From Nannup to Perth

December 9, 2015
70 Kms south of Perth, WA, Australia



I'm sitting in my tent on the side of the road. A closed, barricaded road section. Just off the main freeway into Perth. Right next to the railway track...which actually has trains....with load whistles...that luckily don't blow at night. One of the worst camping spots in all of Australia, I think. But as I was cycling the world's best cycle path, a freaking freeway, along side the freeway, but separate, finding optimum bush camping spots was getting challenging to say the least. This pull off looked promising, just not elegant. And if the deep sand hadn't bent my derailleur all whacky it would have been a good night. It had to be the sand. I didn't feel the bike hit anything. But after pushing it through a section, when I got back on, it wouldn't go. Big problem. I tried bending it back, but it was twisted so the guide wheels would not align properly. No tools to torque it with. Even if I could have gotten it to go in one gear in the rear, I would have been happy. Nope. Skipping all over the place. Oh well. I've learned to just deal with problems as they come. One foot in front of the other. Not a fun problem, but nothing that money won't fix. And so I called Waugal, my hiking buddy, and he's picking me up this morning. All will be fine. A little wrinkle is the derailleur hanger mount is also bent, needs replacing, and that may be unique to my trike. My bike shop back home, Bicycle Man in Alfred Station, NY, and Peter Stull, the owner, has offered to express ship me one if need be. What road support!!! He's been there when I've needed him. Love it!



But it's taken me a few weeks to get to Perth from Nannup. I've been taking my time, enjoying the sights and the people. First stop was the cutest town called Margaret River where I stayed 3 nights with a friend of an Aussie couple I met at a campground in Scotland. Don't ya love it?!?! She has a boarding kennel there and I camped in the yard as her book collection took over the house. All non-fiction on any topic you could think of. Amazing! And April included me in so many different things: a poetry class on sonnets (University for a Third Age...check it out), a vegan dinner at the Soup Kitchen (best meal in ages), an over 55 gym class (I felt so strong, but my upper body is out of shape and I over-stressed my back:)), the Eagle Heritage Center (so interesting learning about raptors of all kinds and seeing them hunt in free flight), a group hike and drone presentation, and went to the movies. Then she got some dog boarders:(. And one night of the barking and I had to find new accommodations. On the hike I met Lidia and she offered her dining room floor in her one bedroom apt. Ok! So I stayed 2 nights with her and did my errands in Margaret River including an organic farmer's market...yum!




This was so exciting. Owls are quite magnificent!!





Froggy Mouth Owl. The look like the branch their sitting on:)




And always a snake hanging around.




Oh, yes!

Next stop up to Dunsborough for yet another air mattress replacement to be picked up at the post office. Expend and K2 Base Camp store in Brisbane have been wonderful getting replacements to me. The mystery is why do the channels blow? The mats are still usable but awkward and uneven. This time I have Exped's Hyperlight. It's smaller than the Synmat UL, more body shaped and not as thick but takes up less room in the tent. I've got my fingers crossed!!

On the way to Dunsborough, I stopped into the Wardan Aboriginal Culture center. April had driven me up here when I was trying to find aboriginal artwork, but I didn't have a look around so I stopped in. It's a family operation, the parents having built it and now the children, Nina and Vivian are running it. Art gallery, museum, classes teaching indigenous skills like finding bush tucker (food), making tools, and throwing spears. For 60,000 years the indigenous people lived and thrived in this challenging land before white settles invaded and displaced them. There's so much knowledge of the land and the seasons to be gleamed from them. Don't lose it. I had a wonderful visit and left with lots of hugs and good wishes.




Then I went to Yallingup, a beach community, for a night at the campground and a swim and sun on the beach. This was my first time in my bathers here.


Gotta use the lingo. Hopefully in Tassie there will be more opportunities this summer. It felt wonderful. And every stop is so social it can get exhausting. At the campground I had a mom, her daughter, and the daughter's friend on one side...and a retired couple from Perth on the other. And we shared many chats in the few short hours. Lots of stories, too many to share. The bike, obviously is the attraction. Nope, never lonely.

On to Dunsborough, but not until I stopped on the way out of Yallingup for free range eggs and wood-fired bread. Yum! The plan in Dunsborough was originally to attend a beach bash. At the vegan dinner in Margaret River I met Lee, a young woman who lives in Dunsborough and teaches movement classes. She was hosting this beach bash and invited me to attend. Timing was the issue. It was still 4 days out. Wasn't going to work. But I did want to catch up with her so after getting my new air mattress at the list office, we met up at a cafe. She's a kindred spirit. A real light in this world. And I wished it would have worked out for me to stay. But I've learned sometimes you have to just enjoy the moment and the connection for the time that you have it.

