October 30, 2015
Mutton Bird Shelter
It's hot. Hot and humid. And it's only 10 am. We left Torbay hut at 6:15 am to try and beat the heat. We leave early every morning for just that reason. But this whole week along the southern coast has been cloudy. Hoorah!! Delightful for hiking! Until today. The day we planned to double hut and do 25 kms. Now here we sit. Fighting the flies. Biting March flies. And waiting for the cooler afternoon rain storm that's suppose to be coming. I couldn't continue in the heat. Waugal agreed. Maybe we'll night hike!! Haven't done that!
The coast this week has been breathtakingly beautiful. Deserted beaches. Coastal flowers. PUDS. Pointless ups and downs.
And we've had some company. Han Wanderlust, now Murph (short for Murphy's Law). She needs to write an article about her adventures on this trail. Yup she's the one. Caught in a bushfire. No water at camp. Dead body in a tent. (Not really, but since no one answered she thought there was.). No canoes at the inlet crossing so she swam across with a life jacket and a bag sealed and inflated carrying her towel. Yup. Everything happens to Murph. And what a trooper she is. Just turned 24. Afraid of the dark. And spent the first 3 weeks alone. She's found out how tough she is. I'm so impressed with your attitude, Murph! You'll go far in this world with it!
Another adventure nearing it's end. Some clothes will be thrown out. My feet may never be clean again. And I'm tired. This may be my last big backpacking trip. I don't seem to have the energy I used to. It's 2 months I've been out here. I should be in hiker shape. But I'm not. I'm suffering most of every day. Few moments of joy, when I feel no pain and my pack is comfortable and my engines are purring. Maybe llama packing next time!!
I haven't seen one snake. Not a fu grown one. Just an itty bitty baby. How can I have walked 1000 kms through the snake infested southwestern Australia where others have seen 20 or more and not see one? I've got 25 kms to go. Let's make it happen!!
..... Later that same day from Sandpatch Shelter.
I saw snakes!! Two of them! One was leaving the trail son I only saw the back end, but the other was sleeping and not moving:(. I got a picture. Ok Mr Snake...time to go! Tap. Tap. Tap. With my poles. Louder. Ya gotta move!! Maybe he's dead. How will I know? If he's dead, why didn't Waugal move him off the trail? I gotta hit him with something. Where are rocks when you need them? Missed. Missed again. There's a reason I'm not on the softball team. Find more pebbles. Dang. Missed again. Too far. Then too short. It shouldn't be this hard to hit him coiled on the trail. More stones. More misses. Finally I connect...and he lifts his head...slowly. Ok. He's alive. Now. I gotta get him outta here. Back up the trail to find more pebbles. Toss.. toss...toss. After about 20-30 stones, he finally slithers off the trail. Whew! Ok. Enough seeing snakes. And I never saw another.
The decision to break up the day like we did was really good. It was cooler and cloudy in the afternoon. Idyllic hiking weather.
We had the shelter to ourselves again and set up our tents. The platform was narrower challenging me. It took several attempts to get it tied off in the diagonal to fit. Quite a sight but very effective. Then just about bedtime, 7 pm, the rain and light show started. And what an incredible show it was!! The whole skylit up!! And the rain pelted the metal roof. What a way to spend our last night on the trail! Magic!!
We were up and packed at our usual early hour of 6:15. Last day. 12 kms. We were sitting in a cafe having our celebratory brekkie before 9 am!!! Food first, then the pics at the sign of the Southern Terminus. Got our priorities straight!!
It was a bit anticlimactic. The sign is outside the visitors center, not someplace dramatic like the water's edge. For me it was a feeling of "got 'er done!" And it didn't feel like 2 months or an extremely long walk. But it was a beautiful walk, rich in the Australian flora and fauna. And it was rich in friendships. A big thank you to Waugal! I spend so much time alone on my bike that it meant a lot to me to connect with a hiking partner. And what a great one he was. Patient and encouraging. Laughed at my jokes. Great "can do" attitude. Little phased him. Even breaking his hip belt buckle, not once but twice. And almost breaking his leg. And he shared my interest in the trees and flowers with so much knowledge and lots of discussions.
This is the first day, post going our separate ways, and I'm having Waugal withdrawal.
What a wonderful way to see a slice of Australia, up close. The Bibb is a class one trail, beautiful shelters, delicious tank water (I'm serious...tastes great!), everything was done well...everything but the signage. I've never sworn so many times because I didn't have a clue where the trail went. The most important thing and it was done poorly. A GPS would be helpful. Hmmm. But everything else was superb! So glad I hiked it!!!!
For the last week I've been hosted by a wonderful couple, Jacko and Annie...friends of friends. It amazes me how connections are made and these guys have been super trail angels and now hosts. I'm staying in a beautiful house overlooking sheep in the paddock, newly planted fruit trees, woods with a new trail laid. An estate, soon to be B&B. Their lovely home, great location, and warm personalities will surely make it a success.
Resting has been good for the body and the soul. Sometimes I just need to do nothing. And the healthy meals Annie's whipped up have certainly helped to heal the damage of a hiker diet. Yum!! But alas, all good things must come to an end. Day after tomorrow I'll start pedaling west along the coast, sorta, and back up to Perth. Then off to Tasmania. Since I'm so close. And have the time. And the season is right. Plane or ferry?
Might even do a bit of a hike there. Hmmm....
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
Bibbulmun Track - week 7
October 25, 2015
Boat Harbor Campsite
It's been an incredible week since leaving Walpole. First we had new trees: Tingles. The 3rd largest tree in the world. Only found on 6000 hectares here. An ancient tree. The red tingle forms buttresses at the base and dies from the inside out. Often fires burn away the core of the tree leaving just the outer parts like chair legs. And they still stand and thrive up top! We got to hike past on massive tingle. I could have lived in the base!
There have been many tingles on our way. So stunningly huge!
There was even a place with a tree top walk. A platform walkway 40 meters up through the treetops. What a feeling!
And the coast has been so unbelievably beautiful to walk! I think the 3 nights, 4 days from Walpole to Peaceful Bay was the best section. That was until today's walk along the coast. Today we got to canoe an inlet! Canoes are kept in sheds on each side of this inlet and you have to paddle across and bring a canoe back so that there are always 2 canoes on each side. Such fun! I wanted to just paddle around the inlet:).
October 26
William Bay Campsite
Quite rolling terrain today. That is until the beach walk of 7 kms! In headwinds. Loose sand. Blowing sand. Pelting rain. Youser!!! I was really hating it until I figured out a ridge that had a firmer surface. By the end of two hours I was pumped:)). Then it was over. But in a few days, I'll have the chance to do it again.
Having air mattress issues. It's on my mind as I lie here sharing my bed with a big bulge. Strange thing is this is a replacement for a blowout that happened back in August. This will be the 3rd warranty replacement for my Exped Synmat UL 7. Hmmm. Wish they'd upgrade me. Or I'll just keep getting a new one. Their choice.
Friends Jacko and Annie, my trail angels, are bringing Wagual and me dinner tonight at the shelter. How sweet is that?!! They're the ones stabling Blaze for me. I'm hoping they'll loan me an air mattress for this last week until I can get things straightened out. It's now too challenging to sleep on.
Been having some back pain today. I know the cause is my pec muscles are pulling and my back ones are pissed off. But why now? Two months in? Did some stretches and tried using my tennis ball for releases. Here's hoping. Back, feet, and right hip...old age is hell!!
Long afternoons in the shelter. We're typically in by 1 or 2. Waugal always earlier than me. Then eat. And wash. And play gin rummy. And eat some more:).
It's been cloudy and cool for the past few days. Some misty rain off and on. Great for hiking over these open dunes. Would have been so much worse in bright sun.
Ya know how we had to use canoes to cross an inlet? Well Lorna and 2 others she's hiking with currently arrived there and...no canoes! Han and Neil swam the channel (about 2 football fields) to get them on the other side. How crazy is that? And it's not been warm. So glad they left them properly for us.
I think Han is bad luck. She got caught in a bush fire, got to a campsite that was without water, was at a shelter with a pesky tiger snake, and now, no canoes. She could write a book about her troubles on the Bibb. Run, Lorna, run! It's Han that's bringing the trouble:)). Sam wouldn't stay at the shelter with the snake so she's a day ahead. We're guessing she's waiting in Denmark for Lorna to catch up. We're all meeting up in Albany for a party!!
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Boat Harbor Campsite
It's been an incredible week since leaving Walpole. First we had new trees: Tingles. The 3rd largest tree in the world. Only found on 6000 hectares here. An ancient tree. The red tingle forms buttresses at the base and dies from the inside out. Often fires burn away the core of the tree leaving just the outer parts like chair legs. And they still stand and thrive up top! We got to hike past on massive tingle. I could have lived in the base!
There have been many tingles on our way. So stunningly huge!
There was even a place with a tree top walk. A platform walkway 40 meters up through the treetops. What a feeling!
And the coast has been so unbelievably beautiful to walk! I think the 3 nights, 4 days from Walpole to Peaceful Bay was the best section. That was until today's walk along the coast. Today we got to canoe an inlet! Canoes are kept in sheds on each side of this inlet and you have to paddle across and bring a canoe back so that there are always 2 canoes on each side. Such fun! I wanted to just paddle around the inlet:).
October 26
William Bay Campsite
Quite rolling terrain today. That is until the beach walk of 7 kms! In headwinds. Loose sand. Blowing sand. Pelting rain. Youser!!! I was really hating it until I figured out a ridge that had a firmer surface. By the end of two hours I was pumped:)). Then it was over. But in a few days, I'll have the chance to do it again.
Having air mattress issues. It's on my mind as I lie here sharing my bed with a big bulge. Strange thing is this is a replacement for a blowout that happened back in August. This will be the 3rd warranty replacement for my Exped Synmat UL 7. Hmmm. Wish they'd upgrade me. Or I'll just keep getting a new one. Their choice.
Friends Jacko and Annie, my trail angels, are bringing Wagual and me dinner tonight at the shelter. How sweet is that?!! They're the ones stabling Blaze for me. I'm hoping they'll loan me an air mattress for this last week until I can get things straightened out. It's now too challenging to sleep on.
Been having some back pain today. I know the cause is my pec muscles are pulling and my back ones are pissed off. But why now? Two months in? Did some stretches and tried using my tennis ball for releases. Here's hoping. Back, feet, and right hip...old age is hell!!
Long afternoons in the shelter. We're typically in by 1 or 2. Waugal always earlier than me. Then eat. And wash. And play gin rummy. And eat some more:).
It's been cloudy and cool for the past few days. Some misty rain off and on. Great for hiking over these open dunes. Would have been so much worse in bright sun.
Ya know how we had to use canoes to cross an inlet? Well Lorna and 2 others she's hiking with currently arrived there and...no canoes! Han and Neil swam the channel (about 2 football fields) to get them on the other side. How crazy is that? And it's not been warm. So glad they left them properly for us.
I think Han is bad luck. She got caught in a bush fire, got to a campsite that was without water, was at a shelter with a pesky tiger snake, and now, no canoes. She could write a book about her troubles on the Bibb. Run, Lorna, run! It's Han that's bringing the trouble:)). Sam wouldn't stay at the shelter with the snake so she's a day ahead. We're guessing she's waiting in Denmark for Lorna to catch up. We're all meeting up in Albany for a party!!
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Bibbulmun Track - week 6 continued
October 16, 2015
Mt Chance Campsite
One of the first sunsets I saw tonight from the top of Mt Chance, a large granite rock with 360* views of the Pingerup Plains. Don't often get to see sunsets because I'm usually deep in the woods. Maybe that will change now that I'm nearing the ocean. One can hope:)
In the last few days we've spotted black, wild piglets, a blue-tongue lizard and my first snake. Others have seen upwards of 14 snakes so far. Mine was a baby...up on a dried stump. A training snake. I'm not ready for the bigger ones. Today a guy here at the shelter told of being nearly attacked by a tiger snake that he almost stepped on. As it flared up he whipped it away with his pole. No thank you. And me in sandals. Scary!
