Date: Sunday 20 July 2014
Time: 8:30am
Where: Berowa Waters, Sydney
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Training for Mont Blanc has given me so much already.
It allowed me to discover beautiful places around Sydney, given me the opportunity to reconnect with nature, myself and with new and old friends. Every week, we’re inviting someone new to the group who love to explore too. It’s all about having fun, encouraging each other, learning from one another and just enjoying the fresh air and nature.
It’s amazing what you find out about someone after 5 hours. You feel like you have always been friends, even though you might have only met that day. Our hikes have turned in to counselling, event planning, venting and brainstorming sessions. I am so grateful for their support and encouragement…even though they think I’m crazy. 🙂
Left to right: me , Trace (philosopher), Vickie (first time hiking), Tina (my second cousin) and Anna (from Poland and new to Sydney).
As part of my training program, I hike every weekend for at least 5 hours with a 8kg rucksack. My goal is to build up as much endurance in my legs as possible before I go. I prefer to hurt now than on the mountain.
We set out to complete the Oxfam Trail from Berowa Community Centre to Bobbin Head, met at Empire Marina Bobbin Head and took one car to the starting point. With my 65litre rucksack, I am now officially the sherpa. By the end of the hike, everyone is so tired we just want to go home and I always end up with a pile of jackets at my place!
Going along Benowie Walking track and the Great North Walk, there is a breath-taking view of the Berowa Creek. It was so peaceful, there was no sound of cars, boats or people (except for us) just the sound of nature. Gazing out in to the distance, I felt so lucky to have this so close by and couldn’t believe I hadn’t been out here before.
The trail was quite steep and there were plenty of stairs (perfect training)! My legs were burning, sweat was running off my forehead by the time we reach the top, but it felt good.
One of our new hikers had a sore knee and in an instant we all turned in to doctors. 🙂 We found her the best branch to use as a walking stick and slowed down the pace. I was so proud of her for making it to the end. She pushed through and had a lot of fun.
After 3 hours of hiking, we took a break and Anna pulled out a whole packet of cookies! Yummo! Exactly what we need at that time…well.. until half of them ended up in the pond (which I forgot to take a photo of). It’s funny what 3 hours of hiking does to you…
There was a moment on our hike where the clouds parted and the sun streamed through the trees. The bush around us was bathed in warm light. Without talking, we just stopped and soaked in the beams of light that filled the air. It was magical. As we got walking again, Tina summed it up beautifully… “it feels like we’re in heaven.”
The moment of heaven. I am hopeful that Mont Blanc will be just as magical and kind to me in 6 weeks.
Vi Nguyen 
I can’t agree more on your point about how much the hikes have given us. I’ve learnt so much personally, from little things like how to tie my shoelaces in a double knot, to the more important things in life like what to eat for lunch 🙂 Jokes aside, I get inspired by your stories and the convos that we all shared along the way.
It’s been so great hiking with everyone and I keep looking forward to Sundays so I can get my hike on!
Hahaha… when ever I see someone do a double knot I think of you now. We’ve had some really fun hikes, I’ll definitely be taking some of those memories up that mountain and probably be glad I carried that weight. 🙂 Keep up the hiking whilst I’m gone. The Facebook group we created has grown so you have more people to go with now!