Day 13 – Serpentine Chalet Dam to Hermit’s Hideaway (Section 9 Larapinta)

Mt Giles, from Hermit's Hideaway

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-9-information-sheet-and-map.pdf

Up at 5:15am and on our way at 6:55am. This morning, we could hear a lot of birds singing in the campground as we were doing our morning routine.  The initial climb out of camp was steep, then followed by easier paths to Inarlanga Pass. 

There is a short patch of boulders to traverse at the entrance to the pass. Inarlanga Pass, like many of the shades passes through the range, has remnant vegetation, such as cycads, that are not generally found in the arid regions. The geological forces needed to create Inarlanga Pass are impressive – rock has sedimented, then been tilted up and bent virtually at a right angle!  I saw two types of wildflowers that I had not previously seen on the Larapinta. The trail continued with gentle climbing through open country with a variety of microclimates.

We walked through the centre of a long valley. This was followed by a second valley that was shorter and had a lot more spinifex. This was the densest spinifex we have seen so far.  

We stopped for lunch at the base of Waterfall Gorge. Waterfall Gorge has a very pretty camping area but was not our destination for the day.

From here we ascended the creek line for a while and then straight up to Mt Giles Lookout – the steepest ascent on this trail so far.  Mt Giles Lookout camping area had some protection from the wind with small rock walls but was still quite exposed. The sign at Mt Giles Lookout advertised that they had 3G coverage – no longer, it has now been turned off.  We continued along the ridgeline, going gently down and camped at Hermit’s Hideaway, arriving about 3:40pm.

Later in the afternoon, the ladies fundraising for Cancer Council joined us. We invited them to join us for fine dining, Larapinta style – BYO dehydrated dinner and foam mat to sit on the rocks, but the views were stunning! The ridgeline running parallel to the one we were on and ending at Mt Giles and miles around.  We enjoyed dinner and conservation while we watched the sun go down.

Statistics

Hike Distance                 17.10km

Hike Time                        7h 32m

Ascent                              703.6m

Descent                           475.0m