The day began like any other day. Well, not really - it was cloudy, rainy and miserable. But this was to be the day for our Prep Walk 1 nonetheless. Preparation for the 6 Foot Track is crucial as I have heard it will be a gruelling 45km trek, completed in about 12 hours. I cant wait really, I am up for another challenge.So anyway, as we were driving up to the starting point the rain got heavier and heavier and the fog became as thick as pea soup. Just what I needed. The first bushwalk I went on had seen me twist my left ankle which to this day I have still not recovered fully from. It still swells in the heat and aches if I have done alot of walking on it. Funny enough though, when we finally arrived at our destination the fog had cleared and the rain slowed to what now was just a sprinkle.
There were 7 of us women and Barry. All I can say is I don't think Barry quite knew what he was getting himself into. We all started this walk with such excitement and a bit of a nervous twinge in our bellies. The sound of our voices I am sure resonated through the silent air of the mountains. We had all come somewhat prepared with our backpacks full of food, fluid and change of clothing. What we had not prepared for was what lay ahead in the dark wet gully some many metres below us.
So we began the descent down some many hundreds of stairs - some metal and manmade, others just chipped out of stone and some stairs carved into the soil held in place by timber retaining walls. The air already quite humid up high, became thick and clearly visible the lower we went. The canopy got higher and higher and showered us with rain every so often. It truly was a spectacular sight.
That was until the leeches started. Where in god's name were they all coming from. Some were little and barely visible others were long and skinny just waiting to fatten up on some poor innocent bystanders blood - Barry's Bootcamp girls looked like they were going to be on the menu for this trek. I have never in my life been so grossed out. If you stood still and stared at the ground they were like little zombie soldiers honing in on your scent from every direction. I was lucky. I only had about 8 try to get into my shoes an socks, others further down the back of the line were being swarmed left ,right and centre. The squeels from us all echoed through the valley. We tried warning other hikers but they looked at us as if thinking "novices". Oh well, we tried but it was too much.
Our trek got cut short as a result and now we had to climb back up and out. Oh boy, talk about lactic acid build up in my quads and calves. They were on fire. But the sheer thought of those blood thirsty creatures at the bottom spurred us on up that mountain in no time at all. When we finally reached open air and the top we began the search for more little friends right inside our shoes. I had none but others had them hidden in their socks and one lady Meg, had a critter feasting on her lower ankle. It was peeled off with a knife and feel off in a glutonous heap on the floor. GROSS.
Anyway the remainder of the walk although uphill was on flattened terrain. Perfect. I loved it. But my calves and quads are still paying the price and this is day 3. I have been stretching to alleviate the tightness and it seems to be working. Bring on Prep Walk 2. Can't wait.
