Back on the trail again! I got a message that seemed like it was from God “Take up thy (repaired) bed and walk!” Actually it was my hiking buddy Chris as he thought it was time to get off my ass and stop lollygagging in town! So I’m up before 6am and on-trail just before 7am, in that pre-dawn glow that comes right before sunrise. I’ve got a big climb up and over Pichi Ritchie before climbing up and over Mt Brown. I’m hoping for nice weather at the Mt Brown summit but we’ll see. Thru-hikers golden rule: Accept what the Trail gives you! It’s seven degrees but I’m stripped down to shorts, mid layer and fingerless wool gloves (Be Bold! Start Cold!). Turns out I called it right as I’m quite comfortable as I walk out of town. I can smell the acrid scent of coal burning and my first thought was who burns coal for home heating these days? Then I passed the rail yard and it clicked - they were firing up the Pitchi Ritchi steam train’s boilers well ahead of the Saturday morning tourist runs. I reach the kilometre long fenced paddock that has warning signs of a bull camel 🐪 on the property. It used to freak me out as male camels can be dangerous but I now know this camel is long gone. There is a grave with a cross for Zane and I wonder if that is the camel. I reach the Highway and start railway line walking. They don’t want you to walk on the tracks but the tracks are adjacent to the trail yet the tracks are well graded and easy to walk on. I’m still a few hours in front of the first tourist steam train run, so I choose to walk the easy route on the tracks. Distance melts away until it is time to climb up on the Pitchi Ritch ridge. This section is scenic but not my favourite. Let me count the ways: 1) there are lots of vegetation including spikey plants that shred my bare lower legs, 2) the marking is schizophrenic - sometimes good, other times quite difficult to route find and, finally, 3) the footing is rocky and difficult. I slow right up across this section which reflects the trail challenges. Eventually I drop down steeply off the Pitchi Ritchi ridge and follow a creek to cross under the Highway and adjacent railway line. Once I cross under the highway, the trail follows a picturesque creek and eventually becomes a proper trail as I approach Waukerie Creek Campsite at the foot of Mt Brown. I take a short rest at the camp and then it’s time to make the 8km climb to Mt Brown summit. The trail up is through the Mt Brown Conservation Park and therefore is a proper marked and contoured trail. I thought it would be an easy climb because of that but I was wrong. Perhaps it was just because I had a reasonably long day or that every step was up but I felt extremely beat two kilometres from the summit and had to slowly force myself to make the remaining distance. The summit is a real treat as there is a multi-story viewing platform that provides awesome views over the trees. I grabbed my rain shell to insulate me against the wind as my shirt was completely soaked with sweat. You could see the solar tomato farm installation and the adjacent wind farm which wasn’t here when I first walked the Heysen. Looking east, I could see Mt Magnificent which I’ll have to climb in a couple of days. The wind came up and I felt very cold as I descended the steep side of Mt Brown toward my campsite tonight, Catninga Shed, only a couple of kilometres ahead. I finally reached Catninga Shed which is a rough tin shed with a few bunks that the owners hire out to Heysen hikers. It’s plain but I’m glad to have it as there is little else for camp options up here on the upper slopes of Mt Brown. I’ve had a nice fire and dinner as it grew dark and I’m planning a very early bedtime. The next two days are also tough and I want my body to have the opportunity to repair itself overnight. Time to go hang my stuff for mice prevention and go to bed! Night night! Carl / Pilgrim

Hiking/Backpacking

The Flinders Ranges Council, South Australia, Australia

time : Jun 25, 2022 6:55 AM

duration : 8h 53m 7s

distance : 29 km

total_ascent : 1028 m

highest_point : 972 m

avg_speed : 3.7 km/h

user_id : gstreet

user_firstname : Carl

user_lastname : Greenstreet

Back on the trail again! I got a message that seemed like it was from God “Take up thy (repaired) bed and walk!” Actually it was my hiking buddy Chris as he thought it was time to get off my ass and stop lollygagging in town! So I’m up before 6am and on-trail just before 7am, in that pre-dawn glow that comes right before sunrise. I’ve got a big climb up and over Pichi Ritchie before climbing up and over Mt Brown. I’m hoping for nice weather at the Mt Brown summit but we’ll see. Thru-hikers golden rule: Accept what the Trail gives you! It’s seven degrees but I’m stripped down to shorts, mid layer and fingerless wool gloves (Be Bold! Start Cold!). Turns out I called it right as I’m quite comfortable as I walk out of town. I can smell the acrid scent of coal burning and my first thought was who burns coal for home heating these days? Then I passed the rail yard and it clicked - they were firing up the Pitchi Ritchi steam train’s boilers well ahead of the Saturday morning tourist runs. I reach the kilometre long fenced paddock that has warning signs of a bull camel 🐪 on the property. It used to freak me out as male camels can be dangerous but I now know this camel is long gone. There is a grave with a cross for Zane and I wonder if that is the camel. I reach the Highway and start railway line walking. They don’t want you to walk on the tracks but the tracks are adjacent to the trail yet the tracks are well graded and easy to walk on. I’m still a few hours in front of the first tourist steam train run, so I choose to walk the easy route on the tracks. Distance melts away until it is time to climb up on the Pitchi Ritch ridge. This section is scenic but not my favourite. Let me count the ways: 1) there are lots of vegetation including spikey plants that shred my bare lower legs, 2) the marking is schizophrenic - sometimes good, other times quite difficult to route find and, finally, 3) the footing is rocky and difficult. I slow right up across this section which reflects the trail challenges. Eventually I drop down steeply off the Pitchi Ritchi ridge and follow a creek to cross under the Highway and adjacent railway line. Once I cross under the highway, the trail follows a picturesque creek and eventually becomes a proper trail as I approach Waukerie Creek Campsite at the foot of Mt Brown. I take a short rest at the camp and then it’s time to make the 8km climb to Mt Brown summit. The trail up is through the Mt Brown Conservation Park and therefore is a proper marked and contoured trail. I thought it would be an easy climb because of that but I was wrong. Perhaps it was just because I had a reasonably long day or that every step was up but I felt extremely beat two kilometres from the summit and had to slowly force myself to make the remaining distance. The summit is a real treat as there is a multi-story viewing platform that provides awesome views over the trees. I grabbed my rain shell to insulate me against the wind as my shirt was completely soaked with sweat. You could see the solar tomato farm installation and the adjacent wind farm which wasn’t here when I first walked the Heysen. Looking east, I could see Mt Magnificent which I’ll have to climb in a couple of days. The wind came up and I felt very cold as I descended the steep side of Mt Brown toward my campsite tonight, Catninga Shed, only a couple of kilometres ahead. I finally reached Catninga Shed which is a rough tin shed with a few bunks that the owners hire out to Heysen hikers. It’s plain but I’m glad to have it as there is little else for camp options up here on the upper slopes of Mt Brown. I’ve had a nice fire and dinner as it grew dark and I’m planning a very early bedtime. The next two days are also tough and I want my body to have the opportunity to repair itself overnight. Time to go hang my stuff for mice prevention and go to bed! Night night! Carl / Pilgrim