The wildflowers continue to be amazing. In the plains today we found so many new varieties. It's almost overwhelming trying to photograph them all. So many different types of blooms and stalks and leaves. Orchids are the hardest to spot. There's a couple now ahead of us by a day that have wicked orchid hunting ability. And they mark the sand with notes and arrows showing us the ones we'd have walked right past. I'm calling it the "Orchid Tour". Hope they keep it up!!
Yesterday and today we were on a diversion due to Feb's fire. This meant lots of road walking. But the diversion was shorter and that pleased us. But road walking is never easy and the temporary campsite they put up had a water tank and a porta-potty. We get in tonight and see notes in the journal that Lorna and Sam didn't do the diversion and the old site had a new toilet, picnic table, and fire ring. The just don't open the route because you have to wade through a river. Wish we'd known that:(.
Oh well. Phone is dying. Better sign off.
October 17, 2015
Woolbales Campsite
My anniversary of the completion of the Appalachian Trail...8 years ago!! Where has the time gone? And what a full life I've had since then. Oh the places I've seen!! And 8 years later I'm still plodding my way down a trail with a pack on my back, bitching and moaning about how hard it is, how my body hurts, how I wish this day would end, how lucky I am to be where I am doing what I'm doing....
Quityourbitchin:)
But my aging body hurts a bit more. My back aches through the shoulders. My feet hurt. Through the muck and the mud I plodded today. Black mud. Slippery mud. Sandal sucking mud. Heavy mud. But luckily the water levels are low or I could have been wading through waist high water. That's what the trail notes said.
And it's getting warmer. By 10 am (and I've been hiking 4 hours by then), it's hot. The umbrella seems heavy to hold. A rest break is torture because the marchflies find you and bite you...hard...painfully. Swish. Swish. With a small branch of leaves. Trying to keep them off my feet. I'm so exposed in a dress with bare legs. And sandals with socks. They bite through the socks. They were white. They're black now. From the black mud. The socks are worn to ease the rubbing of points on the sandals. They also help the bottoms of my feet feel a bit less tender. And I think they help protect my feet from sticks that jump up and stab my toes.
Yesterday we met a north bounder from England who had the biggest kit. He was carrying a 2 person Hubba Hubba tent. 6 lbs I think. He had had a military bivy sack to but ditched that. He had 2 stoves: a canister one and a Jetboil. He said his pack weighed over 60 lbs when he started. He might be down to 50 now. Yikes! He'll learn I guess. Makes my measly 28 lbs a breeze. But it feels heavy to me. And the only luxury it is a deck of cards...which had gotten quite a but of use. Waugal and I play gin rummy most nights. I'm winning:)
To keep my weight down I'm packing a minimum of food. So minimum that I worry I'll run out. I'm constantly hungry. And I have to stop eating just to save some for the days left until town. 6-7 days of food is heavy. Estimating how much snacks you want is challenging. Two days, one night left. I have 3 oatmeals, a bit of coffee, some almonds and a couple of dried fruits, a couple of crackers for lunch tomorrow and nothing for the day after, and noodles and instant soup for dinner tomorrow night...and half a large chocolate bar for desert. Pretty slim pickins! Food in town will be so appreciated!! Just 2 more days if we double hut the last day. Waugal says he has a bit extra food if we don't double hut that would see us through. He's saved my arse so many times this hike. He's carrying so much and I'm the ultralight moocher!! Always short on something. He gave me an apple today. How sweet was that?!?!
I took a 2 hour so this afternoon so I'm not ready to sleep tonight even though it's after 8 pm. I should though. 5:30 comes too quickly. And besides my phone battery is low again.
Bonne nuit!!
October 18, 2015
Long Point Campsite
The Ocean!! I made it to the Southern Ocean!
Quite exciting, I must say! But oh, the sand dunes are exhausting to walk on. And I'll be walking for the next 2 weeks on coastal dunes. Beautiful but challenging.
And today in the beach a wave caught me by surprise and soaked my feet. Then the sand stuck to them, chaffing under the back strap. So I switched to my crocs. Only problem with them is no back strap so there I am trying to scramble up loose sand in the dunes where each step slides down the hill anyways, and I'm sliding out of my crocs too. So I took them off and climbed barefoot. Which was fine when there wasn't scratchy pokey things stabbing my feet.
I made it to the campsite just the same. Waugal was already here. And it wasn't 30 minutes later that the skies opened up and it rained all afternoon. A coastal storm. So glad we were cozy and dry in a shelter:)
I just had enough food for this section. Dang I call it close. Too close. So hungry. Town tomorrow. But a 22 km double hut day to get there. I wouldn't rush but I have nothing left except a few nuts and 1 Snickers bar. It's been a week since I've had fresh veggies. Oh I want the biggest salad.
I'm really looking forward to walking this gorgeous coast line for a couple of weeks. I have 4 inlets to cross. One by canoe. The others depend on whether they've been recently dredged out. They may be walkable. Just have to wait and see.
Waugal and me at the ocean!!
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Mt Chance Campsite
One of the first sunsets I saw tonight from the top of Mt Chance, a large granite rock with 360* views of the Pingerup Plains. Don't often get to see sunsets because I'm usually deep in the woods. Maybe that will change now that I'm nearing the ocean. One can hope:)
In the last few days we've spotted black, wild piglets, a blue-tongue lizard and my first snake. Others have seen upwards of 14 snakes so far. Mine was a baby...up on a dried stump. A training snake. I'm not ready for the bigger ones. Today a guy here at the shelter told of being nearly attacked by a tiger snake that he almost stepped on. As it flared up he whipped it away with his pole. No thank you. And me in sandals. Scary!
The wildflowers continue to be amazing. In the plains today we found so many new varieties. It's almost overwhelming trying to photograph them all. So many different types of blooms and stalks and leaves. Orchids are the hardest to spot. There's a couple now ahead of us by a day that have wicked orchid hunting ability. And they mark the sand with notes and arrows showing us the ones we'd have walked right past. I'm calling it the "Orchid Tour". Hope they keep it up!!
Yesterday and today we were on a diversion due to Feb's fire. This meant lots of road walking. But the diversion was shorter and that pleased us. But road walking is never easy and the temporary campsite they put up had a water tank and a porta-potty. We get in tonight and see notes in the journal that Lorna and Sam didn't do the diversion and the old site had a new toilet, picnic table, and fire ring. The just don't open the route because you have to wade through a river. Wish we'd known that:(.
Oh well. Phone is dying. Better sign off.
October 17, 2015
Woolbales Campsite
My anniversary of the completion of the Appalachian Trail...8 years ago!! Where has the time gone? And what a full life I've had since then. Oh the places I've seen!! And 8 years later I'm still plodding my way down a trail with a pack on my back, bitching and moaning about how hard it is, how my body hurts, how I wish this day would end, how lucky I am to be where I am doing what I'm doing....
Quityourbitchin:)
But my aging body hurts a bit more. My back aches through the shoulders. My feet hurt. Through the muck and the mud I plodded today. Black mud. Slippery mud. Sandal sucking mud. Heavy mud. But luckily the water levels are low or I could have been wading through waist high water. That's what the trail notes said.
And it's getting warmer. By 10 am (and I've been hiking 4 hours by then), it's hot. The umbrella seems heavy to hold. A rest break is torture because the marchflies find you and bite you...hard...painfully. Swish. Swish. With a small branch of leaves. Trying to keep them off my feet. I'm so exposed in a dress with bare legs. And sandals with socks. They bite through the socks. They were white. They're black now. From the black mud. The socks are worn to ease the rubbing of points on the sandals. They also help the bottoms of my feet feel a bit less tender. And I think they help protect my feet from sticks that jump up and stab my toes.
Yesterday we met a north bounder from England who had the biggest kit. He was carrying a 2 person Hubba Hubba tent. 6 lbs I think. He had had a military bivy sack to but ditched that. He had 2 stoves: a canister one and a Jetboil. He said his pack weighed over 60 lbs when he started. He might be down to 50 now. Yikes! He'll learn I guess. Makes my measly 28 lbs a breeze. But it feels heavy to me. And the only luxury it is a deck of cards...which had gotten quite a but of use. Waugal and I play gin rummy most nights. I'm winning:)
To keep my weight down I'm packing a minimum of food. So minimum that I worry I'll run out. I'm constantly hungry. And I have to stop eating just to save some for the days left until town. 6-7 days of food is heavy. Estimating how much snacks you want is challenging. Two days, one night left. I have 3 oatmeals, a bit of coffee, some almonds and a couple of dried fruits, a couple of crackers for lunch tomorrow and nothing for the day after, and noodles and instant soup for dinner tomorrow night...and half a large chocolate bar for desert. Pretty slim pickins! Food in town will be so appreciated!! Just 2 more days if we double hut the last day. Waugal says he has a bit extra food if we don't double hut that would see us through. He's saved my arse so many times this hike. He's carrying so much and I'm the ultralight moocher!! Always short on something. He gave me an apple today. How sweet was that?!?!
I took a 2 hour so this afternoon so I'm not ready to sleep tonight even though it's after 8 pm. I should though. 5:30 comes too quickly. And besides my phone battery is low again.
Bonne nuit!!
October 18, 2015
Long Point Campsite
The Ocean!! I made it to the Southern Ocean!
Quite exciting, I must say! But oh, the sand dunes are exhausting to walk on. And I'll be walking for the next 2 weeks on coastal dunes. Beautiful but challenging.
And today in the beach a wave caught me by surprise and soaked my feet. Then the sand stuck to them, chaffing under the back strap. So I switched to my crocs. Only problem with them is no back strap so there I am trying to scramble up loose sand in the dunes where each step slides down the hill anyways, and I'm sliding out of my crocs too. So I took them off and climbed barefoot. Which was fine when there wasn't scratchy pokey things stabbing my feet.
I made it to the campsite just the same. Waugal was already here. And it wasn't 30 minutes later that the skies opened up and it rained all afternoon. A coastal storm. So glad we were cozy and dry in a shelter:)
I just had enough food for this section. Dang I call it close. Too close. So hungry. Town tomorrow. But a 22 km double hut day to get there. I wouldn't rush but I have nothing left except a few nuts and 1 Snickers bar. It's been a week since I've had fresh veggies. Oh I want the biggest salad.
I'm really looking forward to walking this gorgeous coast line for a couple of weeks. I have 4 inlets to cross. One by canoe. The others depend on whether they've been recently dredged out. They may be walkable. Just have to wait and see.
Waugal and me at the ocean!!
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Monday, October 19, 2015
Bibbulmun Track - Weeks 5 & 6
October 10, 2015
Pemberton, Western Australia
This is the 4th town in 5 weeks. It's been a fun hike with 3 weeks left to go. While I'm walking I think of all kinds of great things to write about, but when I start writing my mind goes blank. Why is that? And typing with arthritic hands on my iPhone is not pain free. Whine. Whine. Whine.
I'm sleeping on the back deck at the hostel because the dorm room's windows don't open. I need fresh air. It's beautiful out here. Cooler tonight. Perhaps in the 50s. I'm hiking out in the morning with about 14 miles to go. And it will be quite warm in the afternoon. Maybe near 80*. That's nearly 7 hours to hike it. So probably not in until 3ish. Ugh! But have to stop for a latte and croissant at the bakery on the way out! I have my priorities.
I've learned so much about the flora and fauna on this hike. Waugal, the guy I'm hiking with, is also interested and quite observant so he helps to show me much that I would have missed. And we share our photos of our findings at the end of the day if we didn't hike together that day. He hikes faster than I do so spends much time waiting for me....probably glad to have an excuse to put his heavy pack down.
The wildflowers have been stunning! You'd have seen them on my Facebook page. And oh the orchids! So tiny and hard to see but magnificent when you find them. And so many different types. It's like a treasure hunt looking for them!
The bushes and trees have been quite interesting too. Mostly there are eucalyptus trees everywhere. But different kinds: jarrah, marri, yarri, and karri. The karri are here now. And so massively tall with no branches until the top. I almost topple over trying to look up them!
I've learned to identify several by the bark which can be distinctively different. Some bark is streaking up and down, others are like puzzle pieces. Paper bark gum is thin and flakey. It's fun figuring this all out.
But the most fun had been trying to understand the banksia tree and how it's big seed pods open. Also are the flowers and pods all the same or is there a male and female? I think the later is true.
