The Larapinta Trail
Sunday, July 4, 2010 at 10:15PM As some of you may know, a couple of weeks ago, I embarked on a 9 day solo walk on the Larapinta Trail in the Northern Territory, and I've survived to tell my tale:
Day 0:
I arrived in Alice Springs with a sense of anticipation; and if I'm honest, I was a little nervous as well. 9 days of solo walking across the central Australian desert is by far the most ambitious adventure that I've planned. Most of the day was spent buying supplies and packing my gear for the next day. Even with dehydrated food, I was staggered by how much food I had to carry for 10 days! Luckily, I had arranged for a food drop to be made about 6 days into the trek at Stanley Chasm. Even so, 6 days of food and snacks took up almost 5kg. (This is just a guess-timate) I would quickly find out with all the work in the gym had paid off.
In a bid to save some weight, I only brought a set of merino thermals as spare clothes, meaning I was going to wear the same clothes for the entire walk.
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;)
Day 1
I was picked up bright and early by Danny, the owner of Tailor-made Tours, who drove me to my starting point at Ellery creek, the mid point of the Larapinta Trail, some 130km away from Alice Springs. While this may not sound like much over 9 days, walking on difficult terrain, crossing mountain ridges, gorges is a very different prospect to walking on a flat, paved road. Danny gave me a quick run-through of some of the native flora and fauna (including which grubs were good to eat...yum....bush tucker...) He also told me that the snakes were in hibernation this time of year, allaying some of my concerns.
I didn't get off to a good start at Ellery Creek. I had no idea where the trail began, and my expensive GPS unit turned out to be useless. Put simply, the map loaded onto the unit was not accurate. The GPS unit and all the spare batteries had become a dead-weight that I had to carry for the next 5 or 6 days until the food drop point. Thank goodness I bought the maps of the trail the day before as a precaution. I knew I had to follow the valley eastwards, and I just started walking in that direction. I had heard that because the trail markers were positioned for those walking from east to west, and therefore could be hard to spot when walking in the opposite direction, but this was ridiculous! So it was with a huge sense of relief when about 45 minutes later I reached a junction where I saw my first trail marker. I had wasted much time, and I knew I had to try to catch up with a couple who had started 15 minutes before me.
Navigation became much easier, and I could for the first time appreciate my surroundings. The Central Australian Outback was really different to what I had imagined. For starters, unlike all the aerial photographs and Google Earth's images, the desert isn't red-brown. It's green! There were many gum trees, spinifex grass, and bushes. Not exactly lush, but it's far from my idea of a desert. The vast open spaces also gave me a sense of the challenges that lay ahead.
Because of my late start, my original plan to make a push towards Ghost Gum Creek was out of the question. Although I made good progress initially, I slowed down considerably after developing multiple blisters on my feet, one of which about 50mm across the ball of my left foor. Each step was agony--I could feel the liquid squishing in my foot with each step. To make matters worse, I was running out of water. Even though the temperatures were in the 20s, the air was so dry that I had to keep drinking. I started off with 3 litres of water, thinking that I could simply fill up at one of the numerous creeks indicated on the maps. Big mistake. Every one of those creeks were bone dry. I didn't have enough water to cook my dehydrated meal for lunch. Thoughts of having to do a "Bear Grylls" and dig for water / drink my own piss began to enter my mind. So it was with a huge sense of relief when I stumbled into the camp at Rocky Gully, feet horrendously blistered, dehydrated and hungry.
I was rather worried. Day 1 was a disaster, and I had a big day scheduled for Day 2: I needed to make it to Hugh Gorge Junction, about 3 hours from the end of the section 6. This was to give me some chance of finishing Section 5 on Day 3 as I could only carry 4 litres of water. (Section 5 only had water at the start and finishing points, and takes 2 days to complete. Campsites along the way did not have water).
