Training To Solo Hike The Overland Track - Interview With Rhonda

In this episode, I chat with Rhonda, a Melbourne-based aged care worker with a history of knee and foot issues.

Inside she shares how personalised strength and conditioning for hiking helped her complete the Overland Track in Tasmania, solo. She covers the training she did around a demanding job and lockdowns, how her knees and feet held up on the trail, and what she learned about solo hiking on a serious multi-day adventure. 

​Episode Transcript:

Q: Do you just want to let the listeners know where you're from, what you do and what is your background in hiking?

I'm Rhonda. I'm currently living in Melbourne. I work in aged care. My hiking background is a bit limited. I was living over in Perth for quite a few years. I started there in 2016, went off and did the Camino over in France and Spain, although I don't really call that a hike, I think that's more of a walk. Leading up to that I was going out with a couple of friends doing a lot of local day hikes and a couple of hikes with my pack just to get used to carrying a pack for long distances. After I got back from that I just wanted to do more and more walking. When I got to Melbourne I didn't know a lot of people, so I joined a meetup group that did a lot of hiking, a bunch of ladies that did a lot of hiking, and got more into hiking through them. I did another Camino, the Portuguese one, by myself, came back from that and decided I really like doing solo walks. Then I thought I want to go and do the Overland Track. I figured it's not that long so I could probably manage to do that by myself without too much drama. But I've had a few knee issues and foot issues so I really needed to fix those so I could complete it without any problems, and that's where I got in touch with Rowan. February this year I headed off and finally did the Overland Track.

Q: The plan when we first started working together was you had the Overland in your sights, but you were aware that the knees and feet had some issues in the past. Was that about the general gist of it?

Definitely, because I knew that once you're on a walk like the Overland Track, there's only two ways out. You either walk out or you get evacuated, and I didn't want the second option. I wanted to make sure I was fit enough to be able to complete it without too much pain or too many issues.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the training you did in the lead up through the Summit Strength program. What did your program look like?

My program had three strength sessions, a recovery session, hiking, and loaded pack hiking. I have to admit I was a bit slack some days. COVID, restrictions, lockdowns, some days it just all got a little bit too much and I didn't complete everything I had planned. But I definitely made sure I tried to do recovery every day, and there were a few daily exercises that specifically targeted my problem areas that I would always take a couple of minutes to do, even if I didn't manage to complete a whole strength session.

Q: Was there anything different in the training which you hadn't really done before?

Not really. After my first Camino I had quite a bad problem with my knee, and I'd actually seen a surgeon who wanted to operate. I had maltracking of my kneecap. But my physio had said don't, just build up strength in your legs. So I joined a gym specifically targeting women over 50 to do strength exercises. A lot of those exercises were similar to what I did through your program, but I had just become slack over the years. Moving from Perth to Melbourne and re-establishing myself, life just got in the way. Also, I hadn't done a lot of loaded pack hiking before, probably not as much as I should have, and I think that really helps.

Q: Was there a favourite exercise and a least favourite exercise out of curiosity?

I quite love calf raises because that really helps my foot. My least favourite was probably the one-legged squat onto the chair, the balance on one leg. I found that really hard. Still finding it really hard.

Q: Through the process leading into the Overland, were there any roadblocks that came up along the way, anything that got in the way of the process? And if so, how did you go about overcoming them?

Work kept getting in my way, and being in Melbourne we were in and out of lockdown, restricted to five kilometres for any exercise. Where I live it's completely flat, there's one tiny little hill, so it was really hard to get any hill training in. I had to wait until restrictions were lifted so I could go beyond where I live to find a decent hill. That was my biggest roadblock. I went to the one little hill I have, they call it the 100 Steps in Altona. I don't think it's actually got 100 steps, but that was my only place and I would just do laps up and down there. It was pretty boring. Work was also very stressful, working in aged care, constantly wearing masks and shields. I just tried to get out for a walk because mentally walking really helps me. Getting out for short daily walks was probably the thing that saved me.

Q: You flew over to Tassie, stepped on the trail. How did it all go? Talk me through it.

Oh, it was great. The first couple of days I had mostly clear skies. Before I set off I had big plans to get to Cradle Mountain Summit, Mount Ossa Summit, and Barn Bluff. In reality that didn't all happen. I did manage to get to Cradle Mountain Summit and I was way out of my comfort zone. I love rock scrambling, but those rocks were a bit bigger than what I'd scrambled before, and I've only got short legs. At a couple of places I lost sight of the markers because the rocks were just too high and I couldn't see where I was going. I took what looked like an easier route only to find it was definitely not the right way. I got towards the end of the last little climb to the summit and I was just stuck, I couldn't get up onto this ledge. Fortunately two young guys came along, grabbed me and pulled me up, so I managed to get to the summit. There was no view because by that time we were in cloud, but it was beautiful because there was absolutely no wind and it was really still, quite magical even though you couldn't see anything. Then I still had quite a bit of walking to do that day and that climb really took it out of me, but I managed to get to Waterfall Valley Hut, which was absolutely beautiful.

Q: What happened with the big storm?

The rangers informed us there was a really big storm coming in the next couple of days, expecting rainfall in excess of 100 mils. So we decided the next day we would skip the next hut and go on to Pelion, which ended up being about 23 kilometres. We'd got to Windermere by 10.30 in the morning, only two and a half hours, so while the weather was good we kept walking to make the most of it. That made for a very long day. Then from Pelion I wanted to do Mount Ossa the next day. I headed out and got to the point where you drop your packs to go up the mountain. Most people had decided they weren't going up because it was looking like rain. I crossed my fingers and thought, no, I'm here, I'm going to have a crack at it. The higher I got the wetter I was getting. I got up to a section they call the Japanese Gardens and all I could see was swirling clouds and it was just starting to rain. I was completely by myself and I thought for safety I was better off turning around. Going back down I passed a guided group heading up, and it did go through my mind to tag along, but I was just too exhausted. About half an hour later the sky cleared and it was a beautiful clear afternoon. Oh well.

