Seven weeks. Forty nine days. Today completes seven weeks of walking so far. It’s been a good hike and one of my coping mechanisms of the immensity of the task in front of me is to focus on each day, the now, and only think forward when a task like resupply requires you to. After a long run of fine weather, the forecast suggests the weather is going to turn later in the day, likely bringing strong winds and perhaps some rain before dark. Tomorrow definitely looks wet and likely Friday morning as well when I finish my walk. The day starts cool but with a blue sky as I walk out of Wilpena. I’m wondering if I’ll need to stop and put on my rain / wind jacket but I persevere and soon the activity warms me up to where I feel comfortable. I spend the morning, 15 kilometres, paralleling the valley between the northeastern edge of the Pound and the ABC Range. As the morning progresses, clouds blow in and the breeze becomes a bit chilly. You can tell the weather is changing and that the couple of weeks of perfect weather I’ve just experienced is over. It looks like they bulldozed and graded the track I am following in the year since I was here last. I come across a newly constructed toilet and water tank and make a note to get this added to the Heysen Trail maps. Finally, after 15 kms, the trail makes a right turn and heads into the ABC Range, following a creek / gorge. A sign says that I’m entering another Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby habitat. It’s a nice climb up the gorge but soon over and I start climbing up the range. At the top, I take a short detour to Bunyeroo lookout which has excellent views of St Mary’s Peak. Coming down the other side, I meet a backpacker. We chat and I find out he is Johnny and on his second day of a southbound HT thru-hike. He is a veteran of NZ’s Te Araroa trail which spans the length of both islands so I don’t think he’ll have any issues with completing the full Heysen Trail. Before long, I’m following another creek; this one has a lot more fallen gum trees to navigate around. In one section, two dipping rock beds intersect to form the creek and it’s like walking up a narrow vee. Once I leave the creek, the trail climbs straight up the bordering hills. It’s pure Heysen, maximum grade and no pussy footing around with contouring the trails. I come across a herd of goats that don’t seem overly concerned about me although they move off to the next hill. I look over there and several goats have climbed up a gum tree and are standing on the branches! Show-offs! I drop down from the hills and see Yanyanna Hut, an old steel shed with a water tank and a multi-use platform. The inside is just a concrete floor with an old table and a few broken chairs. FotH tell me the shed is heritage listed and they can’t do anything to fix it up. I sit there wondering if it leaks badly in the rain. I slept on the dusty floor of this hut last year but this year I’m going to continue on to the next hut, Middlesight Water Hut, further on down the trail. It’s growing colder and I have a stiff headwind as I start the nine kilometres to the next hut. However, I’m following a track and the walking is fairly easy. I keep seeing these vibrant turquoise parrots in the scrub adjacent to the track but it’s impossible to get a picture of them with my iPhone. I walk fast to stay warm; I just don’t want to stop to get my rain / wind shell on. I’m tired after a long day’s walking but I try to just let my mind wander and the kilometres drop away. After 90 minutes of fast walking, I follow the track out of a creek crossing and see the hut on the hill above the creek. It’s got two small bunk bed sleeping platforms, a table and a few chairs. I give it another sweep out but all in all, it’s pretty tidy. I’m unpacking my gear and setting up for sleep when I hear voices. I ate outside and find Yanny, Emily and Lucas. They aren’t spending the night but just doing some loop walks in the area. Emily has been section hiking the Heysen and just needs to do the Aroona to Parachilna section to have completed the entire trail. She came up to finish but has been put off by the rain forecast as she was worried about flooding following 50mm of rain. I let her know the rain forecast is more likely to be 5-15 mm so flooding is unlikely. It’s now a bit before six; the sun has set but it’s not dark yet. I’ve shut the hut door as it’s getting cold - cold enough that I put on my long johns and have my puffy and beanie on. I’m only 37 km from the finish. I could push and finish tomorrow but Lisa won’t be there to pick me up until the next day. It’s supposed to start raining tonight but who knows if it actually will rain. Tomorrow’s camp at Aroona Ruins is only an easy 16km from here - a half day’s walk. I’ll be in the tent there. I think I’ll see what the weather is like tomorrow. If wet, I can stay dry here in the hut and leave for the camp mid-day. If dry, I can take a more leisurely walk. Either way, two more sleeps and I’m done! Carl / Pilgrim ———- Weather: Started cool but sunny but grew increasingly cloudy, windy and cold as the day progressed. Rain forecast tonight; will it come? Calories burnt: 3308

