The CrossingToward Crystal Brook
Adelaide Was Getting Close
Adelaide was finally close enough to count down and fresh Hokas were waiting ahead. Between Baroota and Crystal Brook, the pipeline and a farm full of gnomes supplied the jokes.
After so long heading east, we were going south. Adelaide was close enough to count down, and the signs had started to feel less like jokes and more like instructions.
I resumed from Baroota and headed towards Crystal Brook. One sign put Adelaide at 238 kilometres. Later, another had Crystal Brook 22 kilometres away and Adelaide 216. If I got through the planned distance, we would sleep less than 200 kilometres from the city.
The plan looked simple written down: 20 more that day, then 55, 55, 55 and a cruisy 30-ish kilometres on Friday to Torrens parkrun. If I stopped short of Crystal Brook, we would drive forward to the caravan park and return to the finish point in the morning.
The empty stretches weren’t gone, but towns would appear more often now. I felt a little sad about that. The middle-of-nowhere parts had suited me in ways I hadn’t expected. Ben and Ols were quite reasonably looking forward to more people.
South Australia still had odd gifts. Another cloud factory was manufacturing weather over the hills. Another pipeline confirmed my theory that it was really Australia’s skeleton and the country was built on giant scaffolding.
A red dirt track ran beside the Augusta Highway. Emma commented while sitting in a waiting room, which made me wonder where everyone else was following from. Work, home, another town, another country. I was walking beside the highway, but people were joining us from all over the place.
A no-entry sign gave me a dramatic “foiled again” moment. Then came the Gnome Farm and the important agricultural question of whether the gnomes were free range or barn fresh.
The best news was waiting in Adelaide: about 1,600 kilometres worth of fresh Hoka shoes, thanks to Hoka OneOne Australia and Runwest. My first three pairs were battered, split, dirty and more than ready for retirement.
I finished with 55.6 kilometres and a running total of 2,653.1. Crystal Brook was our overnight stop, Adelaide was under 200 kilometres away and new shoes were waiting there.
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