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The CrossingToward Iron Knob

Nursing The Foot Near Iron Knob

My left foot was sore but manageable, which was enough to keep the Adelaide push alive for another 56.8 kilometres. Iron Knob was getting close, and so were the jokes.

Date9 July 2015
Journey dayDay 55
Sunrise over the Eyre Highway on Day 55
Starting into another cold South Australian sunrise, with Iron Knob still a long way ahead.

Day 55 was a day for keeping things together.

The wet-grass damage around Kimba had my attention. I nursed the foot through the day and it seemed to do okay. Feet were the whole project.

We were deep in the make-up-distance phase. Another 55 km had become a number I could type as though it were normal. It wasn’t. The longer days were how we answered the distance deficit and the fixed date in Adelaide.

The day itself was cold and dull, with showers around at times. The photos make that pretty clear: big clouds, long straight sections of highway, the support vehicle tucked into the roadside, and the South Australian scrub rolling on toward Iron Knob.

Yes, Iron Knob.

There was no sensible way to pretend that name was not going to cause pre-pubescent schoolboy giggling in the HAA campervan. It was the next significant landmark, and of course we found that funny. Some humour is sophisticated. Some humour is useful because it arrives exactly when you are tired, sore, cold, and still have a very long way to walk.

We parked at a rest area about 20 km south-west of Iron Knob after 56.8 kilometres, with the running total at 2,451.4. Dinner was sausages, boiled spuds, peas and sweet corn. My foot was still manageable. Tomorrow could wait.

Images From The Day

The Eyre Highway stretching into the morning light on Day 55
The Eyre Highway stretching into the morning light, one of those views that looked better than it felt after weeks of big days.
Clouds building over the Eyre Highway on Day 55
Clouds building over the Eyre Highway on a cold, showery Day 55.
The HAA campervan support vehicle waiting beside the Eyre Highway on Day 55
The support vehicle waiting roadside, which by then was simply how HAA functioned.
Lake Gilles Conservation Park sign beside a red dirt track on Day 55
Passing Lake Gilles Conservation Park on the way toward Iron Knob.
Dark showery clouds over South Australian scrub on Day 55
Cold, dull, showery weather kept rolling across the day.
A long straight section of the Eyre Highway under a heavy sky on Day 55
Another long straight section, with the sky making the distance feel heavier.
Gary's left foot after Day 55
Nursing the foot after another 55 kilometres, with the sore spot still behaving well enough.
Low light over South Australian scrub on Day 55
Low light over the scrub, one of the prettier moments in a cold, showery day.

View the full day gallery