The Crossing Kellerberrin area to Merredin
The Long Push To Merredin
Day 5 carried the rhythm into Merredin: cold Wheatbelt morning light, long trains, blisters, coffee stops, crew stories, GPS frustration, and 56.4 km before a near-rest day.
Day 5 began by going backwards again.
The boys dropped me about eight kilometres back down the road, because the night before had ended with us driving into Kellerberrin from the actual finish point. That was one of the little rules that mattered: sleep could happen wherever it needed to happen, but the next walking session had to start where my feet had stopped.
It was cold and beautiful. One of those Wheatbelt mornings where the light does half the work for your mood. The walking was already hard, but there were moments when I felt unbelievably lucky to be standing out there.
By this point the scale of the thing was starting to land properly. The early ceremony was gone. Perth was behind us. Kalgoorlie was still over a week away. Every day had the same basic shape: get up, go back to the finish point, move east, break the distance into chunks, eat what the crew put in front of me, and try to keep the feet from becoming the whole story.
The country helped. Red dirt, green bush, blue sky, small towns, long trains, silly signs, wide open spaces, and those deep evening colours that make the highway feel less brutal for a minute or two. Kellerberrin even gave us the “seed cleaning” sign, which led to exactly the kind of childish joke that kept us amused.
At lunch I had 25 kilometres done and my legs up. By mid-afternoon it was 35 kilometres, coffee, and Amazeballs. There were train-driver waves, thank-you videos, a long train rolling through the day, and the support crew trying to explain the balancing act of keeping me supplied while also keeping themselves fed, rested, and sane.
The support crew story was becoming part of the public story too. Ben introduced himself that day and wrote about how HAA had helped push him to stop smoking, get fitter, and start walking with me. That mattered. It was easy to talk about the big cause, the Heart Foundation, the kilometres, the map. But changes were happening inside the van as well, and Ben’s own words are worth keeping intact:
Afternoon/evening everybody, Ben here, on my walk with Gary yesterday we thought it would be a good idea for me to post a bit about myself. And why what’s he’s doing has changed my life for the better.
Before me and Ols came on this trip I was a nearly 20 a day smoker. I could barely run to the car and back without feeling out of breath. At 22, I knew that I really should do something about it before it became more of a problem!
Gary really inspired me to essentially improve my life in general, he’s clearly proof that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.
As Gary has already posted myself and Ols have been walking with Gary regularly to keep him company but to also improve our own fitness.
So now I’m over a week of being cold turkey from smoking which I’m already feeling the benefits from. So far in 4 days (first day was abit too crazy!) I’ve clocked up just over 50km walking with Gary and 8km of running solo. With planning to complete the final 10km’s with Gary today to our stop point.
As support team our priority is to keep Gary as happy and fit as possible and get him to Brisbane in one piece. But my personal goal on this trip is to finish in a better mental and physical state than when I signed up to this amazing event.
Gary always says how much he appreciates what me and Ols are doing for him. This seems a good opportunity to repay the gratitude to him for enabling me to come on a trip of a lifetime and to change my life.
#HAA2015
By evening we were on the night shift with a final 10 kilometres to go. That is a simple phrase, night shift, but it changes the feel of a day. The high blue sky and morning light were gone. The body was tired. The van lights, head torch, reflective gear, traffic, and short-term targets took over.
At 9:34pm, Day 5 was done: 56.4 kilometres. We drove into Merredin for food, showers, sleep, and the promise of a rest day after a short catch-up walk in the morning. Those catch-up sessions were not only about stopping short on a given night. They were how we avoided schedule slippage, especially while I was still making the early mistake of treating GPS distance as the measure that mattered. The crossing had to be measured by actual forward progress along the route, which meant the campervan’s position and the next start point mattered more than whatever number the watch had recorded.
There was Thai green chicken curry from Poppet’s Pantry, an absurd step count, and a little Strava frustration for good measure. #StravaCannotProveIt sounds funny now, but it captures one of the maddening things about the journey: the body knew exactly what it had done, even when corrupt GPS files meant the upload was not going to play nicely.
Videos From The Day
Even the train drivers are supporting HAA
A tiny Day 5 morale boost: even the train drivers were getting behind HAA.
Open on YouTubeA message of thanks
A Day 5 thank-you message for the people already helping and following the crossing.
Open on YouTubeLong train
A long Wheatbelt train rolling through the middle of Day 5.
Open on YouTubeSupport crew is a balancing act
Ols walking along the top of the pipeline, turning the support crew's balancing act into a literal one.
Open on YouTubeImages From The Day
