If dirt under your fingernails means your having a good time then I was definitely having a blast. Although, the lady from Noosa and District Landcare did hand me a pair of gloves to join their riparian rainforest planting project. I thought they looked like riding gloves and coupled with my kerchief, imagined this could be my final Tally Ho before galloping off into the forest. Digging back in the earth, I chose to plant a cheese tree. Considering we'd started this walk at the Butter Factory, it seemed like a fitting recognition.
The early morning drizzle had put a slight damper on packing up and the grass cuttings had suddenly morphed into sodden clumps weighing down my already leaden feet. Shaun announced the Yoga session was about to start and breakfast would be happening on Cooran time. With only 10 easy kilometers today and the clocks merely a loose guideline, everyone relaxed into the Hinterland tempo and the slow pace of morning chatter.
My heel was still complaining as my legs engaged into the steady rhythmic plod that had got me this far. Listening to Alex, I learned this was hungry country, where the plants are on a diet and the less fertile soil had kept the farmers at bay. Out here in the woods it seems easy to fall into deep and meaningful conversations, perhaps it's the lack of interruptions and luxury of plentiful time? And in the silent moments, it's simply uplifting to hear the forest alive with laughter and conviviality. However mild or wild, every person has their story. Shaun's tale is about highlighting the Noosa Trails and the economic possibilities for the Hinterland towns.
Initially, the Great Noosa Trail provided me with a fitness goal in my attempt to delay middle age. In my privileged world where it's easy to be paralyzed by options, a 60km trek through the wilderness can bring everything back to clarified simplicity. Three days in this beautiful countryside taught me that just as in life, there is always a beginning, a middle and an end.
The start is a place full of anticipation and exuberance, the end is hopefully one of satisfied completion. Besides enjoying the journey in a frenzy of cliches, perhaps I learned to embrace the middle (and if that includes accepting my expanding waistline then so be it.) Yet in truth, your age, your story, your blisters, none of that really matters when you're hiking the Hinterland with your people. When you're out on the trail, what truly matters is the camaraderie with your friends of the road, because that's what keeps you moving forward, step by step.
In a way, I did manage to achieve my Benjamin Button status, I took three days to go from having 60 kms ahead to zero. And now I'm a little sad I'm at the end. But as the good Dr. Seuss says, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
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