Day 132 - True Grit

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Corfield - Stamford 68km

The one highlight of the day came right at the end. Jo, from Cronulla, if you are reading this, please let us tell you that your kindly donated spaghetti bolognese delivered the best free camp dinner we could ask for on a day like today. It was delicious. Thank you again for your act of travelling kindness. 

True grit in the middle of nowhere

During some stretches, Jo's spaghetti bolognese was all I could think of. During others, I try the "travel down memory lane" technique, reminding myself of great moments in the outdoors shared with likeminded people, who also, every now and then don't fear a touch of "true grit". Today's distance would, under regular circumstances, not be a real challenge. But the wind made it horrendous! It takes us almost three hours to get to 32km - not even half way! - and our morale needs some desperate lifting. We resorted again to the upbeat effect of music. But both earplugs have to go in, otherwise you can't hear a tone over the roaring wind. The play list of our  Community Everesting 2021 Watervale event from exactly a year ago brings both: great memories and good rhythm. 

Chasing shadows

We continue to chase each other's shadows by taking turns in being the windbreaker. The late afternoon sun mixes with the salty sweat and clings to our backs, attracting clouds of flies. The aim is to get to the locality of Stamford, which, until not that long ago, welcomed passers-by with a thriving roadhouse and an adjacent campground. But those days are gone. We get off the bikes in what looks like a parking bay for trucks with a few square meters of grass to the side. Probably the most uninspiring camping spot on tour so far. But we couldn't care less. The sun is just about to disappear and, of course, the wind has died down. And then we are onto Jo's spaghetti...

Bad winds require plan B

The lights go out early after a soothing sip of whiskey. And tomorrow? Well, tomorrow we pull out plan B...

Location: Stamford QLD 4821, Australia

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 21, 2022 at 5:34 PM

    Oh dear, guys. That sounds like pure misery 🙁

    ReplyDelete

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