In Alberta, the tanned face and neck with white body is called the “farmers tan.” I’ve come back from north Queensland with the equivalent: tanned fingers from the knuckles down and white hands from wearing paddling gloves for two weeks on the water. Driving through the small towns of country Australia you realise how disconnected from reality the Hannah Ferguson’s of the world are. Out in the dusty hot unforgiving Australian bush, it’s the men who drive the monster road trains, rustle the cattle, and extract the resources that allow the women (and men) of the far left to indulge their fantasies of men becoming women and Australia not generating income from resource extraction. All these towns, including much of our agricultural production would wither and die without resource extraction which is all that allows Cheek media to market mass produced tote bags and ball caps to fund endless quasi-moral proselytising while living comfortable lives in inner city Sydney advocating for the working class who they have never met and wouldn’t like if they had.
It is really another world in small town Australia. But, back in my world, it’s time to shuffle up the training program to get ready for my next big trip. I’ve got five months and my new schedule starts now. As my next long trip will involve big vertical gains, I’m back on one of the Training For The New Alpinism plans. Consistency and gradual increases in duration and intensity might test my patience but I’m an old lady with a history of tweaks and injuries and the most important goal of training is to be able to keep training.
