Last Monday, while many of our friends were recovering from Canada Day, Pride or Euro Cup festivities, the four intrepid members of Team Blakes Walk in the Park (Dara Lambie, Wilfred So, Jane So and I) spent Monday hiking in the Halton Conservation Area as a practice run for the Oxfam Trailwalker Lawyers’ Cup.
(For more information on the event and our team, please see my teammate Dara’s previous post about our Trailwalker preparations.)
I’m told we covered a total of 22 km, though I’m convinced it was somewhere closer to 25 km once we take into account all of the meandering in and about cultural areas (ooh, a traditional longhouse!) and enjoying wildlife sightings (look, a hawk!). Not to mention all of the critical examination of vegetation that may or may not have been poison ivy. Is it the right shade of green? Too leafy? Are the edges serrated enough?
We used the occasion to test out many of our strategies and tactics for the actual event (being the responsible lawyers that we are, we are predictably over-prepared). For starters, the mosquito band on my right wrist was only effective in warding off insects from that specific limb. I also learned that mosquitoes can bite through your clothes, especially if the material is tight and thin enough. I came back to work on Tuesday with at least five large welts on parts of my body that I thought were landlocked and inaccessible to bugs. I am reconsidering my wardrobe.
We also experimented with hydration and snacking options. Granola bars and fruit seemed to fare well, but I soon learned that my voracious appetite will not be appeased with just snacks throughout the day. By the end of the hike, I was craving a burger real bad. Apologies in advance to my logistics support team members, who may or may not be getting a call in the middle of the race for an emergency Big Mac delivery.
After the training hike, we plotted our transportation and sleeping arrangements over dinner. I guess I was naïve to think that the operational side of things would be easy — it turned out to be rather complicated when we realized how much work it will actually be to “support” our team during the challenge. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our support team for sacrificing their weekend to help us out. We are very grateful and will do our best to not let you down!
All that’s left is to do is pack our gear, do some last-minute fundraising and rest up for the big day. Thanks to all the friends, family and Blakes colleagues who’ve supported us thus far. If you’re interested, there’s still time to donate to our team.
We’re all a bit nervous, but definitely excited and cautiously optimistic! My teammate Wilfred will be posting a final update once we’ve completed the challenge, so please stay tuned.
Pei Li is an associate at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Toronto