Arriving at Changi airport I received a text from Paul to say he thought he may have gone a little lightweight on the packing. When we had climbed Kinabalu in 2006, Paul had packed so much it nearly killed him, so it did not surprise me that he looked to carry the essentials only on what would be five times harder than Kinabalu. When he arrived he had what looked like a day pack on his back so I asked him if he had checked his luggage in to be told that this was all he had. Granted, it all all fitted in but that was before he added food, water and his share of the group equipment such as the tent, it was going to be a squeeze!
Tom was at the airport to meet us along with John Morgan, our support man for the trip. Tom and I have known John for a good few years and I credit/blame him for my sense of adventure. This is the man that took the London taxi from Buckingham Palace to the Sydney Opera House and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for children’s charity in the process. He met his wonderful wife Shilly in Africa where he was driving from one end to the other in a VW Beetle.
After dinner (cooked by Tom) we headed to the guest house at the back of Tom’s home in Bunbury. Laid out on the table was a massive amount of food and additional equipment. It quickly became apparent to Paul that he would need to be really creative to have any chance of eating and drinking in the days to follow but after much pushing he managed to get it all in. All in all our packs weighed around 25-27kg’s, a fact I am not convinced we had given enough thought to previously!
That night I could hear the rain on the roof and it did not stop. When the alarm went off at 4am I could still here it coming down and we began to accept that the weather was not always going to be to our liking. We got into the car with it still dark outside and drove the 100km’s or so to the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse. It was cold when he got out of the car but the rain had eased to a drizzle. Packs on we set off at steady pace with our headlamps on.
If you did this track in the seven days they suggest, you would be treated to some of the most beautiful coastal views interspersed with forest and fauna that only WA can deliver so perfectly. Unfortunately, with two days to accomplish our agenda, it was head down and get on with it. Our first stop, after two hours was for a mere five minutes before we set off in land again on what seemed like a constant ascent. The packs were getting dug in to our backs and the weather decided to turn for the worse. Three hours later and it became apparent we had chosen the wrong path and we learnt our first lesson on navigation as we added 6km to our day.
By midday, with 6 hrs completed we had all but ceased talking with most subjects exhausted. All three of us plugged into our music or audiobooks and in single file did our best to keep an even pace over the rocks, beach and coastal paths. My biggest challenge was regulating my body temperature. I had layered correctly but there was a need to make sure you responded to the ever changing conditions otherwise you would sweat too much and then freeze when the pace dropped.
As the first day ended, the map told us that we had a final 4km to get through to a suitable campsite. We had completed 44km in the day, 6km less than planned and we were a little disappointed as we believed we had done our best. As the sun set we arrived under the lights of our head lamps to an area of flat grass within earshot of the crashing waves from the Indian Ocean. 
We got the tent up pretty quickly (this will have to improve at the Pole) and set about boiling water from the rain barrel and cooking dinner. We were totally exhausted with a 5am start ahead of us so I cannot remember when we went to sleep but I am betting we were all gone by 9am.
When we woke the final morning it was cold and we quickly had a coffee and some oatmeal using the water we had prepared from the night before. Tearing down camp was done at a decent pace to make sure we kept warm and we were off on a 20km leg. It was still very dark so we were all under headlamps and with no music to ensure we could hear each other with the paths running along the cliffs. It was tough work with the weather changing quite quickly which meant we had to get into waterproofs quickly before we got drenched. We would stop every few hours to eat something and take on some water. It is amazing the effect food has on your performance. We were burning close to 1000 calories an hour and at the end of a period you could feel your energy and concentration starting to reduce. A quick break and an energy gel, trail mix or piece of chocolate and you felt everything lift and you were ready to go again.
With a final scramble over some rocks, we spotted the wonderful Mr Morgan ahead of us. John was a complete hero for us throughout the expedition, quite frankly we would never have been able to do it without him. He was always one step ahead of us with our water, advice and timings on the route as well as essentials such as Nurofen plus and tape for our blisters. This last part was especially important as Tom had been hit early on the first day with blisters and they are truly debilitating when you are trying to achieve what we were trying. As we rehydrated and looked at our map, we could see we needed to pick up the pace. We decided to dump anything but the essentials and filled a pack with food and water. We then set off on a 21km section, at full pace, which was both exhilarating and exhausting. The weather was warming up and the sun was out as we pounded up and down the hills and sand tracks that we share with motor cross riders probably thinking we were mad. At an average pace of 9km/hr we were really moving on difficult terrain but it was great to feel the fitness was there to sustain it and we all looked untroubled by the exertions. Running in full walking boots makes for heavy work and little cushioning but they gave me the stability needed for this terrain and protection from the inevitable toe strikes. The problem we did have however was water. One bottle was lost in the 1st km (by me) and that left us with three litres which just wasn’t enough with me alone consuming on average 1 litre an hour. However, we knew there wasn’t anything we could do about it so we just buckled down and ploughed on.
