Thursday, August 17, 2017

Day 46 Woodville to Palmerston North 17 August 2017

Walked by Mike 1039.6km walked by Idol 657.1km walked by Toby 415.3km funds raised $10047 (no change)

I was hoping to lose some weight on this walk.  The meals are too good and I suspect I have lost very little. Dave and Jenny produced a really good casserole, followed by an apple and feijoa desert. 

Bad news day.  Item 1. I woke up about 1am with a throbbing toe. I had to take paracetamol to get back to sleep. The toe is swollen, red and shiny so definitely infected.

After breakfast I popped into Woodville to refuel the car and ran the dogs out to the beginning of Manawatu Gorge to have a run around.

Bad news item 2. Higgins had said yesterday that they would be making the road one way after 9am but it didn't happen. Dave was dead against me walking the road unless it was one way.  Personally I felt it was no worse than Waikare Gorge or Devil's Elbow.  So as a compromise and to show some respect to Dave I agreed to walk to the top and have Jenny pick me up and take me down the Ashhurst side that has less shoulder.

Bad new item 3. Idol has a sore foot and limps when walking on gravel but is comfortable on grass.  I think it is only a stone bruise as there is no broken skin on his pads. Toby will do all the walking once I leave the city tomorrow in the hope Idol recovers enough to do agility at the weekend.

Enough of the bad news - off to the positive.  Idol and I had very little trouble on the climb up Saddle Rd.  The traffic was light enough that we never had to wait more than a few seconds to cross the road.  Idol and I both used the ledge on the bridge at the start of Saddle Rd but no traffic came down the hill so we could have stayed on the road.  I did put Idol on the lead for 1 corner as Higgins were working there and I thought they might freak if a dog came around the corner unaccompanied.  The last 2 corners before I stopped were more challenging - but every time a truck came I just stepped into the ditch - where Idol was walking all the time.  The biggest challenge on the hill was that Idol was constantly finding things to eat.  The last few weeks the roads have been easy and I have let him stop have a nibble and catch up in his own time.  The morning was more like the road in the first week when I was keeping Idol close. A bigger challenge than the traffic was the wind.  I dropped my notes and watched them take off towards Chile. At times I was really leaning forward to walk into it and I was most surprised my beanie stayed on. Talking on the phone would have been impossible.

The walk was shortened by 4.6km when I had Jenny pick me up at the start of the descent on the Ashhust side.  It was when I got Idol out of the car at the bottom of the hill I noticed he was limping. Once on footpaths in Ashhurst I put Idol away and got Toby out.  Lots of interesting smells and very difficult to keep Toby moving.  I was delighted when a car coming out of a drive way stopped, The driver said he was a truck driver and had been following my progress from Hastings.  He complimented Idol on how great he was at keeping out of the way.  There were 2 other donations during the day but this was the worst day since Waioeka Gorge for donations. Toby walked happily once away from the houses.  The shoulder was wide enough so that he wasn't bothered by traffic.

Idol did another short stretch along SH3 before taking Toby with me to the finish.  Jenny got lost in her book and did not notice me pass her. I got to the finish and she wasn't there.  She had driven back towards Ashhurst looking for me in trouble.

Dave passed us driving into Palmerston North so Jenny went off home with him and I took myself off to The Palms Medical Centre to get some antibiotics. I was there 2 hours all up but spent nearly an hour of that time napping.  Diagnosis is cellulitis.  This almost certainly is a result of me getting the nail caught in my sock on Tuesday morning while putting the sock on.  I have antibiotics and some paracetamol courtesy of the tax payer to go with the lot I never finished when I broke my leg. A dressing was put on the toe but I have already removed it as it was making me limp and the toe hurts no more walking than at rest today.

With Kevin and Bronwen tonight.  They claim the yard is escape proof so I will get Toby to test it.
Sorry no photos today.

 

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