And my absolute favorite are the grass trees with their broad black trunks and green spikes coming out the top. The green tops survive the bush fires. I haven't a clue how. And 6 months after a fire, the area is lush with new growth. Orchids are abundant. Everything is so green and healthy. Only the imported trees are dead. Aussie trees love fire! They sprout new growth all over their trunks. It's the funniest sight. I thought it was a green vine wrapping around the burned trunks but it was sprouts of new growth to catch the rain and sunlight to feed and heal the tree quickly. Then the sprouts all drop away when no longer needed by the tree.
October 11, 2015
I'm at Warren Shelter tonight. First campsite out of Pemberton.
First stop today was at the Gloucester Tree. You really should google it because my description won't do it justice, I'm sure. In areas with no high points for fire towers, they used to find the highest karri tree and build a fire tower in the top of it. Then to get up to the tower the put iron rods into the tree spiraling up to the top 53 meters. Can you believe it's open for anyone to climb? How crazy is that?!?! I started to go up. Got about 10 rungs up and could not go further. Too scary! I'd need a harness to be that exposed and that high up. I know I have a fear of heights. Not going to be that crazy!!
It seems coming out of town after a zero is tougher. The pack is heavier and the legs stiffer. I'm having my usual achy feet problem. They get so painful during the day. And after a rest, I'm hobbling for a km or so.
Today my sandals created a new issue. There were many many sticks on the trail and I'd pick one up between my sandal and my toes carrying it horizontally forward where it would bang into to back of my other ankle then twist and scrap along the inside of the ankle as my foot completed the step. Ouch!! My ankles were a bloody mess by the time I arrived in camp.
October 12, 2015
Schafer Campsite
This has to be the most beautiful site ever for a shelter!! Appalachian Trail included. It's on a pond/reservoir with a swimming area. And today, arriving just after noon, it was hot enough for a swim. Yippee!!
An early start. Up at 5:30, out just after 6 am. But it still was hot when I finished. Ugh! The heat and humidity just saps me making the hills even harder to get up than they were. The terrain is quite rolling. Up over a hill. Down to a river. Up over another hill.
Some people we were hiking with, Rock Star and Orchid, have seen 14 snakes so far. As many as 5 in one day! What really worries me is I haven't seen any. And it's probably that I'm just not noticing them! Yikes!! What if I step on one?!?!?!! These are Tiger snakes usually. And poisonous! I like to hike with Waugal about 50 paces ahead of me to scare them away. But he's only seen one or two.
We have long lingering afternoons in camp. I'm usually done when I arrive after 12-14 miles (20+ kms). Then the eating begins as I graze my way through my feedbag:). Perhaps a nap. Collect firewood for an evening fire where I'll boil my water for dinner to save fuel.
The flies are getting worse. When I stop on the trail for a break they find me. And call their friends over. And some get to biting. That's it! Up I get. Get walking. Today, for the first time, they were around camp. And annoying me. Biting. Ouch. I had to out my thermals on and sox to protect myself. In this heat! Ugh.
I sure enjoyed the swim though. First one on this hike. Reminds me of the lakes in the Adirondacks. A bit homesick. I could use a canoe to travel in about now:)
Many times on this hike I'm having AT flashbacks. The trail looks the same. The AT has more blazes though! And I have to remind myself this is only 2 months, not 6! Less than 3 weeks to go. Just when I'm in good hiking condition it will be over. In some ways, too short.
But I'm sitting on a log (getting bit by ants) looking out over this calm lake, and for the moment there's no place I'd rather be. This new life of mine is truly about living in the moment. And the peace that brings. There's times I try to think about: what next, but no answer comes to me. So I know it's not time for me to know.
Oct 14, 2015
Maringup Lake Campsite
What should have been 3 easy days: 14 kms, 15 kms, 17 kms, we managed to make into 2 tough days. How the hell did that happen, I'd like to know? Yesterday we hiked the 14 kms into Northcliffe by 10:30 am. Done! We'll find some place to camp near town, I thought. We go eat and hang with Rock Star and Orchid (they double hutted yesterday and got in last night). We got our resupply and we were hanging around when we got the idea of hiking 8 kms out of town (halfway to next hut), then hiking a hut and a half into here tonight. Sitting around wasn't really fun so let's take extra water for a bush camp and go. A couple of kms into it we were like "what were we thinking??!!!" We can do this. Just hike for a couple of hours. My back is killing me with the weight of 3 liters of water and 6 days of food. Ugh!! But by 5 pm we called it quits and camped on a sandy old road at the top of a hill in a burned out area. Beautiful evening sun. Then the wind picked up and I knew rain was coming. It rained most of the night. I love that, except when ya gotta go out to pee. (Miss my pee jar;).
On the trail by 6:30 am with 25 kms to go. The trail here is mostly loose sand which is exhausting to walk on. Oh my. And there was a bush fire in this area last February so lots of sunlight. That's tiring too. But by 2 pm I made it to camp. Tired but happy! First thing, off with the dress and into the lake! Ahhhh! Now this is living!
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Pemberton, Western Australia
This is the 4th town in 5 weeks. It's been a fun hike with 3 weeks left to go. While I'm walking I think of all kinds of great things to write about, but when I start writing my mind goes blank. Why is that? And typing with arthritic hands on my iPhone is not pain free. Whine. Whine. Whine.
I'm sleeping on the back deck at the hostel because the dorm room's windows don't open. I need fresh air. It's beautiful out here. Cooler tonight. Perhaps in the 50s. I'm hiking out in the morning with about 14 miles to go. And it will be quite warm in the afternoon. Maybe near 80*. That's nearly 7 hours to hike it. So probably not in until 3ish. Ugh! But have to stop for a latte and croissant at the bakery on the way out! I have my priorities.
I've learned so much about the flora and fauna on this hike. Waugal, the guy I'm hiking with, is also interested and quite observant so he helps to show me much that I would have missed. And we share our photos of our findings at the end of the day if we didn't hike together that day. He hikes faster than I do so spends much time waiting for me....probably glad to have an excuse to put his heavy pack down.
The wildflowers have been stunning! You'd have seen them on my Facebook page. And oh the orchids! So tiny and hard to see but magnificent when you find them. And so many different types. It's like a treasure hunt looking for them!
The bushes and trees have been quite interesting too. Mostly there are eucalyptus trees everywhere. But different kinds: jarrah, marri, yarri, and karri. The karri are here now. And so massively tall with no branches until the top. I almost topple over trying to look up them!
I've learned to identify several by the bark which can be distinctively different. Some bark is streaking up and down, others are like puzzle pieces. Paper bark gum is thin and flakey. It's fun figuring this all out.
But the most fun had been trying to understand the banksia tree and how it's big seed pods open. Also are the flowers and pods all the same or is there a male and female? I think the later is true.
And my absolute favorite are the grass trees with their broad black trunks and green spikes coming out the top. The green tops survive the bush fires. I haven't a clue how. And 6 months after a fire, the area is lush with new growth. Orchids are abundant. Everything is so green and healthy. Only the imported trees are dead. Aussie trees love fire! They sprout new growth all over their trunks. It's the funniest sight. I thought it was a green vine wrapping around the burned trunks but it was sprouts of new growth to catch the rain and sunlight to feed and heal the tree quickly. Then the sprouts all drop away when no longer needed by the tree.
October 11, 2015
I'm at Warren Shelter tonight. First campsite out of Pemberton.
First stop today was at the Gloucester Tree. You really should google it because my description won't do it justice, I'm sure. In areas with no high points for fire towers, they used to find the highest karri tree and build a fire tower in the top of it. Then to get up to the tower the put iron rods into the tree spiraling up to the top 53 meters. Can you believe it's open for anyone to climb? How crazy is that?!?! I started to go up. Got about 10 rungs up and could not go further. Too scary! I'd need a harness to be that exposed and that high up. I know I have a fear of heights. Not going to be that crazy!!
It seems coming out of town after a zero is tougher. The pack is heavier and the legs stiffer. I'm having my usual achy feet problem. They get so painful during the day. And after a rest, I'm hobbling for a km or so.
Today my sandals created a new issue. There were many many sticks on the trail and I'd pick one up between my sandal and my toes carrying it horizontally forward where it would bang into to back of my other ankle then twist and scrap along the inside of the ankle as my foot completed the step. Ouch!! My ankles were a bloody mess by the time I arrived in camp.
October 12, 2015
Schafer Campsite
This has to be the most beautiful site ever for a shelter!! Appalachian Trail included. It's on a pond/reservoir with a swimming area. And today, arriving just after noon, it was hot enough for a swim. Yippee!!
An early start. Up at 5:30, out just after 6 am. But it still was hot when I finished. Ugh! The heat and humidity just saps me making the hills even harder to get up than they were. The terrain is quite rolling. Up over a hill. Down to a river. Up over another hill.
Some people we were hiking with, Rock Star and Orchid, have seen 14 snakes so far. As many as 5 in one day! What really worries me is I haven't seen any. And it's probably that I'm just not noticing them! Yikes!! What if I step on one?!?!?!! These are Tiger snakes usually. And poisonous! I like to hike with Waugal about 50 paces ahead of me to scare them away. But he's only seen one or two.
We have long lingering afternoons in camp. I'm usually done when I arrive after 12-14 miles (20+ kms). Then the eating begins as I graze my way through my feedbag:). Perhaps a nap. Collect firewood for an evening fire where I'll boil my water for dinner to save fuel.
The flies are getting worse. When I stop on the trail for a break they find me. And call their friends over. And some get to biting. That's it! Up I get. Get walking. Today, for the first time, they were around camp. And annoying me. Biting. Ouch. I had to out my thermals on and sox to protect myself. In this heat! Ugh.
I sure enjoyed the swim though. First one on this hike. Reminds me of the lakes in the Adirondacks. A bit homesick. I could use a canoe to travel in about now:)
Many times on this hike I'm having AT flashbacks. The trail looks the same. The AT has more blazes though! And I have to remind myself this is only 2 months, not 6! Less than 3 weeks to go. Just when I'm in good hiking condition it will be over. In some ways, too short.
But I'm sitting on a log (getting bit by ants) looking out over this calm lake, and for the moment there's no place I'd rather be. This new life of mine is truly about living in the moment. And the peace that brings. There's times I try to think about: what next, but no answer comes to me. So I know it's not time for me to know.
Oct 14, 2015
Maringup Lake Campsite
What should have been 3 easy days: 14 kms, 15 kms, 17 kms, we managed to make into 2 tough days. How the hell did that happen, I'd like to know? Yesterday we hiked the 14 kms into Northcliffe by 10:30 am. Done! We'll find some place to camp near town, I thought. We go eat and hang with Rock Star and Orchid (they double hutted yesterday and got in last night). We got our resupply and we were hanging around when we got the idea of hiking 8 kms out of town (halfway to next hut), then hiking a hut and a half into here tonight. Sitting around wasn't really fun so let's take extra water for a bush camp and go. A couple of kms into it we were like "what were we thinking??!!!" We can do this. Just hike for a couple of hours. My back is killing me with the weight of 3 liters of water and 6 days of food. Ugh!! But by 5 pm we called it quits and camped on a sandy old road at the top of a hill in a burned out area. Beautiful evening sun. Then the wind picked up and I knew rain was coming. It rained most of the night. I love that, except when ya gotta go out to pee. (Miss my pee jar;).
On the trail by 6:30 am with 25 kms to go. The trail here is mostly loose sand which is exhausting to walk on. Oh my. And there was a bush fire in this area last February so lots of sunlight. That's tiring too. But by 2 pm I made it to camp. Tired but happy! First thing, off with the dress and into the lake! Ahhhh! Now this is living!
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Bibbulmun Track -Weeks 3 & 4
Oct 5, 2015
Tom Rd Shelter, Donnelly River, WA, Australia
I'm going to just post this. Every time I try to add more, the app crashes so I'd better just post it while I can.
So where did I last leave you? I think I was leaving Dwellingup with plastic bags and duct tape to cross the Murray River where the Long Gully Bridge had burned. It was to come the 4th day out so we had a bit of time to think about how to tackle it. Lorna and Sam (the Girls) had left the day ahead of us so they were writing us notes in the trail logs. I've given out a lot of trail names but they're not really into using them here so I'm giving it up...except for Waugal, my hiking partner.
