Despite the cold night, down to one deg C, I sleep warm; almost hot, as I have to strip off layers in the middle of the night. The wood burning stove does an amazing job of heating the hut and keeping it warm. I wake to fog and frost covering everything; everything appears quite photogenic so I snap a few shots in the dawn light. I’m in no hurry as I only have 25 km to walk. I’m free camping beside a dirt road going over a ridge cut. Not something you rush to get to early to enjoy. I intend to lollygag as much as I want today! As long as I don’t have to walk in the dark. I take my time packing and make sure to leave the Hallett Hilton as spotless as possible. I hope the next occupants enjoy the wood stash and pay it forward. At 8:45, quite late for me, I’m off! It’s still a bit chilly but looking to be a fine sunny day. I walk the dirt roads out of Hallett. The wind turbines glitter in the sun with only a third turning on this reasonably still day. I decide that music would be good today to help with the boredom of mid-North dirt road and hill walking. Last year I came across an injured roo (car struck with a broken leg) and sadly reported it to SA Police so a police shooter could put it down. However, I fantasised it survived against the odds but I found a scattered kangaroo carcass at the spot. Life can be brief and brutal in the country. I’ve noticed this year that there are less roos near towns; I was told last year that the drought was bringing them down and perhaps since this is a much more wet year, the road toll on these beautiful creatures isn’t as high. I hear from Geert when I am on a 7km break. He is sitting on God’s chair as he messages me! 😀. It’s a perfect day to climb Mt Bryan! He’ll finish in Hallett before too long and pick up his car and drive home. ...and the trail becomes a little more lonely. It’s so nice it today that I’m stripping down to my tee shirt. Time to get walking again! The walking is really nice, sunny and a light breeze. As I climb the hill to the first wind farm ridge, I roll up my sleeves above my shoulder and just melt into the enjoyment of walking, music and sunshine. Powderfinger, oldies like Head East, Almond Brothers and similar. The kilometres just flow by. I’m half way and it’s not quite noon yet so I waste time by another break. When it’s cold out, I can’t afford to take many stops or leisurely breaks or I get too cold. Staying active is my key coping technique. Not today which I’m grateful for! I go through a long piece of road walking. The vista is beautiful, green rolling hills festooned with wind turbines with blue sunny skies with the occasional puffy cloud drifting along. I see no one. A SUV does come speeding down the track and doesn’t even slow as his dust cloud drifts over and covers me. Thanks, bud! I finally walk by a house where two dogs and a lamb run out into the adjacent field. The dogs trotted around and barked at me and the lamb trotted along with them. No lamb barking unfortunately. They were too far away for a photo unfortunately. So cute. Now I’m climbing back up to the next ridge, which ad I follow the ridge line will eventually lead to Whistling Trig tank. I’m tempted to camp here as conditions are outstanding with no wind. Camping on a ridge minimises my wet tent from overnight condensation. But a quick check of the BoM suggests the wind might pick up a bit overnight and I don’t want to risk it. So after filtering water for a dry camp, I’ll walk on two kilometres to my free camp located in a sheltered road cut on Hacklins Corner Road. I thought I discovered this great spot when I came through last year in poor weather and was desperately looking for somewhere to camp and options were limited. It was perfect- public land, low use dirt road, off the road a bit and sheltered. The word must be getting out as Chris at the Hallett store advised me to stay here and it’s clear from the trampled grass, others are using it - and doing a good job of leave no trace as there was no rubbish or food scraps. I go through my camp chores and quickly have the tent set up, mattress inflated and other gear stowed. I snack a bit and wait for the sun to go down as it’s right in my eyes at the moment. I remember awesome sunsets here. It promises to be at or below freezing tonight but it’s so nice now that it’s hard to imagine. I expect it will be a very clear night. I’m going to have to sleep with my water filter and electronics to avoid damage to them - it’s gonna be crowded in the sack tonight! 😀😀 Early to bed tonight and an early start tomorrow as I head to the Spalding pub for an overnighters. Ah, the glamping life for me! Carl / pilgrim ————- Weather: Foggy frosty morning turning into lovely sunny day with little to no wind. Just perfect. Calories burnt: 2647