John was surprised to see us when we arrived an hour ahead of schedule. We were still in good shape and wolfed down as much calories as we could get in our bodies plus litres of water. I started to feel some discomfort in my feet and knew that it was trouble. Tom was barracking me to deal with it now but I didn’t fancy it. Eventually I pulled my boots and socks off my feet and as I feared, I had nasty blisters. There was little choice, the knife came out and repairs were done before we set off again for the km’s that would take us past the 50k m for the day.
As we came into the final checkpoint of the day the sun was setting and we were 6km from our overnight. We set off along the beach, delighted with our progress, a little sorer than the start of the day, but in control. However, we hadn’t really looked at the detail on the route and it quickly became a difficult track including both down a cliff and up the other side. Darkness set in and there was nothing on the cliff tops but us and the odd kangaroo (they were bigger than me) so it was headlamps on. Concentration needed to be 100% as the temperature dropped and the track got ever closer to the cliff edge. Tom was on lead and there were a number of times when we stopped to make the path choice and were alarmed to see what the other option would have led us to.
We rolled into camp that had been recce’d by John earlier. The tent went up faster and we dived into another meal of dehydrated curry and discussed the day. I mentioned we had yet to see any snakes upon which Tom tells me I had stepped over one that day but he hadn’t bothered to tell me!
We were up at 3.30am on the final morning and were underway with a light drizzle and temperatures of 7 degrees. The first 15km were in the forest which presented us with a whole new challenge, that being spiders. For whatever reason, these beasts set their giant webs at our head height and sat in the middle of them. On five separate occasions Tom halted our progress having come across a web with an undoubtedly poisonous spider sitting in wait. We quickly passed underneath not wanting to think about what it would have been like to run into the hairy beast face first. The km’s passed by slowly and the constant up and down hills were taking their toll on Paul and I. I plugged into my music and lost myself to block out the increasing discomfort from pain in both knees and of course the blisters that were not improving. Uphill was a huge struggle for me whilst Paul was having a terrible time on the downhill. Eventually we hit the coast again but the rain came in and there was a 5km stretch of strength sapping sand ahead. My knees were crumbling so I told the guys to head on without me and keep the pace up. It was a painful climax to the challenge for me and John, watching us through binoculars, said he could see it was a struggle. I concentrated on focusing on one foot in front of the other and telling myself there was no other choice, I had to get it done.
On arrival I was immediately into the Ibuprofen as if they were sweets before swallowing as much water as I could get into me. It had been a fantastic experience and with many, many lessons learnt. Some of which are
-It is good to know the route but you need to know what the route and terrain will contain.
-Fueling is critical, you have to take on water and food regular for endurance work like this and be disciplined in taking it.
-Foot maintenance is not to be left until the last minute. As soon as you feel a hot spot you have to deal with it.
-Clothing choices are critical, I am delighted to have found the perfect base layer from North Face that I will be using at the Sahara having used it last week. Overall I was happy with my kit.
-Ultra distances are more about the mental game than physical but you need to prepare your body properly and in my case the knees need work.
- You can gain two hours a day with a proper set up and tear down of camp
- Define the roles for the team up front on all duties so each member knows what they need to be concentrating on.
- Bring John Morgan everywhere you do a challenge (if only I could do that at the Sahara and Pole)
That night we checked into a motel just so we could get a shower before we ate something hot. It felt wonderful after three days of exertion to get out of the dirty clothes and get clean with hot water. Next door to us were a gang of bikers who were drinking beer and catching up. The always friendly Mr Morgan offered them a hello but the response was not so polite. With a mischievous grin on his face he disappeared into our room and put the tv on full volume before closing the door. With wafer thin walls, our bikers were going to be very upset when they tried to sleep later with the room next door blaring out noise from the TV. We would be long gone, with the door locked.
I don’t remember the drive back to Tom’s, I was asleep in the back and upon arrival I marched to my bed and that was me done until the following morning. The following morning Paul was in some distress with blisters and a rash on his legs. He had obviously been bitten and the venom was taking affect. A quick call to the doctor and it was off to the hospital but I am pleased to report he was patched up and once he had his antibiotics we headed to the airport.
Arriving home is always good when you have been away but this was even better as Sandy was there waiting for me at the airport. This lady is the rock solid support that allows me to get involved in these silly adventures. We were up well past midnight catching up and validating whether my mental state was normal for a male fast approaching forty! We both agreed it wasn’t, never has been and is unlikely to ever be but she loved me anyway.
