The weather stays mild until the early hours of the morning when it gets chilly. I always get plenty of sleep due to the fact I’m in my tent for 12 hours of darkness but my sleep is usually fragmented as I can’t seem to stay sleeping in one position more than an hour without waking due to need to roll. I’m up before dawn doing the familiar chores of breaking camp. The sun comes up as I start walking but I’m still shaded by the Red Ranges and I’m quite cold when I start walking; particularly the ends of my fingers which ache against the pole handles. I ignore the discomfort as I know it will soon pass. I really like the section above Red Ranges campsite. I’m walking through lovely forests of small conifers and the trail is often soft Brachina shale, my favourite walking surface in the Flinders. The trail is very well marked and easy to follow. I come out of the trees into the sun and the morning sun on the Elder Ranges is breathtaking, lighting up the geological banding along the Ranges. It reminds me of a Hans Heysen painting. The farther I walk towards Wilpena, the drier the landscape becomes. My steps raise little dust clouds. I cross out of Arkaba Station property and enter Black Gap. I meet a retired couple who are out exploring in their 4WD and we have a long chat. Turns out they were at the Hawker hotel when I was and remember me dining alone in the corner. I usually have my nose in a book (or ebook) so I hadn’t paid much attention to who else was there - book, beer and pub meal were satisfying enough! We say goodbye and the Heysen Trail soon takes me into a picture perfect dry creek bed; it’s narrow with a level bed of shake chips - it’s like walking on a garden path. I’m working my way up the creek when I see a young lady backpacker coming down. We stop to chat and it’s Hollie, another member of the FB HT Thru-hiking group I belong to. Hollie just started a few days ago and is working on gaining her”trail legs” - starts at either end are tough on this trail. I’m impressed that she is a young (21) solo female thru-hiker. Good on her, I’m sure it will be a positive life changing walk. I love seeing the young people out on the trail. We say goodbyes and I start the long climb up Bridal Gap into Wilpena Pound and the Flinders Ranges National Park. Last year, the trail wasn’t well marked with the old style reflective rods obscured by the two metre high brush. I ended getting off trail multiple times onto game trails and getting scratched up as I bushed bashed my way up. Last September, Simon of FotH, remarked this section using the more visible rectangular white and orange HT signs. I found it easy to follow plus it is so dry that it’s also easy to track where others have walked. At the top, I have a rest and upload yesterday’s trail journal while I have signal. Then it’s a rocky, poor footing walk down into the Pound. The trail has a lot of scrub and you can’t see far. I come around a bend and there is a full grown emu in the trail. Rather than running over the horizon like they usually do, he advances at me while making a loud repeated thumping noise. I look past him and see the trail is full of his chicks. Good on him for protecting them! Nevertheless I am respectful of a bird as tall as I am and with feet that look like they could rip me open from end to end! I speak calmly to him that I’m not a threat and slowly back up. As soon as the small chicks are off the trail, he turns around and follows them into the bush. I wish them a long and happy life. Only then do I think I could have had an amazing picture but I didn’t even think to pull my phone out! Once I’m fully into the Pound, I reach the main trails and the walking surface becomes nice. I pour on the speed and make good time as I pass through the Pound. It’s over nine kilometres from Bridal Gap to the Wilpena Resort and I do it in well under two hours. At the entrance to the Pound is the Hills Homestead- an old picturesque plug and pine cabin. The last three kilometres is the access road into the Pound; everyone has to walk in or take the infrequent shuttle bus - I’ve never seen it run. The path is along a gum lined creek with some water in it; it’s a lovely walk. I reach the resort at 3pm and check in. They are only partially open due to Covid19 with restricted services. For example, the pub / restaurant is not open tonight so I’m going to have to eat my usual expando noodles but at least the room has a jug to boil the water. I run down to the IGA camp store before it closes and have a coffee and pick up some minor things - most importantly, a mini bottle of Chardy, so I can have my 2-minute noodles in *style* tonight! 😎😀 Now I’m showered and warm and I’ve washed out a few filthy things like my socks in the sink. Ah, the glamping life for me! Only three days left but they are going to present some challenges. Tomorrow the weather starts to change. I think I’ll be okay as rain won’t come until Wednesday night. Thursday will possibly be reasonably wet (10-20 mm), very windy and cold. Not looking forward to that. Thursday night in the tent will also be wet and cold as will my final 20 kms to the HT northern terminus on Friday. I’ve heard there even could be light snow on some of the peaks! I’ll manage it, one way or another, just as I’ve managed the last 48 days. I wish the glorious weather had held a few more days but, hey, the land up here can really use the rain. Not long now! Carl / Pilgrim ———- Weather: still nice although a mild southerly has started to blow hinting at the weather change to come. Calories burnt: 3227