I had a bit of a bang one day when hiking up this hill, the trail jumped up and slapped me in the face. It mashed my glasses into my head and I landed on my forehead. I was pretty thankful I didn't break my glasses:)
The shelters are pretty consistent in their structure of wide bunks on each side (big enough for 2+) and a picnic table down the middle. Then some newer ones have a platform connecting the bottom bunks and the table under the roof out front. A fire pit and another table...and a dunny (outhouse), often with toilet paper. We have a fire most every night and I heat my dinner water over the fire on this cast iron shelf that swings over the fire. There's also a hook to hang a billy (pot for boiling water, which Lorna is carrying and has been a treat to have).
So the day before the river crossing arrived and since we had a decision point about 15 kms down the trail, Waugal and I hiked together. The decision was whether we were going on to the shelter or taking the diversion and bush camping down the way. The diversion had you go on to the shelter then backtrack 4 kms to where our decision point was. We opted to cancel that if we took the diversion and shorten the long day a bit. When we got to the decision point we were at the river, just not where we wanted to cross it. This was where the diversion crossed it. We checked out the water level and it was low. More good news. Ok. We're going for the river crossing. Can you swim, Waugal? Enough. Our plan was to hike down to the "summer crossing" marked on our map and cross there. Should be low enough. So we hiked on to the shelter. When we looked in the trail log, Lorna and Sam had left us a note that they were going to the "summer crossing" and using Lorna's GPS to find it. They'd mark the sandy trail to show us where they went. Great. We didn't have a GPS and the map is often too vague. There are many more forest roads than the map shows so it's often quite confusing.
The trail to the river was mostly forest roads but quite 4WD and rutted. Also quite steep and with those tiny ball bearings. There was a moment when I lifted my foot to put it down and test the surface and it skidded. Whoa! Another time I was standing there with total fear of skidding. I wanted to sit and butt slide down but that would have hurt in a dress. I only use one pole and if I picked it up, I was releasing the force that was preventing me from sliding down the road. What to do? This is not fun! I have to get down somehow in one piece. I can't stay here. Go for it, BagLady! And off I went. Whew! Glad when I got to the bottom of that!!
We get down near where we think the cutoff is to the "summer crossing" but Lorna has an arrow that tells us to stay on the trail. Now what do we do? I say, let's follow her advice. She's got the GPS and she's a smart cookie. There's a reason not to cut to the river now. And on we go following arrows in the sand along these forest roads. Can she have gone all the way to the Long Gully Bridge crossing? Our map showed no crossings before there. Here's a turn towards the river. Is there an arrow? Yes. Over here. Down we go. Another intersection. Arrow? We search and search. Nothing. Let's just head to the river. Look. It's narrow down here. And there are trees we can cross on. Perfect. We'll have to scooch across. But we'll stay dry. That was easy! Sure better than a 30 km diversion!
Now where are we and how do we reconnect with the trail? There's a road beyond that brush somewhere...at least it shows on our map. But the brush is quite dense. There's a lot of wear and tear on the shoreline and rope swings over the water. It's obvious kids come down here to swim. We need to find where they come in. Follow the shoreline and voila! A road. That connects to our road. We're found!
We still had 12 kms to get to the campsite. The shelter burnt down in the fire that burned the bridge. Brush fires are a common occurrence whether by accident or prescribed. Every shelter has a road access because of this danger so that if necessary hikers can be evacuated by rangers. The fire before the roadhouse the first week caused them to evacuate several hikers from the trail. They also drove into our shelter to tell us that the trail was closed ahead. Much appreciated. Gave is time to plan our way around the burn.
We got into Possum Springs campsite and a northbound hiker tells us that others he met southbound ing had gotten here and the water jugs were empty. They went down to the tiny creek and filtered water. Lucky for us, Lorna, who had gotten here the day before, had the wherewithal to call the rangers and request they resupply the water here. Good on ya! Good for us.
Now writing a couple of days later. It's 5;30 am. I'm awake and snuggled in my tent. Yesterday was a trying day and my longest day yet. I took off at 6:50 am and didn't pull into Beavis Campsite until after 3:30. Waugal was so worried about me he started hiking back up the track. I was long after the dad and his 11 yo daughter who are hiking this section. Here's what happened.
I had a great start. Beautiful morning. Feeling chipper. Loving the walk. And after 2 hours I was 8.5 kms down the trail...fastest time yet. Usually I'm only 7 kms. I'm breezing. I had read in the notes for this section that there were a fair number of hills and that's why I set out early. I was 20 minutes behind Waugal who's always first out. And then I missed a turn and hiked up this terribly steep and rutted 4 WD road that was the toughest hill I've climbed. And it went up and up and up again. Since it's not uncommon for there to be no waugal markers I've stopped looking for them. I did see a worn path so other hikers had been here. It must be the way. There hadn't been anywhere to turn that I saw. And near the top was a log across that had a chunk cut out to ease crossing. And a worn path. Which continued. Then at another downed tree there was a worn path around it. Still no waugals. But the thought of going back down that steep, slippery, rutted road was more than I could bear. Especially if I found out I was on the right track and had to climb it again. Better to continue. Surely there'll be a Waugal soon. Reading the notes was no help because I could never figure out where I was. It mentioned a steep hill we weren't suppose to climb but turn left at the base. There was no turn down there. Eventually I came to a T junction. Still no waugal. I follow the worn path left and arrive at a gravel road. Still no markers. I start to cry...and scream. Fucking waugals!!!! I can't go back down that hill!!!!! Shit!!!!! I'm so screwed!!! I sit down. Take a break. Have a snack. Get yourself together. Then do what you know you have to do. Go back until you figure out where you got off track. By the time I creeped my way back down that steep, slippery, muddy hill an hour had passed since I had started up it. Argh! And what is extremely obvious from this direction? A turn at the base. How did I miss it? It's clearly marked from this direction. Big post. (I was reprieved when everyone said it was hard to see from the other way and they all had gotten ready to start climbing when out of the corner of their eye after rounding a bush, they saw it. Miss Oblivious to Detail missed it!)
That was hard to recover from. My mood was shot. Shake it off, BagLady. Take lots of breaks. Enjoy the scenery. Have fun. So you lost an hour. You have plenty of time. It's only 21 kms today. Just over 12 miles. You're nearly halfway. So on I plod. And rest. Everyone must have passed me while I was taking "the scenic route". I'm seeing no one. Then I don't usually. An hour later, sitting having lunch, Comet comes up. You must have left late, I say. Enjoyed the empty campsite, she responded. She's named Comet for a reason! And she hiked with no notes, just a map and only using the profile. I don't like knowing what's ahead really, she tells me. And you don't get lost? No, just follow the waugals and path. Guess she's either luckier than me or more observant. Or both.
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Tom Rd Shelter, Donnelly River, WA, Australia
I'm going to just post this. Every time I try to add more, the app crashes so I'd better just post it while I can.
So where did I last leave you? I think I was leaving Dwellingup with plastic bags and duct tape to cross the Murray River where the Long Gully Bridge had burned. It was to come the 4th day out so we had a bit of time to think about how to tackle it. Lorna and Sam (the Girls) had left the day ahead of us so they were writing us notes in the trail logs. I've given out a lot of trail names but they're not really into using them here so I'm giving it up...except for Waugal, my hiking partner.
I had a bit of a bang one day when hiking up this hill, the trail jumped up and slapped me in the face. It mashed my glasses into my head and I landed on my forehead. I was pretty thankful I didn't break my glasses:)
The shelters are pretty consistent in their structure of wide bunks on each side (big enough for 2+) and a picnic table down the middle. Then some newer ones have a platform connecting the bottom bunks and the table under the roof out front. A fire pit and another table...and a dunny (outhouse), often with toilet paper. We have a fire most every night and I heat my dinner water over the fire on this cast iron shelf that swings over the fire. There's also a hook to hang a billy (pot for boiling water, which Lorna is carrying and has been a treat to have).
So the day before the river crossing arrived and since we had a decision point about 15 kms down the trail, Waugal and I hiked together. The decision was whether we were going on to the shelter or taking the diversion and bush camping down the way. The diversion had you go on to the shelter then backtrack 4 kms to where our decision point was. We opted to cancel that if we took the diversion and shorten the long day a bit. When we got to the decision point we were at the river, just not where we wanted to cross it. This was where the diversion crossed it. We checked out the water level and it was low. More good news. Ok. We're going for the river crossing. Can you swim, Waugal? Enough. Our plan was to hike down to the "summer crossing" marked on our map and cross there. Should be low enough. So we hiked on to the shelter. When we looked in the trail log, Lorna and Sam had left us a note that they were going to the "summer crossing" and using Lorna's GPS to find it. They'd mark the sandy trail to show us where they went. Great. We didn't have a GPS and the map is often too vague. There are many more forest roads than the map shows so it's often quite confusing.
The trail to the river was mostly forest roads but quite 4WD and rutted. Also quite steep and with those tiny ball bearings. There was a moment when I lifted my foot to put it down and test the surface and it skidded. Whoa! Another time I was standing there with total fear of skidding. I wanted to sit and butt slide down but that would have hurt in a dress. I only use one pole and if I picked it up, I was releasing the force that was preventing me from sliding down the road. What to do? This is not fun! I have to get down somehow in one piece. I can't stay here. Go for it, BagLady! And off I went. Whew! Glad when I got to the bottom of that!!
We get down near where we think the cutoff is to the "summer crossing" but Lorna has an arrow that tells us to stay on the trail. Now what do we do? I say, let's follow her advice. She's got the GPS and she's a smart cookie. There's a reason not to cut to the river now. And on we go following arrows in the sand along these forest roads. Can she have gone all the way to the Long Gully Bridge crossing? Our map showed no crossings before there. Here's a turn towards the river. Is there an arrow? Yes. Over here. Down we go. Another intersection. Arrow? We search and search. Nothing. Let's just head to the river. Look. It's narrow down here. And there are trees we can cross on. Perfect. We'll have to scooch across. But we'll stay dry. That was easy! Sure better than a 30 km diversion!
Now where are we and how do we reconnect with the trail? There's a road beyond that brush somewhere...at least it shows on our map. But the brush is quite dense. There's a lot of wear and tear on the shoreline and rope swings over the water. It's obvious kids come down here to swim. We need to find where they come in. Follow the shoreline and voila! A road. That connects to our road. We're found!
We still had 12 kms to get to the campsite. The shelter burnt down in the fire that burned the bridge. Brush fires are a common occurrence whether by accident or prescribed. Every shelter has a road access because of this danger so that if necessary hikers can be evacuated by rangers. The fire before the roadhouse the first week caused them to evacuate several hikers from the trail. They also drove into our shelter to tell us that the trail was closed ahead. Much appreciated. Gave is time to plan our way around the burn.
We got into Possum Springs campsite and a northbound hiker tells us that others he met southbound ing had gotten here and the water jugs were empty. They went down to the tiny creek and filtered water. Lucky for us, Lorna, who had gotten here the day before, had the wherewithal to call the rangers and request they resupply the water here. Good on ya! Good for us.
Now writing a couple of days later. It's 5;30 am. I'm awake and snuggled in my tent. Yesterday was a trying day and my longest day yet. I took off at 6:50 am and didn't pull into Beavis Campsite until after 3:30. Waugal was so worried about me he started hiking back up the track. I was long after the dad and his 11 yo daughter who are hiking this section. Here's what happened.
