Sunday, August 24, 2025

Larapinta Trail Highlights and Lowlights (Larapinta)

HIGHLIGHTS

Day of Hike

    Drew    1. Serpentine Chalet Dam to Hermit's Hideaway


    
              2. Birthday Waterhole to Hugh Junction


    
              3. Rocky Gully to Ellery Creek North


   

 Tracy    1. Alternate High Route in Section 3

                 
                2. Birthday Waterhole to Hugh Junction


                 3. Ormiston Gorge to Hilltop Lookout



Campsite

    Drew    1. Ellery Creek North



                 2. Hilltop Lookout



                 3. Hermit's Hideaway



    Tracy    1. Hilltop Lookout

                

                 2. Ellery Creek North


    
             3. Hugh Junction



Gear

Poles a definite plus, this walk would have been much more challenging without them

New light weight head lamps were great

https://nitecoreaustralia.com.au/shop/headlamps/nitecore-nu25-mct/

New battery packs - very happy with weight for power ratio

https://nitecoreaustralia.com.au/shop/power-banks/nitecore-nb10000-gen3/

Love our tent

https://www.bigagnes.com/products/copper-spur-ul-three-xl

Foam mats for sitting on rocks or spinifex were very light and versatile

https://www.anacondastores.com/camping-hiking/sleeping/hiking-mats/mountain-designs-hikelite-seat-pad/BP90231720-silver

Drew had a new sleeping mat and felt it was an outstanding improvement on his previous thermorest

https://seatosummit.com.au/products/pursuit-self-inflating-sleeping-pad

I had a new down jacket and this really helped keep me warm for very little weight

https://www.mont.com.au/products/zero-ultralight-down-jacket-women-1

I also had a new down sleeping bag and we both had thermal liners.  My previous setup would not have coped with the cold and windy night on Brinkley Bluff.  The sleeping bag was also able to be opened and closed in all sorts of spots to regulate temperature on the nights that were not as cold.

https://seatosummit.com.au/products/the-ascent-down-sleeping-bag?variant=43613903880378

https://seatosummit.com.au/products/reactor-sleeping-bag-liner

Collapsible water bladders - this was the first time we had done dry camps, so these were new and we were very happy with them

https://ultralightgear.com.au/products/platypus-platy-2l-soft-water-bottle-with-closure-cap

Note: We are NOT sponsored by anyone, these are our opinions based on our experiences.


LOWLIGHTS

Day of Hike

Drew   Day 2 - Wallaby Gap to Simpsons Gap - sore, tired and grumpy

Tracy    Day 9 - Hugh Junction to Rocky Gully - undercaloried, and got too cold from water crossing. Lesson learnt is to stop, have something hot and move major muscle groups to warm up before moving on.

Both    Day 14 - Hermit's Hideaway to Ormiston Gorge - end of day, hot and poorly signed with regard to distance, distance was much longer than indicated

Campsite 

Drew    Wallaby Gap of those we stayed in, Mulga Camp of those we initially planned to stay at

Tracy    Rocky Gully due to the loudness and dominance of some of the fellow hikers that night

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

No comments:

Post a Comment