Hiking/Backpacking

Heysen Trail, South Australia

Pastoral Unincorporated Area, South Australia, Australia

time : Aug 5, 2020 7:19 AM

duration : 7h 40m 32s

distance : 32 km

total_ascent : 493 m

highest_point : 576 m

avg_speed : 4.6 km/h

user_id : gstreet

user_firstname : Carl

user_lastname : Greenstreet

Seven weeks. Forty nine days. Today completes seven weeks of walking so far. It’s been a good hike and one of my coping mechanisms of the immensity of the task in front of me is to focus on each day, the now, and only think forward when a task like resupply requires you to. After a long run of fine weather, the forecast suggests the weather is going to turn later in the day, likely bringing strong winds and perhaps some rain before dark. Tomorrow definitely looks wet and likely Friday morning as well when I finish my walk. The day starts cool but with a blue sky as I walk out of Wilpena. I’m wondering if I’ll need to stop and put on my rain / wind jacket but I persevere and soon the activity warms me up to where I feel comfortable. I spend the morning, 15 kilometres, paralleling the valley between the northeastern edge of the Pound and the ABC Range. As the morning progresses, clouds blow in and the breeze becomes a bit chilly. You can tell the weather is changing and that the couple of weeks of perfect weather I’ve just experienced is over. It looks like they bulldozed and graded the track I am following in the year since I was here last. I come across a newly constructed toilet and water tank and make a note to get this added to the Heysen Trail maps. Finally, after 15 kms, the trail makes a right turn and heads into the ABC Range, following a creek / gorge. A sign says that I’m entering another Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby habitat. It’s a nice climb up the gorge but soon over and I start climbing up the range. At the top, I take a short detour to Bunyeroo lookout which has excellent views of St Mary’s Peak. Coming down the other side, I meet a backpacker. We chat and I find out he is Johnny and on his second day of a southbound HT thru-hike. He is a veteran of NZ’s Te Araroa trail which spans the length of both islands so I don’t think he’ll have any issues with completing the full Heysen Trail. Before long, I’m following another creek; this one has a lot more fallen gum trees to navigate around. In one section, two dipping rock beds intersect to form the creek and it’s like walking up a narrow vee. Once I leave the creek, the trail climbs straight up the bordering hills. It’s pure Heysen, maximum grade and no pussy footing around with contouring the trails. I come across a herd of goats that don’t seem overly concerned about me although they move off to the next hill. I look over there and several goats have climbed up a gum tree and are standing on the branches! Show-offs! I drop down from the hills and see Yanyanna Hut, an old steel shed with a water tank and a multi-use platform. The inside is just a concrete floor with an old table and a few broken chairs. FotH tell me the shed is heritage listed and they can’t do anything to fix it up. I sit there wondering if it leaks badly in the rain. I slept on the dusty floor of this hut last year but this year I’m going to continue on to the next hut, Middlesight Water Hut, further on down the trail. It’s growing colder and I have a stiff headwind as I start the nine kilometres to the next hut. However, I’m following a track and the walking is fairly easy. I keep seeing these vibrant turquoise parrots in the scrub adjacent to the track but it’s impossible to get a picture of them with my iPhone. I walk fast to stay warm; I just don’t want to stop to get my rain / wind shell on. I’m tired after a long day’s walking but I try to just let my mind wander and the kilometres drop away. After 90 minutes of fast walking, I follow the track out of a creek crossing and see the hut on the hill above the creek. It’s got two small bunk bed sleeping platforms, a table and a few chairs. I give it another sweep out but all in all, it’s pretty tidy. I’m unpacking my gear and setting up for sleep when I hear voices. I ate outside and find Yanny, Emily and Lucas. They aren’t spending the night but just doing some loop walks in the area. Emily has been section hiking the Heysen and just needs to do the Aroona to Parachilna section to have completed the entire trail. She came up to finish but has been put off by the rain forecast as she was worried about flooding following 50mm of rain. I let her know the rain forecast is more likely to be 5-15 mm so flooding is unlikely. It’s now a bit before six; the sun has set but it’s not dark yet. I’ve shut the hut door as it’s getting cold - cold enough that I put on my long johns and have my puffy and beanie on. I’m only 37 km from the finish. I could push and finish tomorrow but Lisa won’t be there to pick me up until the next day. It’s supposed to start raining tonight but who knows if it actually will rain. Tomorrow’s camp at Aroona Ruins is only an easy 16km from here - a half day’s walk. I’ll be in the tent there. I think I’ll see what the weather is like tomorrow. If wet, I can stay dry here in the hut and leave for the camp mid-day. If dry, I can take a more leisurely walk. Either way, two more sleeps and I’m done! Carl / Pilgrim ———- Weather: Started cool but sunny but grew increasingly cloudy, windy and cold as the day progressed. Rain forecast tonight; will it come? Calories burnt: 3308