I had a great start. Beautiful morning. Feeling chipper. Loving the walk. And after 2 hours I was 8.5 kms down the trail...fastest time yet. Usually I'm only 7 kms. I'm breezing. I had read in the notes for this section that there were a fair number of hills and that's why I set out early. I was 20 minutes behind Waugal who's always first out. And then I missed a turn and hiked up this terribly steep and rutted 4 WD road that was the toughest hill I've climbed. And it went up and up and up again. Since it's not uncommon for there to be no waugal markers I've stopped looking for them. I did see a worn path so other hikers had been here. It must be the way. There hadn't been anywhere to turn that I saw. And near the top was a log across that had a chunk cut out to ease crossing. And a worn path. Which continued. Then at another downed tree there was a worn path around it. Still no waugals. But the thought of going back down that steep, slippery, rutted road was more than I could bear. Especially if I found out I was on the right track and had to climb it again. Better to continue. Surely there'll be a Waugal soon. Reading the notes was no help because I could never figure out where I was. It mentioned a steep hill we weren't suppose to climb but turn left at the base. There was no turn down there. Eventually I came to a T junction. Still no waugal. I follow the worn path left and arrive at a gravel road. Still no markers. I start to cry...and scream. Fucking waugals!!!! I can't go back down that hill!!!!! Shit!!!!! I'm so screwed!!! I sit down. Take a break. Have a snack. Get yourself together. Then do what you know you have to do. Go back until you figure out where you got off track. By the time I creeped my way back down that steep, slippery, muddy hill an hour had passed since I had started up it. Argh! And what is extremely obvious from this direction? A turn at the base. How did I miss it? It's clearly marked from this direction. Big post. (I was reprieved when everyone said it was hard to see from the other way and they all had gotten ready to start climbing when out of the corner of their eye after rounding a bush, they saw it. Miss Oblivious to Detail missed it!)
That was hard to recover from. My mood was shot. Shake it off, BagLady. Take lots of breaks. Enjoy the scenery. Have fun. So you lost an hour. You have plenty of time. It's only 21 kms today. Just over 12 miles. You're nearly halfway. So on I plod. And rest. Everyone must have passed me while I was taking "the scenic route". I'm seeing no one. Then I don't usually. An hour later, sitting having lunch, Comet comes up. You must have left late, I say. Enjoyed the empty campsite, she responded. She's named Comet for a reason! And she hiked with no notes, just a map and only using the profile. I don't like knowing what's ahead really, she tells me. And you don't get lost? No, just follow the waugals and path. Guess she's either luckier than me or more observant. Or both.
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Bibbulman Track - Weeks 1 & 2
September 22, 2015
Dookanelly Campsite, Western Australia
Third time's a charm. I've had already 2 catastrophes trying to write a blog about my hike. The first, with pics and all, won't open again so that I can upload it. Just crashes this app. The second attempt the other night I lost when my phone died before I could Save it:(. Since we have wonderfully long afternoons in the shelters, I'll try again. Words only for now. Don't want any problems.
I started this hike Monday, the 7th at about 5 pm. Peter, my Warmshowers host, drove me out to Kalamunda after work. That worked out well for me because I had some resupply boxes with map sections to mail that day anyways.
I had decided to let him drop me a ways up the trail do I only had a short hike to the first shelter. I'm not a purist so skipping 8 kms didn't bother me. At the shelter I met Chris and Kirsty from Scotland, a young couple living here and on their first long hike.
I should probably orient y'all a bit about the Bibbulmun. It's one of the longest tracks in Australia at 1020 kms give or take. (That's roughly 600 miles for those who need me to do the conversion. I'm finding I need to convert because my hiking mind works in miles, but I'm doing it less.). It's in Western Australia (a state) in the southwest corner from east of Perth down to the southern shore and then east to Albany. This trail is a popular multi-day hike but I have no idea how many end-to-enders there are in any year. Right now there are 8 that I know of that are within a day or two of me.
The shelters are a bit nicer than the ones on the Appalachian Trail (hereafter referred to as the AT). They have a picnic table perpendicular up the middle and double wide bunks on either side sleeping eight. Other ones have the bottom bunk continuing all the way across sleeping 4 more and a large long picnic table out front under a roof. There's usually a fire pit and always a water tank with rain water collection as our source. It says to treat it but I'm not. None of us are. Rain water tastes do good and the tanks are closed. Most of Australia drinks tank water!
The next night I was alone in the shelter. And that was fine. I started slowly going hut to hut, about 5-8 miles a day. My body is used to sitting all day and my feet are no used to walking much less carrying 28 lbs. Have to break her in slowly. I did get some foot spin early on, but it has subsided. I ache, for sure. And struggle up hills. But this old body is still strong and loving the challenge.
The third night I had 2 older guys who are E2Ers. (End-to-enders.). Bob and Terry. And also Ari was camped. The next morning Ari said he, like the 2 guys, had double hutted that day and with the heat and the weight of his pack, he did himself in. He'd decided to go slower so we've been at the same huts ever since. And he's been named Waugal because with his dark completion and his yellow and black raincoat he looks just like the Waugal emblem for the trail markers.
The weather has been mostly dry and sunny. We've had some rain and wind but nothing too bad and only a day or two. Daytime temps in the 70s I'd guess. But nighttime is cold! Brrr. High 30s, low 40s. I'm using all my gear to stay warm. There's nothing extra. Most nights I'm in the shelter. When a large group of women were on the trail for 3 nights, I used my tent. After Spacey, my backpacking tent seems so small. Not seems, IS! Makes me love and miss Spacey (Big Sky Revolution 2P with Porch) all the more!! Luckily won't have to use it too often. But some campsites don't have a shelter due to fires last fall. And you have to use a tent.
The following night, Lorna, a Brit in her 40s, who's been traveling the world for 14 years joined us. She's now The Littlest Hobo. And the following day, Samantha, now Comet, blazed in! And that was our merry band of hikers for a week or two.
The park folks do prescribed burns in an attempt to control these highly flammable forests. And during the first week one night we could see a forest fire way off in the distance lighting up the sky. Quite a sight!
The next afternoon while resting in a shelter, a ranger pulls up (yup, every hut is accessible by road), and says the two prescribed burns got out of control and ran together. 50 kms of trail are closed ahead. No diversion suggested. Looks like we'll need to hitch down the highway. But I'm thinking, why not walk. It looked like the road was only 25 kms and I bike on these roads all the time. I told the group I was walking it. And since they all hike faster than me, they went ahead that day. Since my plan was to camp along side the road, I got extra water later in the day. Oh was my pack heavy then! So I took the forest road over to the busy road and checked the mileage on Google Maps. 39 kms! A bit further than I had estimated. Oh well. You're walking 600 miles, this is just part of it. So off I went. Wow! What a force the road trains made against me going by! On the bike the push me along. And there sure were a lot of vehicles. Then I notice a car on the other side (the direction I'm walking) pull over. Hmmm? Then it does a U turn and pulls up next to me. It's a mom and young son. Want a ride? I think for a minute and said No, I think I'll walk. But thanks!
And I continue walking. I start struggling with myself about turning down they ride. Do I really want to walk this godforsaken road for 2 more days? To prove what? If another car stops, take the ride, Stupid! And then, bam! Another car stops. I hadn't walked 3 kms down that road. So I took the ride and surprised my buddies when I arrived at the roadhouse in North Bannister. I get there and there's no cheap rooms left. That's okay. I'll camp up the trail. But I'll come back to join you for a drink.
One problem the fire diversion created for me was too much food. The first 6 days I had the opposite problem: too little food. The first leg took 2 days longer than I had planned. I'd stashed good 70 kms down the trail at a road crossing and mailed more to the roadhouse.
Waugal had too much food so he often shared stuff with me. Comet had extra toilet paper, thank goodness. And everyone heated water for me. Besides having too little alcohol for my cat stove, their methylated spirits didn't burn the same and big flames shot up around the pot not actually heating the water. That problem now resolved with having me Pocket Rocket back thanks to Jacko, the guy who had my bike for me at trail's end.
So I got my resupply stash by the road and then the very next day I'm picking up my box at the roadhouse. Too much food. But luckily Hobo had a friend who met up with us at the roadhouse and was meeting up again in our first town. She could take my extra food! Problem solved!! This trail has long distances between towns many places. It was12-14 days to the first town, hence the 2 food drops. Then leaving our first town of Dwellingup, I had to carry 7 days of food. Ugh! It's heavy! I'm not in shape yet. Luckily the huts are now about only 20 kms or 12 miles apart. I'm usually in by 2 pm for an afternoon's rest. Then I have to be sure not to eat everything up too early in the week because I'm starving! Such a bad bad diet on the trail. Nothing heavy is rule #1. Filling is #2. And I have to like it or I won't eat it. I know. I dumped a Back Country dinner down a hole one night because it was awful. I'll eat healthy again after this hike is over but for now it's just EAT something.
The trail has been quite beautiful because it's spring here and the wildflowers are in bloom. Massively! I can't stop taking pictures. Please do check out my Bibbulmun album on Facebook to see some of them. And I'm trying to learn some of the trees: jarrah, parrot bush, banksia, snotty gobble, and marri with the honky nut. Gotta love the names! Right now the trail is mostly in the shade. I'm afraid as it gets hotter we'll be out of the bush too. I lost my visor in the first week and haven't yet been able to replace it. That's the only eye shade I use. Gotta work on that.
In Dwellingup, Waugal and I took a zero (no miles walked) and Hobo and Comet hiked on because Hobo's friend, Suzie Snoozee, joined her for a night. This way at least, no one is hiking alone. There's do few E2Ers that one could end up doing a lot of it alone. That would be lonely, day after day. It's okay on my bike. But not here. And it helps with group thinking. We've got a fire diversion ahead tomorrow. The fire last February burned down a big old wooden bridge across the river. The diversion goes way out and around making for a 30 km day...18 miles. Not up to that. So I suggested we try and swim across. It's a quiet river. Waugal and I got garbage bags in town to put our packs in to float them across. We may build them a raft. The river is cold. It's just spring. We're hoping that the "summer crossing" on our map will be narrow and not too deep. The girls left us a note here at the shelter that they were planning the same thing. Hope it worked! We'll be there tomorrow! All part of the adventure:))
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Dookanelly Campsite, Western Australia
Third time's a charm. I've had already 2 catastrophes trying to write a blog about my hike. The first, with pics and all, won't open again so that I can upload it. Just crashes this app. The second attempt the other night I lost when my phone died before I could Save it:(. Since we have wonderfully long afternoons in the shelters, I'll try again. Words only for now. Don't want any problems.
I started this hike Monday, the 7th at about 5 pm. Peter, my Warmshowers host, drove me out to Kalamunda after work. That worked out well for me because I had some resupply boxes with map sections to mail that day anyways.
I had decided to let him drop me a ways up the trail do I only had a short hike to the first shelter. I'm not a purist so skipping 8 kms didn't bother me. At the shelter I met Chris and Kirsty from Scotland, a young couple living here and on their first long hike.
I should probably orient y'all a bit about the Bibbulmun. It's one of the longest tracks in Australia at 1020 kms give or take. (That's roughly 600 miles for those who need me to do the conversion. I'm finding I need to convert because my hiking mind works in miles, but I'm doing it less.). It's in Western Australia (a state) in the southwest corner from east of Perth down to the southern shore and then east to Albany. This trail is a popular multi-day hike but I have no idea how many end-to-enders there are in any year. Right now there are 8 that I know of that are within a day or two of me.
The shelters are a bit nicer than the ones on the Appalachian Trail (hereafter referred to as the AT). They have a picnic table perpendicular up the middle and double wide bunks on either side sleeping eight. Other ones have the bottom bunk continuing all the way across sleeping 4 more and a large long picnic table out front under a roof. There's usually a fire pit and always a water tank with rain water collection as our source. It says to treat it but I'm not. None of us are. Rain water tastes do good and the tanks are closed. Most of Australia drinks tank water!
The next night I was alone in the shelter. And that was fine. I started slowly going hut to hut, about 5-8 miles a day. My body is used to sitting all day and my feet are no used to walking much less carrying 28 lbs. Have to break her in slowly. I did get some foot spin early on, but it has subsided. I ache, for sure. And struggle up hills. But this old body is still strong and loving the challenge.
The third night I had 2 older guys who are E2Ers. (End-to-enders.). Bob and Terry. And also Ari was camped. The next morning Ari said he, like the 2 guys, had double hutted that day and with the heat and the weight of his pack, he did himself in. He'd decided to go slower so we've been at the same huts ever since. And he's been named Waugal because with his dark completion and his yellow and black raincoat he looks just like the Waugal emblem for the trail markers.
