The Travel Journal

002

It’s time to get outside.

Have you ever stopped and ponder the depth of a moment? Feeling what’s happening inside you and how it’s answering to what’s happening outside, a sense of proper connection. Those connections happen all the time when we are outside and in the wild. They say time stands still for no one but I’d like to think its ok to stand still every once and a while…..

After covering over 100kms by foot in the last 4 weeks I’ve started to take note of minor things that I would have looked over in the past. When I’m traveling slow my mind wonders, internally or externally I can often end up going down a rabbit holes of thoughts. I catch myself thinking about perspectives and scales, why things are where they are, how hard things were to build and what type of character it took to build or design whatever it is I’m looking at. My right calf gets tighter before my left and more often then not I’m thinking about where and when I’ll be getting my next coffee. I take mental notes of the way Beinn Na Callich looks different every day, snow capped, covered in cloud or standing tall casting shadows on a sunny day. Even the Boarder collie next door who stares intently as I wander past and jump the creek on my way to work most days. It’s pretty easy to notice these things but once you do you can really start to get you know an area and yourself. Remembering back to when I was a little fella, I’m sure I would’ve been noticing all the small intricacies everytime I was out on an adventure. It could’ve been as simple as a walk out in the bush, around every corner my imagination would’ve ran wild. But as I’ve grown up I’ve lost a sense of wonder somewhere along the way.

For the last 100,000 years we’ve been outside and reliant on the natural world to provide but it’s only been in the last 70 years or so we’ve found ourselves locked up serving a sentence of dull existence and in a ever growing wrapper of cotton wool. In Japan their doctors have been prescribing patients doses of forest bathing, called Shinrin-Yoku. They believe time spent under trees, in the mountains, in gardens and any other sort of natural space goes a long way in combating diseases of the mind and body. I think we can all relate to this. Pause for a moment and think back to you when being outside left you feeling joyful… The morning sun warming your body on a cold morning, that energy from a cold water dip in the ocean, that sense of awe when a huge bird flys over ahead or that content feeling as you watch as the clouds dance to the sun dipping bellow the horizon. I love these moments.

I think the art of noticing and human powered adventures can go hand in hand, and I’d say they’ve always been connected. Human powered adventures have always struck curiosity in me, there’s something powerful about being able to get somewhere under your own steam. March 2022, one of my best mates (Turtle) and I, packed our bikes and cycled 164kms in 2 days carrying our camping gear on what would be one of my hardest trips yet. Call it conquers of the useless, we didn’t really get anything tangible from it, we reached the destination, muscles aching, somewhat dehydrated and longing for a beer. It definitely wasn’t a world record by any means, it was the simple monotony of rolling the legs over for kilometre after kilometre. I nearly lost the tent poles, my right achilles wanted to snap after 60kms, Turtle dodged a red belly black snake and we both had to push our bikes on multiple occasions. And for us that was an adventure. Another notable trip was a bottom to top hike of Mt Kosciuszko, the day before we set off I had come down with with some major flu like symptoms, so rather then sit it out I figured a long sweat fest would bring the best out of me. As we reached the high plains we were smashed by winds up to 50-60kms, making the final ascent an absolute slog. But for that brief moment we sat at the summit crouching behind some rocks for shelter, I was happy with my decision. A doctor visit 2 days later revealed tonsillitis.

But maybe that’s just it? The marvellous feeling of accomplishing something hard.

Bike packing trip 2022.

Adventures don’t have to be a hike up Mt Everest or a solo paddle across the Bass Strait, to be honest if it feels like an adventure to you, then it is.

To summarise my thoughts here, it’s important to remember I’m no expert in this and I can only speak on my experience with the outdoors and from what I’ve learnt. I’d like everyone to answer the call of nature and get outside too adventure as much as possible. Grab your mates or head out solo, for that’s where I hope you’ll find a deeper connection, perspective and a calm amongst the chaos. You’ll thank yourself.

Wilsons Prom, Mt Oberon Summit.