Hiking/Backpacking

South Australia, Heysen Trail

Pastoral Unincorporated Area, South Australia, Australia

time : Aug 4, 2020 7:21 AM

duration : 9h 0m 11s

distance : 28.9 km

total_ascent : 459 m

highest_point : 693 m

avg_speed : 4.2 km/h

user_id : gstreet

user_firstname : Carl

user_lastname : Greenstreet

The weather stays mild until the early hours of the morning when it gets chilly. I always get plenty of sleep due to the fact I’m in my tent for 12 hours of darkness but my sleep is usually fragmented as I can’t seem to stay sleeping in one position more than an hour without waking due to need to roll. I’m up before dawn doing the familiar chores of breaking camp. The sun comes up as I start walking but I’m still shaded by the Red Ranges and I’m quite cold when I start walking; particularly the ends of my fingers which ache against the pole handles. I ignore the discomfort as I know it will soon pass. I really like the section above Red Ranges campsite. I’m walking through lovely forests of small conifers and the trail is often soft Brachina shale, my favourite walking surface in the Flinders. The trail is very well marked and easy to follow. I come out of the trees into the sun and the morning sun on the Elder Ranges is breathtaking, lighting up the geological banding along the Ranges. It reminds me of a Hans Heysen painting. The farther I walk towards Wilpena, the drier the landscape becomes. My steps raise little dust clouds. I cross out of Arkaba Station property and enter Black Gap. I meet a retired couple who are out exploring in their 4WD and we have a long chat. Turns out they were at the Hawker hotel when I was and remember me dining alone in the corner. I usually have my nose in a book (or ebook) so I hadn’t paid much attention to who else was there - book, beer and pub meal were satisfying enough! We say goodbye and the Heysen Trail soon takes me into a picture perfect dry creek bed; it’s narrow with a level bed of shake chips - it’s like walking on a garden path. I’m working my way up the creek when I see a young lady backpacker coming down. We stop to chat and it’s Hollie, another member of the FB HT Thru-hiking group I belong to. Hollie just started a few days ago and is working on gaining her”trail legs” - starts at either end are tough on this trail. I’m impressed that she is a young (21) solo female thru-hiker. Good on her, I’m sure it will be a positive life changing walk. I love seeing the young people out on the trail. We say goodbyes and I start the long climb up Bridal Gap into Wilpena Pound and the Flinders Ranges National Park. Last year, the trail wasn’t well marked with the old style reflective rods obscured by the two metre high brush. I ended getting off trail multiple times onto game trails and getting scratched up as I bushed bashed my way up. Last September, Simon of FotH, remarked this section using the more visible rectangular white and orange HT signs. I found it easy to follow plus it is so dry that it’s also easy to track where others have walked. At the top, I have a rest and upload yesterday’s trail journal while I have signal. Then it’s a rocky, poor footing walk down into the Pound. The trail has a lot of scrub and you can’t see far. I come around a bend and there is a full grown emu in the trail. Rather than running over the horizon like they usually do, he advances at me while making a loud repeated thumping noise. I look past him and see the trail is full of his chicks. Good on him for protecting them! Nevertheless I am respectful of a bird as tall as I am and with feet that look like they could rip me open from end to end! I speak calmly to him that I’m not a threat and slowly back up. As soon as the small chicks are off the trail, he turns around and follows them into the bush. I wish them a long and happy life. Only then do I think I could have had an amazing picture but I didn’t even think to pull my phone out! Once I’m fully into the Pound, I reach the main trails and the walking surface becomes nice. I pour on the speed and make good time as I pass through the Pound. It’s over nine kilometres from Bridal Gap to the Wilpena Resort and I do it in well under two hours. At the entrance to the Pound is the Hills Homestead- an old picturesque plug and pine cabin. The last three kilometres is the access road into the Pound; everyone has to walk in or take the infrequent shuttle bus - I’ve never seen it run. The path is along a gum lined creek with some water in it; it’s a lovely walk. I reach the resort at 3pm and check in. They are only partially open due to Covid19 with restricted services. For example, the pub / restaurant is not open tonight so I’m going to have to eat my usual expando noodles but at least the room has a jug to boil the water. I run down to the IGA camp store before it closes and have a coffee and pick up some minor things - most importantly, a mini bottle of Chardy, so I can have my 2-minute noodles in *style* tonight! 😎😀 Now I’m showered and warm and I’ve washed out a few filthy things like my socks in the sink. Ah, the glamping life for me! Only three days left but they are going to present some challenges. Tomorrow the weather starts to change. I think I’ll be okay as rain won’t come until Wednesday night. Thursday will possibly be reasonably wet (10-20 mm), very windy and cold. Not looking forward to that. Thursday night in the tent will also be wet and cold as will my final 20 kms to the HT northern terminus on Friday. I’ve heard there even could be light snow on some of the peaks! I’ll manage it, one way or another, just as I’ve managed the last 48 days. I wish the glorious weather had held a few more days but, hey, the land up here can really use the rain. Not long now! Carl / Pilgrim ———- Weather: still nice although a mild southerly has started to blow hinting at the weather change to come. Calories burnt: 3227