Keep on pedaling. My plan was to hug the coast and the Geographe Bay around and up to Perth. A beautiful area. Busselton was bustling. A triathlon was happening on the weekend. Get in and get out. Too busy for me. Did manage to find some replacement clothes at an op shop. But letting go of the old faves that have been with me for-ever, is hard. Haven't done it yet, so I have too many items. I do think about why the throwing things out is so hard. I like my old clothes. They've served me well. Looked good, at least I thought so. We're mates. Seems cruel to just stuff them in a bin (garbage can). Sad too. Why? What is thus relationship we humans have with possessions? Why do we need to "own" things? I walk through a gallery and look. I enjoy it. But I'm also tugged with wanting to own the beauty. I can't so it's easy. But what if I could? What would owning give me?



The Western Australia Christmas Tree that blooms bright yellow this time of year.



One of those great wild camping spots I find mist every night. Isn't Spacey, my Big Sky Revolution 2 P tent, cute. I must say I'm ever so happy with my choice of "homes". Just crawling in at night and being able to leave the flaps open, not worry about the rain, is such a treat...especially as it gets warmer and the night breezes are ever so welcome.



Paul and Cherrie, a couple that cycled the Munda Biddi, a 1000 km mountain bike trail here, and I met at the campground in Nannup, spotted me as they were driving home to Perth and stopped to say hello. Small world, isn't it?



Lovely water view this night. What's not to love?!?!?

Onward and upward. Had some wonderful bush camping spots along the way. It's so easy in rural Australia. As long as I have enough water, every place is a campsite. Ants are the biggest issue. And they are everywhere. And every size. Teeny, tiny, like the period on this page...up to an inch long or more. And they get in my tent. And then there's the flies. In my eyes, up my nose, in my ears, even in my mouth. Thank goodness for the bug net. Frustrating to look through but a lifesaver.

I had a lovely stay with Warmshowers hosts Jose and Linda Narvaez-Evans in their Frank Lloyd Wright home high up the hill. They had a separate unit for cyclists. So sweet. And with storms expected, I stayed an extra night. Linda had to leave for her father's birthday party in Perth but I had plenty to do on my own since I was right in town. And then in the morning before leaving Jose and I chatted over a wide range of topics from the Internet to US politics. I love a good film discussion and a differing point of view. Opens me up to looking at things from another side.

Alongside the highway from Mandurah to Perth, and beyond, is the most amazing cycle path...it's a freeway for bikes!!





And a few more nights on the road brings me to today and my predicament. I just looked at a map and I'm so sad not to be biking the rest of the way.


Livin' the life!

BagLady

A Week in Nannup

November 15, 2015
Just south of Nannup, WA, AU

When the flies go to bed near dusk, the mozzies come out. I can't win! They are little guys here with a nasty bite. And tonight while I was sitting outside trying to ignore the flies (better with practice), I saw something move near my feet. A spider! About 2 inches long and a reddish brown matching the leaves. After the requisite photo (hopefully I'll be able to find someone to identify it), I scooped it up in a dish and moved him (or her) a ways away from my tent. Do you think there could be a family of them underneath me?!?! I sure hope not!



Western Australia does not go on daylight savings. It starts getting light around 4:30. And dark about 7:30 now. In the morning I pull the sleeve of my jacket over my eyes to block out the light for at least another hour. This morning I was biking by 7. That's pretty early for me. It's cooler then, for sure. I'd like to take a break midday for 2-4 hours during the worst heat and bike again after 3, but what to do for those hours is the challenge. It's hot. The flies are swarming. I have no place to get away from them. It's easier to just keep pedaling. The umbrella helps immensely. Could not cycle here without it. That and my fly net. I must be quite a sight to passing motorists:). Then, between 3-4 I stop because I'm beat: from the heat, from the flies, from pedaling. I find my place for the night, get Spacey set up and climb in. Ahhh, no flies! And I usually fall right asleep. A nap feels great.

OMG! There's this amazing bright orange sunset through the trees of the forest! I can't wait to cycle up the west coast and hopefully catch some amazing ones! I'm just getting snatches tonight.



Back to my book, Cloud Atlas. Pretty interesting writing style.


November 21, 2015
Nannup, WA, AU

On my way into Nannup, a sweet small town with a caravan park, I passed this sign on the road.


So strange to see my family name in the middle of nowhere. I left a note on my biker card in their mailbox to share my excitement.

