Many years ago, as we limped and hobbled down the hill to Brooklyn Dam, my walking buddy (another) Rob, told me about his plan to eventually walk all sections of the Great North Walk (GNW). Probably not the best time to divulge such a grand plan, but it stuck in my head.
Time went by, and I discovered that in America, with it's great long walks, many complete trails this way. They are called section hikers. It is "a thing". It is not something that I have actively pursued, but years of walking, running, and exploring has led to me quite naturally completing a variety of sections in no particular order. Recently it dawned on me that I have nearly knocked the beast over. A few weeks prior, on a hot and humid summer day I had walked Lane Cove to Thornleigh. That left only the beginning and end sections.
Another hot and humid March day, I decided to run the stretch Sydney to Thornleigh. Train to Circular Quay, touched the monument that marks the official beginning of the GNW, then a ferry across to Woolwich. After a visit to the cleanest and most beautifully maintained public toilet at Woolwich wharf, I was off and running.
I assumed that following the GNW through the more urban stretch would be fairly straight forward. Wrong. The GNW is signposted by a little walking man on a tiny wooden pole, and that little fellow can be hard to spot. I came to numerous dead ends and had to retrace my steps. Finishing up in a small garden plot surrounded by chickens was a particularly memorable moment. I had a map, but maps are not always clear. One father loading up the car for his boys cricket match was giving me an increasingly suspicious look as I trotted past him repeatedly, until eventually I finally found my little mate lurking in a garden bed behind some agapanthus. Even when I was on track, I wasn't always sure, as I seemed to be running through back yards, but that's just how the GNW winds through suburbia.
Even though this stretch is in the heart of Sydney, it has long lovely isolated bush sections where it is hard to believe that houses and roads are nearby. The track winds through lots of lovely sandstone, rocky outcrops, rainforest. The Lane Cove River is a constant of this stretch. Mangroves, oysters, crabs and birds, rowers, Halvorsen cruisers, small creeks. Many places where I just stopped to enjoy the view.
As the morning progressed, the heat began to kick in, and extreme humidity. Lots of taps along the way and I was drinking constantly, but a wee headache began to kick in. By time I reached Fuller's Bridge/ Lane Cove weir (about half way), I was a bit toasted, and from there things quickly unravelled.
I had a photocopy of a map to prevent the original being trashed. Good thinking Rob. However, I had managed to miss the tiny bit covering the Lane Cove Weir. Oops. Of course it is a high traffic area, with great big GNW signs pointing the way along the trail, so it should have been simple - but I am not known as "That Guy" for nothing (as in "don't follow that guy"). As I eventually discovered, the large sign doesn't point along the right trail. As the heat and humidity continued to climb, I wandered (actually stomped) along option after option, crashing through bush regeneration projects, crossing creeks, brushing off spider webs, surprising cyclists on Lady game Drive as I crashed out of the bush, until I eventually found the way. By now, though, I had a thumping headache and declared my day done. I took an early exit point and a train from Gordon. Uploading my run on STRAVA, the map looked like a piece of mangled spaghetti.
A few months later, and a bit more cluey, I did complete the run from Woolwich to Thornleigh. It was much cooler, and much quicker, and my STRAVA map was much more impressive. Only Teralba to Newcastle to go ! This time with a complete map.
mangled spaghetti |