"if something can go wrong, it will" Sod's law “Misfortune will happen at the worst possible time" Finnagle’s Law ———————————————- Today, at the very start my Heysen Trail thru-hike, misadventure rules! But things always have a way of working out; problems just allow me to practice my number one rule of thru-hiking: Accept what the trail gives you (be adaptable). The day starts early as I walk out through my front yard in the pre-dawn light, my pack straps resting comfortably against my shoulders. It’s been awhile since I’ve shouldered a full pack but in many ways, it feels natural like meeting up with an old friend. I walk down to our local city transit bus stop and ride into the Adelaide CBD. At the Adelaide bus station, I catch a bus to Port Augusta, some four and a bit hours away. The ticket is a steal: $32 with a seniors card discount. I’ve arranged a bespoke lift from Pt Augusta up to the northern trailhead at Parachilna Gorge. This leg of my ride is a bit more costly at $195. By the time I get to the trailhead, there will be only a few hours light but, regardless, I’m planning to walk 18 kms to Aroona Ruins campsite. I’ll have to walk the last few hours by headlamp but that’s okay. My bus ride starts well. Then Sod’s Law kicks in! About an hour and a half out of Adelaide, in a small town called Lochiel, the bus’ engine starts spewing black smoke. The driver pulls over to find the bus threw belts and, just like that, we are dead in the water. Stateliner puts a mechanic on the road to assist us but meanwhile there are spare belts and tools on the bus so the driver tries to put new belts on himself. He’s fortunate that a few passengers are professional mechanics and with their help the new belts are installed. Unfortunately, while testing, we find the air conditioner compressor has seized which is likely the root cause of the belt failure in the first place. With no quick fixes, a new bus is dispatched from Adelaide to collect us. By the time we are picked up, we are three and a half hours behind schedule. I’m wondering if I’m going to get to the trailhead. I talk to the driver that was going to pick me up in Pt Augusta and they have two other passengers and say they cannot wait. But luck is with me as two other hikers, Catherine and Ian from northern Queensland, say their driver is going to wait and has room in his 4WD to take me too. Big shout out to Paul at Wallaby Tracks Adventure Tours! The two and a half hour ride to the Parachilna Gorge trailhead is nail biting as we drive through twilight, then fully dusk and there are lots of wildlife crossing the road. Not a good time of day to be on the road! We have close encounters with emus, roos, wallabies and even bloody free ranging sheep. We pull into the trailhead, and while it’s only 6:30pm, it’s now pitch black. We can see construction equipment in the headlights as the Friends of the Heysen have just started building a lovely new trailhead but it’s too dark to see what they are doing. Paul quickly unloads us and departs. Tonight is just after the new moon so it’s very dark but the sky is ablaze with bright stars - just breathtaking! Catherine and Ian are not keen on night hiking (they are still hiking at 78 years old; respect!) so they are going to the trailhead campsite located about 500 metres in. I want to hold to my hiking schedule as I have a non-refundable room booked in Wilpena in three nights so I’m planning on walking the full 18 kms to Aroona by torch. We get out our headlamps and set out. With the headlamp, I can see fine just in front of me but my peripheral vision is black. It’s like looking through a narrow tube. We say goodbye at the edge of the hikers camp where I see other lights; perhaps the other hikers from my ride that did not wait on me. I know this trail section, lots of creek walking, some paths and old 4WD tracks and also some large erosional gullies. At night though, it feels completely different as I fall into a walking rhythm. Most of the trail signs are reflective which really helps but I’m happy for my digital Far Out map that uses GPS to show where I’m on the trail. The stars are amazing and I stop occasionally to extinguish my lights just so I can marvel at the stars above. A moth as big as a small bird flies through my lamp light. Then I hear a rustling by my feet and find an echidna there, who digs in while I take his picture by flashlight. There isn’t much to see in the dark and I’m busy navigating and trying not to fall and get injured. Once again, hiking poles are life savers! I come across several roos and a heard of feral goats but I barely catch a glimpse of them. I can smell the goats for some time! Then I did a bad bad thing; a real rookie mistake. I got off the trail in a poorly marked section and used my digital map to navigate back onto the trail. I found a trail sign but in the dark I made the stupid mistake of heading north which is back toward the start! I suppose I had some feelings of deja vu as I retraced my steps but not too much as you just can’t see much in the dark. By the time I realised I was heading in the wrong direction, I had backtracked nearly an hour! Doh! I lost nearly two hours walking and added 7 kms into my hike. I realised that reaching Aroona was out now so I decided to free camp at Pigeon Bore around five kms short of Aroona. I finally reached Pigeon Bore a at half past 11 pm! Nearly five hours of walking. Fortunately no one was camped there so I didn’t disturb anyone walking in with my headlamp blazing. Pigeon Bore is a historic stock watering site with a bore and a hand pump that still works. There is a large sturdy concrete circle pad about a foot off the ground; perhaps a tank covering? I was tired enough not to want to fiddle setting up my tent in the dark, so I made an on the spot decision to cowboy camp on top of the concrete pad (eg sleep under stars with no tent). I just unrolled my tent footprint on top of the concrete and put my air mattress and down quilt on top of the sheet. Beanie and gloves on and soon I’m snuggled in thinking “What a day!” I fell asleep lying on my back feeling peaceful as I watched the stars wheel above me and enjoyed one of the nicest night skies I had ever had the pleasure of sleeping under. Carl / Pilgrim Weather: Sunny 25, cooling down to low teens overnight Calories burnt: 2100

