Day 16 – Ormiston Gorge to Hilltop Lookout Camp (Sections 10 and 11 Larapinta)

 
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-10-information-sheet-and-map.pdf

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

Mt Sonder at sunrise, from near Ormiston Pound

We were up at 5:15am and left just after 7am. The path for the majority of Section 10 was a good quality across rolling hills with a few small technical sections. The views of Mt Sonder kept increasing steadily. 

We arrived at Finke River trailhead about 10:15am. This is a really pretty campsite with an attractive creek bed to explore. In hindsight we could have walked here yesterday afternoon, rather than remaining in camp at Ormiston Gorge after the pound walk.

https://nt.gov.au/_media/docs/parks/bushwalking-and-hiking/larapinta-trail/larapinta-trail-section-11-information-sheet-and-map.pdf

We took an extended break and filled our water bottles to be able to do a dry camp tonight. We crossed the Finke River, the waterhole was easy to avoid and there was one small muddy patch to cross.  The path was easy walking across Mereenie Valley to the next ridge line. 

Finke River

When we reached Davenport Creek, there was a large amount of water in the creek, and we needed to explore along the creek downstream (East) to locate a place where we could cross. 

Davenport Creek

Today we again saw Australian Ringneck Parrots.  From Serpentine Gorge onwards, where we came to the southern side of the Heavitree Range, the underlying soil has not been as hard underfoot as prior.

After crossing the flat plains, we climbed quickly and solidly to Hilltop Lookout - awesome views, particularly of Mt Sonder.  At times we were walking along a narrow edge. The climb this afternoon was in full sun and very hot.  Once we made the ridgeline there was a light breeze, which helped greatly. 

Not a trail for those scared of heights

We were the first to arrive in camp at around 3:15pm, so had our pick of sites. This is the only campsite that we saw crows.

The remainder of the afternoon had minimal breeze. This made it quite hot but allowed me to photograph some of the wildflowers.

The sunset views of Mt Sonder were magical. Definitely worth carrying water to a dry camp for.

Statistics

Hike Distance  19.50km

Hike Time          6h 22m

Ascent               645.4m

Descent             328.9m

Day 6 – Standley Chasm to Brinkley Bluff (Section 4 Larapinta)

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-4-information-sheet-and-map.pdf

It was a very wild and windy night. There was intermittent rain and very strong winds. The Bureau of Meteorology reported gusts up to 93km/h in Alice Springs last night and I do not find that difficult to believe. This morning the tent has puddles of dust in it and everything in the tent vestibule was covered in dust, despite the patches of rain. Drew slept with a buff over his face all night and I woke up with grit in my teeth.

We stayed in bed until daylight and then had a lazy breakfast. We had a chat to Zac, from Larapinta Trail Trek Support (LTTS) when he was dropping off and picking up drop boxes from the hikers’ room. We talked to him about our plan to probably stay put for the day given the weather and he seemed to think this was wise.  I don’t fancy walking along a ridgeline to a high exposed camp in wet and windy conditions. According to Zac, he refers to those Larapinta Trail End-to Enders who choose to spend more than 18 days on the trail, as “postcoders” because they are out here long enough to get their own postcode. We have chosen to have 19 days on the trail as we wish to do most of the side trips and take our time to “feel” the area.

https://www.treksupport.com.au/

Around 8:30am the rain started to decrease in intensity, but it was still very cold. I was wearing two merino thermal tops, a t-shirt, down jacket, merino thermal tights, normal tights, and a beanie and I was still finding it cold. I pottered around in the hikers’ room, sorting through the leftovers in the “free stuff” box, so that like was with like. We read, chatted and relaxed while we waited for the weather to pass.  The rain finally stopped around 10:30am and we decided to tackle the dust in our tent and our clothes.

Once the rain stopped and the winds were easing, we made the decision to head toward Brinkley Bluff. We packed up and left Standley Chasm just after midday. The trail headed up the creek, followed by a solid climb with increasingly stunning views. 

We encountered mud, some of which looked like a few people had found it difficult to gain traction heading up this morning. 

There were times today when the wind gusts were such that we had to plant both feet and both poles and wait. Given how minimal the winds seemed when we left Standley Chasm compared to what they had been last night, I am very glad that everyone made it down safely last night.  The sky cleared amazingly to brilliant blue, but it was still windy. This meant very clear air and amazing views. This section of trail was very technical and had many, many false summits.

Best to stop when taking in the views, as the trail requires you to watch where you are putting your feet

Yes, that really is the trail

 

We arrived at Brinkley Bluff at 5pm and set up camp in time for sunset. It is magical to watch the sun creep off the landscape, and the shadows lengthen. There are a number of redoubts built from piled rocks.  Being the last to arrive for the evening, the sturdiest ones were already occupied. We camped in a redoubt with a bush to take some of the “breeze”, but the wind was swirling from all directions.

Despite the cool weather and wearing calf sleeves, I did get mild vasculitis today. I assume this is down to the weight I was carrying (we had 7 days of food, full water bladders plus 7L of extra water between this) and the fact that it was primarily up. This was our heaviest carry, being a dry camp immediately after a food drop.

Statistics

Hike Distance                 10.64km

Hike Time                        4h 41m

Ascent                              739.5m

Descent                           304.0m