Last weekend in Sydney, thousands of buffed individuals ran a half marathon around the Sydney central business district. Feeling a little guilty about my lack of participation — or inclination to do so — I started reminiscing about the last time I had blisters worth talking about. Sadly, it was over a year ago, after a two-day hike through the Grose Valley in the Blue Mountains National Park.

According to a local website, this walk is of a ‘medium’ intensity — and I’m sure this would have been the case had we followed directions. Instead, we set off late on the Saturday afternoon (with a bottle of red wine and some cheese in tow) and subsequently, didn’t make it to the first campsite by nightfall. After spending the night on a mosquito-ridden riverside, we then realised we’d also tackled the walk in reverse, which meant a four hour climb up a seven hundred metre incline — carrying our empty wine bottles, tents, clothes and sleeping bags. While my legs were sore, and the blisters were very painful, the morning sun did make for some very beautiful photos. Half marathon? Pfft!

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