18/19 December 2020 Horseshoe Rd Run
I stood in the dark as the the rain and wind pelted me hard. I was well and truly drenched. It had been 4 hrs since I started the run and I was running to schedule. My support crew however were not. With the incredible amount of fallen timber along the road, this was not really a surprise. Having reached Mt Killiekrankie I was quite exposed to the weather. I found a large tree and hid behind it. My phone was wet and had lost its touch functions. I yelled repeatedly into it 'Hey Siri!' Eventually it worked and I got it to call my wife. She let me know that they were on their way but, as expected, had been delayed by the need to clear a path.
This outing started at work in Nambucca. I finished up the day and then got a lift with a colleague who lived far up North Arm Rd. Driving through Bowra the school's temp sign read 34deg. When he dropped me off it was it was quite sweltering. I had a bit of time until my planned 4:30pm start, so I found some shade and pondered my route.
The plan was was to run the length of Horseshoe rd. From Cattle Grid to Green Sign (or North Arm Rd to Waterfall Way). This had a distance of approx. 70kms. To make it a little more interesting I organised to do it at night. I had my support crew organised to head out and keep me stocked with water and provide any aid needed. It would turn out they endured a far more gruelling adventure than I.
At 4:30pm I started across the grid. The next 17km were basically uphill. about 30 mins in I came across my first challenge and not what I was expecting. Beehives. Sometimes I am allergic. In WA many years back I ended up in the Margaret River hospital in anaphylactic shock. Other times I have had no reaction or just mild swelling.
The hives had been placed both sides of the road and air between them was thick with bees. I psyched myself up for the gauntlet and then ran through. I got to the other side and stopped running but kept moving. I had picked up a number of passengers which I gently moved off me.
The weather was starting to change. In the distance I could hear the sounds of thunder. The cicadas were screaming. I continued my uphill climb.
Travelling slowly on the incline I noticed a number of old ceramic insulators attached to posts. I wondered where they were heading to or from and what had been there purpose. A small Hyundai car came up behind me and passed without a wave.
The wind came first. I could hear it moving towards me. When it arrived it did so suddenly. Trees were bending and branches and other debris were being blown parallel to the ground across the road. I squinted my eyes to reduce the dust entering. It blew and then a gentle drizzle started. It didn't get heavy, rather it just became 'thick'. Like walking Though water. While still early it had darkened. Soon I came across the first fallen tree. These were to become quite regular and grow in diameter.
My support crew were going to be coming up the same route I attempted to message them, but didn't have quite enough reception to get anything through. I continued along. I had become pretty drenched. The fog was thick, essentially I was moving through cloud. Going through a small cutting I could hear some noise above me. I looked up as a lyrebird flew over my head. It too was drenched and its body took on a wholly new appearance, somewhat like a thunderbird from Canadian First Nations mythology.
I reached Leagues Scrub as the sun was setting. It was really quite otherworldly. I had passed through many times in a car but this was the first time on foot. Giant rainforest trees rose up over the road, covered in giant birds nest ferns. A python crossed the trail and moved off into the bush.
The sun and its light disappeared quickly. In the darkness with my sight restricted I became more attuned to the sounds around me. I became quite aware of the sounds of falling water. hidden cascades ran down the hill and under the road. I could hear what sounded like bigger falls in the distance.
The rain returned. With it came a new and entirely unexpected challenge. Frogs. Frogs were everywhere. Theirs eyes were reflecting back at me all along the road, as far ahead as the torch could shine. It seemed as if every single frog was staring at me. In places it was challenging to move without stepping on one. As I got higher up the the storm got louder and more fierce. Thunder, lightning and the sounds of falling branches.
As I described at the start of this tale, when I reached the first checkpoint my crew was absent. After making contact with my wife. I made the decision to push on. With the lack of movement my waterlogged body was losing warmth rapidly. I needed water. There's a point on Horseshoe road where water seeps out the side of Mt Killiekrankie, eventually becoming the Nambucca River. I made my way to here and filled my water containers. Usually a trickle, the water today was fairly gushing. As I stood there dinking I noticed lights making their way towards me. It was my crew. Not surprisingly there was a tree across the road here and they pulled up.
Immediately they jumped out and into action. One took my pack and began restocking my nutrition. The other took my head torch and changed out the batteries. They described the challenges they had faced clearing the timber. Both are professional arborists and were experienced in clearing trails, they just had not been prepared for the amount they had to do on this night. I loaded up and left. Looking in the car I saw the bottle of wine and platter of cheese, bickies and dip. Quite romantic.
The rain and wind slowly eased. As it dissipated a fog thicker than any I have experienced settled in on the ridge. It was almost impossible to see where I was going. I ran along the road and when I came into contact with the edge where the grader had pushed the excess, I knew I had to move more to the right.
The boys had passed me earlier and been moving many smaller bits of timber off the road. I came up to vehicle stopped in the middle of them road. They were in front of the car looking at very challenging obstacle. A large tree had fallen and then slid. stopping across the road. The boys were conferring on how to best tackle this one. They only had a small amount of fuel left in the saw. I told them we could work out something else if necessary, but they sent me on. Running on I could hear the chainsaw in the still of the fog.
Slowly the fog started to clear. I had only one more long climb and then for the most part would be running downhill. The sky was lit up by stars and the moonlight allowed me to view the landscape around me. Everything became calm.
There were no more fallen trees. The boys met me ate the organised points. After the long climbs and wild weather, I was feeling refreshed. The running was uplifting.
Just before the end of the road I passed the support car. the boys were sound asleep. I ran down and crossed Waterfall Way and high fived the green sign. For little while I stood there in the moonlight on the empty asphalt road. The run had taken 11hrs 50mins to cover the 72km. I walked back to the car and woke up the boys. It had been a big night for them on the back of a big day at work. They cleared roughly 20 fallen trees. They were keen to get home. The drive back to Valla was very quiet.
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