Okay so I know this one is late but I've been a tad busy.
This is my usual long winded trip report, Cut me some slack though is it was a 10 day trip and there's a bit in there worth writing about.
Besides it will give me something to look back on and read when I'm old and unable to do this kind of thing, you know "when I was young" etc etc....
If you don't have the time to read it that's fine. I have attached pictures as well for a brief overview. Gees it's hard compressing 600 odd photos into a short list, then an even shortend list for this email.
Most of you are well aware that between the 16th and 25th June this year I walked the Larapinta Trail in the NT, solo.
West to East (Mt Sonder back to Alice Springs), approx 230km's. Officially the trail runs from Alice Springs out to Mt Sonder, But it's easier with food drops and logistics to walk from Mt Sonder back to town. Which is what I did.
Now I love my bushwalking but the main drive for me to complete this walk was related to my family history. The trail crosses some of the country first explored by John McDouall Stuart. As a JMD descendant there were some pretty special places out there to be. More about that later.
This was an epic trip to complete in 10 days but I loved every minute of it. Some might say that's rushing it (Most track notes and guides are for 20 days), for the main part I'd disagree but I guess it's walk your own walk. I travelled quickly in the open, easier sections and smashed out some massive 30 + km days. But I also slowed right down in some of the more remote tricky sections. I did however do this walk with a very light pack. Most days it would have hovered around 8 kgs with food and water. Even through the sections that were dry (no water) and dry camps at night the heaviest I would have lugged was only about 10-11kgs. Having a light pack made a massive difference in the trickier gorges, very rocky ridges and all those big old hills. I guess I sort of rock hopped my way through those bit's which with a lighter pack was achievable to some degree. I wouldn't have had a hope at all on those big distance days carrying 20-25kgs or in the rocky gorges/hills keeping any pace up.
People that think (Myself included initially) Alice Springs, desert, flat.... man that's a fail. It's more akin to NZ or the Aussie Alps, but red of course and no snow, so nothing like those two examples. Mmm I don't know how to explain that one. It's very not flat and has lots of big red rock hills and ridges. That'll do for the basic's, check the pictures, It's very hilly !! This trail had something like 5500m elevation gain to walk up and a similar measurement to walk down.
Most days I was up 45 minutes before first light doing the usual camp pack-up chores and having breakfast and a coffee. That meant I was off walking each day at first light (about 7am), sometimes a little earlier with a headlight for a short time. I had one early day starting to walk at 6:30am (day 3) but that was it. I would highly recommend this practice to anyone walking out there. Not for the more traditional reason of beating the heat. My reasoning was the ambient light, more specifically the dawn light on those awesome red rocks the center of Australia has. Those first rays of light (and last of an afternoon) on that country just lights it up. Through the middle of the day the West McDonnell Ranges are a timeless beauty, Dawn and dusk and it's just a humbling experience and I felt one of nature’s privileges to see such a sight. Even with the distances I walk each day I was in camp around 2-3pm so that gave me plenty of time to bum around and play with backpacking gear. It was dark around 6:30pm and other than a bit of reading it was off to bed nice and early. Some nights sleep was difficult, either from some niggling walking ache or more troubling was that massive full super moon. Man that thing was bright from about 8pm till around 4am when it dipped out of sight. In a cuben fibre tent (Techno talk for a plastic shopping bag like material but very strong) it was like sleeping with the lights on most of the time. The old beanie over the eyes trick worked most times but on the warmer nights I'd get too hot. I have never seen such brightness of a night. No torch was required for nightly toilet runs so that was a plus I guess.
Most of the places I camped were inspirational, however some of the main Larapinta campsites I found quite dull. Nothing hugely wrong with them if you like mulga bush, a pit toilet, water tank and some clear gaps for a tent. It's really worth getting up on those ridges to camp out there. Yeh you have to lug in water but the few times I did that it was well worth it.
People say this track is hard on shoes/boots and feet. Yep, I'll pay that. Wearing 300g trail runners (Inov 295's) was a fine thing on most days but sometimes on the really pointy rock constantly all day I would certainly feel my feet that evening, but talking to others in the camps who wore boots and they were no different. Long fast days are only for the hardened walkers in big heavy boots, Lighter footwear sure can make things easier on the legs. I would NOT attempt this walk in light runners though if your new to long distance walking with a pack on, stick to your boots, Runners would be murder on feet if you don't have a few years use with them in rough conditions. I have read a few reports of people needing emergency evac this year due to wearing runners and severely bruising their feet to the point they couldn't walk any more. I'd say my runners could do another pass or 2 at Larapinta but after that they would probably start to fail in some way. The soles and tread are a little cut up just after this walk, other than that wear though they are pretty good. I didn't have any issues with Spinifex penetrating the rubber soles like some suggested I would. It's more the constant pounding on rocks that's hard on feet and footwear. I was much more fortunate than many others I passed in the blister department. I started to get a small hot spot on day 3 on one heal but that never really eventuated. Some people had epic blisters up to 1" round !!.
