Walking For A Cure: Testing

As time gets closer to the final day before going to Nepal its good to test not just your gear but yourself, I have had 1 day off in the last 16 which sucks but i have been getting up at 5.30am to run and also go to the gym after work, I am around 30lb down in weight but there is nothing like hitting the trails and using the muscles that you will be using on the trek to base camp, I left work on Monday afternoon with 2 days hiking ahead of me, I wanted to push myself to see how the fitness was/is, I set up camp at Hanging Rock SP just before dark and hit the sack, Up and out at 6.30am, The plan was to hike the 5 peaks, I had done 4 before but ran out of water and although felt good to do the 5th peak i didn't, The 5 peaks cover around 10 miles of steep trails, My favorite peak being Cooke's wall for its great views, I trekked up to Moore's wall first then down and up to house wall and Cooke's wall, The trail then takes you down and along before heading back up to Wolf rock and finally Hanging rock over look, The trails are mainly rocks and roots, Very very steep in places and long, It took about 4 hours start to finish, I actually did 6 peaks as i walked back from Hanging rock to Wolf rock as i could then go down the trail to the refreshment kiosk at the lake, My mind was now thinking ice creams and slushies and the temperatures rose to around 90, You can guess my face when i got there and it was closed, I was gutted, The camp ground only had a couple of tents in it as the kids have gone back to school and everything else is closed, The walk from the kiosk to my tent seemed to go on forever but was only around 15 minutes, I spent the afternoon relaxing and deciding what to do the next day, I thought that i could do the 5 peaks again but in reverse, That really would test the fitness as i was very tired from the day or i could go on a trail i had never been on, I read a book and went to bed and thought i would make a final decision in the morning, Whilst reading the book outside my tent i was visited by a white tailed deer with a fawn, I thought that they would spook when they realized i was there but they took no notice and walked very close, I always have my camera to hand so managed some shots, I had seen deer all over the park and when walking the trails they see or hear me way before i normally see them, A bear had also come into the campsite a few days before my arrival,
Today i was up and out at 7am, I filled my new 3ltr Osprey hydration bladder and threw some granola bars into the back pack and left, I decided to walk the Tory's den trail, 4 miles each way, I had the opportunity to connect with the Moores loop on the way back and take me the long way up the Moores wall/knob, Tory's den has some historical importance where the Tory's fought the Whigs back in the days of the British red coats, The trail seemed nice but not challenging well at least i thought until i was on my way back, I had not realized how far down i was going, On the way back there was very long up hill sections, I came to the intersection with the Moores loop and took a left, This was now a 1.5 mile very steep trail all the way up to the summit, I sat at the top dripping in sweat, The temp was now in the high 80's, I was close to 20 miles for the 2 days, Its was very tough going but my legs felt great, No stiffness or aches and pains, It was the hardest trekking i had done so far
I did not take too many pictures as i had shot the peaks before, i did have a new 64gb Sandisk CF card in the camera so it was a test for that to make sure all was ok before Nepal
When i arrived back home there was a small package waiting for me from Hunts Photo, Inside was a Nikon 18-35 along with a Kirk L bracket and B+W polorizer that will be coming to Nepal with me, I need to take the lens out and give it a workout to make sure the photo IQ is good, The tests and reviews on the web say it is, Its way lighter than my 24-70 which will also come along with me

Photographers selfie, Top of Moore's wall with Pilot mountain in the distance