Author Archives: John Ball

Start:  Traralgon Finish:  Rosedale Distance:  14 Total:  119 No more back roads for this guy. Today was all straight down the four-lane highway. The road was busy with Saturday morning travelers going toward the Melbourne area.  I got started about 8:30 after a great night’s rest. Though you wouldn’t think something called “The Black Bull … Continue reading »

Start:  Moe Finish:  Traralgon Distance:  20 Total:  105 Today’s walk was through some real backroads. After starting in Moe I didn’t go through any towns until my finish in Traralgon 20 miles later.  The day got started at 7:30 after a bad night’s rest. The motel was so-so, but the bed was hard as a … Continue reading »

Start:  Yarragon Finish:  Moe Distance:  11 Total:  85 Today was a fairly easy 11 mile walk on flat terrain along a service road beside the freeway. Once again the train track ran along beside my road so every hour along came the trains, one going east, one going west.  I took advantage of today’s shorter … Continue reading »

Start:  Longwarry Station Finish:  Yarragon Distance:  21 Total:  74 Today was forecast to be stormy and rainy most of the day and that proved to be accurate. From past experience I know there will be weather challenges to deal with. Sometimes it works out that I can take a day off and not walk in … Continue reading »

Start:  Parkenham Finish:  Longwarry Station Distance:  18 Total:  53 Today went as I had planned it, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a challenge.  The weather forecast called for severe thunderstorms with possible hail beginning around 1:00 in the afternoon. At my normal pace I’d need about 6 hours plus some lunch time to walk … Continue reading »

Start:  Springvale Finish:  Parkenham Distance:  18 Total:  35 My walk today took me through several bedroom communities east of Melbourne. The towns were very much like ours in the U.S., with some businesses still calling themselves “Melbourne this” or “Melbourne that” even though I’m now 35 miles from the city center.  The weather was sunny … Continue reading »

Start:  Downtown Melbourne Finish:  Springdale Distance:  17 Total:  17 What a picture-perfect day for walking. Not a cloud in the sky and the temperature started in the high 50s and stayed in the 60s all day. My day started at 3:00 AM because of jet lag I guess, so I gave up trying to sleep … Continue reading »

Start:  San Antonio Finish:  Melbourne Distance:  A long way Total:  A bunch Thursday began with a normal 8:00 Central Time wake-up in San Antonio. Kyle, Jessie, Bailey and Ava came by the house to visit for a bit and I spent the rest of the morning running around worrying about what I had forgotten to … Continue reading »

Hello everyone. It’s been over four years since I’ve posted an update on thewalkingaggie.com website.  That’s because I haven’t gone on a long hike since I finished my trip across Europe in the Fall of 2019.  All of that is about to change.  On 28 December I will be flying to Australia to begin a hike … Continue reading »

On Wednesday, 4 Sept 2019, I walked into the Central Train Station in downtown Oslo, Norway, bringing to a conclusion my walk across Europe.  The trek transited seven countries in 151 days, beginning in Athens, Greece on 7 January 2019.  The walk was all I had hoped it would be, and so much more.  In … Continue reading »