30 Miler Recce

Confuscius, he say, a journey of one thousand miles begins with the first step. Take sixty thousand steps and you`ve gone thirty miles. Too easy mate : wink

Our gallant band of stalwarts are doing the thirty on September 26 as said previously. Paul Patterson didn`t want to miss out by going to UKers so we arranged a thirty just for him, with me tagging along. ahhh.

Eddy and Verna Dunne and family provided our base camp hospitality cooking our meals with lashings of good company, both before and after the event.

Saturday arvo saw Jim Rea, Paul and meself on the way south in Paul`s ute. We landed at our usual campsite in the bush, sixty odd ks south of Armadale. We rigged the tent and got stuck into a hearty chicken curry, rice and potato bake before settling round the roaring camp fire for a lamp swinging sesh. Heads to zeds at 2230 for the best night`s sleep I`ve had for ages.

Up at 06 00 for a carbo-loading brekkers of eggs bacon beans etc and we were ready to roll, for the start at 0705.

And They`re Off!

The route we have selected is fifteen out and fifteen back and each leg is split into thirds. The first third is easy going for four miles to the base of Boonering Hill followed by a rapid ascent of 500meters for the last mile or so. The middle is a hard descent of Boonering with a couple of easy miles in the valley bottom and a gradual ascent of Kimberling Hill to the White Horse Campsite. This is at ten miles out and is as far as we had been on our previous training outings. The going from here was slow due to the close country and loose, rocky path. The ridgeline ends on a barren rock where the path became hard to find and a very steep descent leads to the final third. This is mostly easy going on well-defined 4wd tracks and apart from two places where the track had been obliterated by multiple large tree falls, it gave no real problems. Half way point is the Dandalup River at fifteen miles. Then it`s about turn and do it all again, lofty.

On the outward leg, I struggled to keep up with Paul, or he struggled to slow down for me, depending on your viewpoint! We found the Boonering climbs, both up and down, to be hard going and we were`nt looking forward to seeing them again later in the day. The huge granite cone of the hill stood out against the grey sky filled with rain.

"The sky looked threatening, we threatened back"

We stopped rarely, and never for more than two minutes. The rain varied from drizzle to heavy to outrageous all the way to the White Horse site where the skies cleared and the sun started to warm up. This concerned us, as we were not carrying anywhere near enough fluids for a hot day. Ten minutes to ease legs and try and get the lactic acid out whilst troughing sarnies and nutty and we were off again.

The next bit was bloody hard indeed. Picking our way over small rocks, dodging the spiky vegetation and watching for poisonous snakes and spiders,etc, all whilst trying to find the track markers, was very wearing. We found a large granite boulder, perched atop an outcrop which looked all the world like Logan Rock in Cornwall. You can move it as well!

We were both relieved to get off this ridgeline and down onto the plane beyond. We made up some time on the tracks but it was still five hours when we hit the halfway point. The map gives it the grandiose title of Dandalup River, it took us some time to decide that Dandalup Wet Patch is more apt.

Half way point, why we felt the need to celebrate escapes me :o

Brief wet stop and we decided that Paul would thin out on his own and try to complete in under eight hours.At our stage of training we both have enough experience to make fifteen miles through snake infested bush, solo, seem like a good idea. It was with some trepidation that I watched him leg it into the distance as I realised that I would be spending at least the next five hours on my own.

On the return leg I tried to keep the same pace and forced myself to run whenever it was possible but the climbs were getting harder and harder and I had nothing left in my legs after about eighteen miles.

I was down to my last half of a Penguin bar and a mouthful of water when I returned to White Horse camp. There`s a rain-fed water tank here and I hoped the water would be fresh enough, it was either de-hydration today or the wildies termorrer! The water was sweet and I drank my fill, topped up my bottles and was off, feeling better than for some time. Boonering Hill was looming again and I was dreading the climb back to the top before the last five miles back to endex.

Slower and slower I climbed, till at the top I was met by Eddy`s lad, waiting with full water bottles. Cheers big ears! Once over the top, the weight came off as I realised it was all downhill from there and I got my second wind. When it was safe to do so I ran down, and on the last few miles on the flat I speedmarched until I crossed the line just under eleven hours after the start. Kernackered!

Paul and Jimmy met me about three miles out and ran back with me, thanks boys. Paul had managed the return leg in three and a half hours which is some going, I can tell you. His time was eight hours forty minutes and if he hadn`t`ve been with me on the outward leg he would easily have finished in seven hours. For me that last fifteen miles was one of the hardest yomps I can remember.

Sticky date pud with custard beats a Pusser`s Oggy, anyday , as the setting sun reflects off my head

It was Father`s Day down here and a year to the day that I`d met with Jimmy and Nick Bell for our first recce out near Kallamunda. As Jimmy said” What started as a dream last year has been turned into reality” Go not gently into that dark place, set yourself goals and go for it Royal!

Lessons learned, eat more breakfast, carry more bananas and at least twice as much water. I think I broke my big toe on one of the rocks and my foot is killing me today.My wife, demonstrating that sympathy which only nurses can muster, said ”Serves you right”.

When I first did the thirty I was a young man at the peak of physical fitness, to complete this particular thirty at fifty three years of age leaves me feeling chuffed, to say the least!

All in all, a cracking weekend, shared with people who are more than friends. :wink: