I've fallen & I can't get up...

Another weekend gone; only 3 weeks tomorrow (Monday) til Kokoda.

My recovery week came to an end yesterday (Sat) with an easy 30min run around the hood after a bit of a sleep-in. Finished with 4.71k - av. 6:24m/k - av144BPM. I spent the rest of the day running around the house like a madwoman cleaning my trekking poles & boots (which were a mess after the mudathlon in Canberra a few weeks ago) and packing, unpacking & repacking for Kokoda and the mountaineering course. The Kokoda pack is down to 11.4kg now; my mountaineering pack still needs some work...

Today it was off to the magnificent Perrys Lookdown & Blue Gum forest for my 5.5hr hike today with a 20kg pack (18.84k). There was an icy wind & a nice light dusting of snow on the ground as I drove into Blackheath at 7.30am; I have to admit that I was asking myself why I hadn't taken up an easier - and warmer - sport. Still bad weather is, if nothing else, a good opportunity to test out my gear & the wind, rain and snow (yes, I got 'snowed' on!) certainly did that.

The gate was locked so I had a 3k walk in the cold wind to the lookout(down). Thankfully the trail down the escarpment & the forest were both largely protected from the wind. I had a bit of tumble in the forest when a stick jumped up & bit me ;-) It was a good reminder that the weight of my pack means that it sometimes has a mind of its own. I landed in a nice lush patch of grass where I did my best impersonation of a turtle on its back unable to move. Thankfully no-one was around to see it. Had to undo & take off my pack in order to get back up again.

A beef & guinness pie, large coffee and chocolate cake afterwards in Blackheath rounded out my day nicely :-)

MTD:

Bike - 51.41k

Run - 9.19k

Hike - 28.76k