Day 12 – Serpentine Gorge to Serpentine Chalet Dam (Section 8 Larapinta)

We are hiking along the ridge to the left. The ridges are almost parallel

https://nt.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/tjoritja-west-macdonnell-national-park/larapinta-trail

https://nt.gov.au/_media/docs/parks/bushwalking-and-hiking/larapinta-trail/larapinta-trail-section-8-information-sheet-and-map.pdf

Last night was very cold in the shelter. We were again up at 5:15am and away at 6:45am. Drew was wearing his normal hiking clothes plus merino thermal top, puffer vest and merino beanie. I was wearing normal hiking clothes plus two merino thermal tops, merino thermal tights, puffer jacket, merino beanie and buff.  

Blue shipping container in distance is Food Drop

Looking back toward Serpentine Gorge

The track was very steep between the 2 and 3km markers, which are actually 3 and 4km respectively from the campsite, as the section starts at the carpark.  Once up this steep section it was relatively flat but high with expansive views.

The trail continued along ridge top to the side trail to Counts Point.  As we were so high there was phone coverage at the junction of the tracks. Walking out to Counts Point rewarded with massive views including Mount Sonder and the meteor crater Tnorala (Gosse Bluff). Remarkably a proper seat has been installed here, so we sat and enjoyed the view.

https://northernterritory.com/alice-springs-and-surrounds/see-and-do/mt-sonder-rutjupma

https://northernterritory.com/gb/en/alice-springs-and-surrounds/see-and-do/tnorala-gosse-bluff-conservation-reserve

https://nt.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/tnorala-gosse-bluff-conservation-reserve

https://nt.gov.au/_media/docs/parks/find-a-park-to-visit/central-australia-region/tnorala-conservation-reserve-fact-sheet-and-map.pdf

That really is how rough the trail surface is here!

The Seat

The view to Mt Sonder straight ahead - the end of the Larapinta Trail

Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) is the bump on the horizon

The descent from this ridge was very solid. About halfway down a series of steps have been installed to help with the steepness.

Once off the ridgeline we encountered denser woodland than we had previously seen on this trail, as well as more arid moonscape type patches.  

Coming from the East the campsite appears quite suddenly with no real advance view.

We arrived at the shelter about 2:45pm and set up our tent. As last night was cold and it was expected to be colder again, we opted for our tent rather than the shelter.

We explored upstream a little in the afternoon.

Statistics

Hike Distance                 15.93km

Hike Time                        6h 37m

Ascent                              608.7m

Descent                           540.6m