"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness"
John Steinbeck
The object of my rest day was to do as little as possible - I succeeded. The Ormiston Pound walk was left to conquer some other time.
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| Relaxing at the water hole at Ormiston |
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| A Major Mitchell chomping away on gumnuts |
Julie rescued me that day with fresh
food. Salad, burgers, yogurt and milk that wasn't powdered – strewth!!! – she even
cooked a fresh batch of Anzac biscuits. The warmth in the rooftop tent was
overwhelming during another cold night. I tell you none of the other hikers on the Larapinta
had it this good.
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| A butterfly at Ormiston Gorge |
Friday 15 June
2016
Section 9: Ormiston Gorge to Serpentine
Chalet Dam
Section 9 is a 28.6km section of the trail. You will
need to camp overnight to finish the section. This is one of the more difficult
sections of the trail and takes you into the rugged heart of the range country.
There is no reliable surface water along the way, so if you decide to walk this section you will have to carry a heavy pack with a two-day supply of drinking water.
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| Hiking up Hill Top, Wattle in bloom |
There is no reliable surface water along the way, so if you decide to walk this section you will have to carry a heavy pack with a two-day supply of drinking water.
Information from the government website
I woke up soooo slowly that day. I
packed up aiming for 10am, three hours later than my usual start. One more cup of
coffee before I go. Julie had to call the ranger to help start the Ranger as
the battery was flat. She came over and helped us out with a jump start and a short while later Julie drove off out
of the Ormiston camp site.
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| One of the Dragon lizards I saw that morning |
My batteries felt recharged too that day. The first five kilometres, a relative doddle, until a sudden left turn spoiled the party. A fresh pack of food plus five litres of water for an overnight stay required an intense burst of energy up that dreaded range. Sometimes my feet did not want to move to the allocated spot my mind had reserved for them. My heavy pack causing me to sway like a drunk pirate. It took all my concentration not to fall over and break a leg or two.
The rewards were magnificent. This open country lends itself to the most spectacular views. Another rather insipid name for this ridge line, Hill Top, belying its cracking 360 degree, raw view.
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| A treacherous, almost non-existent, trail on the ridge with views all around |
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| Marvellous Mount Giles and the Alice Valley |
I set up my tent next to a rocky wall
that in theory would protect me from the wind. Behind this barrier was a
glorious drop that could seriously turn into a nightmare for sleepwalkers.
Behind the fall a vast open plain - dissected by a dry river - marvellous Mount
Giles splitting the blue sky at the rear.
On the other side the range was more open and from a long, long way away you could see Gosse's Bluff. This huge crater was brought beautifully closer by my camera - it was formed by a falling Asteroid or Comet. This gash in the crust of the earth is a significant Indigenous site. A definite blog in the making.
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| Setting up camp next to the rock wall |
On the other side the range was more open and from a long, long way away you could see Gosse's Bluff. This huge crater was brought beautifully closer by my camera - it was formed by a falling Asteroid or Comet. This gash in the crust of the earth is a significant Indigenous site. A definite blog in the making.
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| Gosse's Bluff |
I met a retiree named Grant who camped a couple of metres away from me. We chatted about common trails that we had hiked in the past. The Camino, Great Ocean walk and Bibbulmun track all referred to with nostalgic fondness. Another hiker joined, Douglas who talked enthusiastically and continuously, about everything related to hiking gear and his big passion for rogaining. The world championships were to be held at Giles station this year. "This is just a little training run", he said. "I am squeezing most of the Larapinta trail into four days". This was quite impressive as I was planning for sixteen days. Every hiker I came across later on the trail had met this super fit Kiwi who left the Larapinta with all of us in awe of his hiking speed but even more of the speed of his words. Two more practising rogainers camped with us on Hill Top. Together we watched the sun set.
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| Grant front left and the rogainers |
Photography was just incredible that
evening. Boosted by coffee, electrolytes and pasta I
felt on top of the world -
I just about am.
Grey Bits
The gorgeous opening photo of this blog is of a long-tail dunnart (Sminthopsis Dolichura). It was published on the following website
http://phys.org/news/2015-02-unburnt-habitat-safeguard-animal-diversity.html
Long-tail dunnarts are very common around Ormiston Gorge.
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Do you want to become a guest blogger, write your own story and publish on my blog? I would love to hear from you. Email me at storiesfrommars@gmail.com
I just about am.
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| Mount Sonder from a distance |
Grey Bits
Rogaining is an orienteering sport of long-distance, cross-country navigation, involving both route planning and navigation between checkpoints using a variety of map types. In a rogaine, teams of 2–5 people choose which checkpoints to visit within a time limit with the intent of maximizing their score. Find out more at http://rogaine.asn.au/
1 comment:
Another inspiring instalment Mars, your photos are amazing as well.
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