Larapinta Trail Part 2

This part of my Larapinta Trail blog covers days 6 to 10. Part 1 covered days 1 to 5 and part 3 will cover days 11 to 14. I also have a video overview on youtube.

Day 6

Counts Point to Dry Creek Camp

Section 8, 7 and 6

Distance: 25.5km

This was our biggest day on the trail. We started early again leaving just after sunrise. Just before getting down to our food drop at Serpentine Gorge we passed one of the guys I’ve worked with. He was guiding a group. As soon as we got our food drop I started cooking an early lunch which was going to be last night’s dinner. We sorted and packed our food drop while we waited for our lunch to cook. A few of the other hikers couldn’t find the food drop container so we pointed them to where it was. There is a map on the signs at Serpentine Gorge showing where it is however it is faded and poorly orientated so not to surprised that some people had trouble locating it. After lunch we returned our food drop before heading down to the walkers camp to fill our water up.

We then headed to Ellery Creek North. My knee was quite sore on this section. It had been sore the last few days but mainly only when going downhill. I had been taking ibuprofen and paracetamol and had taped it up. It wasn’t the part of the knee that people usually have pain with though. I have taped participant’s knees before when working but only for pain more in the knee or the patella in Angela’s case. My pain was more on the outer side of the knee which I wasn’t exactly sure what the best way to tape it was so I had done a google search before taping it when we had reception. I have had pain in the ankle for a few months prior but had mostly settled and hadn’t stirred up so far which was good however was thinking it could be why my knee was now stirring up. When we eventually got to Ellery Creek North we had afternoon tea and a break at Ellery Big Hole. Thankfully after the break my knee pain settled down. We soon made it to a dry creek bed for camp and almost caught up to our original plan. Our original camp spot was going to be the camping spot marked on the map only about 1km further along the same dry creek bed.

Day 7

Dry Creek Camp to Ghost Gum Flat

Section 6

Distance: 17.5km

We had more of a relaxed morning after our two big days which was good as we had frost on our sleeping bags. Once the sun was up we put them out to dry which didn’t take long. We left camp soon afterwards. I had also noticed some stitching on my pack where the load lifter strap joins onto the top of the shoulder was coming apart. I hoped it would last the rest of the trip which it did however I could makeshift repair it if needed. It’s an Osprey pack and I will be sending it off to get repaired once lockdown lifts. One of the many things I like about Osprey is the lifetime warranty and you can get it sent off for free to get repaired. My pack has had a lot of constant use over the past almost 5 years so I’m not surprised stitching has started coming undone.

We made it to Rocky Gully for an early lunch and then continued onto camp at Ghost Gum Flat. On the way to camp I decided to get my fly net out as the flies were starting to get annoying. My hat has an inbuilt fly net in a little pocket. When I went to get it out one of the little rubber spiders also came out. We both thought that none of the spiders came on this trip however I hadn’t used that hat in a while so the spider had been in there a little while. Also on the way to camp we saw some animal scats including horse droppings. I didn’t know there were wild brumbies out her until Tessa’s husband told us when dropping us out. We also saw some dingo scats. I was surprised we hadn’t heard or seen any dingos yet. When we were at camp we also saw what I think was a brown falcon and a butcher bird annoying it in one of the trees. That night we heard a dingo just before going to sleep but that was all we heard of them and never saw any.

Day 8

Ghost Gum Flat to Fringe Lily Creek

Section 6 and 5

Distance: 14.3km

We woke up for sunrise and I took some photos of the big Ghost Gum and camp. It didn’t take us long to pack up and we were at Hugh Gorge by morning tea. After morning tea we continued up into the gorge and stopped for lunch in the gorge. The sun was shining straight down the gorge so we decided to scramble up the side a little bit into some shade for lunch. We also had a great view from our lunch spot. Going up through the gorge there were a few spots where we rock scrambled around some water and walked across the water on some sticks.

After leaving the gorge we headed up a valley to a Rocky Saddle. The views all around from the saddle were spectacular especially looking over to Razorback Ridge where we would be heading the next day. We could also see where our camp would be at the bottom of the next valley and the track heading up towards Razorback Ridge. Once we got to camp I again took some photos around camp and the birds.

Day 9

Fringe Lily Creek to Brinkley Bluff

Section 5 and 4

Distance: 17.3km

This morning Angela woke up with a puffy eye. She must have been bitten by a mosquito or something else while she was sleeping. Thankfully it wasn’t that bad and got better throughout the day. We left camp before sunrise as we wanted to get to Brinkley Bluff as early as we could as we’ve heard there can sometimes be a fair few people camping up there. The sun rose as we got up the ridge and we had great views looking back towards Hugh Gorge. At times we were rock scrambling a bit getting over Razorback Ridge before heading down into Spencer Gorge. Spencer Gorge seemed like a longer gorge but we eventually reached the end of it. Just after we got out of the gorge and were heading towards the Section 4/5 Junction I saw our possible 3rd snake on the trail and the first one I’d seen. Angela saw a snake and either a snake or a legless lizard earlier on.

Once we got to the Section 4/5 Junction we dropped our packs and took our lunch down to Birthday Waterhole. We both agreed Section 5 had been one of our most favourite sections so far with the various views and terrain from gorges to heading over Razorback Ridge. After lunch we headed back to our packs and then headed towards Brinkley Bluff. On our way up we passed another guy that I’ve worked with. He was heading down with a group. We then stopped just before Rocky Cleft for a quick break before heading up the last part. The last little bit just before the top was very steep and we had to rock scramble a little bit. There were only about 5 other people at the top when we got there and there were plenty of camp spots spread out along the top. We chose a spot and had dinner while watching the sunset.

Day 10

Brinkley Bluff to Millers Flat

Section 4 and 3

Distance: 15.5km

As usual at the high camps we woke up early before sunrise and left just after it. The wind had picked up a little bit during the night and picked up a bit more as we headed down to Standley Chasm. On the way down we also did a quick detour to Bridle Pass Lookout. We got down to Standley Chasm for morning tea and got milkshakes from the café and picked up our food drop. After morning tea we sorted our food drop and then had camel burgers for lunch. We then went down to the chasm and continued on.

The first little bit after the chasm was steep and undulating with stairs and then most of the rest was following creek beds. Some sections following the creek beds required some rock scrambling around some small waterfalls. We were the first ones to arrive at Millers Flat which only has a few spots to camp. A few people arrived after us including a guy who we met camping up at Hermit’s Hideaway. We overtook him after leaving there but he has now caught back up to us. The last few days for us had been a little shorter so wasn’t too surprised. Just before we went to bed the moon started rising above the ridge in front of us. It has been getting bigger and brighter. Only a couple more nights until the full moon.