I've been in Nannup nearly a week having arrived on Tuesday and this being Saturday. How do these things happen? Sometimes always moving gets a bit old and when the weather forecast for the weekend was in the high 90s I decided I was right where I needed to be. I arrived to sign in at the same time Falk did. He's a German man just beginning an open ended tour. He's cycling the Munda Biddi on a homemade bamboo bike!


And the campground was full of an Over 55 Cycling Club from Perth. So lots of company and bike talk. They did some seriously long rides...ones that would have taken me 4 days to complete. But I got some great info about the area as well as Tasmania. Still haven't booked a flight out of Perth. I'm so indecisive.

During the week more Munda Biddi cyclists came through. A Brazilian couple living here with a local woman. I may meet up with the local woman, Karen, over in Margaret River when I cycle out there next week. I love having people to hook up with.


Passing the time here all week I've gotten to know a lot of the locals. There's the couple who own the campground. Then the ladies of the craft circle I interrupted one afternoon. The women in the grocery store who helped me get small quantities of veggies out of the discard bin and bread ties to use as clothes pins. And the woman in the funky store with decorating items and vintage clothes. Last but not least, I met today the owners of Moss Brook B&B when the spotted me in town and chased me down:). The previous owners named it. Their name was Moss and its on a brook...




That's an antique Mini van they have. They invest in antique cars for their retirement. Hmmm....?

Oh and I forgot, yesterday afternoon when Midi, who works her at the campground, kindly gave me an outing with her to Busselton when she went to get groceries. What a kindred spirit! Eating ice cream and sitting in the sand. Lovely time. So how can I be lonely? Too busy!

And today I met a couple that live south of Rome, Italy and have a hostel on the Via Francigena, an Italian camino. Now I have a destination to get to so I can see them again! Her mother lives in Tasmania so I may meet her also. Ya never know!



Blaze and Spacey are enjoying their much deserved rest. Maybe my chair Ned's a name too!



Livin' the dream,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

A Weekend at Waldon Pond - Schafer Campsite

November 12, 2015
Schafer Campsite




I told ya I was going to try and find this magnificent campsite again...and since the forecast was for temps in the 30s for the next few days (read 85-95*F), I decided to lay low and what better place to do it than here with a pond to swim in and lots of water? That's what I thought! But I didn't know how hard it was going to be to find it:/. It's roughly shown on the photo of a map I have and I remembered seeing a metal auto barricade and a back road of some sort as we left the shelter because I thought how close you could get to it by car if you wanted to stay here a few days. But I didn't know how to find that minor road and gate. So I found the gravel road off the main road and the gravel road off that the the Bibb parallel and crossed once. But I had no idea where the hut was or the even smaller dirt road leading up to it. So I wandered down roads that made no sense. And found another pond thinking that was this one. It's crazy in the woods with no waugals and no trail to follow. I finally decided to actually cycle the Bibb when it again turned off that more significant gravel road. And I decided if I didn't find the hut, I would just camp somewhere and find it in the morning. I left town at 4:15 with what I thought was an easy 7 km ride. Two hours later I was still hunting around when I turned a corner on the Bibb track and there was the metal gates remembered. I got Blaze under it and kept going down the track. Sure seemed short the morning we hiked out. Maybe that's not the same gate. The track was going downhill and since I didn't want to go down if I didn't have to, I got off and walked down...quite a ways! And there was the dunny! I found it! So back I went and got Blaze. Sure going to be not so easy getting out of here in a couple of days...but that's then and this is now. I'm here. And I'm happy! Spacey sure is bulky set up in the shelter. The mozzies were biting so I set here up to avoid fighting them all night. But it's hotter in the tent:(. Goodnight!

Next day.

Boy, was this day long! It started at 5 am when I got up to wee and was stunned with an amazing sunrise over the water! Sure did wonder if Waugal was walking around somewhere as he always was up about that time. But that didn't keep me from going back to bed:). At least until 6 am. This is crazy. My day off and I'm up enjoying the view at 6 am!! So un-BagLady-like! This girl likes to sleep in. But there I was. So made a cup of tea and went down to enjoy the water.

I had a couple of things on my To Do List today. Laundry. Check out the path to get out with Blaze if I go northward. Swim. Repair my umbrella. Read. Paint. Yup that's about it. They sure didn't take long. So I read a lot. Got a good book Comet gave me. Just had to suffer through the first 100 pages and now it's good. Cloud Atlas.

