Walking the Trail: Day 7 Ellery Creek South to Serpentine Chalet
Day 7 was going to be a long one. I wanted to cover two sections on this day, so I could camp the following night up on Hermits Rest and see the sunset on Mt Sonder. In retrospect, after two long days of hiking, plus this day with 1200m of ascent and nearly 12 hours of walking, I was asking a lot of my body; it turned out to be too much, and that was before my ‘accident’.
I left Ellery Creek early under headlamp, and at the 2km mark, there is a ‘seat’ at a saddle. I turned around in the dark to look back at the ‘view’ while side-stepping the seat. Next thing I was face down, with my pack adding an exclamation mark to the back of my head. It seemed the seat was a style and there were four wires, two plain and two barbed at mid shin height. As I tumbled over, I snapped one walking pole and opened up my shin. Not sure what the fence was aiming to stop, other than non-observant hikers like me!
From Orminston to the Serpentine Gorge shelter, most of the hike was traversing small spinefix-covered spurs on the southern side of the Heavitree Range. Being on the south side meant cooler hiking, which I imagine could be very hot at times. After the Serpentine Gorge shelter, there was a step climb and then a traverse along the ridge to Counts Point, where there is a lovely view both west to the ‘will be there tomorrow land’ and to the east ‘was there today land’. These two sections are rated 4/5 or Moderate/Difficult, and while not technically challenging, my tank was empty on reaching Serpentine Chalet Dam.
After completing evening admin, I had an enjoyable time talking with some fellow hikers. A shout out to legends Carol and Sharon for loaning me a couple of bladders so I could spend the next night up on Hilltop Lookout. I retired early to bed, and following a serious calf massage, it was lights out.
Walking the Trail: Day 8 Serpentine Chalet Dam to Hermits Rest
I was shot. When I woke up in the morning, my left heel was painful to touch. What I had hoped would settle during the night hadn’t, and the inside of my foot and toes were numb/tingling. Not good. Plus, my energy level was pretty low. I would need to be careful today.
After a quick look at the Chalet Dam with Carol and Sharon, and saying a fond farewell, I headed west, and they went east. I knew I only had 5 hours of hiking ahead before reaching my bushcamp at Hermits Rest, but it would involve a long section of rock hopping through Inarlanga Pass and a steep rise up onto the Heavitree Range again, both of which would test my body.
The Inarlanga (Arrente for echinda) Pass is fascinating. Passes are much narrower than Gorges. The Inarlanga Pass cuts through the Heavitree Range with steep red rock walls on either side, and large boulders are strewn between the edges. Large, ancient cycads dot the pass, building a sense of timelessness. They have genetic links to the cycads on the East Coast, and their heritage is pegged at over a million years old. The pass links the ochre pits in the south with the Alice Valley to the north, making it a vital trade and ceremonial route. Hikers on exiting turn west, but Arrente men travelling for ceremonial reasons would continue north to sites like Giles Spring. Many thousands of feet have padded up these rocks for many thousands of years, and you can feel this current of humanity flowing with you as you ascend through the pass.
After exiting Inarlanga Pass and rockhopping along the watercourse west, I topped up with water at Waterfall Gorge (note the water level on the rocks in the picture). It must get very wet here at some stage.
There was then a steep ascent with a series of switchbacks and several false summits to test the resolve, before cresting at Mt Giles Lookout. I continued a couple of clicks further west to find a bushcamp and set about getting ready for the sunset. I was sore, tired and thirsty. Dinner was unconventional: half a block of chocolate and a billy of English Breakfast tea, but oh, what a sunset view of Mt Sonder!
Walking the Trail: Day 9 Hermits Rest to Ormiston Gorge
To really experience sunsets and sunrises on the Larapinta Trail, you needed to be up on a ridge. This meant you had to carry extra water and be willing to have a rough night, as the wind was accentuated on the exposed ridges. However, to view the waves of rock receding into the distance in both directions, absorb the intense colours with extra vibrance at the bookends of the day, makes it all worthwhile.
From Hermits Rest, the trail to Ormiston Gorge was predominantly downhill as I walked off the Heavitree Range. Even though I knew I had several days to go, it already felt like the hike was winding down. Most of the terrain going forward was to be flatter, with fewer step ascents and more of the rolling hills and valleys.
In this picture, I was camped at the Hermits Rest bushcamp. My next bushcamp will be at Hilltop Lookout, the last bump along the range in the middle distance, with my final night to be spent on Mt Sonder – the orange massive centre picture.
Ormiston Gorge was a welcome relief. Sure, it is beautiful, but the cafe was open and it was lunchtime! BLTs, orange slurpees, toasties and hot showers = Hiker Heaven. There was one bottle of Schwarzkopf Extra Care Marrakesh Oil & Coconut Shampoo in the shower, and I reckon all hikers smelt the same exiting Ormiston Gorge.