The weather has been mostly dry and sunny. We've had some rain and wind but nothing too bad and only a day or two. Daytime temps in the 70s I'd guess. But nighttime is cold! Brrr. High 30s, low 40s. I'm using all my gear to stay warm. There's nothing extra. Most nights I'm in the shelter. When a large group of women were on the trail for 3 nights, I used my tent. After Spacey, my backpacking tent seems so small. Not seems, IS! Makes me love and miss Spacey (Big Sky Revolution 2P with Porch) all the more!! Luckily won't have to use it too often. But some campsites don't have a shelter due to fires last fall. And you have to use a tent.
The following night, Lorna, a Brit in her 40s, who's been traveling the world for 14 years joined us. She's now The Littlest Hobo. And the following day, Samantha, now Comet, blazed in! And that was our merry band of hikers for a week or two.
The park folks do prescribed burns in an attempt to control these highly flammable forests. And during the first week one night we could see a forest fire way off in the distance lighting up the sky. Quite a sight!
The next afternoon while resting in a shelter, a ranger pulls up (yup, every hut is accessible by road), and says the two prescribed burns got out of control and ran together. 50 kms of trail are closed ahead. No diversion suggested. Looks like we'll need to hitch down the highway. But I'm thinking, why not walk. It looked like the road was only 25 kms and I bike on these roads all the time. I told the group I was walking it. And since they all hike faster than me, they went ahead that day. Since my plan was to camp along side the road, I got extra water later in the day. Oh was my pack heavy then! So I took the forest road over to the busy road and checked the mileage on Google Maps. 39 kms! A bit further than I had estimated. Oh well. You're walking 600 miles, this is just part of it. So off I went. Wow! What a force the road trains made against me going by! On the bike the push me along. And there sure were a lot of vehicles. Then I notice a car on the other side (the direction I'm walking) pull over. Hmmm? Then it does a U turn and pulls up next to me. It's a mom and young son. Want a ride? I think for a minute and said No, I think I'll walk. But thanks!
And I continue walking. I start struggling with myself about turning down they ride. Do I really want to walk this godforsaken road for 2 more days? To prove what? If another car stops, take the ride, Stupid! And then, bam! Another car stops. I hadn't walked 3 kms down that road. So I took the ride and surprised my buddies when I arrived at the roadhouse in North Bannister. I get there and there's no cheap rooms left. That's okay. I'll camp up the trail. But I'll come back to join you for a drink.
One problem the fire diversion created for me was too much food. The first 6 days I had the opposite problem: too little food. The first leg took 2 days longer than I had planned. I'd stashed good 70 kms down the trail at a road crossing and mailed more to the roadhouse.
Waugal had too much food so he often shared stuff with me. Comet had extra toilet paper, thank goodness. And everyone heated water for me. Besides having too little alcohol for my cat stove, their methylated spirits didn't burn the same and big flames shot up around the pot not actually heating the water. That problem now resolved with having me Pocket Rocket back thanks to Jacko, the guy who had my bike for me at trail's end.
So I got my resupply stash by the road and then the very next day I'm picking up my box at the roadhouse. Too much food. But luckily Hobo had a friend who met up with us at the roadhouse and was meeting up again in our first town. She could take my extra food! Problem solved!! This trail has long distances between towns many places. It was12-14 days to the first town, hence the 2 food drops. Then leaving our first town of Dwellingup, I had to carry 7 days of food. Ugh! It's heavy! I'm not in shape yet. Luckily the huts are now about only 20 kms or 12 miles apart. I'm usually in by 2 pm for an afternoon's rest. Then I have to be sure not to eat everything up too early in the week because I'm starving! Such a bad bad diet on the trail. Nothing heavy is rule #1. Filling is #2. And I have to like it or I won't eat it. I know. I dumped a Back Country dinner down a hole one night because it was awful. I'll eat healthy again after this hike is over but for now it's just EAT something.
The trail has been quite beautiful because it's spring here and the wildflowers are in bloom. Massively! I can't stop taking pictures. Please do check out my Bibbulmun album on Facebook to see some of them. And I'm trying to learn some of the trees: jarrah, parrot bush, banksia, snotty gobble, and marri with the honky nut. Gotta love the names! Right now the trail is mostly in the shade. I'm afraid as it gets hotter we'll be out of the bush too. I lost my visor in the first week and haven't yet been able to replace it. That's the only eye shade I use. Gotta work on that.
In Dwellingup, Waugal and I took a zero (no miles walked) and Hobo and Comet hiked on because Hobo's friend, Suzie Snoozee, joined her for a night. This way at least, no one is hiking alone. There's do few E2Ers that one could end up doing a lot of it alone. That would be lonely, day after day. It's okay on my bike. But not here. And it helps with group thinking. We've got a fire diversion ahead tomorrow. The fire last February burned down a big old wooden bridge across the river. The diversion goes way out and around making for a 30 km day...18 miles. Not up to that. So I suggested we try and swim across. It's a quiet river. Waugal and I got garbage bags in town to put our packs in to float them across. We may build them a raft. The river is cold. It's just spring. We're hoping that the "summer crossing" on our map will be narrow and not too deep. The girls left us a note here at the shelter that they were planning the same thing. Hope it worked! We'll be there tomorrow! All part of the adventure:))
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Bibbulman Track - Weeks 1 & 2
September 22, 2015
Dookanelly Campsite, Western Australia
Third time's a charm. I've had already 2 catastrophes trying to write a blog about my hike. The first, with pics and all, won't open again so that I can upload it. Just crashes this app. The second attempt the other night I lost when my phone died before I could Save it:(. Since we have wonderfully long afternoons in the shelters, I'll try again. Words only for now. Don't want any problems.
I started this hike Monday, the 7th at about 5 pm. Peter, my Warmshowers host, drove me out to Kalamunda after work. That worked out well for me because I had some resupply boxes with map sections to mail that day anyways.
I had decided to let him drop me a ways up the trail do I only had a short hike to the first shelter. I'm not a purist so skipping 8 kms didn't bother me. At the shelter I met Chris and Kirsty from Scotland, a young couple living here and on their first long hike.
I should probably orient y'all a bit about the Bibbulmun. It's one of the longest tracks in Australia at 1020 kms give or take. (That's roughly 600 miles for those who need me to do the conversion. I'm finding I need to convert because my hiking mind works in miles, but I'm doing it less.). It's in Western Australia (a state) in the southwest corner from east of Perth down to the southern shore and then east to Albany. This trail is a popular multi-day hike but I have no idea how many end-to-enders there are in any year. Right now there are 8 that I know of that are within a day or two of me.
The shelters are a bit nicer than the ones on the Appalachian Trail (hereafter referred to as the AT). They have a picnic table perpendicular up the middle and double wide bunks on either side sleeping eight. Other ones have the bottom bunk continuing all the way across sleeping 4 more and a large long picnic table out front under a roof. There's usually a fire pit and always a water tank with rain water collection as our source. It says to treat it but I'm not. None of us are. Rain water tastes do good and the tanks are closed. Most of Australia drinks tank water!
The next night I was alone in the shelter. And that was fine. I started slowly going hut to hut, about 5-8 miles a day. My body is used to sitting all day and my feet are no used to walking much less carrying 28 lbs. Have to break her in slowly. I did get some foot spin early on, but it has subsided. I ache, for sure. And struggle up hills. But this old body is still strong and loving the challenge.
The third night I had 2 older guys who are E2Ers. (End-to-enders.). Bob and Terry. And also Ari was camped. The next morning Ari said he, like the 2 guys, had double hutted that day and with the heat and the weight of his pack, he did himself in. He'd decided to go slower so we've been at the same huts ever since. And he's been named Waugal because with his dark completion and his yellow and black raincoat he looks just like the Waugal emblem for the trail markers.
The weather has been mostly dry and sunny. We've had some rain and wind but nothing too bad and only a day or two. Daytime temps in the 70s I'd guess. But nighttime is cold! Brrr. High 30s, low 40s. I'm using all my gear to stay warm. There's nothing extra. Most nights I'm in the shelter. When a large group of women were on the trail for 3 nights, I used my tent. After Spacey, my backpacking tent seems so small. Not seems, IS! Makes me love and miss Spacey (Big Sky Revolution 2P with Porch) all the more!! Luckily won't have to use it too often. But some campsites don't have a shelter due to fires last fall. And you have to use a tent.
The following night, Lorna, a Brit in her 40s, who's been traveling the world for 14 years joined us. She's now The Littlest Hobo. And the following day, Samantha, now Comet, blazed in! And that was our merry band of hikers for a week or two.
The park folks do prescribed burns in an attempt to control these highly flammable forests. And during the first week one night we could see a forest fire way off in the distance lighting up the sky. Quite a sight!
The next afternoon while resting in a shelter, a ranger pulls up (yup, every hut is accessible by road), and says the two prescribed burns got out of control and ran together. 50 kms of trail are closed ahead. No diversion suggested. Looks like we'll need to hitch down the highway. But I'm thinking, why not walk. It looked like the road was only 25 kms and I bike on these roads all the time. I told the group I was walking it. And since they all hike faster than me, they went ahead that day. Since my plan was to camp along side the road, I got extra water later in the day. Oh was my pack heavy then! So I took the forest road over to the busy road and checked the mileage on Google Maps. 39 kms! A bit further than I had estimated. Oh well. You're walking 600 miles, this is just part of it. So off I went. Wow! What a force the road trains made against me going by! On the bike the push me along. And there sure were a lot of vehicles. Then I notice a car on the other side (the direction I'm walking) pull over. Hmmm? Then it does a U turn and pulls up next to me. It's a mom and young son. Want a ride? I think for a minute and said No, I think I'll walk. But thanks!
And I continue walking. I start struggling with myself about turning down they ride. Do I really want to walk this godforsaken road for 2 more days? To prove what? If another car stops, take the ride, Stupid! And then, bam! Another car stops. I hadn't walked 3 kms down that road. So I took the ride and surprised my buddies when I arrived at the roadhouse in North Bannister. I get there and there's no cheap rooms left. That's okay. I'll camp up the trail. But I'll come back to join you for a drink.
One problem the fire diversion created for me was too much food. The first 6 days I had the opposite problem: too little food. The first leg took 2 days longer than I had planned. I'd stashed good 70 kms down the trail at a road crossing and mailed more to the roadhouse.
Waugal had too much food so he often shared stuff with me. Comet had extra toilet paper, thank goodness. And everyone heated water for me. Besides having too little alcohol for my cat stove, their methylated spirits didn't burn the same and big flames shot up around the pot not actually heating the water. That problem now resolved with having me Pocket Rocket back thanks to Jacko, the guy who had my bike for me at trail's end.
So I got my resupply stash by the road and then the very next day I'm picking up my box at the roadhouse. Too much food. But luckily Hobo had a friend who met up with us at the roadhouse and was meeting up again in our first town. She could take my extra food! Problem solved!! This trail has long distances between towns many places. It was12-14 days to the first town, hence the 2 food drops. Then leaving our first town of Dwellingup, I had to carry 7 days of food. Ugh! It's heavy! I'm not in shape yet. Luckily the huts are now about only 20 kms or 12 miles apart. I'm usually in by 2 pm for an afternoon's rest. Then I have to be sure not to eat everything up too early in the week because I'm starving! Such a bad bad diet on the trail. Nothing heavy is rule #1. Filling is #2. And I have to like it or I won't eat it. I know. I dumped a Back Country dinner down a hole one night because it was awful. I'll eat healthy again after this hike is over but for now it's just EAT something.
The trail has been quite beautiful because it's spring here and the wildflowers are in bloom. Massively! I can't stop taking pictures. Please do check out my Bibbulmun album on Facebook to see some of them. And I'm trying to learn some of the trees: jarrah, parrot bush, banksia, snotty gobble, and marri with the honky nut. Gotta love the names! Right now the trail is mostly in the shade. I'm afraid as it gets hotter we'll be out of the bush too. I lost my visor in the first week and haven't yet been able to replace it. That's the only eye shade I use. Gotta work on that.