About the track, what more can I say other than rock, rock and more rock. I lost count of the amount of times I scuffed my toes on stubborn rocks early on in the walk. Long to short would be rock vs foot, rock wins. I did get a bit wised up to that and after about day 4 and lost that habit, well not completely. Sadly some damage had already been done to several toe nails which promptly turned black and are in various stages of falling off as I write this. Mostly the trail is very well marked. I found even where the markers were not in sight and well spaced out a bit of a path could be spotted leading through the rocks which were a different colour due to being repeatedly trodden. There were a few false trails too but fortunately I was onto those most times within a few meters. The gorge walking is pretty much an arrow indicating the direction down the gorge. I mean how many choices does one have when both left and right is a 100m+ red rock cliff. They are slow to travel down for the most part. Enjoyable for the first few.... I'd say by about the time I left Standley Chasm (Day
I was pretty much over dry rock creeks and boulder filled gorges. I don't mean that in a hugely negative sense, go walk the track and I'm certain you will know what I mean.
Gear (techno talk so don't read unless you’re interested) My Zpacks Arc Blast 52 litre pack worked great out there, The vented mesh back panel was well worth it and kept me less sweaty. But I did have a issue with the carbon fibre frame stays cutting into the hip belt. No drama though and it's all fixed up now under warranty (it was a known design fault so I found out). The actual frame design carried the extra load on a few occasions I'd lug more water very comfortably, It's a great pack and the hybrid nylon/cuben fabric shows no sign of wear from all the sharp rocks etc. My Hexamid tarp/tent was perfect for the climate out there. It was good in the wind and kept me dry in the rain, the low 480g total weight was a plus too. My clothing both worn and carried all was more than adequate, wearing light coloured skins/ leggings was a great idea for the sun and the stopped all those indirect scratches from the Spinifex. A light weight long sleeve merino wool blended top was also a great idea to walk in as it didn't get too stinky and dried quickly of an afternoon once I stopped. I took a spare set of very light grid fleece pants and a long sleeve top for clean camp wear which I used most nights if I wasn't too hot. My down jacket (vest and sleeves) got worn as a vest most evenings and mornings, I think the sleeves only got used 3 times up high when it was extra cold. My head Buff got worn most mornings and on cold ridges to cover cold ears, Nights I wore my blackrock down beanie. Montbell Wind gear - I took a really light hooded wind shirt and pants, they were key items for me out there. Either just for breaks or walking on the cold windy ridges, I used my wind gear many times each day as it's just so much more breathable than a rain coat and pants. I did take a very light OR Helium II rain coat which I only used once, but when I needed it I needed it, I don't know if I'd leave rain gear at home like some have suggested. Sleeping bag, I took a 20°F overfilled quilt. I would take a lighter quilt if I did it again, I just didn't need the rating so cold, most nights I was too hot and would end up half out of it. I nearly took my lighter 30°F quilt before I left, I regretted not doing so as I could have just supplemented it on the few extra cold nights with clothing. Most nights were around the 2-8°C mark, a few occasions it dropped below 0°C but not many, it was more wind chill than actual air temp. My sleeping mat was a Exped UL downmat XS (torso length), it was great but a full length mat while slightly heavier would have been more comfortable over 10 nights, especially with sore feet on hard rocky ground with just a section of CCF mat under them. My cooker was a caldera cone tri fuel job, worked flawlessly in wood mode the whole trip. But I did obtain permission to use a wood fuel stove prior to the trip from the NT head ranger.
I didn't see the number of people out there on the actual trail I expected too. For some reason I thought there would be many more. I crossed paths with 3 guided groups of about 6-8 people on paid walking tours but as for fellow self supported walkers I probably only passed about 20 other people. 10 of those other walkers were all on Brinkley's Bluff so for the most part I was by myself. Anywhere you could get a car though there would be gray nomads or people on day trips out of Alice Springs. I had some interesting conversations with the people travelling in cars, mostly they knew about the Larapinta but some didn't and were amazed to hear about it.
Fortunately I managed to scrounge up 5 other people to share the transfer from Alice Springs to Redbank Gorge from a wonderful forum called Bushwalk Australia (BWA). To those guys and girls it was great to meet you and share a few days together at the start. For obvious reasons it was also much lighter on the pocket to spread the $500 transfer out between 6 people. It worked out really well as we all flew into Alice Springs on the Saturday afternoon and promptly did a little shopping and paid our refundable deposit for the food shed keys in the tourism center. At 2pm (okay it was 2:30, they were late) we were picked up by Glen Helen Resort who drove us out to the track start and in and out of the 3 sites we left food drops. We all set up camp and had a bit of a chat around the various tents spread along the dry river before the actual track and Redbank Gorge. Then it was just off to bed for an early start the next day for the actual walk.
Now for the daily walk notes and comments. I scribbled a bit down each night to jog my memory.
For this trip I have broken the report down to an email for each day, so 10 more emails to follow this one.
Like I said, It's a long report, Think of it as a journey.......