When I have slow days like today, I get to second guessing where to go, why I'm doing what I'm doing, I'm bored. I'm filling time. Is that really what life is all about? I've seen so much beauty in this world. When people tell me to go see this beautiful beach or cliffs...I'm like, ho-hum. Been there. Done that. I've seen amazing sunrises and sunsets. I still love them but... I thought it would be so great to have two days to spend in this sweet spot, but now that I'm here, I'm bored. Crazy, huh? Maybe I should go read more of Waldon Pond tonight.

Saturday

I was sure enjoying the peace and quiet if having that campsite all to myself. But good things all have to come to an end. I'd had a morning swim. Touched up some aspects of my painting and was attempting to figure out if I should start to knit the toe on my sock (I've been knitting this sick for 9 months:)), when up strode sweaty Brandon at about 10:30 am. Yup. He'd come from the next campsite. Wasn't staying...going on to Northcliffe. Yes, there's a mob coming to Schafer today:( Quickly I got Spacey moved to a tent site and my gear collected. I was rather spread out having had the whole place to myself. Now I had to learn to share. Before Brandon hiked on, Kurt came in. He was staying. After him a group of 4 women my age arrived. I'd met one of them at the Visitors Center in Northcliffe when they dropped a car. Then later 7-8 early twenties kids arrived. That made 12 in the shelter. Kurt put up a tent. I'd never seen it so packed! Everyone enjoyed a swim, that's for sure. And no one was upset I was biking and yet stopped here. Fun afternoon and evening just sharing stories.

And then today, Sunday, I pedaled my way out of the shelter and took gravel roads for 25 kms to Pemberton, another trail town. I struggled on those pearly gravel again pushing Blaze uphill and unable to get traction myself. Thank goodness all the long, steep hills went down:). Some of them I have no clue how I would have climbed them...really.

In Pemby, I stopped first at a cafe to get a smoothie and the woman recognized me from coming through there a month ago. "Still sleeping outside?" She smiled. That's a reference to my telling her I slept on the deck at the YHA cottage where we were staying. How crazy is that? So we had a bit of a catch up.

Met some fellow local cyclists that brought me a floor pump to finally top off my tires. My hand pump and arthritic hands just can't get more than 40 psi and they take 70. Been a bit soft. They also noticed my homemade camera case fell off as I pedaled away and brought it to me. I'd have lost my $500 camera without their help. The heat melted the duct tape and caused it to come apart. Think I need a backup system. Hmm.

After eating, and groceries, and watering up, and getting route info I pedaled on in the cooler afternoon. Originally I was headed to the southwest corner, Augusta, but have since decided to take a more direct route to Perth.

I'm struggling with direction: where to go, what do I want. I think I want to come home. But that sounds really hard. Where to go? What to do when I get there? I'm not sorry i sold my house. I've been getting updates on the high rise condos being built behind it. I sold in the nick of time!!

Its winter in the states. That's a challenge for my lifestyle. I think I need a big rest. Or better to be immersed in something totally different. Hope I can figure all this out.

For now, I'll sleep on the side of the road and pedal all day long. Good plan, BagLady!!


Livin' the dream,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

Back on the Road

November 9, 2015
Gravel road somewhere Southwest Australia

All good things must come to an end and I must go. Leaving is always so hard, but especially when I'm so comfortable where I am. And I was:). But the road beckons, Blaze was pawing the ground. So this morning I got packed up and on the road.




Saying goodbye to my hosts, Jacko and Annie.


Their lovely home.

Last night I picked a route by Google mapping a walking route to the next town about 125 Kim's away. Then I read through the names of the roads trying to find them on a paper map. I find google maps impossible to read with its white roads on a white background. And many roads not appearing. And road names not showing up. Quite frustrated with it lately. It used to be better. There has to be something else. Today I was even using Apple Maps because at least it was easier to see the roads and more roads we're showing up.

Well it was a good thing I'd read through the route because I forgot that I'd lose my signal and Google maps would become useless. I had also photographed sections of the paper map for referencing on the road but missed an early section...the section in:/.

But guess what? I'm on the Munda Biddi, a cycle path that nearly parallels the Bibbulmun. It's a 1000 kms too. It turns out the route I picked it's on. Wish I knew where it's shelters were. I hear their massive, sleep upwards of 100 people for handling large biking groups.

But I'll stay to my route if this turns off into the woods. Blaze can't do what some mountain bikes can. But today the Munda Biddi turned off and I stayed on the gravel. And I came to a river crossing with all kinds of warnings. There was water across the road, mid calf depth. I unloaded Blaze and pushed her through. As I walked back for the rest of my gear I wondered if there were leeches in the water. There were! I knocked them off!

I got to the top of the hill after the river crossing and there was the Munda Biddi coming back from a side road. I wonder where it crossed the river.


