C2C 2010 Preparation
We frequented outdoors shops during the post-Christmas sales to buy walking boots and socks, quick-drying shirts and trousers, waterproof coats and trousers, hats, gloves, rucksacks, walking poles, and assorted odds and sods including a light-weight thermos, and head lamps.
Graham bought a 10 megapixel Canon PowerShot SX10IS to replace an aged 3 megapixel Olympus C760 camera. Suspicions prior to leaving home were confirmed when we compared pictures from the two cameras in London – the much smaller and lighter Olympus produced sharper images than the Canon. So the Canon was left in a suitcase for the walk.
Our main concern for the walk was whether, in our 60th year, we would be fit enough. We continued our gym sessions a couple of times a week. Graham walked up the 10 flights of stairs to his office each work day for the three months before the walk. We did day walks carrying packed rucksacks through the hills of a national park near our home on the western edge of Brisbane about once a month for the seven months before our C2C. The first walk was 12km (7.5 miles), and we increased to a 30km (19 miles) walk with an altitude gain of about 500m and lots of ups and downs in between. The first time we did the 30km was devastating, but on our second attempt the pain was bearable. We were confident of walking the distance, but the 'disadvantage' of Brisbane's climate was that all walks during late summer, autumn and winter were on warm or hot sunny days (maximum temperatures 23-32oC). Could we cope with walking in cold, wet England?
David and Robyn accompanied us on some of the walks, but Robyn's preparation had to be suspended for knee surgery about three months before the walk.