Hamton

Why not?

So with not nearly enough training (and a couple of badly timed bugs – Sarah got the flu and Paul lost 5kg in the two weeks before the event with gastro), the Hamton team (Paul Hameister, Chris Szworak, Matt Malseed and Sarah Halkyard) armed with our secret weapon Sally Irons and Tim Hubbard as support crew, stood at the starting gate of the 2007 Oxfam Trailwalker. With temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius by 8:30am, and gracing the record books as being one of the hottest March nights, we were off!

The first stage resembled a penguin parade with a mass of walkers stretching as far as the eye could see. This kept the pace down until the first checkpoint was reached as passing opportunities were limited on the trail.

The 35 degrees + temperatures started to smack us around as the morning turned to midday. Our tireless support crew member, Sally, was a sight for sore eyes as we reached checkpoint 2. Sustenance and hydration were the catch cry as feet were inspected and sore spots poked and prodded.

The day wore on, as did the high temperatures and strong winds. The frequency of stops along the trail increased as the day progressed and our thoughts wondered to what was install for the next day.

It was just after 5:30pm when we arrived at checkpoint 3 at the base of the 1000 steps. We had walked for 9 hours and had covered 35Km. Due to the extreme (hot) weather conditions and the day of Total Fire Ban, the stage through Mt. Dandenong was cancelled so it was a quick drive up the mountain to checkpoint 4 in Olinda.

Once checked in, Paul returned back to Melbourne to host a black tie event @ Circa Restaurant. The rest of us began to lick our wounds as the days walk in the blistering heat was just that – blisters all over. The free podiatrist and massage service was utilised to the max by all, especially Matt, where his flirting with the cute young podiatrist yielded a top notch job on his big toe and other bodily extremities (small toe).

After we were all bandaged up and massaged out, Tim, our other support crew member drove us to a local pub where we gorged on dead meat, chips and veg before we crashed at Tim’s house where he put us up for the night.

6:30am the next morning saw us start the second day with Paul returning back from Melbourne with only 4 hours sleep under his belt. Heavy rain overnight, and the pounding of hundreds of feet along the trail before us, made the track muddy and we were in for a very wet, day 2.

With the cooler temperatures we made good time for the morning as we settled into a steady rhythm and chewed through the km’s. We were all surprised that our bodies were putting up with the abuse (well almost). As the day drew on, the wet conditions caused havoc with feet and blisters as each new kilometre brought on new pains and aches.

Our checkpoint stops soon began to increase in duration as we continued to march along the Warbuton track, which although flat, was hard on the feet. By midday, Tim (and his life saving caravan) joined Sally and her husband Chris to offer creature comforts, hot drinks and somewhere to lie down and rest our weary bodies.

By 3:30pm that day, we had reached checkpoint 7, the point at which 437 walkers retired from the event. We could smell the finish line and the pain in our feet and aches in our muscles were cast aside as we prepared for the last 24Km.

For the next 15km, ipods were used with devastating effect as we set the pace to the music and arrived (albeit absolutely knackered) at checkpoint 8.

The next 2 hours were spent huddled in the caravan while temperatures dropped as night set in, as did our aching blisters, enflamed knees and sore muscles. Massages were administered, bandages applied and by 9:14pm we were geared up and on our way to the final leg of the trailwalker.

The next four hours were a testament to the trailwalker catch cry “Commit, Endure, Achieve” not to mention great teamwork, as we navigated the steep, narrow and ankle deep mud up the slopes of Mount Little Joe (nothing little about it). The State Emergency Service was kind enough to attach ropes to trees along the track so that we could pull ourselves up over the slippery mud. It was a true test of endurance as our bodies reached breaking point and the Codeine no longer alleviated the pain.

At 1:30am Sunday morning, we crossed the finish line placing 332nd out of 592 teams completing a fantastic team effort in 27 hours and 43 minutes.

Overall the Hamton team, through your very kind donations raised $5,365, enough to fit out two entire schools in Laos.

On behalf of our team, I would like to thank you for your generosity and support and I hope we did you proud.

Chris Szworak (Team Captain)