Jingyi Tan
Day Two
Day Two started off well enough. The blisters on the feet had dried up somewhat and progress was good. The walk itself was pretty, but unspectacular. I eventually reached Hugh Gorge after 6 hours of walking, at about 2.30pm. I was quite tired, but because of the issue of the water supply, I resolved to fill up on water and carry on walking to Hugh Gorge Junction, some 3 hours away. In a bid to carry a bit more water with me, I emptied out my dry bag and filled that with water as well. It was a good idea in theory, but as it turned out, the bag had a leak and the contents of my pack were soaked. So although I carried an additional 3 kilograms of water, I only ended up being able to use half a litre!
The walk up Hugh Gorge to the junction was a tough one. It was the start of Section 5 of the Trail, and is described in the literature as “very difficult”. And it was, especially on the ankles, with lots of rock scrambling involved. 
The gorge was quite beautiful though, with steep red cliffs rising all around you. The colours were amazing. Too bad I got there at the wrong time, the sun was already setting and the light was fading fast. Worse, 2 hours into the walk, the trail suddenly disappeared into a pool of water. Mentally, it’s just hard at the end of the day when you realize that you will end up with wet clothes for the night, and I was wondering if I would reach the campsite before the light went completely.
Once again, it was with a great sense of relief that I stumbled onto the campsite at twilight, where a group of 3 had already set up camp. I was really glad I made it to the junction. It was a much nicer campsite (even though there was no water supply), and on a starry night, it really was spectacular.
The campsite at Hugh Gorge Junction under the stars
Jingyi Tan
Day Three
It was to be another big day. The plan was to reach Birthday Waterhole, some 8 hours away, across what is described as really difficult terrain. I got chatting with the group of 3 I had shared the camp with: Des, Mark and Tina from Brisbane. They were walking the entire Larapinta Trail from start to finish over 22 days, and so were just over mid-way in their journey. According to them, they had planned this trip for 2 years, and had trained for it, but even so, they still found it quite difficult. The amount of preparation they did made me feel a bit sheepish—I had only decided on this trip a week before—which explains the problems I had with regards to the gear I had brought along (the ability to carry water especially). I had huge respect for what they were doing. One day, I will complete the entire trail like them.
The trail had 2 extremely steep uphill portions, the first at Rocky Saddle, and then again at Razorback Ridge. Des, Mark and Tina had meant to camp at Fringe Lily Creek, just before the climb up to Razorback Ridge. They were told by people passing in the opposite direction that there was plenty of water available there. Turns out though, the creek was bone dry and they were forced to move on, joining me on my walk to Birthday Waterhole. Goes to show you can’t trust everything you hear on the trail (Especially when some people tell you an 8 hour section of the trail takes just 4 hours to complete.)
I survived the uphill climb quite easily (thanks to Carol, my trainer), but it was the steep descent down Spencer Gorge that really took it out of me. The final 3km became a struggle, since the signposts in the gorge led me to believe that the Birthday Waterhole was much closer than it really was. It felt like climbing a really steep hill with one false summit after another, and it was quite hard to keep telling yourself that the campsite was just around the corner. The last kilometer was also on the soft sands of the dry creek, which made walking even more tiring. The name “Birthday Waterhole” really is an apt name—it feels like your birthday when you’ve finally reached the camp! Even though it was twilight and getting rather cold, I simply had to take a little swim in the waterhole, if anything just to clean myself a little. I have to say it was a really refreshing dip!
The Campsite at Birthday Waterhole
Jingyi Tan
Day Four
Day Four saw the start of Section 4 of the trail. Looking at the maps, I realized it was to be another section where I needed to carry 2 days’ supply of water. Happily, Des came to my rescue by lending me his spare water-bladder! It was extremely kind of him and not something I’ll forget in a hurry!
Having solved the problem of the water supply, I could have a shorter rest day of only 4 hours of walking (albeit up really steep terrain) and camp atop Brinkley Bluff. I was really keen to get good pictures of the sunrise and sunset from the top of the mountain! We were worried that camping on an exposed bluff would be too cold and windy, but when we got to the top, we noticed that the wind was blowing straight up one face of the bluff and it was perfectly calm on the side of the camping areas. Thinking it would be safe, we set up our tents and rested for the afternoon, taking in the gorgeous views and waiting for the sun to set. The sunset itself was pretty, but it was as spectacular as I had hoped (no high level clouds).
