The Jatbula Trail from Katherine is not, on the face of it, scary. 62 kilometers over five days, no huge ascents, quality pre-booked campsites. At the end of June, when Pam and I help make up a dozen club hikers doing the trail, the dry season will be benign enough to allow a light pack without rain gear or extreme cold gear.
Still, still, still … terror mounts in one’s brain. A few years back, this might have been regarded as a jaunt. Now, with soft feet and untrained shoulders and depleted reserves of stamina, I’m anxious. I know only too well how minor unpreparedness can change a perky hike into an ordeal.
So we’re doing some hasty “training,” walking with extra weight once a week, stretching, perhaps even trying to lose some of that lockdown weight gain. And we both bought a new Osprey pack, their super-light-but-tough 60-litre beauty. It’ll be a full kilogram lighter than my existing (and now nearly at the end of its life) Aarn pack.
Let’s hope a kilogram makes the difference and allays my worries.