Australian Hiker | Day -8 Concerns

2026 Heysen Trail

Day -8

Day -8 Concerns

Bathroom scales

Before starting a long distance hike, there are aways things that concern me. Strangely enough these concerns are rarely the same but instead are hike-specific and combined with how organised, or rather disorganised, I am when I start.

In the case of my upcoming Heysen Trail journey the only real on-trail concern I have is my habit of losing around 3 kg a week on a multi-week hike. Given I’m doing this hike over a 7-8 week period that means a potential weight loss of 21-24 kg which is a big drop. To balance this expected weight loss I am currently carrying an additional 12 kg in weight. Thankfully that’s not all fat and while it will make the first couple of weeks on-trail physically a bit harder it means that my weight loss by the end of the hike will be manageable.

The other concern I have isn’t about the hike itself but rather all the stuff I need to do before I start walking including work around the house. I also need to do things for the blog and podcast to help me out on-trail and minimise what I need to do when I have non walking days. I’m in for a very busy week!

Previous Post Before starting a long distance hike, there are aways things that concern me. Strangely enough these concerns are rarely the same but instead are hike-specific and combined with how organised, or rather disorganised, I am when I start. In the case of my upcoming Heysen Trail journey the only real on-trail concern I […]