As night fell, our initial fears were realized—the winds changed from blowing straight up the face of the bluff to blowing up and over the bluff, down the other face. It was gale-force, and bitterly cold. A couple of my tent pegs were actually pulled out from the ground and for a few moments I thought my tent poles would buckle. Even so, I still tried to take a picture of the night sky from up there, after weighing down my tripod with a bag of stones.
I got little sleep that night, being kept awake by the howling winds that threatened to flatten my tent.
;)
Day Five
The winds of the night had not died down when dawn broke, and I woke up covered in the red dust of the Outback, courtesy of the strong wind blowing into my tent. I tried to get a few snaps of the sunrise, but it was simply too windy and too cold. Des, Mark and Tina quickly broke camp and headed downhill to find a more sheltered spot for breakfast, and I followed their lead.
Day Five was to be another “rest” day—just over 5 hours of walking and then a chance for a proper cooked meal and a cold soda at Standley Chasm. The downhill walk to Standley Chasm was steep and rather testing on the ankles. (I particularly dislike the dry creek beds) Just before arriving at Standley Chasm, I ran into a couple camping by the creek, Pete and Cathy. It turns out that Pete was a wedding photographer who specialized in shooting weddings in outdoor settings, and as chance would have it, a Nikon user as well. This fact seemed to create an instant connection and ended up buying me coffee and giving me advice from his years of experience. Funny how brand loyalty works in the world of photography! He also invited me on this expedition he was planning in November. (I would love to go, but thesis stands in the way.)
As camping sites go, Standley Chasm wasn’t the prettiest (nor the most peaceful), with plenty of day trippers on tour buses and travelers in caravans. Nevertheless, I was grateful for the massive burger and fries at the café there (as well as picking up my food drop). To actually see the chasm, an additional entry fee of $8 was required. While it was pretty, it was nothing compared to the sights I had seen on the trip so far—going to show that sometimes the best things really are free!
Jingyi Tan
Day Six
Having had a relatively easy day, it was time to face up to the next section, the walk to Jay Creek. Although it is one of the shortest sections (only 13.6km), and can be finished in a day, it’s been described as “Hard”. Not only that, Des and I had decided that we would take the scenic but even more demanding high route, across the ridge line, rather than walk down the dry creek beds. My pack weight had also shot up once again, having re-stocked my food supplies at Standley Chasm. In hindsight, I realize had bought way too many snacks.
Having reached Millers Flat two hours after we started, Des and I parted ways temporarily with Mark and Tina, who decided they weren’t feeling up to the climb. We agreed to meet where the two paths converged at Tangentyere Junction, 2 hours later. According to the track notes, the scenic high route was “ unconstructed, not so well marked and goes up and down 300 metres via steep slopes that are very rough underfoot”. And so it was! Ascending up a steep, overgrown gorge, the trail markers had somehow disappeared. Thinking we would spot another trail marker soon, Des and I pressed on, following what looked like a possible trail up the side of a mountain. The terrain kept getting steeper and steeper, till the point where it got “butt-clenching” steep—in Des’ words. We knew something was definitely wrong. I dropped my pack and scrambled up to the top of the mountain to try to spot the trail. Eventually, Des spotted the trail, which was on the opposite side of the gorge. Quite how we managed to stray so far off course I’ll never quite know. Just to illustrate how steep the mountainside was, I couldn’t see my pack when I was coming down the mountain. Des had to direct me to my pack after he had crossed over to the other side of the gorge.
Finally back on track, it was another steep climb up to the ridge. But the views we got there were amazing! Having lost time with the lengthy detour, Des decided to power on towards our meeting point to catch up with Mark and Tina. As for me, I decided to take it a bit slower. It turned out to be my loss! The last bit of the walk to Jay Creek was long and tiring (it was on soft sands as well), and I arrived at the camp site, just to see Des and Mark enjoying a couple of cold beers. There was another group who were there doing a supported walk (they carried day packs, and had a caravan which carried their food and gear meeting them at their destinations) and they had a couple of beers to spare. Unfortunately, I missed that boat!
