Walking the Trail: Day 10 Ormiston Gorge to Hilltop Lookout
Hiking out of Ormiston, smelling like a coconut, I had planned another double-section day, skipping the Finke River Shelter and bushcamping on Hilltop Lookout. The terrain was rated Moderate with undulating hills, water crossings at Finke River and Davenport Creek, and then another steep ascent to Hilltop Lookout. The distance was around 21 km.
One of the highlights was enjoying lunch under a huge River Red Gum. The River Red Gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) are found along creek beds and in major gorges. These massive eucalypts with their characteristic mottled bark enticed me to sing a few verses of Once a Jolly Swagman while waiting for my MSR stove to boil! Living for over 500 years, they serve as reliable indicators of permanent or semi-permanent water. With recent heavy rains, there were hundreds of 15cm high seedlings in the sand. Most will die over the coming summer, but a few will hopefully get their tap root down fast enough to tap into the water table before the pressure of Summer unfolds.
The first part of the trail crosses spinifex-covered hills with the spectacular backdrop of Mt Sonder, then crosses the Davenport River and climbs to a Hilltop Lookout.
Hilltop Lookout provided excellent views of the majestic Mt Sonder/Rutjupma (1379m). Most of the ‘classic’ Mt Sonder pictures are taken from here. Being a bushcamp on an exposed ridge, it is subject to strong winds, and over the years, fellow hikers have built up loose rock walls to create a degree of wind protection. Thank you, guys. I was fortunate to have light winds and slept very well, but that wasn’t only due to the lack of wind!
Walking the Trail: Day 11 Hilltop Lookout to Mt Sonder
Today, my last official day of hiking was going to be epic, well, by my lunchbox standards. It necessitated an early start so that I could reach Redbank George by midday, some 17kms away and then a return ascent of Mt Sonder, another 17kms. In total, it took nearly 14 hours with 1139m ascent and 1449m of descent. But not before a sunrise pic from Hilltop Lookout, facing Mt Sonder, which is where I was going to be that same night.
From Hilltop Lookout, the trail descends to the shady and peaceful Rocky Bar Gap at the base of Mt Sonder. I stopped at Rocky Bar Gap (picture below) for breakfast and to refill my water. As I sat filtering water at the tank, I was joined by zebra finches, bees and another bird that hovered like a hummingbird, under the tank’s tap and dipped its beak up into the tap to drink. Such precision, and they weren’t worried about my proximity.
The trail passes through this gap and then travels along the southern side of Mt Sonder to Redbank Creek.
From Rocky Bar Gap onwards to Redbank Gorge, the trail was pretty flat. I enjoyed another lovely lunch in the shade of a River Red Gum tree and spent time observing a Slater’s Ring-Tailed Dragon that came out to bask in the sun next to me. It always amazes me when hiking that the slow pace of movement or the periods of rest invariably reveal some hidden aspect of nature that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.
As a general comment, these last two days of hiking involved travelling through thick areas of buffel grass (see picture below). This introduced species is a declared weed in the Northern Territory, negatively impacting the desert ecosystem and endemic flora. It smotheres spinifex species and other slower-growing grasses, increases fire intensity as it rapidly bulks up after rain, and covers the trail, making route finding more challenging. It was also the only time I thought it would have been nice to be wearing gaiters. Stomping louder was my alternative.
After setting up my tent on the dry Redbank creekbed and depositing unnecessary gear, I headed off for the Mt Sonder summit. Even though I was going up and then down > 2000m in total, with only 5-6kg on my back, it felt like I had sprouted wings.
The trail starts as a step zigzag ascent and then flattens onto a saddle. From here, the trail follows the ridge line with minor elevation changes. The view is spectacular in all directions, including straight down on some of the razorback sections. I soaked this all up, knowing my return was going to be under a headlamp.
While wandering around below the final summit, I noticed a small solar panel, which led me to discover my first Felixer Grooming Trap in operation (see picture). These nifty units use a combination of cameras and sensors to detect animal movement and shape. Trained AI models then identify and classify the animal profile. If the Felixer determines this to be a fox or cat, it squirts out a lethal dose (8mg) of 1080 gel onto the animal. The animal then grooms and ingests the poison. Bingo, 2 points for our native species.
After a fast & exhilarating nighttime descent using poles (legs were feeling pretty cooked after the first hour down), I was happily back in bed 5 hours later with a massive grin on my face.
The End
I had a couple of hours early the next morning waiting for my pickup back to Alice Springs, and so wandered up into Redbank Gorge.
With no one else around, it was so quiet and peaceful. The gorge walls are close and wrap around the trapped water body, creating an oasis-like sensation.
Ahead of me, I had a vehicle trip direct to the Alice Springs airport, a repack of my gear in the airport lounge and then several hours of flying back to Perth. No time for body hygiene, and after the last few days of hiking, I wouldn’t want to be the person sitting next to me on the plane! This was my opportunity to ‘cleanup’ before re-entering civilisation, so I quietly slipped into the water and, looking up, marvelled at the amazing red rocks and blue sky above that had been my constant companions these past 12 days. Thank you, Larapinta.