“Make your days dense, and time will go slower.” This idea is a thought that often passes through my mind. I sometimes think of my days like pages in a book; the more words there are on a page, the slower it takes me to get through the book. Similarly, if I can fill my days with new experiences and stimulating conversation, I believe my days will inevitably feel slower. This week was a shake-up in comparison to my last month or so in Adelaide. The catalyst for our adventures came from the urge to do work from a new cafe and to test out Jackson’s new camping gear. I started the week nestled in amongst the cozy confines of cafe walls as I edited photos and planned upcoming projects. Rolling over the midweek hump, that’s where things got exciting.
CAMPING ALONG THE HEYSEN TRAIL
Over the last few years, Jackson and I have slowly adapted our ‘travelling toolkit’. The ‘toolkit for life’* and ‘traveling toolkit’ are two slow-burning projects that are continually being optimized for maximal efficiency while living on the road. Within the toolkit are things like camera gear, camping equipment, performance clothing, footwear, hiking equipment, and everyday clothing. While traveling, we don’t typically have a base to return to, which is where the difficulty of packing arrises. Ideally, it would be great to only take specific equipment depending on the location, and it’s environmental nuances, but it usually doesn’t work like that. The most optimal gear is usually gear that is lightweight but made of high-quality material. Throughout my bike-packing trip in the USA, I upgraded to an extremely lightweight camping setup. The tent I travel with now weighs 880g, which is probably less than the drink bottle you carry around. My sleeping bag, inflatable pillow, and inflatable sleeping mat all weigh less than this too. Jackson upgraded to a similar setup, so we thought we’d head down to the coast so he could give it all a test run.
*Toolkit for life is a term coined by my friend Angus Armstrong. I hope he turns it into a book one day.
Jackson and I piled into the car and ventured down the coast. Initially, we wanted to camp at Rapid Bay but was still closed due to COVID-19. Our next port of call was Waitpinga Beach and Newland Head conservation park. Rapid Bay is still one of my favorite places to camp in SA but the changeup was refreshing. We were in no rush to set up camp for the night so we decided to head down and watch the sunset. Slowly but surely, the sky started to come to life. Pieces of colour paraded along the cloud bellies as the coastline slowly became draped in pink. It was wonderfully exciting to witness.
Our camping went swiftly and Jackson was pleased with his latest setup. Friday we explored a very small portion of the Heysen trail, running the track between Kings Beach and Waitpinga. I would say it is now up there as one of my favorite pieces of trail to run in South Aus.
Fast forward a few days and I found myself back on the same stretch of the trail again. After running it with Jackson, I wanted to return and see more. I also discovered that you can watch the sunrise over the ocean in SA… nothing groundbreaking but it was a ‘one-percenter’ for me after watching so many sunsets over the ocean.
BRUCEY’S 24 HOUR RUN
From Saturday 10 am to Sunday 10 am, Angus ran for 24 hours straight. Over the last four months, I watched Angus diligently complete every session of his training regime. There wasn’t a day, time or kilometre that he missed. The journey to his 24-hour run was exciting to watch and be apart of. We shared numerous runs together, some of these coincided with my calendar club effort in April. It was a joy to be able to train with Angus and see him progress over the months leading up to it. As I’ve said before, “CONSISTENCY IS POWERFUL” and Angus highlighted this in its entirety.
One of my favourite quotes I’ve come across this year is from Theodore Roosevelt, he says:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Angus personified the man in the arena on the weekend. It was a privilege to crew Angus over the 24 hours. Running him food, walking laps with him and making sure he didn’t take his shoes off whilst in a state of delirium. I’m grateful to continually have such inspiring people around me. Kudos to you Angus, you’re a machine!
What a week that was!
This week is back to planning and admin. I turned my car into a house on wheels this week. I hope you enjoyed the words and photos.
Big Love,
JL
THE REST OF THIS WEEK’S GALLERY
