Training Log Archive: GraceE

In the morning we packed up and walked the 200ms or so to the summit. Perfect sunshine and great views! Apparently it was foggy in Canberra until 2pm… unlucky.

Then it came time to descend. Up until now we had been following a route taken by a local man who climbs everything that can be climbed (Alex kept referring to him as “old man” though I’m not sure if this was just a nick name given to him). I was keen to follow old man’s route back the way we’d come as he had done, but the others, two of whom were suffering colds, weren’t keen to bash through the first bit and thought a more direct route home could be a go-er. We set off down the most direct ridge but that was pretty horrendous with massive boulders and thick scrub in between. We decided to drop off the ridge more sharply and head towards Middle Creek, re-joining our route up at one of the flat marsh sections. We had effectively cut off two sides of a triangle so it wasn’t too bad in the end. The boys were suffering and were topping up on drugs quick regularly… but I didn’t think the whisky the previous night would have helped things :) We bashed down the hill for the rest of the day, reaching the car just before 5pm. Let’s just say I didn’t have much skin left on my hands and ankles when I finished :s

Headed down into Namadgi NP to climb Mt Namadgi. Not many people would say that sentence in their lifetime! It’s a full two-day walk through thick scrub and definitely one for the hardier type of bushwalker. But hey, hardy’s my middle name! (ho ho ho).

We were a party of four; Jasmine, Craig, Alex and I, with Matt giving the walk a miss due to his cold. We started walking at 9am and made our way up the side of Middle Creek, all the way to the flat plain before the final climb up the Mt. We filled up with water and continued bashing our way up to the last few contours where the thick scrub gives way to Alpine openness. This last bit of bush was particularly challenging to get through, and the light was fading quickly. We were carrying big packs which made it hard to squeeze through tiny gaps – and I was carrying a three-man tent just for me! We popped out just on dark (~5.20pm) and found a camp spot. Then we spent the evening round a fire eating and drinking til midnight :)

Lunchtime run from work up Mt Ainslie and back.

To the far reaches of Red Hill suburb, then through Forrest and around Telopea Primary. Was going to do 60mins but it was already 8.30pm and I was quite bored. Running in drizzle in Canberra is a rare experience and so that made it a little more interesting.

Can't run tonight so I did a morning run. Whoa. Up to Davo's Trig and back.