Hiking/Backpacking

South Australia, Heysen Trail

The Regional Council of Goyder, South Australia, Australia

time : Jul 14, 2020 8:42 AM

duration : 6h 48m 39s

distance : 24.6 km

total_ascent : 370 m

highest_point : 671 m

avg_speed : 4.8 km/h

user_id : gstreet

user_firstname : Carl

user_lastname : Greenstreet

Despite the cold night, down to one deg C, I sleep warm; almost hot, as I have to strip off layers in the middle of the night. The wood burning stove does an amazing job of heating the hut and keeping it warm. I wake to fog and frost covering everything; everything appears quite photogenic so I snap a few shots in the dawn light. I’m in no hurry as I only have 25 km to walk. I’m free camping beside a dirt road going over a ridge cut. Not something you rush to get to early to enjoy. I intend to lollygag as much as I want today! As long as I don’t have to walk in the dark. I take my time packing and make sure to leave the Hallett Hilton as spotless as possible. I hope the next occupants enjoy the wood stash and pay it forward. At 8:45, quite late for me, I’m off! It’s still a bit chilly but looking to be a fine sunny day. I walk the dirt roads out of Hallett. The wind turbines glitter in the sun with only a third turning on this reasonably still day. I decide that music would be good today to help with the boredom of mid-North dirt road and hill walking. Last year I came across an injured roo (car struck with a broken leg) and sadly reported it to SA Police so a police shooter could put it down. However, I fantasised it survived against the odds but I found a scattered kangaroo carcass at the spot. Life can be brief and brutal in the country. I’ve noticed this year that there are less roos near towns; I was told last year that the drought was bringing them down and perhaps since this is a much more wet year, the road toll on these beautiful creatures isn’t as high. I hear from Geert when I am on a 7km break. He is sitting on God’s chair as he messages me! 😀. It’s a perfect day to climb Mt Bryan! He’ll finish in Hallett before too long and pick up his car and drive home. ...and the trail becomes a little more lonely. It’s so nice it today that I’m stripping down to my tee shirt. Time to get walking again! The walking is really nice, sunny and a light breeze. As I climb the hill to the first wind farm ridge, I roll up my sleeves above my shoulder and just melt into the enjoyment of walking, music and sunshine. Powderfinger, oldies like Head East, Almond Brothers and similar. The kilometres just flow by. I’m half way and it’s not quite noon yet so I waste time by another break. When it’s cold out, I can’t afford to take many stops or leisurely breaks or I get too cold. Staying active is my key coping technique. Not today which I’m grateful for! I go through a long piece of road walking. The vista is beautiful, green rolling hills festooned with wind turbines with blue sunny skies with the occasional puffy cloud drifting along. I see no one. A SUV does come speeding down the track and doesn’t even slow as his dust cloud drifts over and covers me. Thanks, bud! I finally walk by a house where two dogs and a lamb run out into the adjacent field. The dogs trotted around and barked at me and the lamb trotted along with them. No lamb barking unfortunately. They were too far away for a photo unfortunately. So cute. Now I’m climbing back up to the next ridge, which ad I follow the ridge line will eventually lead to Whistling Trig tank. I’m tempted to camp here as conditions are outstanding with no wind. Camping on a ridge minimises my wet tent from overnight condensation. But a quick check of the BoM suggests the wind might pick up a bit overnight and I don’t want to risk it. So after filtering water for a dry camp, I’ll walk on two kilometres to my free camp located in a sheltered road cut on Hacklins Corner Road. I thought I discovered this great spot when I came through last year in poor weather and was desperately looking for somewhere to camp and options were limited. It was perfect- public land, low use dirt road, off the road a bit and sheltered. The word must be getting out as Chris at the Hallett store advised me to stay here and it’s clear from the trampled grass, others are using it - and doing a good job of leave no trace as there was no rubbish or food scraps. I go through my camp chores and quickly have the tent set up, mattress inflated and other gear stowed. I snack a bit and wait for the sun to go down as it’s right in my eyes at the moment. I remember awesome sunsets here. It promises to be at or below freezing tonight but it’s so nice now that it’s hard to imagine. I expect it will be a very clear night. I’m going to have to sleep with my water filter and electronics to avoid damage to them - it’s gonna be crowded in the sack tonight! 😀😀 Early to bed tonight and an early start tomorrow as I head to the Spalding pub for an overnighters. Ah, the glamping life for me! Carl / pilgrim ————- Weather: Foggy frosty morning turning into lovely sunny day with little to no wind. Just perfect. Calories burnt: 2647