ribbony wrote:1/ Flies - will there be many buzzing around in June ?
2/ Runners - our preffered footware for trekking, any issues with runners on the trail ?
3/ Food Caches- can we just wrap up the food in a tough plastic bag, the food drops are going to be put in by a transport operator. I imagine there are enclosed facilities to hold them in.
philthy wrote:Anyone done any cowboy camping (under the stars)? Is dew a problem (could be combated with bivy or sleeping bag DWR/drying out bag during the day)? Insects? Wind/dust?
ribbony wrote:Bet that it may start a little wetter and warmer, but next week will be more typical of the season. The 28 day forecast shows a very dry month once we get through the weekend.
We are taking plenty of warm gear as we do not want to sit around shivering of a night, one or two is OK, but not for couple of weeks
philthy wrote:My hope was to forgo bringing a netted tent and just have a small tarp in case we get rain and the rest of the time just camp out under the stars
ribbony wrote:wonder if the rain this week will be the catalyst for mozzie breeding, nice
Overnight it started to rain and it was raining when we woke up early in the morning. The rain continued pretty much all day, getting very heavy, very cold, very windy and very misty as we commenced our ascent of Heavitree Range, but I am getting ahead of myself here.
We woke early on Day 4 knowing we had a big days walk with the ascent and descent of Heavitree combined with carrying four days food plus two days water. As it was raining bad when we woke in the dark, we packed as best as we could, all moving down to the bit of shelter at the shop/information centre for breakfast and repacking. Once we where all fed and organised we headed off with some optimism as the rain seemed to be easing and after all this was the Northern Territory in the dry, it will be just a short period of rain, right? Wrong! It continued to rain, getting colder and colder and windier as the morning progressed. By lunchtime we where partly up the side of Heavitree Range with the rain horizontal in our faces and visibility pretty poor. At this point I was wearing every bit of warm clothing I had including a Polartec 300 and I was still cold! We sought some shelter in the lee of the wind to have some lunch and to assess our options. We decided to try to continue the ascent but quickly realised this was not the way to go. Walking the ridge in these conditions was not ideal. Consultation of the maps, seemed to suggest a possible route along the base of the range to Waterfall Gorge. So we decided to abort at this point our ascent, heading back down to pick-up the alternative route making use of a creek.
However, again progress was slow even though the rain had eased. Creek walking Larapinta Trail style isn’t easy. We where all cold and tired and when Fran had a fall, nearly hitting her head we decided to call it a day, back tracking to find a suitable campsite. Once we did, we managed to get a fire going as the rain had eased off and we camped the night regrouping to tackle again Heavitree Range the next day with the intention of getting through to Serpentine Chalet Dam and back on target.
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