In Dwellingup, Waugal and I took a zero (no miles walked) and Hobo and Comet hiked on because Hobo's friend, Suzie Snoozee, joined her for a night. This way at least, no one is hiking alone. There's do few E2Ers that one could end up doing a lot of it alone. That would be lonely, day after day. It's okay on my bike. But not here. And it helps with group thinking. We've got a fire diversion ahead tomorrow. The fire last February burned down a big old wooden bridge across the river. The diversion goes way out and around making for a 30 km day...18 miles. Not up to that. So I suggested we try and swim across. It's a quiet river. Waugal and I got garbage bags in town to put our packs in to float them across. We may build them a raft. The river is cold. It's just spring. We're hoping that the "summer crossing" on our map will be narrow and not too deep. The girls left us a note here at the shelter that they were planning the same thing. Hope it worked! We'll be there tomorrow! All part of the adventure:))
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Dookanelly Campsite, Western Australia
Third time's a charm. I've had already 2 catastrophes trying to write a blog about my hike. The first, with pics and all, won't open again so that I can upload it. Just crashes this app. The second attempt the other night I lost when my phone died before I could Save it:(. Since we have wonderfully long afternoons in the shelters, I'll try again. Words only for now. Don't want any problems.
I started this hike Monday, the 7th at about 5 pm. Peter, my Warmshowers host, drove me out to Kalamunda after work. That worked out well for me because I had some resupply boxes with map sections to mail that day anyways.
I had decided to let him drop me a ways up the trail do I only had a short hike to the first shelter. I'm not a purist so skipping 8 kms didn't bother me. At the shelter I met Chris and Kirsty from Scotland, a young couple living here and on their first long hike.
I should probably orient y'all a bit about the Bibbulmun. It's one of the longest tracks in Australia at 1020 kms give or take. (That's roughly 600 miles for those who need me to do the conversion. I'm finding I need to convert because my hiking mind works in miles, but I'm doing it less.). It's in Western Australia (a state) in the southwest corner from east of Perth down to the southern shore and then east to Albany. This trail is a popular multi-day hike but I have no idea how many end-to-enders there are in any year. Right now there are 8 that I know of that are within a day or two of me.
The shelters are a bit nicer than the ones on the Appalachian Trail (hereafter referred to as the AT). They have a picnic table perpendicular up the middle and double wide bunks on either side sleeping eight. Other ones have the bottom bunk continuing all the way across sleeping 4 more and a large long picnic table out front under a roof. There's usually a fire pit and always a water tank with rain water collection as our source. It says to treat it but I'm not. None of us are. Rain water tastes do good and the tanks are closed. Most of Australia drinks tank water!
The next night I was alone in the shelter. And that was fine. I started slowly going hut to hut, about 5-8 miles a day. My body is used to sitting all day and my feet are no used to walking much less carrying 28 lbs. Have to break her in slowly. I did get some foot spin early on, but it has subsided. I ache, for sure. And struggle up hills. But this old body is still strong and loving the challenge.
The third night I had 2 older guys who are E2Ers. (End-to-enders.). Bob and Terry. And also Ari was camped. The next morning Ari said he, like the 2 guys, had double hutted that day and with the heat and the weight of his pack, he did himself in. He'd decided to go slower so we've been at the same huts ever since. And he's been named Waugal because with his dark completion and his yellow and black raincoat he looks just like the Waugal emblem for the trail markers.
The weather has been mostly dry and sunny. We've had some rain and wind but nothing too bad and only a day or two. Daytime temps in the 70s I'd guess. But nighttime is cold! Brrr. High 30s, low 40s. I'm using all my gear to stay warm. There's nothing extra. Most nights I'm in the shelter. When a large group of women were on the trail for 3 nights, I used my tent. After Spacey, my backpacking tent seems so small. Not seems, IS! Makes me love and miss Spacey (Big Sky Revolution 2P with Porch) all the more!! Luckily won't have to use it too often. But some campsites don't have a shelter due to fires last fall. And you have to use a tent.
The following night, Lorna, a Brit in her 40s, who's been traveling the world for 14 years joined us. She's now The Littlest Hobo. And the following day, Samantha, now Comet, blazed in! And that was our merry band of hikers for a week or two.
The park folks do prescribed burns in an attempt to control these highly flammable forests. And during the first week one night we could see a forest fire way off in the distance lighting up the sky. Quite a sight!
The next afternoon while resting in a shelter, a ranger pulls up (yup, every hut is accessible by road), and says the two prescribed burns got out of control and ran together. 50 kms of trail are closed ahead. No diversion suggested. Looks like we'll need to hitch down the highway. But I'm thinking, why not walk. It looked like the road was only 25 kms and I bike on these roads all the time. I told the group I was walking it. And since they all hike faster than me, they went ahead that day. Since my plan was to camp along side the road, I got extra water later in the day. Oh was my pack heavy then! So I took the forest road over to the busy road and checked the mileage on Google Maps. 39 kms! A bit further than I had estimated. Oh well. You're walking 600 miles, this is just part of it. So off I went. Wow! What a force the road trains made against me going by! On the bike the push me along. And there sure were a lot of vehicles. Then I notice a car on the other side (the direction I'm walking) pull over. Hmmm? Then it does a U turn and pulls up next to me. It's a mom and young son. Want a ride? I think for a minute and said No, I think I'll walk. But thanks!
And I continue walking. I start struggling with myself about turning down they ride. Do I really want to walk this godforsaken road for 2 more days? To prove what? If another car stops, take the ride, Stupid! And then, bam! Another car stops. I hadn't walked 3 kms down that road. So I took the ride and surprised my buddies when I arrived at the roadhouse in North Bannister. I get there and there's no cheap rooms left. That's okay. I'll camp up the trail. But I'll come back to join you for a drink.
One problem the fire diversion created for me was too much food. The first 6 days I had the opposite problem: too little food. The first leg took 2 days longer than I had planned. I'd stashed good 70 kms down the trail at a road crossing and mailed more to the roadhouse.
Waugal had too much food so he often shared stuff with me. Comet had extra toilet paper, thank goodness. And everyone heated water for me. Besides having too little alcohol for my cat stove, their methylated spirits didn't burn the same and big flames shot up around the pot not actually heating the water. That problem now resolved with having me Pocket Rocket back thanks to Jacko, the guy who had my bike for me at trail's end.
So I got my resupply stash by the road and then the very next day I'm picking up my box at the roadhouse. Too much food. But luckily Hobo had a friend who met up with us at the roadhouse and was meeting up again in our first town. She could take my extra food! Problem solved!! This trail has long distances between towns many places. It was12-14 days to the first town, hence the 2 food drops. Then leaving our first town of Dwellingup, I had to carry 7 days of food. Ugh! It's heavy! I'm not in shape yet. Luckily the huts are now about only 20 kms or 12 miles apart. I'm usually in by 2 pm for an afternoon's rest. Then I have to be sure not to eat everything up too early in the week because I'm starving! Such a bad bad diet on the trail. Nothing heavy is rule #1. Filling is #2. And I have to like it or I won't eat it. I know. I dumped a Back Country dinner down a hole one night because it was awful. I'll eat healthy again after this hike is over but for now it's just EAT something.
The trail has been quite beautiful because it's spring here and the wildflowers are in bloom. Massively! I can't stop taking pictures. Please do check out my Bibbulmun album on Facebook to see some of them. And I'm trying to learn some of the trees: jarrah, parrot bush, banksia, snotty gobble, and marri with the honky nut. Gotta love the names! Right now the trail is mostly in the shade. I'm afraid as it gets hotter we'll be out of the bush too. I lost my visor in the first week and haven't yet been able to replace it. That's the only eye shade I use. Gotta work on that.
In Dwellingup, Waugal and I took a zero (no miles walked) and Hobo and Comet hiked on because Hobo's friend, Suzie Snoozee, joined her for a night. This way at least, no one is hiking alone. There's do few E2Ers that one could end up doing a lot of it alone. That would be lonely, day after day. It's okay on my bike. But not here. And it helps with group thinking. We've got a fire diversion ahead tomorrow. The fire last February burned down a big old wooden bridge across the river. The diversion goes way out and around making for a 30 km day...18 miles. Not up to that. So I suggested we try and swim across. It's a quiet river. Waugal and I got garbage bags in town to put our packs in to float them across. We may build them a raft. The river is cold. It's just spring. We're hoping that the "summer crossing" on our map will be narrow and not too deep. The girls left us a note here at the shelter that they were planning the same thing. Hope it worked! We'll be there tomorrow! All part of the adventure:))
Livin' the dream,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Monday, September 14, 2015
Posting Issues
Looks like the app for posting my blog from my phone won't work. Keeps crashing. I'll only be able to update to Facebook.
I'll keep writing the posts anyway. Maybe done will post. Probably too many pics:)
Livin' the life,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
I'll keep writing the posts anyway. Maybe done will post. Probably too many pics:)
Livin' the life,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Monday, September 7, 2015
Brisbane to Perth
September 6, 2015
Perth, WA, Australia
Since tonight I head out for a couple of months hiking I'd better get caught up with my blog. But there'll be no pictures from Brisbane because all my extra gear (camera and iPad included) are near Albany where this hike takes me. Isn't it cool I'm getting to hike to my bike?!?!
I'd had a marvelous 4 day visit in Brisbane staying with Warmshowers hosts Lynn and Len Daniels in their delightful home. Always great sharing travel stories and connecting, eating scrumptious food, and sleeping in a bed. Much needed R & R.
My friends from Toowoomba came down for the day. Kathryn, Luke, and I toured the Koala sanctuary. Always more fun to tour a "zoo" with a child! So much fun seeing the world through his eyes! Sadly I didn't get to see dad Michael and Jacob as they had other commitments. Still so nice to feel like I have "family" this far from home. I had Kathryn drop me off up by the shops and I went browsing in a thrift store finding a few things I needed. That night I went to upload photos and realized I had left my small backpack with my camera on the counter at the thrift shop. Yikes! I'm so absent minded. If it isn't tied to me it's only through luck it makes it home again. But I wasn't worried. They were do nice there, I was sure if get it back. Just go up in the morning when they're open. So at 9 am up I go. Closed Mondays. Argh! But there's a phone number. I call. Leave a message. Then head into the city to shop and tour on my own. I call again. She answers. She'll meet me there whenever I want. She has the pack. Yippee. Phew!!! On my way home I retrieve it. She said I was lucky they hadn't taken everything out, priced it, and out it in the shelves:))
A dear Facebook friend, Frank Denman, toted me all around the city, and back and forth to the airport. Always fun to meet someone you know from FB. We had a fun day seeing the sites like Mt Coot-tha overlooking the city and walking downtown and up the South Bank where Expo was many years ago. These Australian cities are all on rivers. Brisbane isn't actually at the coast, but inland a fair bit. And the river winds through the middle. And lots of grassy parks. Was quite a relief to see a bit of green again after the sand and red soil of the Outback.
Wednesday came and Frank picked me up to head to the airport and off across the whole continent to Perth. I got a window seat so I could see this big beautiful place, but the clouds didn't cooperate. And they didn't fly over Uluru (Ayers Rock) anyways:(. I flew Virgin Australia. And everything went easy peasy as usual. This time I kept Blaze long and with the seat bungyed on like I did from Longreach. That works well. She seems to get more respect when she's not folded and bubble wrapped.
And Carl Bentley, another Facebook friend, met me at the airport for a lift to my Warmshowers host's house. Peter Easton is so kind to put up with me for nearly a week while I prepare for this 2-3 month hike of the Bibbulmun Track, Australia's longest hiking trail. The season is perfect. Spring flowers are out. The weather's warming up a bit.
Peter's son, Angus, has been here several nights too. He got a chance to ride Blaze before she left. And they took me out yesterday to see Fremantle, a coastal town famous for the America's Cup. Very quaint with a wonderful indoor market much like I saw in Asia. And we had the best crepe breakfast there!
I've now set my feet in another ocean: the Indian Ocean!
The day before, Carl had picked me up to help me stash some food up the trail.
You can't see it, right?!?
This first section is 12-13 days walk between towns. I'm not in any shape for carrying that weight of food so I'm stashing some 4 days out and shipping a resupply box to a roadhouse 8 days out. Such a wuss. I know!
Carl took me out to see a weir on the track where I'll be going.
It still blows my mind how I can fly into a city that I've never been to and I have all this wonderful help and support: rides, places to stay, tours, gear transported. I don't take it lightly or for granted. So appreciated!!!!
