Saturday 28 to Sunday 29 July 2007
Photos
Official Website
Arrival
Once again, it was time for Dunk, Grace and me to set off on a mad 24 hour dash in the wilds of Australia, only this time, it was central Australia, a place none of us had really walked before. Despite being unsure of what the weather or terrain would hold, we were confident that our recent 3 Peaks weekend (completed in 47 hours) and Turon River Rogaine (5th overall, 3rd mixed) would help us in our quest.
After arriving at the Hash House (start/finish) on the Friday, we found a slightly crowded but peaceful campsite, filled with brightly coloured desert birds and crusty rogainers eager for a good night's rest.
The Morning
Three hours prior to the start, we received our maps, which showed an ancient, dry river bed dissecting a series of rough looking mountain ranges. Using the most expensive contact Dunk found, we covered our maps and directions, and set about planning our route.
There were 7 water drops (no natural water on course, apart from a manky pool near checkpoint 120), and no huge climbs, although there were plenty of hills for us to traverse. We came up with a basic plan, submitted our intentions (for safety reasons), finalised our packs and clothes (I elected to wear long pants, to avoid spinifex spikes, the other guys had shorts), fuelled up, and waited for the start.
Planning our route
The EventThere were 130 teams waiting to start, and as soon as the gun we all headed out in a variety of directions. I'm always amazed how little time it takes for the teams to separate. Before you know it, the only people you can see are your team mates.
Conversely, it's often a surprise to come across other teams, especially when they come at you from the opposite direction. You start to wonder why they are walking in a totally different direction, and would you have been better off doing the same.
The day was unseasonally warm, and it wasn't long before we were walking across the centre section of the course, flat as a pancake, feeling the heat of the afternoon sun dehydrating us. I suddenly felt like I was in the middle of the desert. Well I was.
The navigation was fairly easy during the day, owing to the lack of ground cover (apart from the spinifex, which was usually easily avoided). But the best thing were the mountains. A couple of times they could be avoided, simply be walking around them, instead of over them. And there were no 300+ metre climbs (like most other rogaines). Woo Hoo.
Where to next?We missed one checkpoint amongst a maze of small gorges and ridges, just after sunset. It was only worth 50 points, and fortunately we got out of it fairly easily (stumbling across a water drop with the tastiest oranges I have ever had (chilled, too)).
A couple of times throughout the night we came across cool patches of air, usually above creek beds. The temperature would drop about 5 degrees in these sections. But the oddest thing of all was a smelly patch, that lasted for about 100m (and no, it wasn't a fart). It smelt a bit sulphuric, and was quite odd.
We missed another checkpoint in the middle of the night, but this time it cost us 90 points. Once we decided to skip it, we were slightly demoralised, but we perked up a bit once we got the next checkpoint (over an hour later).
Just before dawn, a 30 minute nap was required. Grace was starting to feel like she was about to fall over (due to tiredness), but she was back to normal after the nap. I was feeling OK at this time, so I had a bit to eat, and took a few photos. I think I was still on LA time (I had just arrived back from LA a few days before).
The morning proved fruitful, but as we plotted our course back to the Hash House, we realised that we would not get to any more water drops. The day was heating up again, so we started to ration our water. About 45 minutes before the noon finish time, we ran out of water completely. By now it was in the mid 20s, but the sun was beaming down strongly, so it felt much warmer. We rushed back to the start/finish by the road, Grace leading the way. We arrived back with over 10 minutes to spare, and immediatley got something to drink. Then lay down.
We Finished!
It's a fantastic feeling to take off your shoes after a rogaine, and walk around bare footed. Likewise, a shower, where all the dirt, grime and sweat from the previous 24 hours disappears down the drain, always feels fantastic. And the food always tastes great - usually a BBQ, some soup, cheap cakes and cordial (although a coke would have been fantastic).
This time, I couldn't quite quench my thirst. I had been without water for too long, in hot dry conditions, whilst walking fast. My dehydration headache lasted for 2 days.
Three happy campers, after 24 hoursFinal Results
We finished in 22nd, gaining 1880 points.
We were 7th in the mixed category, and finished in 23:49:03 hours.
Full results.
I'm not sure when the next one will be.
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