It was August 2020 and I shuffled into the office at Smithton in my slippers. Bec was pretty excited that morning and I couldn?t wait to hear about her trip to Three Capes on the beautiful far southeast coast of Tasmania. But her news shocked me. ?It was incredible Peta, but you?ll never be able to do it.? Bec knew me pretty well. We spent a lot of time working together and sharing our dreams. Bec had been a bushwalker for years and travelled over seas to explore the great outdoors. I had all my bushwalking dreams in my head. And now it sounded like I had left it too late. I nodded my head to agree with her, but I kept my thoughts to myself. She saw the daily pain that stopped me from physically getting about. But deep inside I hadn?t given up hope. I was 54 and I wasn?t ready to put my life on hold.
The constant pain in my body was slowing me down. Osteoarthritis in both feet meant I couldn?t drive with my shoes on, especially 2 hours. My feet would throb the whole way. It was a bit of joke now, turning up for work in slippers, but I only put my blundstones on when I had to head into a paddock as my feet were in constant pain. Bec was doing all my soil testing, and I was evolving into more of an office role. I had to take painkillers to get out of bed and painkillers to get to sleep as I couldn?t even stand the weight of the sheets on my feet.
Being a health fanatic, I had tried nearly every diet hoping something would help. And though I had discovered a few things here and there, nothing had really given me any relief. After all, it was osteoarthritis, bone on bone, I didn?t hold much hope, and it wasn?t just in my feet, I had arthritis in other joints and inflammation in my entire body. I also had constant headaches and migraines. They were just as frustrating, as I had become unreliable and never knew when I was going to have to shut myself away in my bedroom with the curtains drawn. Then my boys talked me into trying another health program, though I didn?t hold much hope for that either, I decided to give it go. In fact, I didn?t just sign up for one, I signed up for three, hoping that something would offer a ray of hope.
Out of the 3 programs there was one that stood out. There were no counting calories, no measuring food, no restriction on the amount I could eat, just real, whole food. I committed to it even though I wasn?t expecting much and slowly but surely my body began to change. By the end of October 2020, there was a dim light at the end of the tunnel. I knew I still had a long way to go so I just kept going. And slowly but surely, my body continued to change.
For my birthday in November Luke, our eldest son asked what I?d like, and with Bec?s words still lingering in my head, I plucked up the courage to say, ?I just want us to walk Three Capes as a family.? Before I knew it, we were booked for the end of March.
The Christmas tree that year was packed with camping gear, back packs, walking sticks, hiking boots and sleeping bags. We did our first walk early January. I chose something easy. The Devonport pool to the Bluff. It was a 4km, level track that I thought would be nice and easy. But 1km in I couldn?t stand the weight of my pack pushing down through my feet. I was in so much pain I had to give my pack to the boys. In tears I continued, disappointed and frustrated. But I kept training. I dropped my pack from 15kg to 8kg and continued walking 4 times a week. By march I was up to 15kg and doing 7 km. Still a far cry from the 4 days and 48km for Three Capes but I was getting there. The last thing I wanted was to be air lifted out by the chopper.
On the 19th of March 2021 we jumped on the boat and sailed off to Surveyors Cove. The boat dropped us off on the beach, just like in the movies when you get dropped on a desert island. The weather was beautiful, and we swung our packs on and headed off.
The first day was only 4km but it was all uphill. We stopped a few times and took in the view and by the time we got to our first camp I was already wondering what I could drop out of my pack and leave behind. But we had to carry everything out that we carried in so there was no hope of that either. The next 2 days were spectacular. I was surprised at how little I wanted to eat and how well I felt. The only downfall was I was slow. I needed to allow extra walking time to get from camp to camp. Going up hill wasn?t as bad as going down. The weight of my pack going down all the steps was hard on my joints. I had to take each step one at a time.
On the final day we were up before daylight. This was going to be our biggest day. Carrying our packs and climbing mount Fortescue. We were also catching the early buss, so I was conscious of how slow I was and didn?t want to miss the buss.
I still remember the incredible feeling of heading off in the dark. We were the first ones to leave camp that morning. There was just enough light to see the timber path as it disappeared into the enchanted rainforest at the base of the mountain. It wasn?t long and we were well and truly climbing. It was drizzling and I was in a tank top. I remember the freshness of the rain falling on my hot skin and the untouched smell of the rainforest. I could feel the weight of my pack through my entire body, but I felt good. I just kept my focus on one step at a time. Climbing that mountain in the rain has to be one of the most incredible feelings I?ve ever had. Several people passed us, but I was still going, and enjoying every moment.
When we arrived at the top, we sat to watch the sunrise and breath in the incredible view. It had stopped raining and my body felt warm, yet my skin was cold and tingly. There was something special about the sunrise that day. I felt humbled to be part of this amazing forest. But there was something more. As I watched the ocean sparkle and the hills come to life below the sun, I felt a deep sense of trust. The type of trust you take for granted when the earth keeps revolving, and sun keeps rising. I felt that same deep trust in my body. It was a sense of belief and inner confidence. I had given my body the opportunity to function as it was designed and it hadn?t let me down. I felt like I had control. I felt alive. I felt I had my life back.
6 months ago, I couldn?t get out of my slippers, now I was sitting on top of Mount Fortescue, and was about to take on the 3000 steps of Cape Hauy to complete our 48km hike.?
And I felt good, really good, I didn?t want it to end.
