After a couple of years I came back to this blogpost to draft a post about my overnight hike at Brinkley's Bluff west of Standley Chasm Angkerle, and came to find a draft post of my earlier Larapinta hike (from July 2022).
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Recently with a group we hiked Larapinta trail starting at Ellery Creek and finishing at Standley Chasm Angkerle Atwatye. It was one of the most challenging experiences mentally and physically I have ever undertaken. These are the hardest sections of the trail and offer the most expansive views. Two of the four days from Hugh Gorge to Standley Chasm included 8+ hours of hiking each day. Except for a few kilometres, each part of this 35+ km journey was highly physical and gruelling.
The benefits of multi-day hiking are well known. This was my second such hike, the first being Jatbula trail between Katherine and Edith Falls last September. Being from the NT connected to Central Australia and the Top End, and growing up and living at both places in my youth and as an adult, is something I’m grateful for and so the multi-day hikes in these regions was special. It meant memories from across my life and associated with the country resurfaced. These memories spanned my whole life. I feel honoured to start my multi-day hiking in this way and before I go further and experience the world.
The act of hiking requires the mind to focus on taking that next step and then another, and doing it over and over until the goal destination is reached. The movements are similar, but each step needs a target. The foot needs to land at a spot where you can be stable with 18+kg on your back, and where your legs may have been walking all day (or over multiple days). With your eyes focused on the ground the path and surrounds change. Every little while you have the chance to look up, to take in the scenery, to get a sense of the place, to see people in front or behind, or to take in water and reset. Over time, other thoughts that usually occupy your mind and when in the city float away because they can't creep in. They can't compete with that constant focus of finding a spot to safely land. Sometimes they can, and you remind yourself of the practice of being in the moment and that you're not here for that. Those other thoughts that relate to the city aren't of any practical value anyway, not out here. Some of the deeper and more complex problems or emotions or thoughts may need to stay, to walk alongside you, so that your brain can move with the time and pace to work through what needs to be done. I've found the act of hiking has that balance of intense focus in that moment, like yoga, and all the other thoughts at your minds door trying to creep in. Over many days the constant cycle of this and across different areas of country and scenery produces the benefits.
A strong memory of Larapinta trail is the contrasts. At one end, on top of large mountaintop ranges are sharp and jagged stones stacked on top of each other. At a place called razerback ridge high on a range, we had to hold these rocks to be stable against strong winds and where the other side of a short path were vertical cliff drops. The packs can be heavy, The brain enters survival mode. The memories are intense. In contrast, the serene and calm presence of cool valleys and gorges and over-shadowing, large white trunked river ghost-gums and birds and wildlife the stones are round and range in size from small pebbles to large boulders. The razer sharp rocks represent places of danger and exposure to risk and the extremes. The smooth and rounded shapes of riverbed pebbles, stones and boulders represent places of serenity and calmness and peace. The high mountaintops and jaggedness of exposed, sharp rocks are shaped by the pushing of earth against each other. The rounded riverbed stones shaped by the irregular gushing of water for times when it rains, which is hardly in the desert. It took some time of hiking for this contrast to stand out - the geology but also how it was shaped by the environment and the feelings and emotions that come with it all.
Sharp jagged stone stacked on top of each other and at vertical angles.
Small pebbles in gorges shaped by water over millions of years.
Ellery Creek Big Hole to Standley Chasm
We chose this route as the research showed it offered the most magestic and expansive views, and was also the most challenging. None of us anticipated how challenging it would be.
The Larapinta book which is the most popular book at Red Kangaroo Books (support independent bookstores) provides a good breakdown of each part of the trail. It has a west to east option that was perfect for us. On reflection, it's hard to say whether east to west or west to east is preferred. On day 3 there was a long stretch of boulders which would have been more difficult to climb up. The steep incline on the last day would have been more challenging for me going down than up, only because my knees find it easier to step up.
Even the very first part was a glimpse of the challenge - it was a small ascent up from a riverbed. I loved seeing the spinifex scattered throughout the hill. When I was young I lived behind Uluru at the ranger station for four years and the sand dunes behind our house was our playground. It was scattered with spinifex. It's appearance is so appealing - the sharp and diagonal and scattered bristles, the oval shapes and outward expanding growth where the middle dries, its use when burnt and as a shelter for many creatures. People say the dot paintings of people of Central Australia come from this landscape and imagining a birds eye view looking from above and how people are connected by land and country. The paintings of Sara Brown capture this so well, and I felt privileged to be on country where the spinifex was thriving.
Looking back at Ellery Creek Big Hole. The spinifex scattered throughout was such a treat to see on the very first walk.
Even the first part is challenging but we ended up at this saddle and to overlook the plains to the other ranges where we will be walking for the next few days, cris-crossing.
Desert sunsets are always spectacular. The lights are more expansive across a cloudless sky, the colours stronger as the sun sets. What I noticed more than my experience in Darwin is the objects behind glow brightly even a while after the sun sets and what I'm told is the light reflects off the atmosphere.
Tips for multi-day hiking
These are the tips I take away, for myself and what I learnt from others:
Coffee lollie's worked a treat as a substitute for coffee. It's nice to chew whilst walking and making actual coffee takes time and dehydrates. Lollies are good too.
A warm sleeping bag is a must, as is a mat or mattress underneath it. Make sure the comfort levels match the anticipated temperature. For us, the anticipated temperature kept getting colder as it got closer to our start time. It dropped by like 4 degrees within a week, and was the difference between really cold and cold but manageable.
Weight is always a fine balance. I leaned toward the heavier side with a speaker and battery (I especially wanted for my phone and night pics), and also like a comfortable sleeping matt that weighs more. At my age I'm ok with it, but there were times during the hike where I wished I took the advice of many multi-day hikers in keeping it as light as possible.
Extra spare bags work a treat. I had a bag that shared food with food waste which wasn't ideal. I made mistakes like taking tin tuna when I should have taken a sachet.
My hat worked especially well. Items like this that are fit for purpose are a dime a dozen on multi-day hikes.
Create a checklist beforehand. I put my shorts somewhere ready to wear in the morning but it was too cold so opted for my long pants and I forgot my shorts and they would have been really useful. Simple mistakes like this can make a trip more difficult.
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Within short walking distance from Joyce Gullick's house at Riyala sits a vertical wooden stump with a small flat surface on top. This is the place where Lorikeets’ feed. Each morning and evening when Nana Joyce was able, she prepared bread, honey and water inside a large plastic bucket. The honey and water soaked and seeped into the bread. This was the Lorikeets’ meal. From afar the colourful Lorikeet birds soared high in the sky and across the landscape in search of Riyala. As they arrived their wings stretched for a soft landing. One by one they flew in and took their place on broad branches in tall trees. Watching. Waiting. The bread, honey and water sat in an old and used honey bucket. There were no decorations. No resplendent designs. The old labels on the side were used and worn. The bucket was large and had a handle, and so it was useful. It was simple, practical and served its purpose. In the kitchen, as she prepared the meal, Nana Joyce could see and h...
The benefits of multi-day hiking are well known. This was my second such hike, the first being Jatbula trail between Katherine and Edith Falls last September. Being from the NT connected to Central Australia and the Top End, and growing up and living at both places in my youth and as an adult, is something I’m grateful for and so the multi-day hikes in these regions was special. It meant memories from across my life and associated with the country resurfaced. These memories spanned my whole life. I feel honoured to start my multi-day hiking in this way and before I go further and experience the world. 
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