As Jay Creek had sheltered sleeping platforms, I didn’t need to pitch my tent for a change. That night, snuggled up in our sleeping bags, Des entertained us by telling us of his experiences in the Australian navy. I wished my military life was half as interesting!
Day Seven
We awoke to a freezing cold morning. Temperatures had plunged overnight—the water in Des’ bottle had frozen; the clothes that he hung out to dry were rock solid as well. (Luckily for him, he had a spare pair of underwear! I had spilled some water on the sleeping platform while packing, and within 5 minutes, that too was frozen.) It was a real struggle to get going in the freezing cold of the morning, but I had to. In order to keep to my schedule, I had to make an early start and make it to Simpsons Gap some 25km away. I had a plane to catch, and I really needed to be back at Alice Springs in 2 days.
It was time for me to part ways with my travel companions of the past few days. While I do love the solitude of walking alone, it was nice to have some people to talk to as well. Des also helped me a great deal, first lending me his spare water bladder, and then giving me his spare batteries when my head lamp ran out of power. It really touches me to know that such kindness still exists! His willingness to help out a stranger really made my life on the trail so much easier.
From left to right: Mark, Tina, Me, Des
The temperatures climbed steadily, and by mid-day it was boiling hot. A quick check on my thermometer function of my watch told me it was 35 degrees Celsius. Yikes. It’s just a reminder of how extreme the environment is in the Outback. Walking in that kind of heat was a lot more physically draining. By the time I reached Simpsons Gap at around 6pm, my shirt looked like a salt mine, from all the sweat I had lost. Walking to the tap to refill on water, I got some stares from a family having a barbecue by the pits. I realize I must have been quite a sight. In my bid to save a bit of weight in my pack, I only had one spare set of merino thermals to sleep in, and after 7 days, my walking clothes were looking pretty grotty. I should mention though, I was wearing merino, and even though my shirt looked disgusting, it stayed odour-free, and remained comfortable, just like a second skin.
salt stains from sweating!
Day Eight
Having covered the last section in a day, I could breathe a little easier, and had a short day, stopping to camp at Wallaby Gap, just 11km away. While I needed to be back in Alice Springs in time to catch my flight to Darwin, I didn’t want to get there too early. After all, camping out is much cheaper than staying in a backpackers’ hostel.
Since leaving Des, Mark and Tina, I was pretty much by myself the entire time, and having quite a lot of free time, I took the chance to give my clothes a quick rinse, and then settled in to wait for the sun to set. Just off the 4wd path leading away from the campsite, was a little ridge with a spectacular view across the plains. This was classic Outback scenery.
I was now just 13km away from Alice Springs, and I could even hear vehicles in the distance from the camp. Also, for the first time in 8 days, I had mobile phone reception—I could even check my email! After the isolation for the past week (with the exception of Standley Chasm), it seemed pretty surreal. I couldn’t quite believe that I was going to be back in civilization the next day!
Day Nine
The final day came, and the Outback gave me a parting gift in the form of a beautiful sunrise. Climbing up Euro Ridge, I had a spectacular view of the desert plains and mountains that I had crossed over the last week.
I had feared the end of my journey would be a little anti-climatic, but thankfully it wasn’t. Instead I felt this incredible sense of achievement—I had made it on my own across the desert in 9 days! To some of you, perhaps that isn’t such a big deal, but I had done something that I’d never have thought possible just a year ago. As I walked into town, I even got a couple of honks from people driving by, yelling out “Yeah you made it!”
What an epic journey it has been! 1 man, with a 30kg pack, 9 days across 130km in the Outback, in 1 pair of underwear!
made it! end of the trail at the Telegraph Station
Reader Comments (2)
What an outstanding post that was. Im planning the whole track in winter 2012. Ive had 6 people say they'll go, but theyve all dropped out. Maybe I'll end up doing a solo effort as well.
Thanks again
Peter.
Hi JY,
great achievement. Your photos and your report is very inspiring.
After walking the Overland Track in Tassie last week, I am planning to walk Larapinta in August, just like Peter.
So Peter you do not have to walk the trail alone
e-mail me on Sabine44@optusnet.com.au
Sabine from Sydney