Q: Tell us about the storm day itself and what happened at the huts.

The next morning everyone was rushing to get out early to try and get to the next hut before the storm hit. I skipped the first two waterfalls in favour of the bigger one to save a little time, and headed off again. It was starting to drizzle and I flew down the side of this hill. I ended up first at the hut, and about half an hour later it was an absolutely torrential downpour, all that afternoon, all through the night, thunder and lightning. The Bert Nichols hut is probably one of the biggest huts on the track but it was completely overflowing. There were people sleeping on the kitchen floor everywhere. The next morning the sun was out again. We knew there was still more rain coming so everyone was on the trail early again. Just slight drizzle on and off throughout the day, the trail was incredibly wet and muddy and a lot more slippery than it had been.

Q: Tell us about the final section and finishing the trail.

I had already made up my mind I was going to walk the entire trail to the end rather than catch the ferry from Narcissus Hut. So I was off on my own that last day. Echo Point Hut has a reputation for a rat infestation. I got there and it had been drizzling with rain the whole day. I fell over a couple of times on the muddy trail, felt like a turtle at one stage fallen on my side with my pack. The wind coming across the lake was really icy, and the thought of spending the night there by myself with rats didn't appeal to me. I'd had this vision of camping on the beach and waking up to an amazing sunrise, but looking at the sky I knew that wasn't going to happen. I got there about 11 o'clock and just decided, bugger it, I'll just keep walking to the end. I managed to find there was accommodation at Lake St. Clair if I got there that night, so I booked a cabin and off I walked. I finished a day earlier than planned, but the thought of the rat hut by myself in miserable cold weather, I thought no, I'm going to keep going.

Q: And throughout all that, how did the knees and the feet hold up?

They were fantastic. I changed my shoes at the last minute because my orthotics didn't actually fit comfortably into the shoes I'd planned to wear, so I just wore the ones I'd worn heaps of times before. I had no issues with my foot whatsoever, no foot pain. My knees were fine. A bit tired some days, especially after the rock scrambling, more tired than actually painful. Once I'd rested they were fine, it wasn't a lingering sort of pain. My hips were fine too. I've had issues with my hips in the past, but I'm finding when I'm hiking with a pack it seems to stabilise my hips a lot more. My only issue was blisters under the toenails on my second toes, which happens on every multi-day hike. I just pop them, relieve the pressure, wrap some hiker's wool around them and they're fine.

Q: Was there anything on the trail that you came across which you hadn't first considered before you set off?

Not really, because I watched so many YouTube videos of the Overland Track in all different seasons and weather. The rock scrambling was probably a little more than I anticipated. The tree roots were pretty hectic. It's hard to really understand how tiring tree roots and rocks are until you're actually doing it, because you're constantly having to focus on where you're putting your foot and not actually enjoying looking around, because the roots and the rocks are just so demanding. But apart from that I was pretty well prepared after watching hundreds of videos during lockdown.

Q: Once you sort of crossed the finish line, once you took your pack off your back, how did you feel and how did you celebrate?

I just felt so good that I'd managed to do it, especially on my own. Even though I've done a Camino solo, it's so totally different to hiking out in the middle of nowhere where there's no bars or cafes. I was really pleased that I was able to do that. I'd lashed out and booked a cabin at Lake St. Clair, which was absolutely wonderful. The cabin had a disabled shower in it so I could sit down in the shower, and that was magical. My usual foot problem was fine, but I always get blisters under the toenails on multi-day hikes. Being able to sit down in that lovely hot shower at the end, that was my celebration.

Q: What's the plan of attack for your hiking moving forward?

I really want to do more hiking down around Wilson's Prom. I used to go there as a child and do the overnight hikes and I haven't been back since. I want to do another Camino, the Primitivo, which is apparently one of the hardest but also the most beautiful because you're going through a lot more mountains. It's only about 300 kilometres so not very long, but very mountainous. The Great Ocean Walk is always on the list, and the Grampians. There's always things. I did have a fantasy about hiking the PCT at one stage, but after doing the Overland Track I'm not sure I'm cut out for months out in the wilderness. I think a week's about my limit because I really miss having a shower.

Q: If anyone listening was considering the Overland Track, what advice could you give them?

Do lots of stair training, lots of stair training and hills, because even the undulating hills were a little bit more than average. I know on the last section people kept saying, oh, the walk to Echo Point is really flat. Well, it wasn't my flat. There was definitely still a few hills. Stairs are a big advantage because there's so much stepping up on rocks and tree roots all the time. And don't believe people when they say it's flat.

Q: Was there anything else you wanted to add, any other words of advice you could share?

If anyone's thinking about doing a solo hike, I hear a lot of people that want to do it but are afraid. On most of these trails you're not totally alone. I did spend hours by myself, but then I would come across other people. If it's a well-walked trail you'll probably find you're never totally alone. If you need that connection with someone, you'll bump into someone throughout the day, or at the huts at night there's always people. So pick a trail that's a hut-to-hut hike and you know you won't be totally alone, and see how you go from there. Also, working in aged care has made me realise you can't wait until it's too late to do these things. You've got to get out now and do them when you can.

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