So after much discussion we set off this morning for Murgon. I felt surprisingly fresh, despite the patchy sleep but still couldn’t stomach the thought of breakfast. The bakery had a large selection, so I picked a savoury option of an Angus Beef pie and made myself eat it until it was finished. Loaded 1l of water on board and hoisted the pack onto my back ready for the day’s walk.
Almost immediately my body protested at the intrusion but I persevered and started the walk. Ticked off the first few kms at a slow but steady pace but by 6kms I had had enough and called it a day at Manyung. Thank goodness for the Murgon cab service who came and picked me up and transported me the 12km to town. Quick phone call to Brendon and my knight in shining armour is coming up tonight to stay, bringing my bike so I can do the next town or two on two wheels - but that will depend on me getting my gut under control.
So the two weeks I had planned is now in disarray as I come to the realisation that hiking/camping end to end is not in my capability at this time. Instead I will go home, lick my wounds and plan to meet Rachel on the trail in a couple of places where I can do some day hikes/rides without the weight of a full pack on my back. Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I devastated? No. All I could do was ask my body how much it could take, and it showed me. If we had perhaps started with an easier first day I may have made it a little longer and had a better base to start from. I’m also asking a body that already has too much excess weight on it to carry additional weight - so I can’t really blame it for arcing up at the load I put it under.
So for now I will kick back and relax while Rachel sets up her camp for the night, wait for Brendon to arrive and then head to the pub at Murgon for tonight’s dinner and ponder what might have been and what could still be. This particular challenge may have beaten me, but I’m not broken!
No comments:
Post a Comment