 |
| There are people at the end for scale - look how tiny they appear! |
https://nt.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/tjoritja-west-macdonnell-national-park/larapinta-trail
The temperature was milder overnight but at about 1am it
became very windy, and we zipped up the vestibules on the fly. We woke to our alarm at 5am but stayed in bed
for a little while as the alarm was immediately followed by a brief shower.
Once the rain stopped, we had breakfast and packed up. We were ready by 6:40am,
and away at 6:50am. While we knew we did not have far to go today, I was hoping
to see Standley Chasm in the brief period in the middle of the day when the sun
comes between the rock walls to light them up.
The first part of day was a technical creek walk along Cycad Creek, involving climbing (including hands) up and over rocks and a very large boulder blocking the creek bed. The large boulder required a steep climb to the side to get up and over. After leaving the creek there was a long climb up to Gastrolobium Saddle.
 |
| the trail |
 |
| The trail is to the left of the waterfall (trickle) |
 |
| Blue arrows marking the trail |
 |
| Path to get up past the boulder blocking the creek |
 |
| View from the high point |
 |
| and then the path to descend back to the creek bed |
We took a short break and then began the long descent into the back of Standley Chasm. As this section is also used by day walkers from Standley Chasm a great deal of effort has been gone to, installing many many steps. This makes this otherwise treacherous descent much safer. This is followed by a steep, but short, climb to get around to the other side of Standley Chasm before descending again.
 |
| Yes, the blue arrows are the trail |
We arrived in the campground about 10:30am. We collected our first drop boxes and set up our tent. Then off to shower and wash our clothes – lovely! I braid my hair on multiday hikes to avoid tangles, so it is a delight to be able to take it out, finger comb it and wash my hair. The Standley Chasm campground is very well set up for Larapinta hikers – with a drop box section, hot showers, free washing machine, microwave, picnic table and camping.
https://standleychasm.com.au/camping
 |
| Larapinta Hikers Area - Drop boxes, sink, microwave, washing machine and 2 showers |
Standley Chasm (Angkerle Atwatye) is very impressive – the sheer height of the cliff walls (80m) and the narrowness of the chasm (3m). We were there about 12:30 and fortunate enough to see the sun briefly appear on and off against the chasm walls as the sun went in and out of the clouds.
We then enjoyed burgers at the Standley Chasm Kiosk. While we were eating at the Kiosk the wind started to pick up with several large gusts whipping dust around, requiring us to protect our food.
https://standleychasm.com.au/cafe
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for this evening for extreme wind – glad we were not planning on being at Brinkley Bluff tonight. Tomorrows forecast is for 1-9mm of rain so we will decide when we get to Brinkley Bluff whether it is safe to stay the night or better to descend the other side.
We spent time organising our food and water for the onward journey, all prepped and packed by 3:15pm. We then relaxed, read, chatted to fellow campers, and phoned family. During the afternoon there were several very big dust whip ups from the gusty winds – you could hear the wind roar through the chasm before the dust whirled across the carpark and into every nook and crevasse. Our tent and fly were fully closed in an attempt to minimise the dust, but everything was completely covered in dust – had to shake out our sleeping bags before bed.
Several hikers travelling East that had planned to be on Brinkley Bluff tonight came in over the course of the afternoon, not wishing to risk the weather conditions in such an exposed campsite. Several reported that the descent was quite stressful, having to stop and brace with their hiking poles each time another big gust came through. One couple set out for Brinkley Bluff from Standley Chasm mid-afternoon – determined to stick to their plan – only to return 90 minutes later due to the dangerous winds. Tonight, there were nine campers that had all come into Alice Springs on the same flight, including two who were doing a short section from Serpentine Gorge to Standley Chasm with tonight’s planned stay on Brinkley Bluff intended to be the highlight of their trip. All agreed that it would not have been a pleasant night in the conditions, and potentially quite dangerous. By evening we had decided we may have to stay an extra day at Standley Chasm depending on what the weather was like in the morning. We have plenty of time in our schedule and can be flexible. If we need to make up time we can always skip the rest day we have planned for Ormiston Gorge, as we have done the Ormiston Pound Walk before.
Statistics
Hike Distance 5.70km
Hike Time 3h 21m
Ascent 305.5m
Descent 345.6m
Walk Distance 2.00km
Walk Time 42m
Ascent 60.9m
Descent 53.7m
No comments:
Post a Comment