The CrossingCold Rain To Snowtown
Worst Weather So Far
The worst weather so far soaked my shoes and forced repeated changes into dry gear. After 54.3 cold kilometres, we spent the night at Snowtown and waited for the inevitable questions.
South Australia had been warning us that winter was not done with us. On Day 60 it made the point properly.
I had a late start by HAA standards, which meant 5:30am. By the time I posted a morning update, I already had 7 kilometres done, Snowtown was looking like the likely overnight stop, and Adelaide had become small enough to measure in a ridiculous unit: 38 parkruns and a couple of kilometres for the cool down.
That was progress.
It was also cold. Properly cold. The forecast had more rain in it, so Snowtown was not just an overnight stop. It was a powered site, heater-on, get-things-dry sort of target.
The rain arrived hard just after lunch. I was about 3 kilometres into the third 15 km session when the skies opened. My compression pants and shorts were soaked through, and my shoes and socks were sopping wet.
That was not only uncomfortable. It was risky. Wet feet could soften the hard skin on my soles, which then meant flaking, rubbing, soreness, blisters, and a different kind of foot pain. I called the support vehicle, changed into dry gear, and waited out the worst of it.
The walking still had to happen. The only question was how to keep it happening without turning one wet session into several days of foot trouble.
By then, that was the rhythm of HAA: deal with the thing that had appeared in front of us, make the best decision we could, and keep moving.
It was probably the worst weather we had faced so far: rain, cold blustery winds, wet clothes, wet shoes, and a very muddy Blue 2 pair of Hokas that would need drying and washing. Somehow, though, I still posted that the day had been thoroughly enjoyable.
That sounds odd, but it was true. There were hard days that felt miserable, and hard days that felt alive. This was the second kind. South Australia was throwing weather at us, but Adelaide was getting closer and I could feel the shape of the next milestone starting to form.
The little markers kept coming. Port Pirie Regional Council disappeared behind us. Snowtown appeared ahead. The country was wet, grey, windy, and still beautiful in flashes: purple flowers beside the highway, wind turbines under heavy sky, that familiar mix of bleak and lovely that had become part of the adventure.
Ben posted an update that day as well. He had been quietly building his own HAA training programme while supporting me across the country, with Brisbane half marathon in mind. By then he had run and walked more than 515 kilometres in just over eight weeks, had taken his 5K PB down to 24:09, had run a 57:45 10K, and had stretched his longest run to 18 kilometres at sub-six-minute pace.
That was one of the unexpected things about HAA. I was the one walking across Australia, but HAA was changing the support crew too.
Ben also wrote about the mental side of it. From inside the campervan, from the rest stops, from the practical daily grind, he was seeing the part that could be hard to explain from outside.
As the weather has taken a turn for the worse, Gary continues on his journey regardless of the wind and rain. I’m starting to realise how much of a mental battle it is as much as physical for Gary.
The main thing is he has a consistently positive outlook and is totally determined on the completion of what he has ahead of him. Every day is a new day, Gary for me, continues to inspire.
By evening, I had 54.3 kilometres done and the accumulated total sat at 2707.4 kilometres. Torrens parkrun by Friday afternoon still looked realistic. The immediate priorities were simpler: rest, sleep, dry clothes, dry shoes, and get ready to do it all again.
There was one more small complication. The overnight stop was Snowtown.
As soon as that name appeared online, messages and comments started coming in. Were we really stopping there?
I already knew about the bodies-in-barrels murders and Snowtown. The bodies had been discovered in 1999, six years before I moved to Australia. The murders themselves took place around Adelaide, and Snowtown became associated with them because bodies were found in barrels in an abandoned bank vault there.
It was not something to treat lightly, but it was a very real demonstration of how a place or name can carry power. Years later, that was still the part I remembered: the reaction to the name.
Our actual night in Snowtown was completely uneventful.
We stayed at Snowtown Centenary Park Caravan Park, plugged in, put the heater on, dried what we could, and slept well. After all the rain, wind, wet shoes, and foot-care calculations, a quiet powered site was exactly enough drama for me.
Images From The Day
