitive spirit and what have you got? A team of 5 work colleagues from The A.S.K. Solutions Group banding together to complete this formidable challenge.

And what is the challenge?
To get our team of 4 through 100km of Sydney bushland in less than 48 hours and to collectively raise more than $1000 for Oxfam Australia to help overcome poverty and suffering around the world.

Is That The Best You Can Do?
No! We're aiming to complete the challenge in 24 hours and to raise at least $5000 along the way. In completing the challenge, we need to start together, go through each checkpoint together, and finish together. We need to to train and fundraise together beforehand. The Oxfam Trailwalker is challenging - but it can be completed by anyone who has the right training and attitude. We have 5 work colleagues preparing for the challenge of which 4 will complete the challenge on the day. We represent The A.S.K. Solutions Group and the team consists of David Myers, Ian Hu, Ruth Steinmeyer, Iain Grindal and Kerrie McVicker.

How Can I Help?
Come see our team, the Bush Bashers, at the Oxfam site and donate! http://www2.oxfam.org.au/trailwalker/Sydney/team/280

How Did The Trailwalker Begin?
The event began in 1981 as a military exercise for the elite Queen's Gurkha Signals Regiment in Hong Kong, and has since grown into one of the world's leading sporting challenges. Oxfam Trailwalker is a global event, taking place annually in New Zealand, UK, Hong Kong and Japan. Thisyear, Australia will host two Trailwalkers - one in Melbourne, March 2007, and the other in Sydney, August 2007.

Now What?
Did you donate? If not, click here to make a difference. After that, bookmark this blog and come back often to see our progress. The thrills, the spills and the sausages sizzles that are Trailwalker 2007.

We'd also love you to leave comments for us - these will be especially helpful as we haul ourselves up and down many a hill in training over the coming 4 months.. and even more so at 9am on Saturday, 25 August as we drag our weary bodies across the finish line!!