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Walls of Jerusalem 2005 Family run

Walls of Jerusalem    30 Dec 2005. 

Living as close as we do to the Walls, (Launie), it is very easy for us to dash up there, go for a run and return home, the whole exercise not taking overly long. As a result, when I was an athlete, I often did reps up and down to Trappers’ Hut, or ran into the Walls themselves. Here are shots of a family run in 2005 after Christmas.


 

 

 
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Roland, Claude, Van Dyke Triple Tops 1993, ’94, ’96, ’97, 2003, ’04

Triple Tops: Mts Roland, Claude and Van Dyke  1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003 and 2004

Roland

There is a wonderful race that covers these three mountains (Triple Tops), which I have had the pleasure of doing many times. One pays a price later for racing down Roland, and, when one is out to win, one doesn’t actually see the view in great detail, but, that said, there is time, even at record pace, to enjoy the sense of being up high with the world spread out below as you race. Often snow capped mountains are visible off to the right (it is held in November), and the heath flowers are often blooming beautifully. Other times, it is blowing a gale and the mist is swirling around. One time it was even hot.

I have just consulted my records: I ran it, and won it, 6 times: 1993 (when I was 6 mins faster than the then male record, despite being lost for 5 mins, having taken a wrong turn in the rocks at the top of Van Dyke), 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003 and 2004. My fastest time, which includes the time being lost, was 2 hrs 11 mins for the three.
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Anne 2004 Apr

Mt Anne  16 April, 2004

This trip was a family expedition, in which we intended to do the whole Anne circuit, but, due to the weather closing in, our plans necessarily changed. At least we got to the summit! According to the log book in high camp hut, we were the only lucky ones who were able to capitalise on the single brief window of opportunity that Easter. The weather looks glorious in the photos, and yet by the time we’d summitted and were back on the Eliza plateau, it had closed in and was raining. We thus abandoned our original plans, and came out the way we went in, drowned rats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Frenchmans Cap 2003 (Mar) 2007 (Jan)

Frenchmans Cap   March 2003, Jan 2007.

The first two times I climbed this mountain were in 2003 with a cheap film camera (the photos here), and in 2007, when the weather was so bad there was little point in taking photos. Both times we began from the carpark after lunch, went as far as Vera the first night, climbed up and down from there the next day, and were out by lunchtime on the third.
Here is a tiny selection of shots, not because they are anything at all, but only to keep the photographic record complete. I obviously need to climb this a third time, with my decent camera!! (Post script. I have now climbed it several more times.
See www.natureloverswalks.com/clytemnestra/

 
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South Coast Track 2002 Apr

South Coast Track, 20 years later     1-4 April, 2002

This was 25 hours’ walking, spread over three and a half days. That was WAY too quick. I was sometimes so exhausted I would sleep on my pack in breaks. As any who have done it will know, the most tiring aspect was the thick mud – negotiating a way around it, and, worse, trying to pull oneself out of it while it did its level best you suck you in and under!! My muscles at the time were only geared for running, not this kind of heavy walking; I found it very difficult.
The beaches were grand, nonetheless. Next time I would take at least six days.
(Images taken from prints)


(Me on the left)