Hiking/Backpacking

Heysen Trail, South Australia

Pastoral Unincorporated Area, South Australia, Australia

time : May 9, 2024 6:23 PM

duration : 4h 53m 35s

distance : 19 km

total_ascent : 448 m

highest_point : 571 m

avg_speed : 4.2 km/h

user_id : gstreet

user_firstname : Carl

user_lastname : Greenstreet

"if something can go wrong, it will" Sod's law “Misfortune will happen at the worst possible time" Finnagle’s Law ———————————————- Today, at the very start my Heysen Trail thru-hike, misadventure rules! But things always have a way of working out; problems just allow me to practice my number one rule of thru-hiking: Accept what the trail gives you (be adaptable). The day starts early as I walk out through my front yard in the pre-dawn light, my pack straps resting comfortably against my shoulders. It’s been awhile since I’ve shouldered a full pack but in many ways, it feels natural like meeting up with an old friend. I walk down to our local city transit bus stop and ride into the Adelaide CBD. At the Adelaide bus station, I catch a bus to Port Augusta, some four and a bit hours away. The ticket is a steal: $32 with a seniors card discount. I’ve arranged a bespoke lift from Pt Augusta up to the northern trailhead at Parachilna Gorge. This leg of my ride is a bit more costly at $195. By the time I get to the trailhead, there will be only a few hours light but, regardless, I’m planning to walk 18 kms to Aroona Ruins campsite. I’ll have to walk the last few hours by headlamp but that’s okay. My bus ride starts well. Then Sod’s Law kicks in! About an hour and a half out of Adelaide, in a small town called Lochiel, the bus’ engine starts spewing black smoke. The driver pulls over to find the bus threw belts and, just like that, we are dead in the water. Stateliner puts a mechanic on the road to assist us but meanwhile there are spare belts and tools on the bus so the driver tries to put new belts on himself. He’s fortunate that a few passengers are professional mechanics and with their help the new belts are installed. Unfortunately, while testing, we find the air conditioner compressor has seized which is likely the root cause of the belt failure in the first place. With no quick fixes, a new bus is dispatched from Adelaide to collect us. By the time we are picked up, we are three and a half hours behind schedule. I’m wondering if I’m going to get to the trailhead. I talk to the driver that was going to pick me up in Pt Augusta and they have two other passengers and say they cannot wait. But luck is with me as two other hikers, Catherine and Ian from northern Queensland, say their driver is going to wait and has room in his 4WD to take me too. Big shout out to Paul at Wallaby Tracks Adventure Tours! The two and a half hour ride to the Parachilna Gorge trailhead is nail biting as we drive through twilight, then fully dusk and there are lots of wildlife crossing the road. Not a good time of day to be on the road! We have close encounters with emus, roos, wallabies and even bloody free ranging sheep. We pull into the trailhead, and while it’s only 6:30pm, it’s now pitch black. We can see construction equipment in the headlights as the Friends of the Heysen have just started building a lovely new trailhead but it’s too dark to see what they are doing. Paul quickly unloads us and departs. Tonight is just after the new moon so it’s very dark but the sky is ablaze with bright stars - just breathtaking! Catherine and Ian are not keen on night hiking (they are still hiking at 78 years old; respect!) so they are going to the trailhead campsite located about 500 metres in. I want to hold to my hiking schedule as I have a non-refundable room booked in Wilpena in three nights so I’m planning on walking the full 18 kms to Aroona by torch. We get out our headlamps and set out. With the headlamp, I can see fine just in front of me but my peripheral vision is black. It’s like looking through a narrow tube. We say goodbye at the edge of the hikers camp where I see other lights; perhaps the other hikers from my ride that did not wait on me. I know this trail section, lots of creek walking, some paths and old 4WD tracks and also some large erosional gullies. At night though, it feels completely different as I fall into a walking rhythm. Most of the trail signs are reflective which really helps but I’m happy for my digital Far Out map that uses GPS to show where I’m on the trail. The stars are amazing and I stop occasionally to extinguish my lights just so I can marvel at the stars above. A moth as big as a small bird flies through my lamp light. Then I hear a rustling by my feet and find an echidna there, who digs in while I take his picture by flashlight. There isn’t much to see in the dark and I’m busy navigating and trying not to fall and get injured. Once again, hiking poles are life savers! I come across several roos and a heard of feral goats but I barely catch a glimpse of them. I can smell the goats for some time! Then I did a bad bad thing; a real rookie mistake. I got off the trail in a poorly marked section and used my digital map to navigate back onto the trail. I found a trail sign but in the dark I made the stupid mistake of heading north which is back toward the start! I suppose I had some feelings of deja vu as I retraced my steps but not too much as you just can’t see much in the dark. By the time I realised I was heading in the wrong direction, I had backtracked nearly an hour! Doh! I lost nearly two hours walking and added 7 kms into my hike. I realised that reaching Aroona was out now so I decided to free camp at Pigeon Bore around five kms short of Aroona. I finally reached Pigeon Bore a at half past 11 pm! Nearly five hours of walking. Fortunately no one was camped there so I didn’t disturb anyone walking in with my headlamp blazing. Pigeon Bore is a historic stock watering site with a bore and a hand pump that still works. There is a large sturdy concrete circle pad about a foot off the ground; perhaps a tank covering? I was tired enough not to want to fiddle setting up my tent in the dark, so I made an on the spot decision to cowboy camp on top of the concrete pad (eg sleep under stars with no tent). I just unrolled my tent footprint on top of the concrete and put my air mattress and down quilt on top of the sheet. Beanie and gloves on and soon I’m snuggled in thinking “What a day!” I fell asleep lying on my back feeling peaceful as I watched the stars wheel above me and enjoyed one of the nicest night skies I had ever had the pleasure of sleeping under. Carl / Pilgrim Weather: Sunny 25, cooling down to low teens overnight Calories burnt: 2100