My legs hurt today. And my left knee. I've lost my biking legs. So I cut the day short and quit about 3 pm...30 kms. That's enough for the first day back.



A lovely nap, a read, and blogging. I'm home:))

November 10, 2015
Weld Road in a National Park

I'm bushed! Whipped! Tuckered out!! I think you get the idea. OMG! I never knew gravel could be so hard to ride on. I've got myself deep in the middle of nowhere and all the roads are gravel, even though on the map I photographed they were solid lines which I thought meant paved , or bitumen as the say here. Well, I haven't a clue what the difference is between a dotted road and a solid one on the map because on the ground they all look the same. And remember when I was hiking and complained about the ball bearings? That's the gravel I'm trying to pedal on. I've never slid around as much as I did today. And slow?!?! In 9 hours on the bike, my computer says I was pedaling for 6.5. That means excluding one break to eat, and another to nap, I spent another 1.5 hours resting while actually pedaling..,granny stops cause I was so tired I needed to pause. And I averaged 6 kms/h...3.6 mph. Does that give you an idea of how hard today was? Rolling terrain but not terribly long climbs. Just so hard on this terrible surface. Add to that "Road Closed" signs that I ignored and worried about why they were closed. The first one there was nothing. A ranger I met later said it was because of a recent burn. The 2nd "Road Closed" was where I met the ranger when I rolled down to a barricaded bridge. He kindly helped me carry my gear and bike across. And told me it would be quite a ways before I hit bitumen. I now know I have another 16 kms tomorrow before I find a real road. And from there I'm staying on bitumen! Even if I have to cycle further. But I have enjoyed the quiet. Maybe I say 4 cars today. How sweet is that?



But oh the flies!!!:////. It was humid. I was frustrated. The flies were annoying, to say the least. I'd wear the headnet until I started dripping with sweat. Then I'd use it as a fan. Right now, lying in my fly-free tent is such a joy. I'm thinking I'll eat a cold supper just so I don't have to fight the flies to cook. Welcome to Australia!!

As I lie here, blogging, I'm listening to about 8-10 different birds in the woods. Birds that I can't recognize, but sure enjoy their company. Maybe the struggle today was worth this special time tonight. I sure worked for it!!!

November 11, 2015
Rte 10 road to Northcliffe

I am so blessed! I'm still in awe when the stars align and my problems are solved. Today the big issue was water. I left two days ago with about 5 liters and expected to find houses along the way to refill. No houses. All forest. Even after I hit bitumen late this morning. Oh ohh! Maybe I should have scooped some of that mucky stuff I passed earlier. Ok in an emergency and this might just become one. Any rivers showing on the map? Not that they've been flowing. This road I'm on has some traffic but I'd need a place where cars could stop and it's not here. Sip. Sip. Why does thirst go up when water supply goes down? I have 3/4 of a liter. Not enough for today and tomorrow until town. Oh good an intersection with a dirt road. Plenty of room. Let me wave my milk jug and mimic drinking from it. Cars pass...and wave:/. Ugh. Patience dear girl. Check your map again. There has to be a watercourse somewhere that would be sufficient. I've got stuff to treat water. I'm ready to quit and bike on. There's one more car. Let's try again. And she pulls over! And she's got lots of water. She's on her way home and I can have it all. I'm so grateful. The rest of the day my worries are over. I just have to pedal all these hills:)). It didn't seem so hilly hiking through here.



View from my tent:)



There's Spacey! Feels good to be "home"!!



Yup, the trees are still big!!



Interesting fire gauge, don't ya think?!?!

I'm going to try and spend a couple of days at Schafer Campsite, my favorite one on the trail. It's right outside Northcliffe and I think I can bike into it. I'll have water and a pond to swim in. I've got plenty of food. Why not? So that's where I'm headed tomorrow. Hope I get a signal soon so I can let folks know I'm all right. I'm just going slower than even I expected. Out of cycling shape. And the last place I pedaled was flat!

November 12, 2015
Northcliffe, WA, Australia

Made it to town this morning. I felt like my struggle to get here was tougher than the Outback and the Bibbulmun! And I've got another 150 Kms to Augusta, the furthest southwest corner of Australia. Was checking with visitors center this morning for water resupply options. I should be all right.

But I do need to find a place to hide out for a few days with temps forecasted 88 to 95!! Schafer campsite is looking better and better!! A place to swim, plenty of water, and shade! Why not??

Let me close with some animal sightings:



Emus crossing the road.


The first fox I've seen just trotting along...until he spotted me.


Livin' the dream,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

The Last Week on the Bibb

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

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

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

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

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

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