Ya, my gear was picked up by Jacko and Annie Vanderbyl. Friends of a friend of a friend. Jacko hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2013. He met Violet B (trail name). She's friends with Bluebearee, a hiker friend of mine. She hiked part of the Bibb earlier this year before getting injured. She hooked me up. So Jacko met me at the Bibb office Friday and taxi'd me around town as I got gear and supplies. Then picked up Blaze and extra stuff. I had a box that must have weighed the same as the box of gear I flew in weighed. I carry all that "shit" on my bike?!?! Doesn't seem like a lot when she's loaded up. Just seems right.
Tonight, after work, in an hour, Peter's taking me out to the start of the Bibb. I'm just hiking in to the first shelter. It's hard to get my head around another long hike. I'm excited and anxious. Snakes are out. I've gotten my instructions. If I get bit, bend over and kiss my ass goodbye!! I can try and put compression on the wound (with the compression wrap I bought) and hope I can get to a hospital but probably not likely to happen. Have to step carefully in my sandals:)
Not sure how updated the blog will be. Facebook when I can. I have to say I'm looking forward to disconnecting a bit for these months. We'll see how well I do.
Gotta run. I have to take a long walk!
Livin' the life,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Perth, WA, Australia
Since tonight I head out for a couple of months hiking I'd better get caught up with my blog. But there'll be no pictures from Brisbane because all my extra gear (camera and iPad included) are near Albany where this hike takes me. Isn't it cool I'm getting to hike to my bike?!?!
I'd had a marvelous 4 day visit in Brisbane staying with Warmshowers hosts Lynn and Len Daniels in their delightful home. Always great sharing travel stories and connecting, eating scrumptious food, and sleeping in a bed. Much needed R & R.
My friends from Toowoomba came down for the day. Kathryn, Luke, and I toured the Koala sanctuary. Always more fun to tour a "zoo" with a child! So much fun seeing the world through his eyes! Sadly I didn't get to see dad Michael and Jacob as they had other commitments. Still so nice to feel like I have "family" this far from home. I had Kathryn drop me off up by the shops and I went browsing in a thrift store finding a few things I needed. That night I went to upload photos and realized I had left my small backpack with my camera on the counter at the thrift shop. Yikes! I'm so absent minded. If it isn't tied to me it's only through luck it makes it home again. But I wasn't worried. They were do nice there, I was sure if get it back. Just go up in the morning when they're open. So at 9 am up I go. Closed Mondays. Argh! But there's a phone number. I call. Leave a message. Then head into the city to shop and tour on my own. I call again. She answers. She'll meet me there whenever I want. She has the pack. Yippee. Phew!!! On my way home I retrieve it. She said I was lucky they hadn't taken everything out, priced it, and out it in the shelves:))
A dear Facebook friend, Frank Denman, toted me all around the city, and back and forth to the airport. Always fun to meet someone you know from FB. We had a fun day seeing the sites like Mt Coot-tha overlooking the city and walking downtown and up the South Bank where Expo was many years ago. These Australian cities are all on rivers. Brisbane isn't actually at the coast, but inland a fair bit. And the river winds through the middle. And lots of grassy parks. Was quite a relief to see a bit of green again after the sand and red soil of the Outback.
Wednesday came and Frank picked me up to head to the airport and off across the whole continent to Perth. I got a window seat so I could see this big beautiful place, but the clouds didn't cooperate. And they didn't fly over Uluru (Ayers Rock) anyways:(. I flew Virgin Australia. And everything went easy peasy as usual. This time I kept Blaze long and with the seat bungyed on like I did from Longreach. That works well. She seems to get more respect when she's not folded and bubble wrapped.
And Carl Bentley, another Facebook friend, met me at the airport for a lift to my Warmshowers host's house. Peter Easton is so kind to put up with me for nearly a week while I prepare for this 2-3 month hike of the Bibbulmun Track, Australia's longest hiking trail. The season is perfect. Spring flowers are out. The weather's warming up a bit.
Peter's son, Angus, has been here several nights too. He got a chance to ride Blaze before she left. And they took me out yesterday to see Fremantle, a coastal town famous for the America's Cup. Very quaint with a wonderful indoor market much like I saw in Asia. And we had the best crepe breakfast there!
I've now set my feet in another ocean: the Indian Ocean!
The day before, Carl had picked me up to help me stash some food up the trail.
You can't see it, right?!?
This first section is 12-13 days walk between towns. I'm not in any shape for carrying that weight of food so I'm stashing some 4 days out and shipping a resupply box to a roadhouse 8 days out. Such a wuss. I know!
Carl took me out to see a weir on the track where I'll be going.
It still blows my mind how I can fly into a city that I've never been to and I have all this wonderful help and support: rides, places to stay, tours, gear transported. I don't take it lightly or for granted. So appreciated!!!!
Ya, my gear was picked up by Jacko and Annie Vanderbyl. Friends of a friend of a friend. Jacko hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2013. He met Violet B (trail name). She's friends with Bluebearee, a hiker friend of mine. She hiked part of the Bibb earlier this year before getting injured. She hooked me up. So Jacko met me at the Bibb office Friday and taxi'd me around town as I got gear and supplies. Then picked up Blaze and extra stuff. I had a box that must have weighed the same as the box of gear I flew in weighed. I carry all that "shit" on my bike?!?! Doesn't seem like a lot when she's loaded up. Just seems right.
Tonight, after work, in an hour, Peter's taking me out to the start of the Bibb. I'm just hiking in to the first shelter. It's hard to get my head around another long hike. I'm excited and anxious. Snakes are out. I've gotten my instructions. If I get bit, bend over and kiss my ass goodbye!! I can try and put compression on the wound (with the compression wrap I bought) and hope I can get to a hospital but probably not likely to happen. Have to step carefully in my sandals:)
Not sure how updated the blog will be. Facebook when I can. I have to say I'm looking forward to disconnecting a bit for these months. We'll see how well I do.
Gotta run. I have to take a long walk!
Livin' the life,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Longreach
September 3, 2015
Perth, Western Australia, AU
The first thing I did upon arriving in Longreach was stop at the airport. It's tiny. One flight a day to Brisbane. Small plane. Can you take my trike? Quick call to Brisbane and then everything was a go. Yippee. They wanted it with just the seat off and strapped to the frame...she narrowest then.
Then on to a camground, or should I say dustbowl? No rain means no grass, except for the front patch that gets watered. But they tack down these interesting pieces of mesh that hold the dust down so I set up Spacey on that. It minimized the dust problem pretty well I thought. Spacey looked so small in amongst all the big rigs.
Next I went to the dentist in town. I had called a couple of days ago, but hadn't heard back. Since it had been a week of this gaping opening, I wanted to be sure it got taken care of sooner rather than later. I walk in and they tell me they'll see me right away. But I haven't even had a shower. I'm pretty stinky. That's okay, they said. And they patched me up for a mere $350. A quick trip to the grocery store and back to rest. Ahhh.
I decided on 4 nights in Longreach when I found I saved $100 on airfare flying to Brisbane on Saturday morning. Then I decided on 4 nights in Brisbane before flying to Perth. Next I had to get these all booked. Let my Warmshowers hosts know my exact plans now as well as my rides to send from airports. Oivay. Logistics are exhausting. Done. Now I can breathe easier:)
Next day: Stockman's Hall of Fame. Info on drovers, aboriginals, woman pioneers, and the Flying Doctor. That's one big difference between their outback and our west. It's so big and remote, that in the early 20s a missionary saw the potential for using a foot cranked wireless radio to be able to contact a doctor. Stations had medical chests with the drugs all numbered and the doctor could advise you over the radio what to take. Then with small planes becoming available, the doctor was able to fly in and teat the patients or fly the sick or injured out to a hospital. It's still alive and well today.
I also saw an outdoor show that was so well done: comedy, performing ranch animals, and lots of info about being a drover.
I'd heard about a stagecoach ride in Longreach and wanted to partake. I don't like touristy things but this sounded like too much fun not to miss it. And it was!! A 30 minute ride out downs dusty, sandy road where the horses broke into a full gallop and the dust was a-flying sure felt like the real thing! And I got to ride shotgun! So cool. I was in 7th heaven!!!! (Video posted to Facebook, if you're interested.)
One night another couple from the campground joined me in town for pizza and a movie. That was fun for a change. I don't get out much after dark on the road, so it's a special treat when I do.
I've never packed to fly from a campground. I got a box in town for my gear, guessing the right size. Strapped it on the back of Blaze.
Then while I was over chatting with my neighbors doesn't it begin to rain for the first time in months! Quick, slide the box under the tent to keep it dry.
But packing up went well, other than more rain drops getting on my fancy luggage...yikes!
All packed and waiting for my ride. Very sad to be leaving the outback. I'll be back!
On to my next adventure: hiking 1000 kms on the Bibbulman Track ,Perth to Albany. That should take a couple of months.
Odds and ends:
Dingos hung in the trees.
Me and Spacey (Big Sky Revolution 2P)
Carrying extra liters of water.
A lot of campers have these rigs where the tent us up on top so they're away from the snakes and crocodiles. Should I be worried?
Livin' the dream!
BagLady
Perth, Western Australia, AU
The first thing I did upon arriving in Longreach was stop at the airport. It's tiny. One flight a day to Brisbane. Small plane. Can you take my trike? Quick call to Brisbane and then everything was a go. Yippee. They wanted it with just the seat off and strapped to the frame...she narrowest then.
Then on to a camground, or should I say dustbowl? No rain means no grass, except for the front patch that gets watered. But they tack down these interesting pieces of mesh that hold the dust down so I set up Spacey on that. It minimized the dust problem pretty well I thought. Spacey looked so small in amongst all the big rigs.
Next I went to the dentist in town. I had called a couple of days ago, but hadn't heard back. Since it had been a week of this gaping opening, I wanted to be sure it got taken care of sooner rather than later. I walk in and they tell me they'll see me right away. But I haven't even had a shower. I'm pretty stinky. That's okay, they said. And they patched me up for a mere $350. A quick trip to the grocery store and back to rest. Ahhh.
I decided on 4 nights in Longreach when I found I saved $100 on airfare flying to Brisbane on Saturday morning. Then I decided on 4 nights in Brisbane before flying to Perth. Next I had to get these all booked. Let my Warmshowers hosts know my exact plans now as well as my rides to send from airports. Oivay. Logistics are exhausting. Done. Now I can breathe easier:)
Next day: Stockman's Hall of Fame. Info on drovers, aboriginals, woman pioneers, and the Flying Doctor. That's one big difference between their outback and our west. It's so big and remote, that in the early 20s a missionary saw the potential for using a foot cranked wireless radio to be able to contact a doctor. Stations had medical chests with the drugs all numbered and the doctor could advise you over the radio what to take. Then with small planes becoming available, the doctor was able to fly in and teat the patients or fly the sick or injured out to a hospital. It's still alive and well today.
I also saw an outdoor show that was so well done: comedy, performing ranch animals, and lots of info about being a drover.
I'd heard about a stagecoach ride in Longreach and wanted to partake. I don't like touristy things but this sounded like too much fun not to miss it. And it was!! A 30 minute ride out downs dusty, sandy road where the horses broke into a full gallop and the dust was a-flying sure felt like the real thing! And I got to ride shotgun! So cool. I was in 7th heaven!!!! (Video posted to Facebook, if you're interested.)
One night another couple from the campground joined me in town for pizza and a movie. That was fun for a change. I don't get out much after dark on the road, so it's a special treat when I do.
I've never packed to fly from a campground. I got a box in town for my gear, guessing the right size. Strapped it on the back of Blaze.
Then while I was over chatting with my neighbors doesn't it begin to rain for the first time in months! Quick, slide the box under the tent to keep it dry.
But packing up went well, other than more rain drops getting on my fancy luggage...yikes!
All packed and waiting for my ride. Very sad to be leaving the outback. I'll be back!
On to my next adventure: hiking 1000 kms on the Bibbulman Track ,Perth to Albany. That should take a couple of months.
Odds and ends:
Dingos hung in the trees.
Me and Spacey (Big Sky Revolution 2P)
Carrying extra liters of water.
A lot of campers have these rigs where the tent us up on top so they're away from the snakes and crocodiles. Should I be worried?
Livin' the dream!
BagLady
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)